SubscribeMarkets Everywhere You Look in China Are Signs of More Market Misery Weak manufacturing data highlight slowing growth momentum Tensions between US and China are adding to the headwinds By Bloomberg News 31 May 2023 Things are going from bad to worse for Chinese equities, with a key index tumbling into a bear market as disappointing manufacturing data added to the bleak outlook. A gauge of Chinese stocks in Hong Kong dropped over 20% from its recent peak to enter a bear market while the Hang Seng Index also retreated. The offshore yuan plummeted to a six-month low while commodities from copper to iron ore slumped. Global funds are beating a hasty retreat as a slew of disappointing data, geopolitical risks and continued weakness in the property sector hurt sentiment. Calls for more policy support are growing, with concerns about a faltering Chinese economy being felt far beyond its shores. “The weakness has been expected for months now, so the data is just another reason for the market to drag its feet,” said Yang Zhiyong, executive director of Beijing Gemchart Asset Management Co. “There were a lot of pledges on supporting the economy earlier in the year, but none of that is coming to fruition, which is what is most frustrating to me.” Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index headed for bear market territory before pulling back, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.9%. Both gauges posted their biggest monthly declines since February, having lost more than 8%. The pessimism is pervasive. Just 16% of HSCEI members traded above their average share price in the last 50 days, compared with 58% in mid-April. The Hang Seng Index was the worst performing primary gauge on Wednesday. The onshore CSI 300 Index, which wiped out all its gains for 2023 just a few days earlier, dropped another 1% on Wednesday. The decline in stocks may have surprised some traders, who had already factored in further weakness given the recent run of poor data. “The data will surely have some negative impact on the market, but this is not entirely surprising and the market has already priced in some of the weakness,” said Yan Kaiwen, an analyst at China Fortune Securities. “But the room for a further slide will be limited.” Global funds aren’t waiting around to find out for sure. They turned net sellers of Chinese equities for a second straight month, something that hasn’t happened since the rout in October. Some China bulls, including Citigroup Inc. and Jefferies Financial Group Inc., have started to retreat, trimming portfolio allocations. Overseas investors sold 3.8 billion yuan ($535 million) of mainland shares via trading links with Hong Kong on Wednesday. “The reopening trade is over and now you can really feel the divergence,”said Patrick Wu, co-head of trading for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at Credit Agricole CIB. “Global traders won’t be going onshore to buy assets big time now.” Even before Wednesday’s data, economists had been calling for China’s central bank to cut the reserve requirement ratio for major banks before the end of the third quarter. To make matters worse, there are no signs of a thaw in tensions between Washington and Beijing. The US accused China of an “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” after a Chinese fighter jet swerved in front of a US reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea. Beijing also recently declined a request from Washington for the countries’ defense chiefs to meet this week. “China’s uneven economic recovery is one of investors’ concerns, along with geopolitics,” said Vey-Sern Ling, managing director at Union Bancaire Privee. “More stimulus from the government may help, but evidence of sustainable longer-term growth will be required to clear investors’ doubts.” — With assistance by John Liu, Lin Zhu, Tian Chen, Jeanny Yu, April Ma and Tania Chen
China relations Chinese general threatens foreign navies after warships nearly collide in Taiwan Strait By Eryk Bagshaw Updated June 4, 2023 https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/c...collide-in-taiwan-strait-20230604-p5dds0.html https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_..._mp4/92add1358215d94339620e31ab48c70d9984f7dc Singapore: China’s defence minister has warned foreign naval vessels and warplanes to stay out of the Taiwan Strait, intensifying Beijing’s military posture a day after a Chinese warship nearly collided with an American destroyer in the contested waters. The Australian government responded with alarm to the incident on Sunday, warning that a miscalculation could have devastating consequences. “An accident in that context would be a disaster,” said Defence Minister Richard Marles, who met with Beijing’s defence minister Li Shangfu on Saturday night and urged him to keep lines of communication open. Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu salutes before delivering his speech in Singapore.Credit: AP But in a strident speech on Sunday that escalated China’s threats towards the democratic island of Taiwan, Li told other countries to “mind their own business”. “As the lyrics of a well-known Chinese song go when friends visit us, we welcome them with fine wine, when jackals or wolves come, we will face them with shotguns,” he said. On Saturday, a Chinese warship came within 140 metres of hitting the American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon in the Taiwan Strait. Canadian reporters travelling aboard the trailing HMCS Montreal witnessed the Chinese navy ship pick up considerable speed and cut in front of the bow of the Chung-Hoon. The near miss followed another incident between the world’s two largest militaries on May 26 when a Chinese fighter jet swerved in front of a US reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea. “They’re not here for innocent passage,” said Li. “They’re here for provocation.” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the incident was a concern. “I spoke there about a misadventure or a miscalculation having consequences,” he said in Vietnam after leaving Singapore on Saturday. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, international ships and planes are allowed to pass through the Taiwan Strait if they are outside a 24-nautical mile zone from any coastline. “Why did all those incidents happen in areas near China not in areas near other countries?” Li asked in response to questions at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. “I think that is because China’s naval vessels or Chinese fighter jets do not do those navigation actions in areas near other countries.” But other areas do not face weekly military threats from Beijing. On Sunday morning alone, 15 People’s Liberation Army aircraft and seven naval vessels were detected around Taiwan by its Ministry of National Defence. Chinese Defense Minister General Li Shangfu at the Shangri-La on Sunday. Credit: AP China claims neighbouring Taiwan as a province of the mainland despite the Chinese Communist Party never having ruled the democratic island of 24 million people. President Xi Jinping has set a target of unifying with Taiwan by the centenary of the People’s Republic in 2049, but some military leaders fear that could come much earlier as China rapidly builds up its military capability. “We will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with our most sincerity and greatest efforts,” said Li. “But we make no promise to renounce the use of force if anyone dares to separate Taiwan from China.” Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen speaks with military personnel in September 2021.Credit: AP Less than 8 per cent of the Taiwanese population wants to see unification with the mainland, according to a regular poll by Taipei’s National Chengchi University. But Li accused, without evidence, Taiwan’s ruling Democratic People’s Party of “manipulating and hijacking public opinion”. “They have tried hard to erase the Chinese identity of Taiwan,” he said. “Meanwhile, some big power has repeatedly sold arms to Taiwan, providing military training assistance to it and upgraded official exchanges with Taiwan.” Li accused the United States of attempting to contain China by supporting Taiwan. The Chinese general has refused to meet with his counterpart Lloyd Austin at the Shangri-La in Singapore, historically one of only two bilaterals between the two military leaders each year. Li was sanctioned by the US in 2018 over the purchase of Russian fighter jets. In his keynote speech at the Shangri-La Albanese urged the two superpowers to re-open dialogue after a communication breakdown following the shooting down of a Chinese-made balloon over the US in February. Austin on Saturday said he was deeply concerned that China has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management between the two militaries. “For responsible defence leaders, the right time to talk is any time. The right time to talk is every time and the right time to talk is now,” said Austin. Li said it was undeniable that a severe confrontation between China and the US will “be an unbearable disaster for the world”. “China seeks to develop a new type of major country relationship with the United States,” he said. Defence Minister Richard Marles and Chinese General Li Shangfu at the Shangri-La dialogue on Saturday.Credit: Eryk Bagshaw Despite the deepening rift between the two superpowers, Marles said on Sunday his meeting with Li was positive. “General Li and I both agreed that we had walked a significant journey over the course of the last 12 months,” he said. Marles raised the cases of detained Australians Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun with Li and other human rights issues in their 40-minute meeting with Li. “Now, there is a whole range of issues, that we continue to work through with China,” he said. “It’s precisely when things are not all agreed that you need to have diplomacy to navigate those borders”.
South China Sea White House sees ‘growing aggressiveness’ from Chinese military Justin Sink and Jenny Leonard Jun 6, 2023 https://www.afr.com/world/north-ame...iveness-from-chinese-military-20230606-p5de8e Washington | Military interception manoeuvres by Chinese ships and planes suggest a “growing aggressiveness” from Beijing and risk an accident that could result in injury, the White House said Monday (Tuesday AEST). “It won’t be long before somebody gets hurt,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House. “That’s the concern with these unsafe and unprofessional intercepts. They can lead to misunderstandings, they can lead to miscalculations.” James Kirby: “The vast majority of international economic trade flows through the Indo-Pacific. We’ve got real needs there, and we’re going to stay there.” AP A Chinese warship crossed the bow of an American warship in the waters of the Taiwan Strait at a distance of around 150 metres, the Pentagon said Saturday. The interception forced the USS Chung-Hoon to take evasive measures. Last month, a Chinese jet crossed the path of a US reconnaissance plane as it was flying through international air space. Mr Kirby said he believed that the Chinese efforts represented “a statement of some sort of displeasure about our presence” in the region. But, he said, the US would continue sailing and flying in the area. “The vast majority of international economic trade flows through the Indo-Pacific. We’ve got real needs there, and we’re going to stay there,” Mr Kirby said.....
China: "That's a nice set of trade partners you have there, Russia. it'd be a shame if something happened to them." Russia faces a new neighbourhood threat: China Moscow’s Ukraine struggles and neocolonialism have made its former partners in Central Asia turn to Beijing. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/6/6/russia-faces-a-new-neighbourhood-threat-china
Who is this Anders guy, full of bs. When you have a viking writing and opinioning outside his life experience, just find that no worth the read. Mishustin is a technocrat, he is tasked to run the domestic econmy. Words from East is that his trip to China was to pin down the details of Siberia plan, particularly opening Vladivistok to Chinese shipping companies. If anyone is going to replace Putin, it is not going be him. For a better misinformation/propaganda, go read Johnson's Russia List, it is DOD backed, somewhat semi-legit.
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/09/economy/china-unemployment-temple-lottery-intl-hnk/index.html People in China are so worried about the economy they’re asking for divine intervention
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/12/china/china-marriages-record-low-intl-hnk/index.html China records fewest marriages in more than three decades as population crisis looms
The pandemic's origins were "most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan", the FBI director said. Credit: AP Trio of scientists at Wuhan lab named as COVID’s ‘patients zero’ after conducting ‘risky virus research’ Victoria Allen Daily Mail June 15, 2023 https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/co...er-conducting-risky-virus-research-c-10986756 A trio of scientists in Wuhan who were among the first people infected by coronavirus in 2019 have been named as “patients zero”. All three worked at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which many officials and experts now believe was the source of the virus which killed millions and shut down the world. The scientists have all published scientific papers with Dr Shi Zhenghli, nicknamed Bat Woman, who collected samples of viruses from wildlife and is understood to have been in possession of viruses very similar to SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19. The trio have been named as Ben Hu, Yu Ping and Yan Zhu, according to the UK-based Public Digital newsletter, which covers technology, government and public policy. It claims the names have come from US government sources and could be officially released next week as part of previously classified material made public by the Directorate of National Intelligence. It comes two years after a former US State Department official told The Mail on Sunday that three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology had become ill with a mysterious respiratory condition in November 2019. David Asher, former lead investigator for the State Department, said the wife of one of the scientists had died. Responding to the naming of three scientists, Dr Alina Chan, from the Broad Institute of MIT, told Public: “Ben Hu is essentially the next Shi Zhengli. He was her star pupil. He had been making chimeric SARS-like viruses and testing these in humanised mice.” Dr Chan, who wrote a book called Viral about the origins of the pandemic with British science writer Matt Ridley, added: “If I had to guess who would be doing this risky virus research and be most at risk of getting accidentally infected, it would be him.” In February, Christopher Wray, director of the FBI, said his organisation now believed the origins of the pandemic are “most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan”. It has been suggested by some that the virus was bioengineered in the Wuhan lab after scientists pointed out it was the first virus of its kind to have a “furin cleavage site” – making it more infectious. Shi Zhengli - dubbed the ‘Bat Lady’ of ‘Bat Woman’, for her work on bat coronaviruses, pictured working with other researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2017 Credit: AP A furin cleavage site attracts a protein called furin which helps the spike protein on the surface of the coronavirus to be cut so that it can infect cells in the human body. If the report by Public is accurate, it is unclear how long officials have known the identities of the three scientists from Wuhan, nor why the information has been hidden. Dr Shi was reported to have told the New York Times in 2021 that speculation about the Wuhan lab was baseless. But this new information has gained momentum. The alternative explanation, which suggested the virus crossed into people from animals, was insisted upon by most experts and was the mainstream narrative at the start of 2020. But Professor Robert Garry, a microbiologist at Tulane University in the US, who co-wrote an article presenting this conclusion, said part of this assessment may have gone “too far”. Speaking on the Radio 4 series Fever: The Hunt for Covid’s Origin, Professor Garry was challenged on the conclusion that “we do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible” as well as the suggestion the virus was not deliberately bioengineered as a weapon.