China: Daily Scan, September 29, 2022

Chinese envoy calls for engagement with Afghan Taliban: Xinhuanet
September 28, 2022

A Chinese envoy on Tuesday called on the international community to engage with Afghanistan’s Taliban. “The international community should remain engaged with the Afghan interim government in a pragmatic manner, carry out positive interactions, provide patient guidance, enhance mutual understanding and trust, and help the Afghan interim government build inclusive and moderate governance,” said Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations. Click here to read…

China to pilot inclusive finance reform in three cities: Xinhuanet
September 28, 2022

China will carry out pilot inclusive finance reform in three cities, the country’s central bank said Wednesday. Trials will be conducted in Tongchuan, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, Lishui in east China’s Zhejiang Province, and Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, according to the plans released by the People’s Bank of China and seven relevant authorities. Click here to read…l

Chinese students in US see first decline in 10 years: Global Times
September 28, 2022

Chinese students may choose to study in European and Asian countries instead of the US or Australia in the future due to geopolitical factors, said a report released by a Chinese think tank on Wednesday, which also noted that the number of overseas Chinese students coming back to China after graduation will witness a continuous increase. Click here to read…

Xi Jinping visits exhibition themed “Forging Ahead in the New Era,” stresses vigorousness, resoluteness and solidarity in striving for new success of socialism with Chinese characteristics: People’s Daily
September 28, 2022

As the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is drawing near, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, president of the People’s Republic of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited an exhibition themed “Forging Ahead in the New Era” at Beijing Exhibition Center on September 27. Xi stressed, since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has united and led the whole Party and the people of all ethnic groups in solving many tough problems that were long on the agenda but remained unsolved, accomplishing many things of vital importance and long-term significance, and withstanding the test brought about by risks and challenges from political, economic, ideological, and natural domains. Click here to read…

China’s c.bank launches $28 bln loan facility to support equipment upgrades: Reuters
September 28, 2022

China’s central bank said on Wednesday it has set up a relending facility worth more than 200 billion yuan ($27.59 billion) to help manufacturers and other companies upgrade their equipment, as part of a push to revive flagging demand. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement that it will provide low-cost funds to financial institutions and guide them to lend to firms to support such upgrades. Click here to read…

China property shares, bonds slump as CIFI default report adds to sector woes: Reuters
September 28, 2022

Investors dumped shares and bonds of Chinese property developers on Wednesday, after a media report that CIFI Holdings (Group) Co had defaulted added to worries over the crisis-stricken real estate sector. Click here to read…

New U.S. strategy to enhance Pacific ties amid China’s rise in region: Kyodo
September 28, 2022

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden vowed Wednesday to strengthen ties with Pacific island nations through an enhanced diplomatic presence and climate crisis support as part of its first strategy specifically focused on the region. The move comes as the U.S.-Pacific Island Country Summit is set to be held in Washington for two days from Wednesday, in another effort by the Biden administration to step up regional engagement in the face of China’s expanding influence. Click here to read…

Former top graft-buster at Chinese spy agency to face court on bribery charges: South China Morning Post
September 28, 2022

A former anti-corruption chief at China’s spy agency, the Ministry of State Security, was indicted for bribery on Wednesday, the top prosecutor’s office said. The National Supervisory Commission has finished its investigation of Liu Yanping, 67, according to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) statement. Liu, who was detained in March, was a committee director under the ministry’s branch of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). Click here to read…

China tests central bank digital currency use to settle trades via ‘bridge’ with partners including Hong Kong, Thailand and UAE: South China Morning Post
September 29, 2022

China has completed a 40-day trial using central bank digital currencies to settle trades with Hong Kong, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates via a special “bridge” arrangement, according to a brief report published by the Financial News, the mouthpiece of the Chinese central bank. Click here to read…

Financial distress of local governments raises debt-default risks, weighs on average Chinese: South China Morning Post
September 29, 2022

Growing financial distress in regions across China is raising the risk of local governments defaulting on their bonds, as the nation presses on with its costly zero-Covid strategy. The weakening of local government finances has been of growing concern in recent weeks, triggering questions about whether local Chinese authorities will need to cut back on spending in public services, and about the overall rising costs of keeping nationwide coronavirus-curbing measures in place. Click here to read…

Former Jiangsu senior Party official indicted for bribery: Xinhuanet
September 29, 2022

Zhang Jinghua, former deputy secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has been indicted on charges of taking bribes. The National Commission of Supervision had concluded its probe into Zhang’s case. Upon the designation of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Wuhan Municipal People’s Procuratorate in central China’s Hubei Province reviewed the case and initiated a public prosecution against Zhang at the Intermediate People’s Court of Wuhan. Click here to read…

Chinese premier urges policy implementation to boost economic recovery: Xinhuanet
September 29, 2022

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday called for solid efforts to carry out the country’s policies aimed at stabilizing economic recovery. Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks at a meeting on government work regarding economic stabilization for the fourth quarter of this year. Click here to read…

China blasts U.S. for cyber attacks on Chinese university: Xinhuanet
September 29, 2022

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Wednesday said evidence proved that the United States is the greatest threat to global cyber security, calling for joint effort against U.S. infringement on cyber sovereignty and international rules. Click here to read…

Chinese mainland reports 106 new local confirmed COVID-19 cases: Xinhuanet
September 29, 2022

The Chinese mainland on Wednesday reported 106 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 38 were in Guizhou, the National Health Commission said Thursday. Altogether 526 local asymptomatic carriers were newly identified. Click here to read…

China, Arab countries hold webinar on military higher learning cooperation: China Military
September 29, 2022

The China-Arab States seminar on military higher learning institutions was held via video link at the National Defense University (NDU) of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Wednesday evening. The theme of the seminar is “Strengthening higher military education cooperation and promoting the construction of a China-Arab community with a shared future”. Leaders of military higher learning institutions from 16 Arab countries attended the event. Click here to read…

China probes ‘problematic maps’ that endanger national security: Global Times
September 29, 2022

China’s natural resources and national security departments have carried out joint law enforcement operations against relevant enterprises and organizations that use “problematic maps” overseas, China Central Television reported on Wednesday. Click here to read…

China signals no let-up in its aggressive diplomacy: Reuters
September 29, 2022

China signalled on Thursday no let-up in its combative approach to foreign policy in a third term for Xi Jinping as leader despite criticism from many Western diplomats that the so-called Wolf Warrior stance has been counterproductive. Click here to read…