China update: our reporter’s round-up of the biggest news from the past 7 days

Reinforced airbases near Taiwan, LinkedIn to leave the country and a robust defence of China’s system by Xi Jinping
This instalment also features the latest on the Chinese astronauts and a look ahead to this week’s key economic data

China leadership

Amber Wangin Beijing

Published: 12:27pm, 18 Oct 2021

Why you can trust SCMP

Happy Monday!

I’m Amber Wang, a reporter at the South China Morning Post who focuses on diplomacy and defence, with your Monday update on the biggest news items from the previous week, and what to look forward to in the week ahead.

My pick for the biggest news last week: at a party meeting on Thursday, President Xi Jinping called China’s political system a “great creation”, in what was seen as an attempt to defend the country against criticism, especially from the US, over rights and values.

Xi says China’s ‘democratic’ system is key to international success

US President Joe Biden has framed US-China relations as democracy versus autocracy, but in his address on Thursday Xi argued that real democracy was not about rhetoric and pledges made on the election trail but “for solving the people’s real problems”.

This week, all eyes are on economic data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) today. The country’s GDP grew by 4.9 per cent in the third quarter, just below expectations, and more analysis is sure to come on how the latest challenges facing China are likely to further affect its recovery.

In other news ….

Military

Satellite images have revealed that China is upgrading and reinforcing its airbases closest to Taiwan along its southeastern coast, indicating Beijing may be stepping up its plans to take the island by force.

Timeline: Taiwan’s relations with mainland China under Tsai Ing-wen

Technology

LinkedIn, the Microsoft-owned social media network for job-hunters and recruiters, has announced that it will soon shut down its operations in China, after facing intense criticism for years over its decision to censor politically sensitive posts on its Chinese site. It is the last major Western social network still operating in China.

Science

China’s Shenzhou 13 spacecraft left Earth at 12.24am on Saturday, taking its three-person crew – including the country’s second female astronaut to ever make it to space – to spend the next six months assembling the Tiangong space station.

02:12

China’s Shenzhou 13 to send crew to Tiangong space station for longest space mission yet

Economy

While Chinese Premier Li Keqiang acknowledged slowing economic growth, he said on Thursday that China had “adequate tools” to tackle the economic challenges facing the country, including the nation’s power crisis and high commodity prices.

Diplomacy

Xi called German Chancellor Angela Merkel – due to step down after 16 years at the helm – an “old friend” during their phone call on Wednesday, bidding her farewell and emphasising the solidity of Beijing-Berlin relations as part of China’s efforts to steady ties with Europe.

Environment

At the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) on Tuesday, Xi pledged 1.5 billion yuan (US$232.5 million) for a new fund to help developing countries protect the variety of plant and animal life.

Society

The murder of well-known vlogger Lhamo shocked the country and led to a public reckoning about domestic violence last year after her ex-husband Tang Lu set her on fire while she was live-streaming. On Thursday, a Chinese court sentenced Tang to death.

Stat in perspective

China’s economic growth of 4.9 per cent in the quarter that ended in September, compared with the same period last year, was its weakest pace since the third quarter of last year when GDP growth was also 4.9 per cent year-on-year.

China has recovered impressively from the impact of the coronavirus and was one of very few countries that had economic growth during the pandemic, but it is still struggling with multiple problems, including a property slump, weak consumer sentiment and soaring raw material costs.