The UK’s approach to China is “beset by incoherence” and plagued by a lack of senior expertise, according to a report warning of the risks inherent in misjudging the bilateral relationship. An audit by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), an international grouping of China-sceptic legislators, says past engagement with Beijing has often exposed the UK to the risks of interference without delivering the opportunities promised. “Successful UK engagement with China must always be framed by an understanding that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) is an inherently hostile authoritarian…
Tag: World news
Excluding UK from ‘Made in Europe’ law will hurt entire EU car industry, Mercedes boss warns
Locking the UK out of the EU’s flagship industrial “Made in Europe” legislation would amount to a “deliberate choice” by EU leaders to “hurt” the car industry across the bloc, the head of Mercedes-Benz has said. Speaking in his capacity as president of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Ola Källenius said such a move would “weaken the industry on both sides”. He was speaking just weeks before political leaders hope to reach agreement on the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), potentially keeping the UK car industry out of key contracts…
Graduate student accused of poisoning colleague and trying to flee to China arrested at LAX
A Wyoming microbiology graduate student from China has been arrested on accusations she poisoned the tea of a colleague who had pending patents and with whom she did not get along, then tried to flee the country after police questioned her. Aili Wang, 32, was arrested 6 October at Los Angeles international airport, where prosecutors allege she sought to return to China. With her were laptops, electronic storage devices and documents now in the possession of police, who allege Wang was seen on surveillance video rummaging through the desk of…
It’s My Time review – Michelle Yeoh excels in Rocky-style quest to be Rubik’s Cube champ
It’s not quite up there with Leonardo DiCaprio eating raw bison liver to get into character, but Michelle Yeoh reportedly spent two years learning the Rubik’s Cube to prepare for this Chinese drama in which she plays a real-life former maths teacher who became a champion in retirement. The true story is stretched and squeezed here, fictionalised to fit sports-movie formula; it ends up being so-so entertaining and funny in places, but disappointingly predictable. The biggest surprise is that cubing is so popular it has its own world championship. Still,…
Stellantis and Renault back UK to get EU car industry protection
Stellantis and Renault have backed the UK car industry for inclusion in proposed rules to protect EU industry, but urged the British government to consider limiting imports of Chinese cars. Emanuele Cappellano, who leads Stellantis’s European brands including Fiat, Citroën, Opel and Vauxhall, and François Provost, the chief executive of France’s Renault, said the UK should effectively be counted as one of the EU’s 27 member states for the purposes of the proposed “Made in Europe” legislation. The new rules aim to ensure EU subsidies and government procurement benefits Europe’s…
Volkswagen boss backs EU plan to bolster domestic European industry
The boss of Volkswagen has backed EU proposals to boost its domestic industry, arguing European carmakers need to be able to “compete under comparable conditions” with Chinese rivals. Oliver Blume said “Made in Europe” rules from the EU “must reward real value creation in Europe”, speaking in Paris before the motor show this week. The rules are aimed at countering the rapid rise of Chinese brands in Europe in the automotive sector and other important manufacturing industries. Lower-priced Chinese manufacturers have prompted a crisis in several industries. Volkswagen is among…
China agrees to ‘halve’ hybrid car exports to EU in landmark deal
The EU said it has reached a landmark deal with China to “halve” its sales of hybrid cars in the bloc amid fears surging sales could kill off parts of the European car industry. Trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said the deal was the first of its kind and the result of “intense” negotiations with China since June to curb a trade deficit of €1.18bn (£1bn) a day, which has caused mounting tensions between the two economic powers. The deal “opens the prospect of cutting China’s export [of hybrids] by more…
EU ‘pulling out all stops’ with minerals projects as it tries to avert China trade war
The EU is “pulling out all the stops” to fend off an imminent potential trade crisis with China, the industry commissioner, Stéphane Séjourné, has said, as the bloc announced its backing for a string of critical materials projects. Séjourné said on Friday that the EU would support 46 new strategic projects to accelerate supplies of critical raw materials by 2030 across the bloc. “We could face a crisis in the coming months,” he said. “We may face trade tensions that could also trigger a crisis in a number of sectors.…
Satellite images show attack jets at Chinese military facility in Laos
Satellite images show attack jets stationed at a new Chinese military facility in Laos, which opened last week and gives Beijing’s air force its first foothold in mainland south-east Asia. Images provided by the commercial satellite provider Vantor show eight light attack aircraft positioned at Ban Keun airport alongside what appear to be more than a dozen military vehicles lined up in rows. The planes’ shape matches that of the Chinese-made Hongdu JL-8 jet, a two-seat trainer that can be deployed in combat to carry bombs. Laos is reported to…
UK considering tariffs on Chinese car imports to align with EU
The UK is considering whether to impose tariffs on Chinese car imports to align itself with the EU and strengthen its case to be included in new legislation designed to protect the European manufacturing sectors including autos and chemicals. It is understood the EU has raised the question of tariffs with the UK as part of the discussions on the upcoming “Made in Europe” legislation, known as the Industrial Accelerator Act. The UK is an outlier in choosing not to put import taxes on Chinese vehicles, even as the US…