China Analysis Digest

Publications from September 23-30, 2021

China Analysis Digest is a weekly published list of new China-related analyses.

Issue: 2021/31

• Date range: September 23-30, 2021

• Sources scanned: 86

• Content: 241 publications from 50 sources

• Download raw data (.csv)

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Recommended Reading

Australia Took On China. Did It Get It Right?

Chris Buckley and Damien Cave | New York Times | September 27, 2021

Buckley and Cave tell the story of the negative knock-on effects of Australia’s sharp turn in policy and tone on China, including continued undue suspicion of Chinese-Australians, the stigmatisation of normal connections with the PRC, and the overriding of liberal values by security concerns: “New broad-brush laws to counter Chinese government influence have put Australia’s growing ethnic Chinese population under a pall of suspicion, leaving many fearful of discussing the topic, even with relatives. Seemingly benign foreign interactions — not just with China — have been snarled by red tape and ill-focused information collection aimed at combating underhand interference.” Over the last couple of years, Yun and I along with others have repeatedly raised alarm over this. For us, Australia is not a farsighted vanguard when it comes to China; rather, Australia’s experience is a cautionary lesson. (1666 words)

Toward Common Prosperity: Better Market Mechanisms and A More Functional Government

ZENG Zheng | China Finance 40 Forum | September 28, 2021

Zeng is the Director of the Market Economy and Competition Policy Research Institute at the National Development and Reform Commission. In this article, he explains the underlying economic logic of the “common prosperity” concept: “Market-driven increase in productivity is the main source for income growth. However, the market has many defects including imperfect competition, information asymmetry, varied factor endowments and externalities that stem appropriate income distribution and thus hinder progress toward common prosperity. To address market failures requires the government to play its due roles in terms of competition, resource allocation, redistribution and public goods provision. Better market mechanisms and a more functional market are both indispensable to achieving common prosperity.” (2787 words)

Volatility in Chinese Power Supply

David Fishman | Lantau Group | September 28, 2021

Fisherman explains the drivers of the current state of power cuts and power rationing across 19 provinces in China: “1. There exists a shortfall of power supply in some provinces due to coal generators unwilling to operate in the face of expensive fuel coal prices and no mechanism for cost recovery. 2. Some provinces are off-track for meeting their annual energy control objectives for energy consumption and energy intensity (called the “dual-control” objectives for short) and have adopted power rationing as a short-term measure to get back on track for those objectives. 3. There is a fundamental capacity undersupply in some provinces i.e., local demand exceeds local available capacity, or the region was dependent on imports that have become unavailable due to one of the first two reasons.” (2502 words)

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Full List

Made in China Journal:

• The Final Sheathing of La Cuarta Espada

MacroPolo:

• Eye on Indonesian Tech: Where US and Chinese Companies Vie for Market Power and Soft Power

War on the Rocks:

• The U.S.-Australian Alliance Needs a Strategy to Deter China’s Gray-Zone Coercion

Lawfare:

• India, the Quad and AUKUS

China Brief:

• Xi Facing Opposition on Different Fronts in Run-Up to Key Party Plenum

• Evidence of the Chinese Central Government’s Knowledge of and Involvement in Xinjiang’s Re-Education Internment Campaign

• Beijing’s Growing Influence on the Global Undersea Cable Network

• Divide, Depoliticize, and Demobilize: China’s Strategies for Controlling the Tibetan Diaspora

Project Syndicate:

• China's Housing Conundrum

• China's Risky Business Crackdown

• America's Losing China Strategy

• Connecting the Dots in China

• Preventing an Evergrande Confidence Crisis in China

• The Right War for the US and China

• Carbon Neutrality with Chinese Characteristics

The Atlantic:

• The People With the Most to Lose in a U.S.-China Cold War

Monkey Cage:

• Would China’s move to join this transpacific trade pact push the U.S. to rejoin? It’s complicated.

Australian Financial Review:

• China’s trade bid a chance to mend fences

Lowy Interpreter:

• China’s declining Pacific aid presence

• Australia’s real leverage in China’s CPTTP bid

• Economic diplomacy: After AUKUS in trade, aid and technology

• Can the China model be accommodated in the CPTPP?

East Asia Forum:

• An airlift capability to match China’s strategic ambitions

• China will have to learn to live with COVID-19 too

• China won’t open up after lockdown anytime soon

• China’s reluctant Taliban embrace

• The Indo-Pacific, the Quad and the reality of Chinese power

• China’s growing cooperation with BIMP-EAGA

The Strategist:

• How to respond to China’s bid to join the CPTPP

ChinaFile:

• How Could the U.S. Deter Military Conflict in the Taiwan Strait?

• ‘China’s Search for a Modern Identity Has Entered a New and Perilous Phase’

Sixth Tone:

• The 24-Year-Old Master In (Old School) Communication

• China to Stop Building New Coal Power Projects Overseas

• China’s Hottest Social Media Accessory Is Best Served Cold

• The Woman Who Became a Goddess

• Taking to the Streets to Teach China’s Gay Migrants About Safe Sex

• Breathing New Life Into the Jebum-Gang Temple

• A Woman’s Quest for Motherhood. A Cross-Border Trade in Babies.

• How the World’s Oldest Artwork Was Uncovered in Tibet

China Digital Times:

• Chinese Government Seized and Sold Assets of Xinjiang Detainees

• Minitrue: Welcome Home, Meng Wanzhou; Water Down Coverage of Deal With U.S. Justice Department

• Netizen Voices: Coal Costs, Climate Commitments and Competing Priorities Inform China’s Latest Power Outages

• China Bans Cryptocurrency Transactions and Mining

• #MeToo Activist Huang Xueqin and Labor Activist Wang Jianbing Are Missing, Feared Detained

• Hong Kong’s Expansive National Security Law Swallows Activists, Bail Requests, and M&Ms

• Translation: Blogger Huang Zhijie Returns After Six-month Disappearance

Quartz:

• A Chinese city cited Covid-zero policy to justify euthanizing three Covid-positive cats

• China’s crypto ban could free up more energy than Finland uses in a year

• Evergrande, Ever Given: Why are so many Chinese-language brands prefixed “Ever”?

• The return of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou has become a nationalist moment for China

• China’s latest crypto crackdown is its toughest yet

• Evergrande has missed some of its key bond payments. Now what?

• China is finally ready to test out its state crude oil reserves

Politico China Watcher:

• Xi Jinping’s global vision

Politico China Direct:

• Deeper than subs — Coal war — Mind your phone

The Wire China:

• Wang Xiangwei on Why He’s Optimistic About the U.S.-China Relationship

• Italy’s Drone Drama

• The Diary Duel

• The Right War for the U.S. and China

• ‘Common Prosperity’ or Populist PR Stunts?

SupChina:

• Zhoushan: Britain’s forgotten (and first?) colony in China

• How China’s energy crisis happened, in six steps

• Harbin officials face backlash for putting down COVID positive cats

• The three causes of China’s power outages

• Chinese steampunk: The art of reviving dead insects

• China vows to reduce ‘medically unnecessary’ abortions — allegedly for the benefit of women

• China gives hero’s welcome to Meng Wanzhou, freed in apparent prisoner swap with Canadian hostages

• Strict COVID rules expected for Beijing Winter Olympics

• Taiwan court rules against surgery requirement for legal gender change

• Is animated hero Ultraman too violent for kids in China?

• Chinese investors pile into ‘metaverse,’ despite official warnings

• One Second: Zhang Yimou’s ‘love letter to cinema’

• Ahead of chair election, a critical moment for Taiwan’s KMT

• China opposes U.S. sanctions on Ethiopia and Afghanistan as humanitarian crises worsen

• Too much work and not enough sex threatens China’s new population plans

• What the U.S. got out of China engagement through the S&ED

Congressional Research Service:

• IN11760| China and Taiwan Both Seek to Join the CPTPP

Center for Strategic and International Studies:

• Beijing Suffers Major Loss from Its Hostage Diplomacy

• The Quad’s Strategic Infrastructure Play

• China’s Commitment to Stop Overseas Financing of New Coal Plants in Perspective

Center for Advanced China Research:

• Party Watch Weekly Report 4|43 9.18.2021-9.24.2021

MERICS:

• China’s social credit system is actually quite boring

• EU-China trade – leveling the playing field at last?

• Max J. Zenglein on the Evergrande crisis

• Transatlantic cooperation on China hits choppy waters

• AUKUS + Hong Kong + Evergrande

Center for Security and Emerging Technology:

• Robot Hacking Games

• AI Education in China and the United States

• Education in China and the United States

Brookings Institution:

• US economic statecraft adrift as China seeks to join mega Asian trade deal

• China’s “digital natives”: How the post-’90s generation is transforming the country

• How China harnesses data fusion to make sense of surveillance data

Australia-China Relations Institute:

• Assessing the risks from Australia's economic exposure to China

• Perspectives | How committed is the PRC to climate change mitigation?

• Perspectives | Meeting the PRC challenge to academic freedom

Observer Research Foundation:

• China’s naval expansion and the challenges for India

• Evergrande and Xi’s grand vision

• Can the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation make a long-term difference in Afghanistan?

• What does Sri Lanka’s defence of China’s record at UNHRC entail?

• India is not a bystander in the AUKUS saga

The Conversation:

• How the pandemic has changed China’s economy – perhaps for good

• China’s problem with property: the domino effect of Evergrande’s huge debts

• China: removing ‘Arab-style’ features from country’s biggest mosques the latest move in campaign of Muslim assimilation

• China will no longer build overseas coal power plants – what energy projects will it invest in instead?

• Meng and the two Michaels: Why China’s hostage diplomacy failed

• New drives to counter China come with a major risk: throwing fuel on the Indo-Pacific arms race

• Meng for the two Michaels: Lessons for the world from the China-Canada prisoner swap

• With vision of a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’, Quad leaders send a clear signal to China

• China: #MeToo, inequality, harassment and sexual politics in the workplace

• Why the Australia-France submarine deal collapse was predictable

• After AUKUS, Russia sees a potential threat — and an opportunity to market its own submarines

• Why have Canada and Australia taken such a different approach to China?

• New drives to counter China come with a major risk: throwing fuel on the Indo-Pacific arms race

The Diplomat:

• Coal Shortages Force Blackouts Across China

• Right Thinking and Self-Criticisms: Military Modernization With Chinese Communist Characteristics

• Western Investors Are Divided on Buying Chinese Assets, With Good Reason

• Global Gateway: The EU Alternative to China’s BRI

• Sydney Think Tank Says China Less Generous Toward Pacific

• The Philippines’ ‘Angels of the Sea’: Calculated Strategy or Gendered Ploy?

• The PLA’s New Generals: Security Implications

• China: 2 Canadians in Prisoner Swap Freed for Health Reasons

• The SEC’s New Auditing Policies Spell Trouble for Chinese Firms

• Southeast Asia Faces Narrow Window to Tackle Endangered Wildlife Trade

• Huawei Executive Resolves Criminal Charges in Deal With US

• The Resilience of East Asia’s LGBTQ Community

• The Northern Mariana Islands: US Territory, China-Dependent

• China Courts Vietnam With More COVID-19 Vaccines, Mistrust Remains

• China Aiding Myanmar Armed Groups in Their COVID-19 Fight

• Star General Chang Dingqiu Takes Command of China’s Air Force

• Protecting Indonesia’s Sovereignty in the North Natuna Sea

• China’s ‘Common Prosperity’: The Maoism of Xi Jinping

• China’s Xi, Like Biden Hours Earlier, Turns to Calm Language in UN Remarks

• Where Does the KMT Go From Here?

• Eric Chu Wins KMT Chair Election

• Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy Needs to Focus More on India

• Diplomacy Under Different Rules: How an NGO Dictates American Diplomacy in Taiwan

• Taiwan Applies for CPTPP Membership

Foreign Policy:

• Evergrande Is a Convenient Villain for Xi

• China’s Property Sector Has Bigger Problems Than Evergrande

• Western Expats Are No Longer Safe in China

• Afghanistan Is No Treasure Trove for China

• Why Xi’s Coal Pledge Is a Big Deal

• Why Southeast Asia Should Welcome AUKUS

• Another Win for China’s Hostage Diplomacy

• China Is Choking Civil Society at the United Nations

• China Is a Declining Power—and That’s the Problem

• China Has Only Itself to Blame for AUKUS

• Will AUKUS Hit China Where It Hurts?

• Hong Kong’s National Security Promises Were All Hollow

• AUKUS, the Quad, and India’s Strategic Pivot

ThinkChina:

• Be present but don't fight with China: Can the Quad fulfill this tall order from ASEAN?

• A mountain to climb: New KMT leader Eric Chu and his hope for peaceful cross-strait relations

• China has conducted an enthusiastic vaccine outreach in Malaysia. Can the US buck up?

• With AUKUS, Southeast Asia may become a more intense battleground

• Canada the biggest loser in Meng Wanzhou saga?

• Indonesian academic: China’s recent foray into the North Natuna Sea is problematic

• How will the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election affect Japan's China policy?

• Mainland China and Taiwan: The political hot potato of their CPTPP bids

• AUKUS: Aggravating tensions and dividing the world

• How can China benefit from the CPTPP?

• How increased wealth affects Chinese foreign buyers' housing consumption in Singapore

• Covid-19 pandemic: Supply chain disruptions in Southeast Asia affecting Japan and the world

• China joining the CPTPP: It's a matter of time

• Universal Studios Beijing: With 5,000 years of culture, can China create its own theme park?

• Rape accusations in China: When wives protect their errant husbands

National People's Congress Observer:

• NPCSC Session Watch: Antitrust, Telecom Fraud, Agriculture, Local Governance, Reform Pilots & More

What's on Weibo:

• Meng Wanzhou “Back to the Motherland,” Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor Return to Canada

Chaoyang Trap House:

• S02 Episode 1: Between ROC and a Hard Place

ChinaTalk:

• Explaining Evergrande

Pekingnology:

• Comprehensive Q&A on China's power supply, electricity rationing, etc.

• China National Nuclear Power appeals for bigger role in carbon neutrality

• Huawei founder's farewell remarks to Honor

Tracking People's Daily:

• Part II: Xi Thought Q&A Series: The Full Collection

• Xi's Talent Agenda - Martyrs & Heroes - Prosperity Journey White Paper - Defending Anti-Monopoly Policies - 'Cross-Strait Situation Remains Grim'

• Xuānyán Article: Xi's 20th Party Congress Pitch - Xi Thought: Democratic Centralism's the System, but Xi's the Maestro - Integrating Socialist Values with Rule of Law - Quad Reaction

• Meng Return Commentary - Xi on 1992 Consensus - Inspection of Financial Institutions - Xi & Liu on Wuzhen Conference - Xuānyán Article - Xi Thought: Why Xi Deserves to be the 'Core' & Two Safeguards

• San Nong Focus - Wang Yi on Afghanistan - Qin Gang on Ideological Confrontation - P5 FMs Meet - Xi Thought: Party is Mìng Mén, But Xi's Rule Unlike Mao's & Constituents of Party Leadership System

• New Infrastructure Development Plan - IPR Guidelines - Rural Rejuvenation - Xi Thought: BRI & Emphasising Importance of Party Leadership - China-Pak-Russia Envoys in Afghanistan

Eye on China:

• Quad Summit & Reactions - Meng Wanzhou Returns - India-China Disconnect - Xi's UNGA Speech - Evergrande Crisis - A New Red Deal? - IPR Guideline - Backing Taliban - 10th CPEC JCC - AmCham Survey

Takshashila PLA Insight:

• China-India: New Chief for XMD, Cyber activities in India, Doklam; Taiwan; US Gen called his Chinese Counterpart to Avert Conflict; PLA Promotions

Beijing to Britain:

• NEW PAPER: The UK and China: Next Steps [China Research Group] A literature review

• Johnson in the States, banks in the crosshairs, AI, Hong Kong A briefing

• NEW REPORT: ESG, China & Human Rights - why the time has come for investors to react [Hong Kong Watch] A Report Review

China Research Group:

• The UK and China: Next Steps

China Dialogue:

• ‘CBAM’ carbon levy will only hit a fraction of Chinese exports to EU

• 1972: The start of China’s environmental journey

Lausan:

• What the global labor movement can learn from the repression of Hong Kong unions

Hong Kong Free Press:

• Beijing’s pressure on Hong Kong tycoons may well be a miscalculation

• The M&Ms threat to China: Why Hong Kong authorities’ paranoia over political prisoners is not a good look

Taiwan Insight:

• From Taiwan to Macau in 16 Years: A Domestic Worker’s Migration Biography

• Synergies Between Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy and Biden’s Free and Open Indio-Pacific Strategy

• The International Community Should Follow the U.S. by Referring to Taiwan’s Missions Abroad as the “Taiwan Representative Office”

• COVID-19 Ushered in a New Era of Urban Governance in Taiwan

爱思想:

• 会社、社会与国家

• 从全球转型看中美俄关系与欧亚秩序构建

• 鲁迅路口

• 新时代中美关系的发展趋势

• 王明与新民主主义

• 透视画、卷轴画与人生

• 但愿人长久，千里共同途

• 十大因素影响“毫不动摇”——中国经济发展未来走势

• 通古今之变的漫漫长路——追怀王家范教授

• 位置何以成为隐私？

• 鲁镇苦人论 —— 从孔乙己到祥林嫂

• 四八 你喜欢哪个女孩子

• 疫情对中国经济前景的影响

• 转型政府与行政法治

• 新疆的人口发展

• 中国共产党建党初期的人权话语及其变迁

• 我与于光远同志

• 个人信息保护的“同意”困境及其出路

• “个人的整合”与“传统的整体”

• 意识分析的两种基本形态——兼论通向超越论—发生现象学的莱布尼茨道路

中国现代国际关系研究院

• 中国积极推动阿富汗问题的和平解决

• 9.11事件20周年：“反恐战争”已结束，但恐怖主义未终结

中央党史和文献研究院

• 从百年党史中汲取党史学科发展的智慧（构建中国特色哲学社会科学）

• 修好共产党人的“心学”

• 新中国经济社会建设的伟大成就与深刻启示（人民要论）

• 全面贯彻新时代人才工作新理念新战略新举措

• 迈向中华民族伟大复兴的关键一步

• 全人类共同价值与构建人类命运共同体

• 我们怎样才能继续成功

• 继承发扬伟大建党精神（庆祝中国共产党成立100周年专论）

• 以伟大建党精神引领新的赶考之路

• 中国共产党与中国道路

• 始终把人民利益放在最高位置

• 我们为什么能够成功

• 深刻把握伟大号召的丰富内涵

• 沿着共同富裕的康庄大道开拓前进

习近平系列重要讲话数据库

• 习近平在中共中央政治局第三十三次集体学习时强调 加强国家生物安全风险防控和治理体系建设 提高国家生物安全治理能力

• 深入实施新时代人才强国战略 加快建设世界重要人才中心和创新高地

• 烈士纪念日向人民英雄敬献花篮仪式9月30日上午举行

• 习近平在中央人才工作会议上强调 深入实施新时代人才强国战略 加快建设世界重要人才中心和创新高地 李克强主持 栗战书汪洋赵乐际韩正出席 王沪宁讲话

• 习近平向2021年世界互联网大会乌镇峰会致贺信

• 中共中央总书记习近平电贺朱立伦当选中国国民党主席

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