Formula 1 to target China expansion? McLaren commercial chiefs hope so March 2, 2023 Formula 1 team McLaren would back the sport venturing further into China and the surrounding Asian continent amid a growing feeling that the series is yet to cash in on the opportunities the Far East market provides. Nick Martin, the director of new business at the Woking-based F1 outfit, told City A.M. that McLaren acknowledges [...]
EY’s China staff asked to wear communist party badges to work February 27, 2023 Staff in EY’s Beijing offices have reportedly been asked to wear their communist party badges to work. A communist party committee in EY’s China business called on party members to wear their hammer and sickle pins in the office, the Financial Times reported. In an email to party members working in EY’s Beijing office, the [...]
British Steel confirms 260 jobs at risk amid coke oven closures February 22, 2023 British Steel announced 260 jobs are at risk amid proposals to close its coke ovens at its plant in Scunthorpe. The firm said the UK remains “uncompetitive” compared to rival markets with energy and carbon costs “some of the highest” globally. It said it had seen a £190m rise last year and the facilities were [...]
China tells state-owned companies to cut ties with the Big Four February 22, 2023 China has told its state-owned companies to stop working with the Big Four auditors – EY, KPMG, PwC, and Deloitte – and asked them to use local accounting firms instead. China’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has called on the country’s state-controlled firms to let their audit contracts with the Big Four expire, Bloomberg reported today. [...]
China sanctions US defence giants Lockheed Martin and Raytheon for supplying Taiwan weapons February 16, 2023 China imposed trade and investment sanctions on Lockheed Martin and a part of Raytheon for supplying weapons to Taiwan. The move steps up efforts to isolate the island democracy claimed by the ruling Communist Party as part of its territory. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Missiles and Defence are barred from importing goods into China or [...]
Governor of Chinese Xinjiang region abandons UK trip after ex Tory leader IDS among MPs calling for his arrest February 15, 2023 A Chinese governor accused of genocide has reportedly pulled out of an upcoming trip to the UK after MPs called for his arrest. The BBC cited a Foreign Office (FCDO) spokesperson as saying they understood Erkin Tuniyaz, the governor of north-western Xinjiang province, had cancelled his participation in planned in-person talks with FCDO officials in [...]
Ex-spy chief warns balloon ‘gross transgression’ as US denies alien links February 14, 2023 A former head of MI6 has warned of a “gross transgression” by the Chinese authorities in sending a spy balloon into US airspace and urged the UK to “wake up” to the threat posed. Sir Alex Younger, who ran the UK’s foreign intelligence service from 2014 to 2020, told the BBC on 14 February that [...]
Wallace: UK to review security after ‘airspace intrusions’ in US by alleged Chinese ‘spy balloon’ February 13, 2023 Ben Wallace has announced the UK will conduct a security review after a series of objects in Western airspace were shot down by the US military, including a suspected Chinese spy balloon. The Defence Secretary announced the intended review on Sunday. It comes after US fighter jets shot down an “unidentified object” over Lake Huron [...]
Tensions sharpen after US jet downs fourth ‘unidentified object’ in eight days in wake of China ‘spy balloon’ February 13, 2023 A US fighter jet shot down an “unidentified object” over Lake Huron on Sunday on orders from President Joe Biden. It was the fourth such downing in eight days and the latest military strike in an extraordinary chain of events over US airspace that Pentagon officials believe has no peacetime precedent. Part of the reason [...]
Disney: Episode of The Simpsons referencing China’s ‘forced labour camps’ removed in Hong Kong February 8, 2023 Disney has removed an episode of The Simpsons referencing “forced labour camps” in China from its streaming service in Hong Kong. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment about why the episode, One Angry Lisa from The Simpsons’ 34th series, is not available to stream on Disney+ in the semi-autonomous Chinese [...]