Day: October 11, 2023

Beijing fund buys China bank shares in show of support for stock market

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. A Beijing-backed fund has increased its shareholdings in China’s four biggest banks, spurring hopes for further moves to boost sentiment towards the country’s ailing stock market. The state-controlled Central Huijin fund invested more than Rmb477mn ($63mn) in China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China. Shares in the four lenders gained on Thursday, with those in CCB — the country’s second-largest…

EU top diplomat Borrell talks Russia, Taiwan and de-risking

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My first objective is to reaffirm to my Chinese interlocutors that Europe takes China seriously and has no hidden agenda aiming at derailing its rise. At the same time, we expect from China to take us more seriously and stop looking at us through the lens of its relations with others. Our assessment and conduct is driven by our own interests. My message to my Chinese colleagues will be that the war in Ukraine has transformed us. It helped us move from the position of an economic power to a…

Israel-Hamas war: China’s Middle East envoy tells Palestinian official that ceasefire is ‘top priority’

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China stepped up its diplomatic efforts over the Israel-Hamas conflict on Wednesday, reaching out to the Palestinian Authority in a bid to facilitate a ceasefire. Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy for Middle East affairs, spoke by phone with Amal Jadou, first deputy minister of Palestinian foreign affairs, according to the Chinese foreign ministry. “The top priority now is an immediate ceasefire and protection of civilians,” Zhai said. He also called on the international community to work together for a de-escalation of the violence and to provide Palestinians with humanitarian aid.…

South China Sea: only diplomacy can avert open China-Philippines conflict

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“I thought the Philippines was the friend of China,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr reportedly said during a spirited exchange earlier this year with China’s envoy in Manila amid rising tensions in the South China Sea. In public, the Filipino president has expressed a similar mixture of exasperation and bafflement. “I don’t understand why this happened,” Marcos complained shortly after the Philippine Coast Guard decided to cut a floating barrier installed by Chinese counterparts around the disputed Scarborough Shoal. While expressing perplexity, Marcos has also taken an increasingly uncompromising stance…

Antisemitic Comments Flood China’s Censored Internet After Hamas Attack

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WASHINGTON —  Antisemitic remarks have flooded China’s heavily censored online platforms and the Israeli government’s Chinese social media accounts since the Hamas attacks on Israel. Scores of online Chinese commentators and netizens quickly rallied for Gaza after the Hamas attacks began Oct. 7, accusing Israel of oppressing Palestinians for decades and saying Israel deserves the bloodshed. “In the past, Germany persecuted you. Now, you persecute Palestinians. In this world, do not force others to the corner because you would only be digging your own grave,” wrote Ziwu Xiashi, one of…

Neil Shen plots global expansion for Sequoia’s China spin off

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Chinese venture capital giant HongShan, which announced its split from Sequoia Capital this year, is establishing a global footprint as a slowdown in the domestic economy pushes it overseas. Neil Shen, the group’s founding partner, who led Sequoia’s China business for 18 years until it was forced to separate under political pressure in June, is seeking business opportunities and investments worldwide to benefit HongShan’s Chinese portfolio companies, according to seven…

HongShan plots global expansion after split with Sequoia Capital

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Chinese venture capital giant HongShan, which announced its split from Sequoia Capital this year, is establishing a global footprint as a slowdown in the domestic economy pushes it overseas. Neil Shen, the group’s founding partner, who led Sequoia’s China business for 18 years until it was forced to separate under political pressure in June, is seeking business opportunities and investments worldwide to benefit HongShan’s Chinese portfolio companies, according to seven…

China looks to Malaysia to satisfy national durian craving as import talks accelerate

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Chinese and Malaysian officials are in talks about opening the former country’s enormous market to exports of the latter’s fresh durians, as appetites grow for the famously pungent tropical fruits. Chan Foong Hin, Malaysia’s deputy minister of agriculture and food security, said via Facebook on Monday that his department met a Chinese customs delegation in Malaysia on October 5 and signed a six-point statement covering durians. “The Chinese side agrees to speed up its risk assessment of Malaysian fresh durian, and both sides will cooperate on promoting quarantine inspection work,”…

Palau’s President Wonders if US Is Committed to Promised Deal

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The Republic of Palau is one of three Pacific Island nations negotiating a Compact of Free Association Agreement that would give Washington the right to deny access to other nations — including China — in exchange for U.S. economic assistance. Palau is in line to receive $90 million if and when Congress approves an extension of its current 20-year compact, which expires next year. The country ran on a total budget of less than $150 million in fiscal year 2021, according to Palau government documents. VOA spoke to Palau’s President…

Goldman sues Malaysia over 1MDB settlement

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Goldman Sachs said it has sued the government of Malaysia over disputed payments the Wall Street bank argued are not being recognised as part of its 2020 settlement over the 1MDB money-laundering scandal. The complaint marks the latest chapter in Goldman’s role in the multibillion-dollar embezzlement scheme involving Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB, one of the largest financial crimes of all time and the most painful experience in Goldman’s recent…