Baking, boiling, drowning

• A landslide left two people dead and two others missing in a village in Gansu Province on July 10, the latest victims of a deluge of rainfall and floods that have sparked a number of landslides all over the country.
• Other regions have been sweltering in record-breaking heat. At least two people died due to heatwaves in Hebei Province on July 7, while Beijing logged a record-breaking temperature of 41.1°C (106°F) for that month on June 22 — its second-highest temperature since modern records began.
• The extreme weather events have spurred Chinese authorities to launch emergency response measures and issue a string of warnings to local officials and the public, in an effort to protect people and property, crops, and the country’s power grids.

China is particularly vulnerable to climate change, with a warming rate higher than the global average and more frequent extreme heat events across the country, according to the Blue Book on Climate Change in China for 2023 released by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) on July 9.

• According to the blue book, a total of 3,501 extreme heat events were recorded in 2022, the most frequent since 1961.
• The number of days of accumulated heavy rainfall has also increased by an average of 4.2% every 10 years between 1961 to 2022.

The Chinese government is rolling out new technology to predict and counter the effects of climate change.

• In May 2022, the country’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced its National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy 2035 to help China build a more climate-resilient society..
• Developing technologies are also aiding efforts to guard against the impact of climate change: China’s National Meteorological Centre (NMC) has rolled out artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to help forecast typhoons up to 12 hours in advance.
• Huawei says it has developed an AI-based global weather model, Pangu Weather, that can provide faster and more accurate forecasts than previous methods.

Click here for all the details.

Nadya Yeh

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

China is planning to send two manned rockets to the Moon by 2030, Chinese state media reported today. This would fulfill earlier promises made in June by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) to put people on the Moon by 2030 as part of China’s ambitious plans to become a leading “space power” by 2045. No human has set foot on the Moon since the U.S. conducted its Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s.

Microsoft claimed that a China-based hacker group breached email accounts of about 25 organizations “including government agencies as well as related consumer accounts of individuals likely associated with these organizations” in a blog post published yesterday.

The group, identified as Storm-0558, “targets government agencies in Western Europe and focuses on espionage, data theft, and credential access,” the post stated. The hacking operation went undetected for about a month beginning on May 15, until customers complained to Microsoft about abnormal mail activity.

“We assess this adversary is focused on espionage, such as gaining access to email systems for intelligence collection,” Microsoft stated in another post.

U.K. ministers flagged eight China-linked investments in British companies using national security powers, invoking a law that gives the government the ability to require modifications or block investments deemed to pose a threat to the U.K.’s interests.

The eight Chinese deals are out of a total 15 transactions that were the subject of a final order, under which the government intervenes, according to figures published by the Cabinet Office yesterday under the National Security and Investment Act in the year to March 31, 2023.

Beijing is home to half of the China-developed technology that drives AI chatbots, with 40 of around 80 large language models (LLMs) that have already been launched, local authorities said. LLMs are the technology used to train AI-powered generative chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Baidu’s recently-launched Ernie Bot.

Chinese state media: Party paper the People’s Daily today leads with a Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 speech to the Central Commission for Deepening Overall Reform on building a “higher-standard open economy,” and the need to find a balance between revitalizing the economy and reducing energy consumption. The speech covered a huge range of other topics, including “the reform of the salary system for university faculty members and research fellows” to “stimulate innovation.”

Xinhua News Agency’s top English-language story is about the same speech.

Xinhua’s Chinese language story today is about some statements made last week during a trip to Jiangsu Province on the scientific and technological aspects of “Chinese-style modernization,” a concept that he has been frequently talking about in the last few months.

• Under the deal, the luxury brand will provide apparel for the team’s 23 players and delegates while traveling and attending formal events, designed to give them a “fresh and contemporary” image outside stadiums, Prada said.
• The partnership has drawn praise on Chinese social media, with many applauding the label for recognizing female athletes for their achievements and “choosing the right people” after a streak of bad luck with its former Chinese brand ambassadors.

This isn’t the first time the Italian designer label has worked with professional Chinese athletes as style influencers. But by supplying non-sportswear for an entire Chinese sports team, Prada is charting a new course as a global designer label.

• In China, although the women’s national soccer team has historically performed better than its male counterparts, the men’s team and its lackluster results had for years dominated the national conversation about the sport.
• The alarming disparity between men’s and women’s earnings received an unprecedented amount of attention in China last year, after the women’s national team defeated South Korea and won the Women’s Asian Cup for a record ninth time.
• The new partnership came at a particularly interesting time for Prada, as its Chinese brand ambassador, Cài Xúkūn 蔡徐坤, a 24-year-old pop idol, has been embroiled in a sex scandal.

Click here for details.

Zhao Yuanyuan

• When the 13-year-old Zhengde — described by historian John Dardess as “an utter madcap” — ascended to the throne in 1505, challengers arose. Zhu Chenhao was one of those challengers.

On the morning of July 10, 1519, Zhu declared that Zhengde was a usurper: a commoner who had been falsely put forward as the emperor’s son by a corrupt eunuch. This meant war, writes James Carter in This Week in China’s History.

James Carter

Welcome to the Jing is a photobook project shot by French photographer Laurent Hou (罗鸿 Luó Hóng) between 2013 and 2017. The photobook captures a special moment in the city’s history: after the Olympics and before the citywide demolition of illegal buildings that began in 2017, Hou snapped around 100,000 shots, mostly of quirky people and happenings inside the city center.

Below are links from our NewsBase to other noteworthy reports published in the last 24 hours from and about China.

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

Digital currency
Major Chinese banks launch digital currency payments that don’t need the internet / Caixin (paywall)
“Two major Chinese commercial banks have allowed their customers to start making payments in e-CNY without being connected to the internet, in another push to get more people to use the central bank-created digital currency.”

Automobile industry
Chinese automakers ride overseas demand as global expansion pays off / Caixin (paywall)
“Chinese auto exports again shot up in the first six months of this year, largely fueled by rising demand for new-energy vehicles (NEVs) and surging deliveries to a sanction-hit Russia, as local carmakers sought to invigorate sales with a push overseas.”

Savings
Chinese mainland savers rush to Hong Kong to capitalize on higher returns, less risk / Caixin (paywall)
“Hong Kong has become a hot destination for Chinese mainlanders to park their money as a turbulent onshore capital market has led many to hunt for lower-risk investments overseas.”

Semiconductors
Xiaomi to stay the course on chip design after rival bails / Caixin (paywall)
“Weeks after the collapse of a rival smartphone maker’s semiconductor unit, Xiaomi Corp. told investors it was still all-in on designing its own chips.”

Tech crackdown
Global investors relieved by China tech rebound, but not convinced yet / Reuters
“Rather than spur a relief rally in China’s battered tech sector, the past week’s developments at Jack Ma-founded Ant Group have merely reminded global investors of the fickle nature of the country’s regulatory policies and the fragility of the sector.”
Beijing’s regulatory crackdown wipes $1.1 trillion off Chinese Big Tech / Reuters
“China’s major tech companies have shed more than $1 trillion in value — equivalent to the entire Dutch economy — since the government’s regulatory crackdown on the sector began more than two years ago, according to Refinitiv data.”

U.S.-China tech war
U.S. big tech won’t shake its China addiction / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“The leaders of America’s most powerful tech companies have been parading through Beijing since early spring, following the end of COVID-19 controls and the gradual reopening of China. Even chilly U.S.-China tensions have not stood in the way of a resumption of pre-pandemic business dialogue.”
China’s ban on Micron roils domestic memory chip market / Caixin (paywall)
“China’s memory-chip industry is in turmoil as U.S. giant Micron Technology Inc., one of the world’s largest suppliers of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, faces a series of setbacks in China.”
‘An act of war’: Inside America’s silicon blockade against China / NYT (paywall)
“The Biden administration thinks it can slow China’s economic growth by cutting it off from advanced computer chips. Could the plan backfire?”

Hacking
China-based hackers have breached government and individual email accounts, Microsoft says / AP
“China called a Microsoft report that a China-based hacking group breached government-linked email accounts ‘disinformation,’ saying Wednesday that the accusation was meant to divert attention from U.S. cyber activities.”
Chinese hackers breached government email accounts, Microsoft says / NYT (paywall)

Development and real estate
Will the ‘fourth arrow’ save Chinese real estate? / Caixin (paywall)
“A long-awaited real estate market stabilization policy was unveiled in China this week.”

IT operations
EY China locked in dispute with global bosses over IT costs / FT (paywall)
“EY’s Chinese business has been refusing to pay fees owed to the Big Four firm’s global headquarters for more than a year in a dispute over IT services that it says cannot be fully used in China, according to people familiar with the matter.”

DHL
DHL invests €500mn in Latin America as clients expand supply chains beyond China / FT (paywall)
“The logistics group is building out new warehouses across alternative manufacturing hubs such as Mexico, Malaysia and Vietnam as businesses try to diversify their sourcing.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Methane-powered rocket
China beats SpaceX with world’s first methane-powered rocket launch / SCMP (paywall)
“A private Chinese aerospace company has won the race to launch a giant rocket powered by methane and liquid oxygen.”
China beats rivals with first methane-liquid rocket launch / Nikkei Asia (paywall)

Extreme weather
The world swelters / Caixin (paywall)
“Temperatures in China and Europe have soared to new levels as the World Meteorological Organization announced that the first week of July was the hottest on record.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

The Communist Party, elite politics, and government
China needs to ‘proactively defend’ against spies, state security minister says / SCMP (paywall)
“China must ‘proactively defend’ against spies to strengthen national security and the Communist Party’s leadership, its state security minister said, nearly two weeks after an expanded anti-espionage law took effect.”

Hong Kong
Wanted Hong Kong activist fears for safety, hopes for U.S. asylum / Reuters
“For Anna Kwok (郭鳳儀 Guō Fèngyí), a Washington-based Hong Kong activist, the imposition of a Hong Kong police bounty for her arrest has underscored the urgency of her bid for political asylum at a time of growing tensions between the United States and China.”
Chinese foreign ministry’s arm in Hong Kong slams United States for renewing city’s ‘emergency status’ / SCMP (paywall)
“Beijing’s foreign affairs arm in Hong Kong has hit out at the United States for extending the city’s ‘emergency status,’ calling it a ‘self-defeating’ and ‘hegemonic’ act.”
Beijing’s top office overseeing Hong Kong affairs holds first meeting after upgrade, with provincial security chief named as No. 2 official / SCMP (paywall)
“Beijing’s top office overseeing Hong Kong affairs has convened its first meeting after completing its upgrade to a higher-level outfit reporting directly to the Communist Party, with Henan province’s security chief appointed as its No. 2 official.”

Taiwan
Bulgari apologizes to China for listing Taiwan as a country after online backlash / AP
“Bulgari has become the latest international brand to apologize to China after listing Taiwan as a country on its website.”
China sends large group of warplanes, navy ships towards Taiwan in forceful display / AP
“China sent navy ships and a large group of warplanes, including fighter jets and bombers, toward Taiwan over two days, the island’s defense ministry said on Wednesday, before its annual military exercises aimed at defending itself against a possible invasion.”
Mainland China to send academic group to Taiwan after three-year pause / SCMP (paywall)
“Mainland China will send its first academic group to Taiwan in three years — at the invitation of an organization founded by the island’s former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九 Mǎ Yīngjiǔ) — in the hopes of resuming cross-strait exchanges.”
Taiwan People’s Party takes early role of spoiler ahead of vote / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“With Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections about six months away, it remains unclear whether the two main parties will be able to win a majority of seats.”

U.S.-China competition and tensions
Kerry to visit Beijing for climate talks amid efforts to revive relations between U.S. and China / AP
“U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry will travel to Beijing next week to discuss strategies for limiting global warming, amid a push by the world’s two largest economies to reengage on multiple issues following a sharp decline in contacts.”
U.S. climate envoy set to visit China next week / Caixin (paywall)
U.S., China should continue talks to avoid tit-for-tat measures / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently completed her first visit to China since taking office. There are no signs of improvement in the frosty bilateral relationship, however, as Beijing is moving ahead with new export restrictions on rare metals used in semiconductors. The two sides should continue dialogue and refrain from using economic measures to trade blows.”
With two meals, Janet Yellen’s outreach in China yields mixed results / WSJ (paywall)
“U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had two highly publicized meals during her recent visit to Beijing. Starkly opposing reactions to them give a taste of the challenge the U.S. faces as it tries to repair its fractured relationship with China.”

South China Sea
U.S. urges China to stop harassing vessels in South China Sea / Reuters
“The United States has called on China to ‘cease its routine harassment’ of vessels of other countries with claims in the South China Sea, reaffirming its support for a 2016 arbitration ruling, which China said on Wednesday it does not recognise.”
Philippines launches website on South China Sea arbitration win / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“The Philippines on Wednesday launched a website containing “official information” about Manila’s arbitration victory against Beijing in their South China Sea territorial dispute.”

U.K.
Dispute over China’s embassy in London strains ties with Britain / Reuters
“It started as a local dispute over China’s plans to build a new embassy next to the Tower of London — pitting the world’s second biggest superpower against an inner-city borough that blocked the project. Just over seven months later, it is escalating into a diplomatic standoff that, officials from both countries told Reuters, is undermining efforts to repair their badly damaged relations.”
U.K. ministers intervene in 8 deals involving China-linked investment / FT (paywall)
“U.K. ministers used national security powers to intervene in eight transactions involving Chinese-linked investment in British companies in the past year, underlining their concern over the potential for Beijing to gain influence over vital industries.”
China opposes U.K.’s ‘discriminatory actions’ against China-linked deals / Reuters
“China firmly opposes what it called the British government’s ‘discriminatory actions’ against Chinese firms, the country’s embassy in the U.K. said after London intervened in Chinese-linked takeovers eight times in the last year.”

Germany
German cabinet to pass China strategy on Thursday – government sources / Reuters
“The German cabinet is to pass its long-promised China strategy on Thursday, two government sources told Reuters, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government last year ordered a review of how Germany interacts with its biggest trade partner.”

South Pacific
Solomon Islands may lead way as China eyes greater South Pacific role / SCMP (paywall)
“The South Pacific could provide a ‘new focus’ for China’s Belt and Road Initiative after this week’s visit by the Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, according to diplomatic observers.”
China woos Papua New Guinea with free trade push / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China is bolstering economic ties with Papua New Guinea as the Pacific nation seeks to expand trade with the world’s second-largest economy even while deepening military cooperation with the U.S.”

Russia
Kremlin says Putin trip to China is ‘on the agenda’ / Reuters
“The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a visit by President Vladimir Putin to China was on the agenda, adding that now was a good time to build on the already strong relationship between the two countries.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Aftermath of Kris Wu case
Kris Wu’s accuser asked for public support. Now she’s suing them. / Sixth Tone
“In an unexpected turn of events, the woman whose rape accusations helped land Chinese Canadian pop star Kris Wu (吴亦凡 Wú Yìfán) in jail is now suing her supporters for using her image.”

Music
AI-generated hits of Hong Kong stars surprise fans, bring dead singers back to life and raise questions about copyright / SCMP (paywall)
“AI has figured in the music industry for some years, but more recently, it has been turning out apparently new work by known artists, including some who are long dead.”

Parenting
In China, ‘reverse parenting’ is turning the tables on unruly kids / Sixth Tone
“The post-’90s new generation of Chinese parents is shunning traditional parenting methods. Instead, they are turning to a more radical, and untested, approach to discipline, where parents mirror their children’s behavior.”

Boomerang kids
In China, the ‘full-time kid’ life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be / Sixth Tone
“Young Chinese are moving back in with their parents. Can the two sides coexist?”

• On The China Project: Boomerang kids: Why China’s young professionals are moving back with mom and pop