Month: February 2024

Philippine President to Australia: Our Strategic Partnership Is More Important Than Ever

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MELBOURNE, Australia —  Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told Australia’s Parliament on Thursday that the strategic partnership between the two nations was more important than ever with the rule of law and peace in the region under threat from China. Marcos told a special joint sitting of the two chambers during a state visit that the Philippines would not allow a foreign power to “take even one square inch of our sovereign territory.” It is a declaration he has often repeated since taking office in 2022 and refers to China’s…

The tools exist to rescue China’s economy and it’s time to use them

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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. The writer is chief China economist at UBS Investment Research and author of ‘Making Sense of China’s Economy’ In January, China reported official real gross domestic product growth of 5.2 per cent for 2023, but the Shanghai Composite index fell to its lowest level in five years. China’s property market has continued to fall and consumer spending is still lacklustre (notwithstanding record holiday travel and movie box office takings during…

Biden Calls Chinese Electric Vehicles a Security Threat

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President Biden took steps on Thursday toward blocking internet-connected Chinese cars and trucks from entry to the American auto market, including electric vehicles, saying they posed risks to national security because their operating systems could send sensitive information to Beijing. The immediate action was the opening of a Commerce Department investigation into security threats, which could lead to new regulations or restrictions on Chinese vehicles. But administration officials made clear it was the first step in what could be a wide range of policy responses meant to stop low-cost Chinese…

China tells bankers to be more patriotic

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Open the wardrobe of a high-flying Chinese banker, and it would be no surprise to find handmade foreign suits, all sadly gathering dust. It is a year, almost to the day, since an anti-corruption agency ordered financiers to abandon “hedonistic” lifestyles, rectify “elitist” thinking and stop worshipping the West. Several bank bosses and former executives have been arrested for graft. Many workers in finance have seen their salaries cut. All in all, this is a prudent moment to leave the Savile Row pinstripes at home. As a tool for making…

The return of panda diplomacy: what it suggests about China-US relations

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News that Beijing would be shipping pandas to the San Diego Zoo in California as early as August, after calling an earlier pair home in 2019, went viral on US media, cheering millions of panda fans. 04:26 Washington National Zoo’s last giant pandas returned to China amid strained US-China ties Washington National Zoo’s last giant pandas returned to China amid strained US-China ties Behind the warm, fuzzy imagery, however, are some careful Chinese calculations on timing and the bears’ expected reception, befitting a country that has used panda diplomacy for…

AI takes priority at TikTok owner ByteDance, as Sora disrupts the future of video creation

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ByteDance is “secretly” working on multiple AI products, including text-to-image and text-to-video technology, according to a report on Wednesday by Chinese media outlet Jiemian. The team responsible for video-editing app CapCut, managed by Kelly Zhang Nan – former CEO of the Douyin unit, which oversees TikTok’s Chinese version – is also working confidentially on AI products. ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. One source close to ByteDance, who requested anonymity to discuss internal matters, said that people who hold major sway at the company,…

‘Wrong path’: China warns New Zealand over Aukus security cooperation

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Chinese defence ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said on Thursday that Aukus was established for “selfish geopolitical interests” that “undermined the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and triggered arms races” in the region. “We urge the parties … to refrain from going further and further down the wrong and dangerous path, and refrain from sabotaging international and regional peace and stability to the detriment of their own security interests,” Zhang said. 03:38 Aukus will ‘get done’, Biden tells Australia’s Albanese during visit to Washington Aukus will ‘get done’, Biden tells Australia’s Albanese…

Young South Korean Doctors Resist Back-to-Work Orders, Risking Prosecution

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Seoul —  As South Korea’s government made a last plea for junior doctors to end a walkout hours before a Thursday deadline, many were expected to defy orders to return to work, risking suspensions of medical licenses and prosecution. Thousands of medical interns and residents have been on strike for about 10 days to protest the government’s push to boost medical school enrollments. Government officials have warned that strikers would face legal repercussions if they don’t return to their hospitals by Thursday. As of Wednesday night, about 9,076 of the…

China, US flights continue rebound, but weekly round trips still a fraction of pre-pandemic levels

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The number of round-trip passenger flights between China and the United States will increase to 100 per week from March 31, China’s civil aviation authority confirmed on Thursday. The reciprocal policy by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), which allows American airlines to increase their weekly round trips from 35 to 50, came three days after the US Department of Transportation announced the same flight volume growth from China. The measures will bring the number of flights back to one-third of the pre-pandemic level, following promises by Chinese President…

Chinese businesswoman’s arrest after demanding US$30 million in arrears from local government triggers investigation, public outcry

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The fervent backlash reverberated through social media after it was revealed that city-level authorities in an indebted Chinese province had arrested entrepreneur Ma Yijiayi for trying to recoup millions in back payments from the government. Since 2016, her construction firm had been contracted by Liupanshui city in Guizhou province to build 10 local projects, including kindergartens, primary schools, museums, resorts and hotels, according to a report on Monday by the Beijing-based China Business Journal, which has since removed the story. But reposts have continued to circulate online, outlining how the…