China is now the world leader in initial public offerings (IPOs) after the number of IPOs in the US fell this year amid a regional bank crisis and a debt ceiling standoff. Over 100 deals totalling $25bn have been secured in mainland China so far this year. Beijing has made major reforms aimed at stimulating innovation, and it launched the Nasdaq-style STAR board in 2019 and earlier this year it rolled out the registration-based listing mechanism to all domestic stock exchanges. However, the fast influx of new IPOs is changing the country's stock market.
China's special envoy for Eurasian Affairs, Li Hui, has urged all parties to create conditions for peace talks relating to the Russia-Ukraine conflict during a visit to Kyiv. Hui exchanged views with President Zelenskiy and the Ukrainian foreign minister in an effort to end the conflict through a political settlement. China is willing to promote the international community to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, making its own efforts to stop the fighting and (establish a) ceasefire and restore peace as soon as possible.
The blockbuster exhibition China’s Hidden Century, opening this week at the British Museum, places responsibility for the violence inflicted on 19th-century China on Britain and other foreign powers, while exuding admiration for China’s resilience and innovation. Exhibition organisers said their four-year research project involved over 100 scholars in 14 countries, and will “open a new page in public understanding of late imperial China”. Its 300 pieces, half of which have never been seen in public before, cover the Qing dynasty from 1796 to 1912, a period of great upheaval in China, ending when a revolution overthrew the last emperor. However, the exhibition walks a diplomatic tightrope; blame is unequivocally placed on foreign powers for provoking the Opium Wars and thereby sparking China’s traumatic “century of humiliation”, a myth central to the Communist Party’s legitimating narrative of China as a successful state. A reappraisal of 19th-century China threatens this narrative.
China urges Australia to help find crew of capsized fishing boat
Reuters
23-05-18 03:43
China's ambassador to Australia has called for the country to increase its efforts in locating the 39 missing crew members after a Chinese fishing boat capsized in the Indian Ocean early this week. President Xi Jinping has reportedly ordered all efforts be made to locate the crew, who include 17 Chinese nationals, 17 Indonesians and five individuals from the Philippines. The capsized fishing boat has been located, but no survivors have been discovered. The Chinese government has coordinated with nearby countries regarding the search and rescue mission.
Dr Li Hui, special representative of the Chinese government for Eurasian Affairs, will travel to Ukraine, Germany, France and Poland this week, seeking to boost ties and push for an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. China continues to cast itself as a potential mediator in the conflict, which has deepened Ukrainian ties with Europe and the US, and caused Western sanctions to be imposed on Russia. Dr Li's visit is part of a wider European tour, and comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China would send an envoy to Ukraine on a call to Volodymyr Zelenskiy last month. When Chinese and Russian leaders met in Moscow in June, they unveiled a vague plan designed to bring peace to Ukraine that included a cease-fire that would freeze Russian troops on Ukrainian soil and was criticised by the US and other Western countries that urged for the complete withdrawal of Russian soldiers from Ukrainian land.
Three consecutive editorials in China's People's Daily have expressed concern that the country's demographic crisis could hit its economic growth. It follows China's population falling to 1.41 billion last year, marking its first decline in six decades after a record low birth rate of 6.77 per 1,000 people. The editorials supported President Xi Jinping’s vision to create a “talent dividend” by ensuring the development of individuals and boosting education. However, Professor Yuan Xin of Nankai University's School of Economics said there is a growing disadvantage in terms of population size and migration, optimisation of human capital, “will finally become quiet”.
China's National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) will oversee all types of financial activities and eliminate "blind spots", according to the body's newly appointed party chief Li Yunze. She added that the regulator will serve the real economy, prevent financial risks and deepening financial reforms by introducing new regulatory rules. The NFRA was established as part of China's financial sector reform initiative, unveiled at the annual "two sessions" in March. The body aims to shore up financial security, and bring the supervision of banks, insurance companies and securities firms under one umbrella.
US President Joe Biden plans to unveil “substantial” new sanctions targeting hundreds of entities across Asia, Europe and the Middle East as part of a renewed push to end Moscow's war on Ukraine. Among the $300 sanctions will be individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft that help Russia skirt measures such as the blocking of Russian banks from the Swift financial messaging system, as well as future energy and extractive technical capabilities. While the senior White House official declined to specify the entities targeted in the upcoming sanctions, he did say "all G7 members are preparing to implement new sanctions and export controls".
As G7 leaders arrive in Japan, the group is expected to take a strong stance against China's use of trade as a tool to allow them to attack opponents and to threaten Taiwan. Beijing's campaigns using economic leverage against countries such as Japan, South Korea and Australia have won it few friends, however, analysts note that while Hong Kong is likely to be on the G7 agenda, the delegates may be hesitant to put too much pressure on Beijing. The G-7 summit will be followed by the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore where US allies are expected to push Washington to clarify its intentions in the South China Sea, following the US decision to sail a warship close to China's controversial artificial island-building activities and ahead of an international court ruling on China's vast territorial claims in the area. Pompeo is not attending, raising concerns that the machinery of US defence and foreign policy cannot quickly adjust to cope with the changes a Trump administration would bring.
Leaders from the world’s seven largest advanced economies are gathering in Japan for the G7 summit, but not China, the country responsible for a significant share of global growth. The leaders are expected to condemn China’s use of trade attacks against neighbours and also note China’s framing of the G7 as an outmoded, Western, order. Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has invited leaders from Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam and Comoros to the G7 meeting in an attempt to engage with countries that will be pivotal in determining China’s future role in global order.
Leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies (G7) have discussed how to build support for a “strong response to economic coercion” by China. Ahead of a summit in Hiroshima, US officials predicted a joint response from all countries, which will involve protecting technologies in areas of national security. The EU has also been seeking to create support for a strategy against economic coercion, to “derisk” rather than disconnect from, China. However, all seven members of the G7 require a positive relationship with the world’s second-largest economy. The US imported goods amounting to $537bn from China last year, while its businesses invested nearly $120bn in China. EU investments in China over the course of two decades amounted to over $140bn. In the face of criticisms from the US, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin argued that the US was the chief culprit in the coercion of China.
The UK semiconductor industry will receive £1bn ($1.38bn) of investment over the coming decade. The move is aimed at reducing the country's reliance on China for its technological advancement and comes against broader fears of Chinese tech firms' access to foreign data under President Xi Jinping’s new national security laws. The strategy will cover areas of design, research, and compound semiconductors, which are used in driverless vehicles and in future smartphones. The UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said almost every piece of electronic tech relies on semiconductors.
A Chinese comedian is under police investigation after an ad-libbed stand-up joke led to his management company being fined $2.1m by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and having its performances suspended in Beijing and Shanghai. Li Haoshi had compared his dogs chasing squirrels to the People’s Liberation Army motto, a comment that was deemed to have “hurt national feelings” and “damage national honour”. His employer has also terminated his contract. Stand-up comedy has grown in popularity in China, but the incident has fuelled concerns that the government is tightening censorship and increasing intolerance of dissent.
President Xi Jinping offered to help the five central Asian republics with their security and defense capabilities at the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit, held in the Chinese city of Xi’an. The summit was also used to discuss strengthening economic and energy ties with countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Increasingly powerful China is likely to become further involved in the quest for influence over the resource-rich republics, which all enjoyed a better trading relationship with China over Russia or the G7 bloc last year. Meanwhile, China is cementing its role as Russia's principal economic partner, enabling it to side-step Western sanctions relating to the crisis in Ukraine.
AstraZeneca's CEO for China, Wang Lei, has announced the company's intention to remain loyal to the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Speaking at an event in the city of Wuxi, Lei said AstraZeneca wanted to "build a local, transnational company that loves the Communist Party and loves the country." The statement is a rare show of commitment to Chinese communism by a foreign company and comes as AstraZeneca looks to strengthen its presence in the country by building a new $450m inhaler factory. China currently accounts for 13% of the global firm's total sales.
China says it will work for better solution of Zambia's debt issues
Reuters
23-05-19 07:52
The Chinese foreign ministry has stated that it takes Zambia's debt issues seriously and will work towards finding a solution together. This statement was made in response to Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema's desire to meet with President Xi Jinping to address the issue of Zambia's debt restructuring.
Employees of the US consultancy Mintz Group based in Hong Kong have left the region following a raid by Beijing police in March. The move was to ensure worker safety and due to the uncertainty regarding the investigation by Chinese police. Such company crackdowns have unnerved firms in Hong Kong, which are still trying to figure out red lines with authorities before China has plans to introduce new anti-espionage laws in July. This has led to companies' re-considering their dealings in China and Hong Kong, as some staff members relocated as a temporary measure to ensure their safety.
Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, is set to visit China for two days, where he will meet with President Xi Jinping, as both nations are increasing their diplomatic efforts to hold talks over the Ukraine war. The visit will also include a stop in Shanghai, where Mishustin will attend a bilateral business forum. The Russian delegation will include Herman Gref, CEO of Russia’s state-owned bank Sberbank, and Mikhail Oseevsky, CEO of telecoms provider Rostelecom, both of whom have been sanctioned by Western countries over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Local governments in China are being urged to make it easier for private enterprises to operate by creating a “continuous and stable policy environment” for start-ups. In a note posted on WeChat, officials from Luoyang, in Henan province, argued that frequent and unpredictable policy changes could deter business people from investing. They called for law enforcement to adopt a “soft approach” and handle minor offences by first “convincing” rather than punishing offenders. The city’s economy is dominated by manufacturing and the petrochemical, aluminium and oil industries. China’s central government has recently emphasised the need for an upswing in private economic activity to counterbalance a sluggish economy and revive property markets. However, the latest official data showed that first quarter investment in the state sector grew by 10%, compared to private sector fixed-asset investment, which saw growth of just 0.6%.
China's northeastern province, Jilin has been granted access to the Russian Port of Vladivostok, meaning the port becomes a domestic Chinese port for Jilin and goods will be shipped by rail or truck to the port with no tariffs incurred. Given Russia's current dependence on China as a trade lifeline, the agreement is indicative of deepening ties between Beijing and Moscow. However, poor infrastructure at the port and land checkpoints could curtail the effects of the agreement, with further cooperation required on both sides, analysts warned. The agreement shows Russia and China's efforts to strengthen the connectivity between the countries, they added.
