Aussie China News
A weekly roundup of your favourite (and least favourite) Australian digital media coverage of China.
Hello everyone and welcome to a new issue of Aussie China News!
This post covers Australian digital news and commentary on China between Friday 28th July and Friday 4th August.
News
Politics
First something slightly hilarious:
Australian military band's performance at Chinese embassy hits wrong note with diggers
Andrew Greene, ABC, Sat 29 Jul 2023
A decision to allow an Australian Army band to perform at a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) celebration in Canberra has been criticised by some veterans and the federal opposition.
Security
And now onto this week’s highlight:
China's overseas police 'contact point' joins the cloud and remains operational in Australia
Bang Xiao, ABC, Fri 4 Aug 2023
China has been using cloud-based technology to implement a police service in Australia, the ABC can reveal. China has set up dozens of police outreach centres in various cities across the world — which Beijing calls "contact points" — linked to the security departments of Chinese cities.
More on the spies front:
Australian businessman ‘in survival mode’ when he placated Chinese intelligence with open-source information, documents claim
Ben Doherty, The Guardian, Mon 31 Jul 2023
Alexander Csergo says his Chinese intelligence handlers would nominate where to meet. When he would arrive, Ken and Evelyn – he only ever knew them by a single Anglicised name – would already be waiting and the restaurant otherwise empty of people: cleared, he believed, specifically for their meeting.
Solomon Islands newspaper pledged to promote ‘truth about China’s generosity’ in return for funding
Charley Piringi, The Guardian, Wed 2 Aug 2023
Local media in Solomon Islands have been accused of compromising their independence by entering into agreements with Chinese news organisations and accepting thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment from the Chinese embassy.
Canada asks Australia for help as it faces backlash over China meddling
Farrah Tomazin, The Sydney Morning Herald, Wed 2 Aug 2023
Canada has enlisted Australia’s help to create a registry of foreign agents as the Trudeau government attempts to thwart China and other countries from meddling in the nation’s affairs.
Tech
While lighter in the politics section, this week’s tech section is very rich:
ACT public service payslips at risk but no sign they were taken in Barracuda email system breach
Jasper Lindell, The Canberra Times, Mon 31 Jul 2023
ACT public service payslips, documents scanned to email on photocopiers and automatic responses to information provided in online forms were at risk of data theft for almost 200 days in a breach attributed to spying on behalf of China.
Meta, Google hiring in China despite security concerns
Max Mason, AFR, Mon 31 Jul 2023
US technology giants Meta and Google are hiring engineers and developers in mainland China for virtual reality, cloud, mobile and smart home products, despite Western government fears that the Chinese Communist Party’s harsh intelligence laws can force companies to hand over information.
Could an Alibaba push to cut carbon emissions create opportunities for Australian businesses in China?
David Chen and Arlie Felton-Taylor, ABC, Wed 2 Aug 2023
Alibaba is encouraging Chinese consumers to make more sustainable choices and cutting its carbon emissions. Experts say the move is in response to growing popularity of low-cost competitors. Food Leaders Australia says Alibaba's new focus will open doors for Australian companies.
'Narrative machine': Ban on Chinese app WeChat possible amid concerns about foreign interference, according to Senator
Max Melzer, Sky News, Wed 2 Aug 2023
Liberal Senator James Paterson says the Chinese messaging app is an "espionage and data security risk," and has floated the idea of a ban similar to the one placed on TikTok.
Economics and trade
China seeks to boost consumption, property market
Michael Smith, AFR, Mon 31 Jul 2023
China has announced new measures to boost consumption by getting people to spend more on cars, property, electronic products, and holidays as part of a broader effort to reboot the country’s stalled post-pandemic economic recovery.
As China stimulates, steel guru sees decades of demand for Aussie coal
AFR, Mon 31 Jul 2023
This is a crucial week for Australia’s coal miners. In the wake of China’s Politburo meeting in Beijing, and a series of stimulus announcements by the Chinese government, miners and investors will be hoping that big talk is finally translating into action.
Huge Chinese state iron ore buyer still an unknown quantity
Alfred Cang, AFR, Tue 1 Aug 2023
A year after China set up a company that’s expected to become the world’s biggest iron ore buyer, the firm and how it will operate remains shrouded in mystery.
Major project investment may be peaking as Deloitte sees China and energy slowdowns
Matt Mckenzie, The West Australian, Wed 2 Aug 2023
There has been a big jump in the value of major projects under construction in the State in the past year, but economists at Deloitte have warned the pipeline could slow. About $50 billion of projects were under way in WA at the end of June, an increase of 57.7 per cent on the prior year.
Lithium giant distances itself from billionaire’s attack on China
Brad Thompson, AFR, Fri 4 Aug 2023
Albemarle has distanced itself from Mineral Resources boss Chris Ellison and his attack on China after he pulled out of a billion-dollar lithium-processing deal with the battery chemical giant on the Chinese mainland last month.
(Maybe) finally some of the tariffs have gone down:
China to lift tariffs on Australian barley exports
Tess Ikonomou, Paul Osborne and Liv Casben, 7News, Fri 4 Aug 2023
Grain growers are celebrating China’s decision to lift punitive tariffs on Australian barley exports to the billion-dollar market after a long-running trade dispute. The Chinese government imposed duties on barley imports in May 2020 over what it claimed were concerns about the dumping of cheap grain.
Society
Young people in China embrace 'hermit' lifestyles, seek escape from pressures of modern life
Jenny Cai, ABC, Sun 30 Jul 2023
Ms Tu is among a growing number of young people in China experimenting with yin ju, or "hermit" living, an ancient traditional Chinese philosophy that often involves embracing a simpler life in nature.
Aussie badminton Olympian Gronya Somerville has a bigger following in China than Australia
Matt Johnston, Herald Sun, Fri 4 Aug 2023
Few recognise Badminton Olympian Gronya Somerville when she walks her local Brunswick streets. In bustling Beijing and Jakarta, she is mobbed by fans.
Opinion and analysis
Another highlight is this short analytical piece exploring the China-Pacific nexus:
Tracking the evolution of Pacific island sentiment towards AUKUS
Blake Johnson and Luisa Gyhn, The Strategist, Fri 28 Jul 2023
In September 2021, the Chinese Communist Party attempted to use the establishment of the AUKUS pact and Australia’s plan for nuclear-powered submarines to undermine the strong ties between Pacific island countries and the three AUKUS partners. The CCP’s messaging was spread across a broad spectrum of information channels, including Chinese state media, articles and statements by CCP officials in local and social media, and official party-state Facebook groups.
If the US or China falter, the average Australian will pick up the bill
George Megalogenis, Sydney Morning Herald, Sat 29 Jul 2023
Imagine a global economy in which the United States finally gets its big call on slaying the inflation dragon right while China faces the greater risk of a crash. This era-defining shift in power – unthinkable even a month ago – moved closer to reality this week after the US and China gave conflicting reports on their prospects and policy ambitions.
The West’s China crossroads
Mark Leonard, The Strategist, Mon 31 Jul 2023
Last month, Canada suddenly announced that it was freezing all ties with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a multilateral lender created by China as an alternative to the World Bank. According to Canada’s finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, the decision was in response to allegations that China’s government had stacked the institution with Chinese Communist Party officials who ‘operate like an internal secret police’.
Why everyone pays the price as US de-friends China
Gerwin Bell, AFR, Tue 1 Aug 2023
The US stance on shifting manufacturing and supply chains isn’t reducing dependence on the world’s second-largest economy, but is adding costs and inefficiency.
Why India, unlike China, won’t be an economic superpower
Ashoka Mody, The Strategist, Tue 1 Aug 2023
While China, with its deep well of human capital and greater gender equality, stands poised at the frontiers of both the old and the new economies, Indian leaders and their international counterparts tout an ahistorical ability to leapfrog over a fragile human foundation with shiny digital and physical infrastructure. China has a plausible path through its current muddle. India, by contrast, risks falling into blind alleys of unfounded optimism.
That’s all for this week. Thank you so much for reading! This project is in its experimental phase, so please send your feedback and let me know what you think as I work to improve it.
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