Dear readers,
Next week is the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Holiday. So, we will be back with our newsletter in the second week of October.
Geopolitics
Syria and China elevate relationship to “strategic partnership”, in first visit of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after almost 20 years
China expressed that illegal unilateral sanctions against Syria should be lifted, and that it opposes the illegal military presence and illegal plundering of the country’s natural resources. Xi stated that China will help rebuild Syria’s economy through the Belt and Road Initiative, which the Middle Eastern country joined in 2022
Mexico increases import tariffs from 5 to 25% that apply to almost 90% of Chinese exports to the country
The change affects 392 imports from countries with which Mexico does not have a free trade agreement. To circumvent US trade restrictions, some Chinese companies have transferred their factories to Mexico; experts say that China should increase investments in the Latin American country and in Vietnam, as their importance grows for Beijing.
National Politics
China explores the creation of new technologies to circumvent sanctions imposed by the US and allies on lithography machines to produce semiconductors
Researchers at Tsinghua University aim to build a particle accelerator with a circumference of 100 to 150 meters to create a new laser source for various lithography machines. The approach is different from that of the global leader, Dutch company ASML, which prioritizes smaller chip production machines to be able to export.
The government is asking state-owned companies and provincial governments to pay debts owed to private companies to strengthen economic recovery and increase market confidence
The campaign is part of the intensification of support for the private sector, which will also include the creation of a government agency dedicated to developing the private economy. Arrears owed to small and medium-sized enterprises by large companies, local governments, and other entities reached at least 6.7 billion yuan (USD 104 billion) in 2021.
Economy
Increased sanctions against China could leave the US economy vulnerable, especially in defense and basic infrastructure areas
The US does not have the factories or skilled labor to replace Chinese imports. The North American country imported USD 33 billion in capital goods from China for electricity generation and distribution in 2022, items that are no longer manufactured in the US. One of the country’s largest defense contractors, Raytheon, says it has several thousand suppliers in China and that “disassociation” is impossible.
In spite of Germany joining the “risk reduction” strategy, its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in China almost reached record levels in the first half of the year
German FDI in China was EUR 10.31 billion in the period, just below the record EUR 12 billion year-on-year comparison, rising from 11.6% in 2022 to 16.4% in the first half of 2023. Most of Germany’s FDI was the reinvestment of profits earned (EUR 8.5 billion), indicating that companies are doubling down in the country.
Agriculture and Environment
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) plans to triple annual loans for climate change projects by 2030
In eight years, the bank’s climate financing will increase from USD 2.6 billion to around USD 7-8 billion, representing more than half of the entity’s funds. In addition to mitigation, AIIB will focus on creating infrastructure resilience to combat the next 3-4 decades of temperature increases.
People’s Life and Culture
After a one-year delay due to COVID-19, the Asian Games were inaugurated in Hangzhou with 80,000 spectators
The 19th edition of the games features 12,500 athletes from 45 countries and territories competing in 42 sports, including original Asian sports such as Kabaddi, Sepak Takraw, and Wǔshù. China, which has led the medal table in the last 10 editions, is participating with 886 athletes, including 36 Olympic champions such as swimmer Zhāng Yǔfēi.
Chinese documentary about the lives of “comfort women” debuts at a Japanese film festival, as youth help to carry on the history
In 1930-1940s wartime, an estimated 400,000 women from China, the Korean Peninsula, and Southeast Asia were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military. In 2014, the documentary by Guo Ke told the story of 22 surviving Chinese victims; today only one woman survives.
Link to film (with English subtitles)
The province of Chengdu inaugurates an international film and series award with the theme: A Community with a Shared Future for Humanity
The Panda Awards received 7,000 entries from 104 countries and regions and awarded 25 prizes in four categories: films, series, animations, and documentaries. Zhang Yongxin won the Best Director award in the television drama category for The Age of Awakening, a series about the history of how the Communist Party of China was founded in 1921.
The final torchbearers Wang Shun and the digital torchbearer light the main torch at the 19th Asian Games opening ceremony in Hangzhou – Gao Erqiang | China Daily
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