Day: August 8, 2023

China universities waste millions, fail to make real use of research, audit finds in indictment of tech-sufficiency drive

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The main assessment indicators and incentive measures for Chinese university professors are often based on fundamental theoretical research, but such endeavours are normally challenging to convert into practical applications, he said. “Researchers appear to be conducting basic theoretical research, but often they produced a large quantity of useless research output that is primarily focused on paper-centric assessments,” he said. “These outputs are neither purely beneficial for advancing fundamental theories nor directly convertible into practical applications. Therefore, this represents a state of idle and less-effective research.” Advertisement Universities should reform the…

Mother of US navy sailor accused of spying urged him to work with China, court hears

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The mother of a US navy sailor charged with providing sensitive military information to China encouraged him to cooperate with a Chinese intelligence officer, telling her son it might help him get a job with the Chinese government someday, the prosecution said on Tuesday. The assistant US attorney Fred Sheppard made the accusation at a hearing in federal court in San Diego in urging the judge not to release Jinchao Wei, who was arrested last week on a rarely used espionage charge. Prosecutors did not name the woman in court.…

Chinese economy falls into deflation as recovery stumbles

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Receive free Chinese economy updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Chinese economy news every morning. China’s economy has fallen into deflation as consumer prices contracted for the first time in more than two years, in one of the starkest indicators of the challenges facing policymakers as they struggle to revive consumption. The consumer price index fell 0.3 per cent year on year in July, compared with no change a month earlier. The producer price index, a gauge of prices as goods leave factory…

Despite Faltering Economy, China Unlikely to Disrupt Aid to North Korea

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WASHINGTON —  A cascade of disappointing economic news may force Beijing to curtail some of its expansive foreign policy ambitions, but analysts who follow Korean Peninsula affairs see little prospect that Chinese assistance to Pyongyang will be reduced. China’s economy had been expected to pick up after the draconian pandemic lockdowns were lifted at the end of last year. Instead, it has seen tumbling exports, declining productivity, and public sector pay cuts. Economic growth in the second quarter fell below 1%, against a projected annual growth of 5.6% in 2023.…

China inflation: consumer prices fall for first time since 2021, adding to deflation concerns, but factory-gate contraction narrows

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Meanwhile, the producer price index (PPI), which reflects the prices that factories charge wholesalers for products, fell by 4.4 per cent in July, year on year, narrowing from the fall of 5.4 per cent in June. This was in line with expectations by Wind, marking the 10th consecutive month of contraction. The CPI deflation may put more pressure on the government to consider additional fiscal stimulus to mitigate the challengeZhang Zhiwei “Both CPI and PPI are in deflation territory. The economic momentum continues to weaken due to lacklustre domestic demand,”…

Biden to Restrict Investments in China, Citing National Security Threats

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The Biden administration plans on Wednesday to issue new restrictions on American investments in certain advanced industries in China, according to people familiar with the deliberations, a move that supporters have described as necessary to protect national security but that will undoubtedly rankle Beijing. The measure would be one of the first significant steps the United States has taken in its economic clash with China to clamp down on financial flows. It could set the stage for more restrictions on investments between the two countries in the years to come.…

TED talks cross free speech ‘red line’ in Xi’s China

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Receive free Chinese politics & policy updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Chinese politics & policy news every morning. TED, the US non-profit famous for snappy speeches from visionary leaders, espouses the belief that there is no greater force for changing the world than an idea. But the group’s days of spreading ideas to China’s 1.4bn people are now in question after it drew the ire of another powerful force: the Chinese Communist party’s security hawks. A TEDx event — where independent organisers…

US warned Japan that China was hacking its defence networks, officials say

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The US warned Japan over the course of a year that Chinese state hackers had infiltrated its defence networks before Tokyo took sufficient action to try to secure them, according to current and former US officials. Senior US national security officials grew increasingly concerned that sensitive information that the US shares with some allies could be at risk as a result of the breach, which was discovered several years ago. That prompted multiple US delegations since 2020 to fly to Tokyo to warn Japan, according to the officials, who asked…

Russian companies move legal battles to Hong Kong courts

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Receive free Russian business & finance updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Russian business & finance news every morning. Russian companies are turning to Hong Kong for dispute arbitration services as sanctions over the Ukraine war restrict their access to western courts. Lawyers in the city say Russian companies are increasingly adopting Hong Kong’s governing law in their commercial contracts for similar reasons. Russian litigants have traditionally favoured London’s commercial courts for their proximity and their common law legal system. But after the…

Can humble fly solve China’s protein problem as food stocks dwindle?

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Insects nourished by kitchen and other organic waste could be a more sustainable way to provide protein for China’s population, as conventional sources become increasingly scarce, according to Chinese scientists and international industry experts. The insect-based proteins make a highly nutritious animal feed which is better for livestock health and addresses dwindling fish stocks and the substantial environmental concerns around intensive livestock farming. Urban residents produce large amounts of biodegradable kitchen scraps and other matter every day which is literally going to waste, according to the Shanghai Observer, a news…