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☆ Magnitude 5.8 earthquake strikes China's Xinjiang region
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

The Irkeshtam pass, border crossing between Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang, China. (Photo by: Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)A 5.8-magnitude struck Akqi County in China's northwestern Xinjiang region at 12:14 p.m. (0414 GMT) on Sunday, the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) said. No casualties or collapsed houses had been reported as of 1:00 p.m., Xinhua reported citing local authorities, adding the areas around the epicenter are sparsely populated. The local main grid and power distribution networks are operating as normal, and local train operations have not been affected, Xinhua added. A 7.1-magnitude earthquake shook the Kyrgyzstan-Xinjiang border region on Jan. 23, killing at least three people.

Persons: CENC Organizations: Getty, China Earthquake Networks, Xinhua Locations: Kyrgyzstan, Xinjiang, China, Akqi County, China's

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German chemical company BASF said Friday that it was speeding up the sale of stakes in two joint ventures in China after its local partner was accused in media reports of human rights abuses. BASF said in a news release that the market for the industrial chemicals made at the production sites in Korla in China's Xinjiang region was under increased competitive pressure and oversupplied. However, it added that recent reports had contained “serious allegations” about activities “inconsistent with BASF's values.”German news media had reported that employees of a BASF partner firm had participated in a state repression campaign aimed at the region's minority Muslim Uighur population. BASF said internal and external audits found no evidence of rights violations and no indication that the employees of the joint ventures — BASF Markor Chemical Manufacturing and Markor Meiou Chemical (Xinjiang) Co — were involved in the alleged violations. Photos You Should See View All 21 ImagesThe company said it remained committed to the China market.

Persons: — Organizations: BASF, BASF Markor Chemical Manufacturing Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany, China, Korla, China's Xinjiang, Xinjiang

☆ Lawmakers want U.S. to probe four Chinese firms involved in Ford battery plant — letter
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company, announces at a press conference that Ford will be partnering with the world's largest battery company, a China-based company called Contemporary Amperex Technology, to create an electric-vehicle battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, on February 13, 2023 in Romulus, Michigan. The chairs of two U.S. House committees asked the Biden administration to investigate four Chinese companies they say are involved in Ford Motor's planned Michigan battery plant, according to a letter seen Monday by Reuters. The previously unreported letter said the four Chinese companies have direct ties to the Chinese military, Chinese Communist Party, North Korean government and alleged human rights abuses in China's Xinjiang region. The plant has drawn fire from U.S. lawmakers for its use of technology supplied by Chinese battery maker CATL. The Chinese companies were not named in the letter seen by Reuters because the committees reviewed confidential records turned over by Ford and were not allowed to make their identities public.

Persons: Bill Ford, Biden, Ford, Mike Gallagher, Cathy McMorris Rodgers Organizations: Ford Motor Company, Ford, Technology, Reuters, Chinese Communist Party, North, Energy, Commerce, Commerce Department Locations: China, Marshall , Michigan, Romulus , Michigan, Ford Motor's, Michigan, North Korean, China's Xinjiang, U.S

☆ Exclusive-China Lobbies Countries to Praise Its Rights Record Ahead of UN Review - Diplomats
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

Four diplomats told Reuters that China's mission at the United Nations in Geneva had been sending memos to envoys in the build-up to the review of Beijing's record by the U.N. Human Rights Council scheduled for Tuesday. China's mission did not respond directly to a request for comment on the reported lobbying. In a statement, it said Beijing "firmly opposes the politicization of human rights" and "promotes a fairer and more just, equitable and inclusive global human rights governance". China's mission told Reuters its government "attaches high importance to this UPR (Universal Periodic Review) cycle", referring to the U.N. rights council's regular reviews of countries' rights records. China routinely rejects foreign criticism of its human rights record, saying all Chinese are treated equally in accordance with the law and that foreign countries should not interfere.

Persons: Emma Farge GENEVA, China's, Xi Jinping, Raphael Viana David, Emma Farge, Laurie Chen, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Reuters, United Nations, Human Rights, United Arab, UPR, Diplomats, International Service for Human Rights Locations: China, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Geneva, Beijing, China's Xinjiang, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, United States, African, Antigua, Barbuda, Tibet, U.N, Germany

☆ About 1,000 Tourists Trapped in China's Xinjiang After Avalanches
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING (Reuters) - Around 1,000 tourists remain stranded in a remote holiday village after avalanches hit China's northwestern Xinjiang region with metres-high snow and fickle weather impeding evacuation, state TV reported on Tuesday. Road access to Hemu village, a scenic destination near the borders of Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia where the tourists were trapped, has been cut off by avalanches for several days now. The village is situated in Xinjiang's Altay Prefecture where continuous snowfall in some areas has lasted 10 days, it said. Snow brought by the avalanches reach as high as seven metres in some parts and in many, was higher than snow clearing equipment, CCTV said. A military helicopter scheduled to send supplies - such as flour and fuel - to Hemu village was delayed on Tuesday morning, CCTV said.

Persons: Snow, Zhao Jinsheng, Zhao, Liz Lee, Qiaoyi Li, Raju Gopalakrishnan Locations: BEIJING, Xinjiang, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia, Xinjiang's Altay Prefecture, Altay, Hemu

☆ The 'crown jewel' of the Chinese military appears to have a serious corruption problem, but the US can't afford to bet on its missiles all being defective
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Recent reports point to corruption and readiness problems in the Chinese military, the rocket force in particular. In the aftermath of the report, an ex-PLA official told Radio Free Asia problems like this have long been rampant in the Chinese military. The rocket force shakeups suggest that there are questions over who can be trusted. Xinhua/Cha Chunming via Getty ImagesConcerns about corruption and readiness stand in contrast with the modernization and strengthening of the Chinese military. Is the PLA, particularly the rocket force, the increasingly formidable force the Pentagon described in a military power report last October?

Persons: It's, —, Tom Shugart, Xi Jinping, that's, hotpot, hadn't, bigwig, Xi, Liu Dawei, Shugart, weren't, Lintao Zhang, Li Shangfu, Li Gang, ISW, there's, Andy Wong Organizations: Service, People's Liberation Army, US, Center, New, New American Security, Liberation Army, Getty Images, Bloomberg, PLA, Rocket Force, Radio Free, 14th China International Aviation, Aerospace Exhibition, Getty, Liberation Army Rocket, Business, United, Naval, Army, Air Force, Communist, of, Defense, Chinese Communist Party, Liberation Army's Army Infantry College, Li, Pentagon, U.S . Nimitz, US Army Locations: New American, Taiwan, Hefei, Anhui province, Radio Free Asia, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, Xinhua, United States, Beijing, China, PLA, Gutian, Jiangxi Province, U.S, Tiananmen, Pamir, Kashgar, China's Xinjiang, Pacific

The Singapore-based company has not determined the size of the deal or the valuation at IPO. The online fast-fashion retailer, which manufactures most of its merchandise in China, faces criticism that Uyghur forced labor is used to make its low-priced apparel and home goods. Earlier this year, the congresswoman led a bipartisan call for the SEC to halt Shein’s IPO until it verifies that the company does not use forced labor within its supply chain. Shein did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the company has previously told Reuters it has “zero tolerance for forced labor” and has no contract manufacturers in Xinjiang. Shein's IPO is "going to be raising issues (for the SEC) that may later be applied across the board to all China-based or China-related companies that are going public," Penick said.

Persons: Chen Lin, Shein confidentially, Shein, Jennifer Wexton, Megan Penick, Robinson, Penick, Republican Sen, Marco Rubio, ”, Rubio, Chris Smith, Smith, ByteDance's TikTok, Group's, Katherine Masters, Arriana, Michael Martina, Marguerita Choy Organizations: REUTERS, Bloomberg, Beijing, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Capitol Hill, Republican, Congressional, Commission, Oritain, U.S, Thomson Locations: Singapore, China, New York, U.S, Beijing, Washington, China's Xinjiang, Xinjiang, India

HANOI/KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Electronics worth a year-high $74 million, such as solar panels and microchips mostly from Malaysia and Vietnam, were denied entry in the United States in September or were checked for components from forced labour in China, official data show. In September alone, $82 million worth of shipments were either refused or were held for checks -- 90% of which were electronics -- a jump from less than $20 million in August. Over two-thirds of rejected or held cargoes came from Malaysia or Vietnam, which are major exporters to the United States of solar panels and semiconductors. Malaysia and Vietnam have had cargoes worth about $320 million each denied or held for checks since the new rules came into force, nearly three times more than China's. Washington has accused China of genocide against the Uyghurs, with rights groups denouncing a widespread use of internment camps and forced labour.

Persons: Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio, Kim Coghill Organizations: Industry, Uyghur, Labor, Thomson Locations: HANOI, KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Vietnam, United States, China, China's Xinjiang, U.S, Xinjiang, Washington

☆ Republicans demand Biden challenge China's Xi on fentanyl, prisoners
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The flags of the United States and China fly from a lamppost in the Chinatown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., November 1, 2021. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have offered sometimes different approaches for countering China's growing economic and military might despite bipartisan consensus on the need to do so. But they asked Biden to present Xi with a list of 10 demands to improve relations, much like Beijing did to U.S. officials in 2021. "It is clear that competitive actions have been sacrificed to advance aimless, zombie-like engagement," they said. Reporting by Michael Martina and Patricia Zengerle; editing by Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Brian Snyder, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Mike Gallagher, Biden, Mark Swidan, American Kai Li, David Lin, Michael Martina, Patricia Zengerle, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Beijing, Biden, Economic Cooperation, Republicans, Democrats, Treasury, Industrial, Thomson Locations: United States, China, Chinatown, Boston , Massachusetts, U.S, San Francisco, Asia, Beijing, Philippines, South China, South, Taiwan, China's Xinjiang, Texas, American

☆ Shein, the fast fashion darling mulling a U.S. IPO, opens up about forced labor, data privacy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +16 min

The committee is investigating Shein over concerns that Uyghur forced labor is being used in its supply chain and has gone undetected because of the de minimis provision. The committee has not yet drawn conclusions about forced labor in Shein's supply chain. When asked about claims of forced labor in Shein's supply chain, Claure told CNBC he doesn't "believe those allegations are correct." However, forced labor can still show up in other parts of the supply chain, said Chloe Cranston, the head of thematic advocacy programmes at Anti-Slavery International. In 2022, 11% of audits turned up "zero tolerance violations," including child labor, forced labor and wage violations, and 28 suppliers were terminated as a result, according to the company.

Persons: Elham Ataeiazar, Shein, Donald Tang, Matt Kennedy, they're, they've, Mike Gallagher, Elise Stefanik, Steve Scalise, Chip Somodevilla, we're, Marcelo Claure, Claure, Ralph Lauren, Rupert Hodges, Oritain, Chloe Cranston, Cranston, It's, it's, Shang, Jin Wei, Wei, Austin Knudsen, Chris Xu, Jade Gao, Knudsen, Gary Gensler Organizations: Wall, Bear, Chinese Communist Party, U.S, Renaissance Capital, CNBC, Bloomberg, Nike, Adidas, Republican National Committee, Washington , D.C, D.C, Target, Costco, Visual China, Getty, Workers, Columbia University's, Communist, CCP, Microsoft, AFP, U.S . Securities, Exchange Locations: Bear Stearns, U.S, China, Beijing, Xinjiang, Washington ,, Washington, Singapore, Nanjing, United States, Chinese, Guangzhou, Brazil, Turkey, India, Mexico, Montana

☆ H&M blames warm weather for September sales slide
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Helen Reid | トムソンロイター | London-Based Reporter Covering The European Retail Sector Through A Global Lens. Focusing On Companies Including Adidas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

H&M, whose biggest rival is Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC), said September sales would be down 10% year-on-year measured in local currencies. That compares with Inditex reporting sales between Aug. 1 and Sept. 11 that were up 14%. Operating profit in the Swedish group's third quarter jumped to 4.74 billion crowns ($431 million) from a year-earlier 902 million. The year-ago figure included a one-off cost of 2.1 billion crowns for the group's exit from Russia, which also accounted for four percentage points of the 10% September sales decline. H&M announced a share buyback programme starting on Wednesday, planning to buy back up to 3 billion crowns of stock by March 31 next year.

Persons: サマリー, Inditex, Vera Diehl, Nicolas Champ, LSEG, Richard Chamberlain, Anna Ringstrom, Helen Reid, Jan Harvey, Mark Potter Organizations: Union Investment, Barclays, RBC, HK, Tmall Locations: STOCKHOLM, Zara, Swedish, Russia, JD.com, China's Xinjiang, Alibaba's

☆ Opinion: The ‘rising superpower’ myth about China
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Opinion Peter Bergen | Joel Rayburn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

He was the US Special Envoy for Syria and the senior director for Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon on the National Security Council staff during the Trump administration. After that, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said it would suspend publishing youth unemployment data in the future. What does it signify that China’s national power, which today is vast, is almost certain to be weaker in the future? If Xi and his strategists have a feasible plan for nimbly averting China’s demographic doom, they are keeping very quiet about it. This brings us back to the question of national security strategies for the United States and its allies.

Persons: Peter Bergen, Peter Bergen ”, Joel Rayburn, Trump, Biden, Saddam Hussein’s, Lloyd Austin, China’s, Xi Jinping, Stephen Shaver, ”, Ng Han Guan, Xi, China “, ” Trump Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, American Center for Levant Studies, New America, US, National Security Council, CNN, Strategy, Pentagon, of Defense, Development Research Center, Communist Party, UPI, Manpower, Census Bureau, National Bureau of Statistics, Financial, China’s Southwestern University of Finance, Economics, Rocky, United Nations, Beijing, Pew Research Center, Communist, Trump administration’s National Security, Twitter, Trump Locations: New America, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Washington, China, United States, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, al Qaeda, Ukraine, People’s Republic of China, Beijing, India, Yarkent County, China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Saudi Arabia, USSR, Russia, Russia’s Ukraine, Vietnam, Korea, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong

☆ Wall Street firms and retired generals to discuss hypothetical Chinese invasion of Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Jason Ma | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Wall Street firms and retired generals will discuss a hypothetical Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The "tabletop exercise" will take place next week in New York, sources told the New York Times. It comes as the congressional China committee plans to meet with top Wall Street investors. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. It comes as the congressional China committee plans to go to New York, where lawmakers will meet with banks, hedge funds and venture capital firms, according to the New York Times.

Persons: Jay Clayton, Jim Chanos, Anne Stevenson, Yang, Mike Gallagher, Biden, BlackRock Organizations: New York Times, Wall, Service, Chinese Communist Party, Council, Foreign Relations, Communist, Financial, Securities and Exchange, Kynikos Associates, J Capital Research, Financial Times, Wall Street Locations: Taiwan, New York, China, Wall, Silicon, Wisconsin, MSCI, Xinjiang

☆ Meta says it has disrupted a massive disinformation campaign linked to Chinese law enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta on Tuesday said it had disrupted a disinformation campaign linked to Chinese law enforcement that the social media company described as the "largest known cross-platform covert influence operation in the world." Meta began looking for signs of a Chinese influence operation on its own platforms after reports in 2022 highlighted how a disinformation campaign linked to the Chinese government targeted a human rights nongovernmental organization. Meta researchers were able to link this latest disinformation network to a prior influence campaign in 2019, code named Spamouflage. Meta also identified and disrupted other operations and published a more detailed analysis of a Russian disinformation campaign it identified shortly after the beginning of the 2022 war in Ukraine. But this disinformation network, while prolific, was not effective, Meta cybersecurity executives said on a briefing call.

Persons: Meta, Ben Nimmo, CNBC's Eamon Javers Organizations: Meta, Facebook Locations: China, Xinjiang, Ukraine, Cambridge, Bangladesh, Brazil, Vietnam

☆ First Solar audit reveals forced labor at Malaysia factory
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Miniatures of solar panel and electric pole are seen in front of First Solar logo in this illustration taken January 17, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies First Solar Inc FollowAug 15 (Reuters) - Top U.S. solar panel maker First Solar (FSLR.O) on Tuesday said an audit of its manufacturing operations had uncovered unethical labor practices at its Malaysia factory, sending the company's shares down about 5%. The revelation is the latest to tie the fast-growing solar energy industry to concerns about forced labor. First Solar said it had taken steps to return passports, wages and recruitment fees to the affected workers. First Solar also produces panels in the U.S. and Vietnam, and is planning to open a factory in India.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Nichola Groom, Jonathan Oatis, Marguerita Choy Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Thomson Locations: Malaysia, Xinjiang, Tempe , Arizona, U.S, Vietnam, India

☆ BlackRock and MSCI are facing congressional probes over facilitating investments in Chinese firms flagged by US for security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Max Adams | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

BlackRock and MSCI are facing probes by lawmakers for facilitating investments in Chinese firms, the WSJ reported. The probes are related to investments in companies flagged by the US over security risks or human rights violations. The congressional panel said it found that American investors have funded 60 such companies and BlackRock has invested $429 million through five of its funds. The majority of our clients' investments in China are through index funds, and we are one of 16 asset managers currently offering US index funds investing in Chinese companies. With all investments in China and markets around the world, BlackRock complies with all applicable US government laws.

Persons: MSCI Organizations: BlackRock, Service, Wall Street, Chinese Communist Party, WSJ, US Locations: MSCI, China, Wall, Silicon, Xinjiang, US

Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) are among the banks helping Shein with its IPO preparation, according to six of the sources. Didi was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) a year later amid Beijing's crackdown on Chinese technology giants over antitrust and data security rules. Shein officials in Singapore, where the company is headquartered, declined to comment on any IPO plans or on discussions with the investment banks and exchanges. Last week, Reuters reported that Shein had filed its IPO registration confidentially with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Shein was valued at more than $60 billion in a $2 billion private fundraising round in March.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Didi Global's, Didi, Shein, Chris Xu, Kane Wu, Julie Zhu, Greg Roumeliotis Organizations: YORK, Shein, New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, JPMorgan, NYSE, Reuters, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Thomson Locations: China, United States, Singapore, U.S, Beijing, Washington , U.S, Ukraine, China's Xinjiang, Xinjiang, Sequoia Capital China, Nanjing, China's, Jiangsu, Hong Kong, New York

[1/3] A Shein logo is pictured at the company's office in the central business district of Singapore, October 18, 2022. Shein has confidentially submitted its IPO registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the sources said. In pressing on with its IPO plans, Shein is braving heightened tensions between the United States and China over trade, sensitive technology, human rights and the future of Taiwan. The United States bans exports from Xinjiang for this reason. U.S. lawmakers are also seeking to restrict the "de minimis" tariff exemption widely used by e-commerce retailers such as Shein to send orders from China to the United States.

Persons: Chen Lin, Didi, Shein, Chris Xu, Kane Wu, Julie Zhu, Chizu Nomiyama, Nick Zieminski Organizations: REUTERS, New, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Thomson Locations: Singapore, New York, United States, China, Taiwan, China's Xinjiang, Xinjiang, Sequoia Capital China, U.S, Ukraine, Nanjing, China's, Jiangsu, Hong Kong

It is also looking to hire a lawyer with a specialty in trade compliance to help Temu create a protocol for screening merchandise, another posting showed. The U.S. House Select Committee on the China Communist Party in May launched an investigation into retailers' connections to forced labor in China's Xinjiang region, including any efforts to comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The committee last week released preliminary findings stating that Temu "does not have any system to ensure compliance" with the act. Temu's 80,000 "suppliers agree to boilerplate terms and conditions that prohibit the use of forced labor," the report said. Rights groups accuse Beijing of abuses including forced labor and placing 1 million or more Uyghurs - a mainly Muslim ethnic group - in internment camps in Xinjiang.

Persons: Temu, Shein, Arriana McLymore, Jamie Freed Organizations: YORK, PDD Holdings, New Zealand, Reuters, U.S, China Communist Party, Uyghur, Labor, Thomson Locations: U.S, Xinjiang, China, Canada, Australia, New, China's Xinjiang, United States, Xingiang, Beijing, New York

☆ Hugh Hewitt told Miami Mayor Francis Suarez 'to get smart' after he appeared to become the latest candidate to commit a foreign policy blunder
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

GOP presidential hopeful Francis Suarez appeared not to know what a Uyghur is. The Miami Mayor later told Insider that he did know what a Uyghur is, he was just confused by a radio host's pronunciation. Hewitt asked Suarez, the mayor of Miami. "I didn't recognize the pronunciation my friend Hugh Hewitt used," Suarez said. You really need to know about the Uyghurs, Mayor.

Persons: Francis Suarez, Suarez, —, Hugh Hewitt, Will, Hewitt, Mike Pompeo, Antony Blinken, Hugh Hewitt's, “, mispronounced, Hugh, chuckling, You've, Insider's, Gary Johnson, Herman Cain, Donald Trump Organizations: Miami Mayor, Service, Conservative, Miami, Floridian, White, New, New Mexico Gov, Libertarian, Republican, Israel's, Patriots Locations: Xinjiang, New Mexico, Aleppo, Libya, Yemen, Iran

No one was present when Reuters visited the Hong Kong office of Mintz during business hours, with the doors locked and lights off. China's State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The Hong Kong government said it did not comment on individual business decisions. Rights groups accuse Beijing of abuses against mainly Muslim Uyghurs in the western region of Xinjiang, including the mass use of forced labour. Reporting by James Pomfret in Hong Kong, Engen Than in Shanghai and Hong Kong Newsroom; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] The U.S. corporate due diligence firm Mintz Group's office is seen in Hong Kong, China, May 18, 2023. No one was present when Reuters visited the Hong Kong office of Mintz during business hours, with the doors locked and lights off. China's State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The Hong Kong government said it did not comment on individual business decisions. Reporting by James Pomfret in Hong Kong, Engen Than in Shanghai and Hong Kong Newsroom; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A protestor threw a cake-like pastry at a board member's head during a Volkswagen meeting that descended into chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

About a dozen protestors reportedly created chaos at Volkswagen Groups annual meeting on Wednesday. One protestor threw what appeared to be a cake at a board member's head. The Associated Press reported that the pastry was thrown in the direction of Wolfgang Porsche, the chairman of Volkswagen Group's majority shareholder, Porsche SE. But recordings of the moment, uploaded to YouTube from news outlets including The Guardian, show VW Group chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch dodging remnants of the pastry that flew in his direction. A Reuters video from the event shows the protestors being led out of the meeting by security.

☆ US conducts raids at two properties of China's Jinko Solar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security this week raided a factory and sales office operated by one of the world's largest solar panel makers, China's Jinko Solar Holding Co Ltd (JKS.N), the agency said on Wednesday. Jinko, which is based in Shanghai, has a solar panel factory in Jacksonville, Florida, and a sales and operations office in San Francisco. The company is one of few global solar manufacturers that have set up domestic production in recent years. "Jinko Solar is committed to operating in accordance with the highest ethical standards and adhering to the laws and regulations of the countries where it operates, including the United States," the spokesperson said. Jinko shares slid 8% on Tuesday after the raid in Florida was reported by several local news outlets.

Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said on Tuesday Washington was very concerned about China's recent "punitive" action toward some U.S. companies, and that foreign firms are delaying investments in the country due to uncertainty about the openness of its economy. "If you put that together with some of the punitive actions that the government here in Beijing has taken against several American companies recently, we're very concerned about this," Burns said, adding: "We intend to have a full discussion with the government here about it." China's foreign ministry said at the time Mintz was suspected of engaging in unlawful business operations. Burns said a lot of foreign firms were delaying making major investments until they could see some consistency in messaging from China. He said he had warned American companies to carefully abide by a U.S. law that prohibits importing goods from China's Xinjiang region over concerns about forced labor by Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities.

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