James Cleverly to make landmark China visit in bid to ‘protect UK national security’ August 29, 2023 Foreign secretary James Cleverly will make a landmark visit to China on Wednesday in a bid to reaffirm the UK’s protection of national security. Cleverly, who is currently in the Philippines, will fly to Beijing on August 30 for high-level talks with top officials including vice president Han Zheng and foreign affairs minister Wang Yi. [...]
Sunak’s China strategy set for first real test as Cleverly prepares for Beijing trip August 28, 2023 Cleverly is widely expected to fly to Beijing this week, marking the first visit to China by a UK foreign secretary in five years.
UK firms asked to disclose China investments as Sunak mulls trade curbs August 21, 2023 A host of British firms have been asked by the government to hand over information on their investments in China, as the UK looks to take stock of its business ties to the state amid increasing geopolitical tensions. The government confirmed today that a survey was sent to a number of UK firms last month [...]
Foreign Office staff told not to say ‘hostile state’ for fear of upsetting China August 21, 2023 Government officials have reportedly been told not to use the term “hostile state” by the Foreign Office in case it upsets China. The term cannot be used in documents and internal messages via email and WhatsApp between advisers, civil servants and ministers, The Times reported today. One official in another department was reportedly told by [...]
Chinese property giant Evergrande files for bankruptcy in US amid debt overhaul August 18, 2023 Embattled developer China Evergrande Group has filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court as part of one of the world’s biggest debt restructuring exercises, as anxiety grows over China’s worsening property crisis and a weakening economy. Once China’s top-selling developer, Evergrande has become the poster child of the country’s unprecedented debt crisis in the property sector, which accounts for [...]
Intel: £4.2bn deal to buy Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor lapses on China stall August 16, 2023 Intel and Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor have “mutually agreed” to call off their $5.4bn (£4.2bn) deal due to regulatory hurdles from China. In a statement on Wednesday, leading semiconductor manufacturer Intel said it will pay a termination fee of $353m to Tower after the merger failed to get approval from regulators by its 15 August deadline. [...]
Harvey Nichols boss Manju Malhotra exits after three years August 15, 2023 The boss of Harvey Nichols, Manju Malhotra, will step down from her role as head of the luxury retailer. Malhotra, who led the business for three years, will temporarily be replaced by Pearson Poon the son of Dickson Poon who has owned Harvey Nicholls since the 1990’s. Poon, who currently serves as executive director has [...]
Red China: Economy indicators turn south as China stops reporting young unemployment August 15, 2023 A broad array of Chinese data on Tuesday highlighted intensifying pressure on the economy from multiple fronts, prompting Beijing to cut key policy rates to shore up activity but analysts say more support is needed to revitalise growth. Less than an hour before the release of a batch of July data, China’s central bank unexpectedly cut key [...]
Biden declares ‘national emergency’ as he bans US investment in Chinese tech August 10, 2023 President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order that will prohibit some new U.S. investment in China in sensitive technologies like computer chips and require government notification in other tech sectors. The long-awaited order authorizes the U.S. Treasury secretary to prohibit or restrict U.S. investments in Chinese entities in three sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies [...]
China’s economy slips into deflation as recovery from pandemic continues to falter August 9, 2023 China’s already “tortuous” recovery from the Covid pandemic continued to stall today as fresh data indicated that domestic demand remained depressed. Figures out this morning showed that the world’s second largest economy slid into deflation in July for the first time since February 2021, with the consumer price index (CPI) falling 0.3 per cent year-on-year. [...]