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☆ Pacific's Micronesia in talks to switch ties from Beijing to Taiwan- letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

We can and will receive this, over a three year period, if and when we establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan," he wrote. In the letter, Panuelo accused China of waging "political warfare" in his country, and bribing his government's officials. Beijing and Taiwan have a history of competing in the Pacific islands, where four of Taiwan's 14 diplomatic allies are located. Two Pacific island nations, Kiribati and Solomon Islands, cut diplomatic ties with democratically ruled Taiwan in 2019 after offers of aid from China, which views Taiwan as its own territory. Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

☆ Regulator visits ByteDance's Douyin to discuss revised pricing rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A man stands near a giant sign of Chinese company ByteDance's app TikTok, known locally as Douyin, during China Fashion Week, in Beijing, China March 31, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, March 9 (Reuters) - Beijing's market regulator recently visited ByteDance's Douyin video hosting service to look into the company's livestreaming e-commerce business and discuss how to prevent over-charging, a statement, published on Thursday on the regulator's official WeChat account, said. "A good foundation has been laid for further deepening government-enterprise cooperation, working together to standardise the pricing behaviour of the live streaming industry," the market regulator said. Douyin said in a statement on the same day that it had revised rules governing price-gouging and the behaviour of e-commerce livestreamers promoting products on its platform. Reporting by Beijing newsroom and Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Tom Hogue and Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's Jan-Feb passenger cars sales down 20% - CPCA
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI/BEIJING, March 8 (Reuters) - China's passenger vehicle sales fell 20% in the first two months of this year, industry data showed on Wednesday, underscoring weak demand in the world's biggest auto market even as some car manufacturers offer reduced prices to revive demand. Sales in February, 1.42 million units, were 10.4% higher than a year earlier, a low base period when a week-long Lunar New Year holiday reduced business activity, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said. Sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs), which include pure battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids, grew faster than the overall market, up 61% in February on a year earlier. NEVs accounted for more than 30% of new car sales. Tesla accounted for 11.5% of China's battery electric car sales in February, little changed from 11.3% a year before, indicating a waning effect of price cuts it implemented in early January.

☆ China's Xi says better use of defence resources needed 'to win wars'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, March 8 (Reuters) - China needs to improve its use of defence resources such as technology, supply chain and national reserves "to strengthen its army and win wars", President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday. Xi is commander-in-chief of China's armed forces and is due to be formally re-elected as president later this week. "China needs to better use defence science, technology and industry to strengthen its army and win wars," Xi said. He asked national laboratories to accelerate their research in defence technology so that China would not have to rely on foreign countries. Xi did not specify what the "strategic risks", as he put it, were that the military needed to address.

☆ China's trade with Russia surges at double-digit pace in Jan-Feb
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

China's exports to Russia jumped 19.8% in the first two months, to a total of $15 billion, while it recorded shrinking demand from markets elsewhere. Imports from Russia soared by 31.3% to $18.65 billion. That left the world's second-biggest economy's trade deficit with Russia at about $3.6 billion. Asked whether it was possible that China and Russia would abandon the U.S. dollar and euro for bilateral trade, Qin said that countries should use whatever currency was efficient, safe and credible. China's trade with Russia hit a record high in 2022 as Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

☆ China warns US against suppressing it or risk 'conflict'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Journalists attend a news conference by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on the sidelines of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas PeterBEIJING, March 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. should change its recent mistaken policies towards China or "conflict and confrontation" will follow, China's foreign minister said on Tuesday, while reiterating Beijing's call for dialogue to end the conflict in Ukraine. "The United States' perception and views of China are seriously distorted," Qin said. China has fiercely defended its stance on Ukraine, amidst Western criticism of its decision not to call Russia the aggressor in the conflict. But China must advance its relations with Russia as the world becomes more turbulent, Qin said.

☆ China's Xi urges private firms to 'be rich and loving' in pursuit of prosperity for all
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Yew Lun Tian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Private Chinese and foreign firms have been waiting for Beijing to flesh out details on how it intends to pursue "common prosperity", Xi's signature initiative to narrow China's wealth gap, and how it expects private firms to contribute. Xi also said that private firms should share the fruits of their growth with employees more equitably, in what he called a "community of shared interests". "Be rich and responsible, be rich and benefit others, be rich and loving," state radio cited Xi as saying. He said it is unfair to expect private firms to share the social responsibility for "common prosperity" with state-owned firms, which enjoy privileged access to markets and preferential loans not always available to private firms. "Led by the United States, the West has implemented all-round containment to suppress China, bringing unprecedented challenges to China's development," state radio quoted Xi as saying.

☆ China says US trying to 'deprive' it of right to develop in tech row
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, March 6 (Reuters) - China said the U.S. is trying to deprive it of developmental rights and perpetuate its own hegemony, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday. Spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks in response to a question on TikTok being potentially a target in an upcoming U.S. bill banning some foreign technology. Two U.S. senators plan to introduce legislation this week aimed at letting the government "ban or prohibit" foreign technology products such as Chinese-owned TikTok, Senator Mark Warner said on Sunday. read moreReporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Taiwan wary of China charm offensive ahead of presidential vote - agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Yimou Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

As Taipei and Beijing gradually resume travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan security officials expect China to relaunch an influence campaign that in the past included all-expenses-paid trips to China for Taiwan politicians. China refuses to talk to the government, believing Tsai is a separatist for refusing to accept Beijing's long-standing position that China and Taiwan both belong to "one China". "They might want Taiwanese to support certain political parties who support closer economic ties with the mainland," a Taiwan security official investigating the matter told Reuters. Also last month, a group of Chinese officials made their first visit to Taiwan in three years to attend a cultural event in the capital, Taipei. A second senior Taiwan security official said the island should be "on high alert" for efforts by China to press its message on reunification.

REUTERS/Tingshu WangHONG KONG/BEIJING/SHANGHAI, March 3 (Reuters) - As unprecedented protests against China's zero-COVID policies escalated in November, Li Qiang, the man recently elevated to No.2 on the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, seized the moment. Meanwhile, some local-level party workers and healthcare officials were grappling with growing challenges in implementing the zero-COVID policy. "From my perspective, it's not that we set out to relax the zero-COVID policy, it's more that we at the local level were simply not able to enforce the zero-COVID policy anymore," the official said. In mid-November, when Xi was still in Southeast Asia, he ordered Chinese authorities to "unswervingly" execute the zero-COVID policy, said two of the people, after which some cities retightened curbs. Xi's vacillating led to renewed debate on COVID policy among top leaders during mid to late November, one of these people and another person said.

[1/5] Elderly visitors enjoy the sunshine, at a nursing home of Lendlease's Ardor Gardens in Shanghai, China February 27, 2023. Lim says "stigma" around retirement homes in China is quickly disappearing. About 4% of people aged 65 and over in Britain live in retirement homes, according to information service Lottie. Ding Hui, China managing director at Australian real estate firm Lendlease (LLC.AX), expects demand for retirement homes to rise sharply in the next five to 10 years. Government-run nursing homes with basic facilities in Shanghai and Beijing are much cheaper, at about 2,000 yuan ($290) a month.

☆ At China political meeting, internet bosses are out, chip execs are in
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Laurie Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HARDWARE FOCUSNewcomers to the events include representatives from chip firms Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), state-backed Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd, Shandong Youyan Semiconductor Materials Co. in the NPC and Cambricon Techologies Corp in the CPPCC. Other new NPC delegates come from robotics, laser, aerospace and aeronautics firms. Delegates for the NPC and CPPCC are chosen every five years by the Communist Party and have the option to resign. Some celebrity CPPCC delegates did not reappear on this year's list, such as Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan, film director Feng Xiaogang and state television anchor Bai Yansong. Yao Ming, a retired basketball star who heads the Chinese Basketball Association, has moved from the CPPCC to the NPC.

☆ Free education, equal rights for unmarried women among proposals to boost China's fertility
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Farah Master | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Tingshu WangHONG KONG, March 2 (Reuters) - Free college education and equal rights for unmarried women are among proposals being urged by members of China’s top political advisory body to boost the country's birth rate after its population fell last year for the first time in six decades. The proposals come ahead of the upcoming Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which kicks off on March 4. China should remove restrictions on marital status used to register newborns, allowing unmarried women to enjoy fertility services like married women do, Xie Wenmin, a member of China's top political advisory body, told the state-backed Global Times this week. Even after authorities scrapped the rule, high childcare and education costs are cited as a key reason for having fewer children. Currently IVF and egg freezing in China are banned for unmarried women.

☆ Xi's planned revival of Chinese financial watchdog exerts more party control
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Joe Cash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, March 1 (Reuters) - Plans by China's Communist Party to revive a high-level economic watchdog after two decades signal President Xi Jinping push to increase oversight of the financial sector, analysts say, part of a wider tightening of control by Xi and the party. "Through the CFWC, Xi and his allies could more rapidly roll out a reshuffle to replace the remaining legacy technocrats with people more loyal to them," he said. China's financial sector is overseen by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, with the cabinet's Financial Stability and Development Committee at the top. Under the new proposed structure, the party would take on a direction-setting role for the economy and regulatory bodies. "But this could also lead to policies replacing some market forces, which may not be ideal for financial liberalisation", she said.

☆ China's President Xi, poised for third term, urges 'intensive' state and party revamp
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ryan Woo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping envisages "intensive" and "wide-ranging" re-organisation of state and Communist Party entities, with part of the plan to be presented to the annual meeting of parliament, state media said on Tuesday . At the October congress, the party made clear that reforms of institutions were needed, including reforms to the financial system, Xi said. The overall reform plan will be "targeted, intensive and wide-ranging, touching on deep-rooted interests", Xi was quoted as saying in a speech before the Central Committee. 'REJUVENATION'China's "rejuvenation" must be guided by Xi and the Central Committee as national governance is "modernised", the Central Committee said in a communique but it offered no details. China's development still faces triple pressures including a demand contraction, supply shocks and weakened expectations, the Central Committee said in its communique.

☆ China says its economic recovery is still not solid - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Feb 28 (Reuters) - China said on Tuesday the foundation of its economic recovery is not yet solid, and various unexpected factors may occur at any time, state media reported. The communique was released at the second plenary session of CPC's central committee, which was held from Feb. 26 to Feb. 28. More than 200 members of central committee discussed a draft of reforms to party and state organisations which will be examined at the upcoming 14th National People’s Congress (NPC). The central committee also approved a proposed list of leadership candidates to be recommended at the first session of the upcoming Congress. The 14th NPC, an annual meeting of parliament where thousands of delegates from across China will gather in the capital, Beijing, kicks off on Sunday.

☆ China's Communist party cautious on economy, reiterates party's leadership
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China's development still faces triple pressures including demand contraction, supply shock and weakened expectations, the Communist Party's Central Committee said in a communique after a major three-day gathering, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. China's "rejuvenation" must be guided by Xi and the Central Committee as national governance is being "modernised", the committee said in the communique but it offered no details. "It is necessary to fully, accurately and comprehensively implement a new development concept," the committee, the largest of the party's top decision-making bodies, said. More than 200 members of the Central Committee discussed a draft of reforms to party and state organisations that will be examined at an upcoming session of the National People's Congress, China's legislature. Xi is also widely expected to secure his third five-year term as president, after clinching a precedent-breaking third party leadership term in October last year.

Rystad Energy sees the global market deficit of lithium shrinking to around 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) this year, from 76,000 tonnes LCE in 2022. Out to 2025 it expects lithium supply to grow on average by 34% a year against an annual demand growth rate of 25%. MINERS UNFAZEDThe decline in lithium prices in China, the world's biggest consumer, has hit lithium producers overseas. LITHIUM CARBONATE SINKSThe price decline has been sharp. "A lithium carbonate price of 200,000-300,000 yuan per tonne is where both upstream and downstream will feel comfortable," said Rystad's Zou.

☆ China has always maintained communication with all sides including Ukraine - foreign ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Feb 27 (Reuters) - China has always maintained communication with all sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including Kyiv, a foreign ministry spokesperson told a regular news briefing on Monday. Mao Ning was answering a question on Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying he would welcome talks with China. In another question on Zelenskiy saying that he planned to speak to China President Xi Jinping, Mao said "China's position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and very clear." "The core is to call for peace and promote dialogue and promote a political solution to the crisis. We have always maintained communication with the sides involved including Ukraine," Mao said.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING, Feb 27 (Reuters) - China must be more honest about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. ambassador to China said on Monday, after reports that the U.S. Energy Department concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak. The Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, an assessment Beijing denies. The department made its judgment with "low confidence" in a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress, the Journal said, citing people who had read the intelligence report. President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said on Sunday there were a "variety of views in the intelligence community" on the pandemic's origins. "Certain parties should stop rehashing the 'lab leak' narrative, stop smearing China and stop politicizing the origins-tracing issue," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

☆ China says U.S. 'endangered' peace with Taiwan Strait fly-through
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING/TAIPEI, Feb 27 (Reuters) - China accused the United States of "endangering" peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait after a U.S. P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance military plane flew through the sensitive waterway on Monday. Beijing has been incensed by U.S. military missions through the narrow strait, most frequently of warships but occasionally of aircraft, saying China "has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction" over the waterway. Taiwan and the United States dispute that saying it is an international waterway. "The U.S. side's actions deliberately interfered with and disrupted the regional situation and endangered peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The United States has previously said such missions show the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

☆ US must push China to be honest about COVID origins, US envoy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns on Monday said Washington must push Beijing to be more honest about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Burns' comments come after the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, an assessment Beijing denies. The Energy Department did not respond to a request for comment. Four other U.S. agencies, along with a national intelligence panel, still judge that COVID-19 was likely the result of natural transmission, while two are undecided, the Wall Street Journal reported. "Certain parties should stop rehashing the 'lab leak' narrative, stop smearing China and stop politicizing the origins-tracing issue," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

☆ China to tighten web video curbs to prevent kids from addiction
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Feb 27 (Reuters) - China will step up the management of short videos as part of efforts to prevent children from becoming addicted to them, the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) said on Monday. The statement is the latest in a campaign launched by China's media regulators over a year ago that has significantly tightened the rules surrounding livestreaming, video gaming, and Internet usage among minors. While no specific measures were announced on Monday, policies introduced by regulators last year included banning minors from tipping livestreamers and ordering domestic streaming and social media platforms to conduct regular minor-focused cyberprotection assessments. China in 2021 introduced new rules that limit the amount of time under-18s can spend on video games to three hours a week, a move it said was necessary to combat gaming addiction. Reporting by Beijing newsroom, Editing by Louise Heavens and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China coal mine death toll at six, 47 missing as rescue resumes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CGTN/Handout via REUTERSFeb 24 (Reuters) - The death toll from a coal mine collapse in northern China rose to six with at least 47 people missing as rescue efforts resumed after a landslide had halted the search for survivors, state media said on Friday. Six people had been pulled alive from the mine in Inner Mongolia by 10:30 p.m. (1430 GMT) on Thursday, state media reported. Three hundred rescue workers were using heavy machinery and rescue dogs in their search for the miners, state media said. The mine, once underground, was converted to an open-pit operation in 2012, according to state media. It had suspended production for three years before restarting in April 2021, state media said, without specifying the cause of the closure.

☆ China says it sees the potential of ChatGPT-like technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Feb 24 (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Science and Technology said on Friday said it saw the potential of ChatGPT-like tech and would be pushing for the integration of artificial intelligence into Chinese society and the economy. "(This technology) has the potential to be applied in many industries and fields," Chen Jiachang, who heads the ministry's high-tech department, told a news briefing, praising its natural language processing capabilities. Their comments come at a time when Chinese tech companies and investors are keeping an eye on how Beijing will regulate ChatGPT-like technology. Microsoft-backed OpenAI has kept its hit ChatGPT app off-limits to users in China but the app is attracting huge interest in the country, with firms rushing to integrate the technology into their products and launch rival solutions. read moreSearch engine giant Baidu (9888.HK) plans to launch in March a Chinese rival to ChatGPT called ErnieBot.

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