Month: March 2024

China Spy Agency Fingers Consultancies as Espionage Threat

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Taipei, Taiwan —  China’s Ministry of State Security issued a fresh warning this week about overseas spy agencies and what it says are their efforts in recent years to obtain state secrets under the disguise of consulting agencies. The six-minute video released Thursday on the ministry’s official WeChat social media account reenacts what it says was a real case where overseas spy agencies instructed a consulting firm to steal classified information from a Chinese company seeking to invest abroad. The release of the video comes as Chinese leader Xi Jinping…

Beijingers Play Fetch with Migratory Birds in Traditional Game

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Passersby in Beijing during winter or early spring might happen upon groups of residents playing fetch with birds. The players blow plastic beads into the air through carbon tubes for the birds — often from the migratory wutong species — to catch and return, in exchange for a treat. It’s a Beijing tradition dating back to the Qing Dynasty, which ruled between the 17th century and early 20th century. Today, only about 50 to 60 people in Beijing are believed to still practice it. Voice of America

China’s factory activity expands for first time in six months

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China’s factory activity has shown signs of expansion for the first time in six months in a positive sign for Beijing as the world’s second-largest economy grapples with a deep property slowdown and weak investor confidence. The National Bureau of Statistics on Sunday said the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index was 50.8 points in March, up from 49.1 in February and the highest in a year, supported by rising export orders.…

Knockout success of Yolo – the feelgood female boxing movie from China

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In a country where cinemas are normally dominated by wolf warrior blockbusters or nationalist historical epics, the surprise hit of China’s box office in 2024 is a feelgood comedy about a woman who transforms her lacklustre life – and herself – through boxing. Released for the lunar new year holiday on 10 February, Yolo (You Only Live Once) has become the highest grossing film of the year in China, earning more than 3.4bn yuan (£375m) in less than two months, according to the China Movie Information Network. Globally, it is…

Philippines’ Marcos Boosts Maritime Security as China Tension Rises

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MANILA, Philippines —  Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered his government to strengthen its coordination on maritime security to confront “a range of serious challenges” to territorial integrity and peace, as a dispute with China escalates. The order, signed on Monday and made public on Sunday, does not mention China but follows a series of bilateral maritime confrontations and mutual accusations over a disputed area of the South China Sea. Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne…

‘Good intentions’: China’s canteens for seniors are losing money and shutting down from lack of demand

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CCTV said six of a total of nine canteens had folded “due to losses” in a district in a central province, but did not name the exact location. Further investigation revealed that over 60 per cent of the province’s community canteens were running at a loss, according to the report. Workers prepare food at a community canteen for the elderly in Chongqing, China in July 2023. Photo: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images In Beijing, a survey of 40 community canteens showed that more than half of them had lost money,…

China’s factory activity hits 1-year high, adding to signs economic recovery is picking up pace

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The latest reading was the highest since March of last year when the gauge stood at 51.9. “In March, as companies stepped up resuming production after the Lunar New Year, market vitality improved,” said Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician at the NBS. He said in a statement that the Chinese manufacturing sector saw a wider upward swing in March as 15 of 21 surveyed subindustries expanded, up from just five one month ago. “The survey results also show that companies are still facing some outstanding problems in production and operation. For…

Macau roars back as gamblers return to ‘Las Vegas of the east’

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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. Clutching a Dior handbag and wearing a jacket from French designer Ami, Jacky Chen, who works in real estate in Shenzhen, came to Macau to eat, relax and gamble. “People will spend where they need to spend,” he said from outside the newly opened Londoner resort — a labyrinthine edifice in the style of the Palace of Westminster containing several hotels and a 351,000 sq ft of gambling space. He…

China wades into tea wars brewing in the Himalayas

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Chinese tea buyers are disrupting a heated trade spat between Nepal and India that has brought counterfeit Darjeeling into the teapots of unsuspecting consumers. Indian tea estates have come under severe pressure due to an onslaught of cheaper Nepalese tea that traders have been happy to repackage as Darjeeling, the “champagne” of premium teas grown just over the Nepal-India border. India has historically accounted for nearly all of Nepal’s tea exports, meaning Darjeeling tea makers have found it hard to compete with the cheaper leaves flooding the market. Now, with…

Shein profits double to over $2bn ahead of planned listing

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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. Online fast-fashion giant Shein has more than doubled its profits as it awaits regulatory approval from Beijing to go ahead with its blockbuster listing in New York or London. Shein hit a record of more than $2bn in profits for 2023 and recorded roughly $45bn in gross merchandise value, the total value of sold goods on its website, said four people close to the company, which was founded in China…