For listening while reading, we recommend the song ‘Fearless’ (‘Huo Yuanjia’ 霍元甲 ) by Jay Chou, linked to our People’s Life and Culture section.
Geopolitics
The European Union launched an “anti-subsidy investigation” to find out if Chinese new energy car companies benefit from state subsidies
The Commerce Ministry called the move “blatant protectionism,” and said that the industrial advantage of Chinese companies is not the product of “huge state subsidies” but of a concerted effort to “push the boundaries of innovation”; according to manufacturers, Chinese cars may be cheaper than those made in Europe, but they are sold at a much higher price than in China, sometimes even twice as much
The Ministry of State Security called on the population in the anti-spying campaign following the recent discovery of three US spies
The ministry provided information on how to avoid attacks on phones, and devices on its new WeChat account, and during the first class of the new semester, schools across the country offered a special class on identifying and increasing national security surveillance; this new campaign, especially aimed at detecting US spies, coincides with increasing interactions between senior Chinese and US officials
G77+China summit called for “comprehensive reform of the global financial architecture” and rejected unilateral sanctions
Li Xi, China’s special envoy for the summit held in Cuba, said that regardless of the stage of development reached, “China will always be part of the developing world and a member of the Global South”; China created a Global South-South Development and Cooperation Fund with a total financing of US$4 billion, and Chinese financial institutions will soon establish a special US$10 billion fund under the Global Development Initiative
National Politics
China wants to build a high-speed rail linking Taiwan to Fujian as part of “integrated cross-strait development”
The roadmap aims to turn Fujian, Taiwan’s neighboring mainland province, into a demonstration zone for integrated development including energy cooperation and linkage between the cities of Xiamen (Fujian) and Kinmen (Taiwan); China considers these proposals as models for advancing the process of peaceful reunification, but Taiwan rejected the plan as “wishful thinking”
For the first time, police arrested Evergrande employees after new default on payments to investors
On Saturday, China’s securities regulatory commission filed a case against Evergrande, the world’s most indebted real estate company, for alleged violations of disclosure rules; state-owned Haigang Life Insurance, which was set up recently, took over another Evergrande operation (its life insurance division) after years of insolvency
Economy
Retail sales grew by 4.6% (US$ 527.4 billion) and industrial production by 4.5% year-on-year in August
The Chinese economy showed a notable improvement in August, exceeding expectations and bringing the country closer to its annual growth target, although imports and exports as well as foreign investment and investment in the real estate market continue to fall; the improvement is due, among other factors, to active government measures, such as the 25% cut in banks’ reserve requirements and the stimulus to foreign investment
Agriculture and Environment
China’s food trade with the New Silk Road countries increased 162% compared to 10 years ago when the initiative began
During this period, China cooperated on customs inspection and quarantine with 171 countries and regions, and signed nearly 400 international cooperation agreements on access for agricultural and food products; in the first eight months of this year, China’s trade in food products with the countries of the Belt and Road Initiative reached 553.82 billion yuan (US$76.1 billion), an increase of 10.4% year-on-year
China’s soybean imports in the period 2022/23 (October-September) reached a new record of 100 million tons
According to a US Department of Agriculture report, total imports to date are up 10% year-over-year, with the United States capturing about 40% of that growth; China also sources competitively priced soybeans from Argentina and Brazil, where imports are expected to increase in the coming year, while those from the United States are expected to decline
People’s Life and Culture
Online influencers targeting China’s older population has sparked debates about the vulnerabilities of elders in a digital age
Xiu Cai, a popular influencer among elderly women in small cities, had his account shut down on 2 September and is undergoing a tax investigation, sparking online discussions about emotional support for lonely elders (100 million live alone) who are susceptible to online marketing, scams, and false content
Huo Yuanjia, the martial arts fighter who inspired Chinese patriotism at the end of the 20th century, continues to live on through the Jingwu school
Huo is remembered as a patriot who fought for the dignity of the nation and a celebrity with strong connections to Sun Yat-sen, and his life has been portrayed in multiple films; he challenged a Russian fighter first and an English fighter later, both of whom had boasted of their powers and underestimated Chinese martial arts, but both gave up before fighting
Jet Li plays Huo Yuanjia, in the 2001 film of the same name (in English, Fearless).
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