Day: July 31, 2023

Wife Seeks Release of Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Arrested in Laos

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WASHINGTON —  Zhang Chunxiao, the wife of Chinese rights lawyer Lu Siwei, is calling for the release of her husband, who was arrested in Laos Friday morning while boarding a train for Thailand. Zhang told VOA Mandarin on Monday that Lu had been transferred from a local Vientiane immigration office to Laos’ national immigration department. She said in Lu’s last message to her on Friday night, he said three police officers were with him to take him away, and he might not be able to message her again. Peter Dahlin,…

Why China’s students now face a longer long march to join the Communist Party

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Yet the long march of Wu and his future comrades is becoming more difficult. They have been facing a stricter political review in the past few years, according to party committee instruction documents on the websites of various Chinese universities. Visitors to the Museum of the Communist Party of China pose for photos holding party flags. There is no shortage of people applying to join the Communist Party, despite a stricter screening process. Photo: AP In Xi’s keynote speech to the party’s disciplinary apparatus in January, he told anti-corruption watchdogs…

The factories on the front line of China’s economic slowdown

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Receive free Chinese business & finance updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Chinese business & finance news every morning. From slowing global demand to rising geopolitical tensions and a tentative post-Covid recovery, China’s manufacturers are facing some of the strongest headwinds in years. The tale of three factories — spanning footwear and electronics — illustrates how manufacturers are experiencing a slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy. Factory activity, one of the main pillars of economic growth through the pandemic, has slowed for four…

China’s overseas investment in metals and mining set to hit record

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Receive free Belt and Road Initiative updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Belt and Road Initiative news every morning. China’s metals and mining investments overseas are on track to hit a record this year, new data shows, as the country races to secure resources to defend its position as the world’s biggest producer of electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels and wind turbines. In the first half of this year, Chinese investments and new contracts in the mining and metals sector topped $10bn, according to…

Why Nissan’s woes in China are not just about electric vehicles

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Receive free Electric vehicles updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Electric vehicles news every morning. Last week, as Nissan finally reached a historic deal with Renault to reset their troubled alliance, the subtext was clear. The Japanese electric vehicle pioneer is facing an existential crisis in China, and this is no time for infighting. Global auto giants, including Japanese carmakers, have been caught badly off-guard by the rapid shift away from the internal combustion engine and the rise of China’s homegrown electric vehicles…

Argentina strikes deal with People’s Bank of China to secure US$1.7 billion in yuan for IMF debt

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The deal represents another step in the South American country’s wider usage of China’s currency following its decision in June to allow commercial banks to open customer accounts in yuan. Also this year, Argentina’s securities regulator approved the issuance of yuan-denominated securities in the local market. A government source familiar with the matter told the Post that the swap was expected to be a short-term debt repaid with reserves, with China’s involvement possibly serving as “a temporary bridge” until the funds committed by the IMF arrive. Advertisement Neither the duration…

FirstFT: Xi replaces missing generals in China’s missile forces

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Receive free Chinese military updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Chinese military news every morning. Good morning. China’s leader Xi Jinping has replaced the two missing generals who had been commanding its missile forces, in effect confirming the largest purge at the top levels of the military in a decade. General Li Yuchao, commander of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, and his deputy General Liu Guangbin disappeared from public view several months ago amid what foreign experts and intelligence officials say is…

Bangladesh wants UNHCR to pay $7M for transfers of imported vehicles

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In a move that could disrupt humanitarian aid to Rohingya, Bangladesh has frozen UNHCR’s import license and accused it of irregularities after the U.N. refugee agency brought in dozens of vehicles duty-free, according to a letter reviewed by BenarNews. In the letter dated June 21, the government’s customs department stated it would not release imported goods destined for UNHCR until the U.N. agency paid US$7 million for alleged irregularities in the vehicles’ transfers. The letter was signed by Md. Abdul Hannan, deputy commissioner of the National Board of Revenue, which…

Is China in danger of Japanification? What can Beijing’s policymakers do to avoid lost decades?

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Deteriorating finances, particularly in its poorest provinces, have raised the spectre of a looming local government debt crisis in China. “[The comparison with Japan] offers an interesting but not necessarily complete template of what might happen to China during the next five to 10 years,” said George Magnus, a research associate at Oxford University’s China Centre. Advertisement The key lesson for China, analysts said, is not to repeat the same mistakes that Japanese policymakers made in the 90s. The Bank of Japan was slow to make interest rate cuts, while…