Beijing ❤️ Moscow

• About a quarter of the nearly 27 million vehicles sold in China in 2022 were electric.
• But each year, China scraps, dismantles, and recycles far fewer vehicles and batteries overall than would expect, given the size of the recycling industry.

The central government has given permits to 88 companies to recycle batteries. These companies disassemble, sort, and crush the batteries to eventually produce a powder called “black mass” that can, in theory, be recycled infinitely into new EV batteries.

• But these companies are getting their hands on only 25% of China’s decommissioned EV batteries.
• Tens of thousands of unofficial small workshops take the rest — they offer convenience for EV owners, and also pay a premium for old batteries.

The unofficial recyclers disassemble EV batteries by hand, causing little-researched but potentially grave environmental damage.

Barry van Wyk

China will “continue to work with Russia,” Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 told chairperson of Russia’s Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko during their meeting in Beijing yesterday. “To develop China-Russia relations is a strategic choice made by both countries based on the fundamental interests of their respective countries and peoples,” Xi said.

The head of a U.S. think tank has been charged with acting as a Chinese agent, as well as illegal arms trafficking and violating U.S. sanctions against Iran by attempting to broker oil deals, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said on Monday.

Gal Luft, the 57-year-old co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, “agreed to covertly recruit and pay a former high-ranking U.S. Government official” while the official was an adviser to then President-elect Donald Trump “to publicly support certain policies with respect to China,” according to the statement.

Luft has repeatedly denied the accusations. He has been on the lam for the past five months after being arrested in Cyprus and then fleeing authorities. He is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Israel, and is often touted by Republicans as a potential whistleblower for his repeated accusations of corruption against U.S. President Biden and his family.

China and the Solomon Islands signed a deal on police cooperation as part of an upgrade of their relations on Monday, four years after the Pacific nation switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing.

The police cooperation pact was among a slew of deals signed on “development cooperation, trade, infrastructure development, civil aviation, education…customs and meteorology,” after Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met with Chinese Premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 in Beijing during his official visit from July 9 to 15, according to the joint statement.

In June, Sitiveni Rabuka, the new prime minister of Fiji, another South Pacific island nation, said a similar police exchange agreement with China was under review and might be canceled.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qín Gāng 秦刚 will skip ASEAN meetings from July 13 to 14 because of “health reasons,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, extending his two-week absence. China’s top diplomat Wáng Yì 王毅 will attend the gathering in Jakarta, Indonesia instead.

If Qin had attended, it would have put him and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the same room for the first time since they met in Beijing last month in a bid to “stabilize” bilateral relations.

Hong Kong will impose a widespread ban on Japanese seafood products if Tokyo follows through with its plan to release Fukushima water, the Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee (李家超 Lǐ Jiāchāo) said today, following similar statements from Beijing. China and Hong Kong are Japan’s top markets for agricultural and fisheries exports.

Japan’s plan to release treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant was approved by the United Nations’ (UN) nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last week. But it has faced opposition at home and abroad over environmental and food safety concerns.

Chinese state media: The top story on state news agency Xinhua’s website is an infographic about Xi Jinping’s three proposals for “a new type of international relations,” which are:

• “All countries and peoples should enjoy dignity, and that China “opposes interference in the internal affairs of other countries.”
• “All countries and peoples should share the fruits of development.”
• “All countries and peoples should enjoy security together.”

Xinhua’s English and other international websites highlight Xi’s meeting with Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko in Beijing.

The People’s Daily’s print edition today highlights Xi’s meeting with the visiting chairperson of Russia’s Federation Council, and meetings of the Solomon Islands prime minister with Xi and with Premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强.

You can wait for the general podcast release on Thursday, or you can get the ad-free, subscriber-only version of Sinica using any major podcast app on your phone by following the instructions at this link.

Themed around plastic surgery, the paintings of Chinese artist Sū Yáng 苏杨 are more than gross-out pics: She offers them as a critique of the beauty standards that lead women to submit to traumatizing procedures.

Neocha

It was pragmatic: Honduras is the fourth-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and can use investment wherever it can find it.

• Chinese social media points to the benefits Honduran businesses can now reap by accessing the P.R.C.’s gargantuan market. Imports to China increased 229% year-on-year in the past four months alone, and will likely skyrocket in the future.
• Infrastructure is another long-term benefit. Castro’s government aims to set up enough hydroelectric dams in the country’s mountainous and river-filled landscape to generate 600MW of electricity, and is hoping China will help fund an hydroelectric dam on the Patuca River.

The P.R.C., meanwhile, didn’t seek out diplomatic ties just for access to Honduran coffee, bananas, and seafood.

• The new alliance was only ever “about reducing the number of diplomatic relations for Taiwan,” says Alicia Garcia-Herrero, Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis and Senior Fellow at Bruegel, believing China now prioritizes alliances for geopolitical gains over business opportunities.
• Taiwan now only has 13 countries that recognize it diplomatically. “With this new arrangement, the P.R.C. further erodes Taiwan’s political ties to the Latin American and Caribbean region, which is still a relative diplomatic stronghold for Taipei,” says Margaret Myers, director of the Asia and Latin America Program at the Inter-American Dialogue.

This is the state of China relationship with its new little friend.

Alex Colville

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:

Cryptocurrencies
Hong Kong’s crypto grey zones lure Chinese visitors / FT (paywall)
“​​Cryptocurrency transactions are illegal on the mainland, where Beijing has also banned overseas exchanges from serving onshore clients on the internet. But in Hong Kong, crypto trading is legal and the city is seeking to become a digital assets trading hub.”

Electric vehicles
China gallium curbs raise chip questions for future EV models / Reuters
“China’s looming gallium export controls leave automakers with a dilemma over whether they can continue to rely on a metal which had been seen as a game changer for electric vehicles.”
In China, the era of Western carmakers is over / WSJ (paywall)
“Foreign brands lose share to Chinese rivals, driven by local manufacturers’ lead in electric vehicles, as Beijing’s industrial policy pays off.”

Local debt
China’s economy needs swift action to avert local government debt disaster / SCMP (paywall)
“Growing speculation around attempts to shore up local government finances suggests that Beijing is finally starting to tackle one of the chronic ills in the Chinese economy. Local government debt had swollen to almost 38 trillion yuan ($4.8 trillion) at the end of May this year.”

Private sector woes
China’s paltry support for private sector leaves its economic backbone in more dire straits than state firms / SCMP (paywall)
“Despite receiving more orders than last year, a literal door maker in China’s southwest is struggling to open enough figurative doors to make ends meet.”

China’s (fizzling?) economic recovery
Opinion: China’s economic recovery is on track / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Although recent data from China’s powerhouse real estate and export sectors have not lived up to expectations, we should not lose sight of the bigger picture, as Beijing’s economic revival strategy for the world’s second-largest economy encompasses more than these traditional pillars.”
Why China’s woes are boosting other markets / WSJ (paywall)
“The shaky performance of Chinese stocks this year has been good news for other Asian markets.”
Is China mired in a ‘balance sheet recession’? / WSJ (paywall)
“Warning signs are adding up that China may face a slow, post – 2008 slow U.S. recovery—absent a much bigger fiscal push.”
China’s reopening trade is fizzling out / WSJ (paywall)
“Soft Chinese growth and flaring geopolitical tensions represent fresh hurdles for U.S. investors betting on a boom from the reopening of the world’s second-largest economy.”

AI
China to lay down AI rules with emphasis on content control / FT (paywall)
“China is drawing up tighter rules to govern generative artificial intelligence as Beijing seeks to balance encouragement for companies to develop the technology against its desire to control content.”

Mining assets
China joins global hunt to diversify mineral supplies: IEA / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China’s dominant position in refining and processing raw materials is making the nation a strong competitor in the global fight for mining assets, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday, as governments and companies rush to diversify supply chains for critical minerals and stably meet demand for key clean technologies including renewables and electric vehicle batteries.”
Higher investment in critical minerals boosts chances of meeting climate targets / FT (paywall)

Foxconn
Foxconn withdraws from $19.5 billion chip venture with India’s Vedanta / Caixin (paywall)
“Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn on Monday said it has pulled out of a joint venture (JV) with Indian mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd. to produce semiconductors locally, dealing a blow to New Delhi’s efforts to make India a chipmaking hub.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Fertility treatments
China launches campaign to crack down on illegal fertility treatments / Reuters
“China will ‘severely crack down’ on illegal activities related to the use of assisted reproductive technologies such as the buying or selling of sperm or eggs and surrogacy, in a six-month campaign to assuage widespread public concern.”
China begins campaign against illegal reproductive services / Caixin (paywall)

Renewable resources
Life at an offshore wind farm / Caixin (paywall)
“A team of 19 engineers keeps China’s most remote offshore wind farm running smoothly, sometimes spending days at sea.”

Lunar research
Scientists have found a hot spot on the Moon’s far side / NYT (paywall)
“Data from two Chinese orbiters helped a team of scientists explain why a patch of lunar terrain is so much warmer than the surrounding area.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

The Communist Party, elite politics, and government
China’s Xia Baolong heads top office overseeing Hong Kong, Macau / Reuters
“Xià Bǎolóng 夏宝龙 is the head of China’s recently created Central Office for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs, according to an official statement that showed him as chair of a meeting in that capacity on Tuesday.”
China’s new office for Hong Kong and Macao affairs has its first head / Caixin (paywall)
China says its foreign minister is ill. A senior diplomat will take his place at ASEAN / AP
“Chinese Foreign Minister Qín Gāng 秦刚 is unwell and the country’s senior diplomat will take his place at a two-day summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this week in Jakarta, Indonesia, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.”
‘Health reasons’: Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang to miss Asean meeting / SCMP (paywall)

Controversy over China’s “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” law
Chinese man convicted for building bridge ignites public debate over judicial power / SCMP (paywall)
“A man convicted of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’ after he built a bridge to ease traffic in his village is now at the center of a public debate about judicial power in China.”

Government transparency
How China exports secrecy / Foreign Affairs (paywall)
“China thrives on secrecy. Beijing’s approach to governance, which relies on surveillance and control rather than openness and deliberation, requires secrecy.”

Hong Kong to ban Japanese seafood
Hong Kong plans widespread ban of Japanese sea products / Reuters
“Hong Kong leader John Lee (李家超 Lǐ Jiāchāo) on Tuesday said the city will ban seafood products from a large number of Japanese prefectures if Tokyo goes ahead with a plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima plant into the ocean.”
Hong Kong becomes China’s ‘wolf warrior’ in Fukushima water fight / SCMP (paywall)
“China is staunchly opposing Japan’s planned release of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, even though the International Atomic Energy Agency has given a green light.”

Bounty placed on Hong Kong protestors and activist’s family members questioned
Wanted Hong Kong activist’s relatives taken for questioning by police / Reuters
“Hong Kong national security police on Tuesday took away exiled activist Nathan Law’s (羅冠聰 Luó Guāncōng) parents and brother for questioning, local media reported, one week after the police issued an arrest warrant and a bounty on Law’s head.”
Hong Kong national security law: police raid family home of fugitive activist Nathan Law and question parents, older brother / SCMP (paywall)
China puts a bounty on my head / WSJ (paywall)
Pro-democracy activist Ted Hui shares his experience following the Hong Kong Police National Security Department announcing an arrest warrant and bounty of 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($128,000) for information leading to his successful persecution along with others.

Taiwan
Taiwan says 34 Chinese military aircraft detected near the island / Reuters
“Taiwan’s defense ministry detected 34 Chinese military aircraft flying near the island, as well as four Chinese warships carrying out “combat readiness” patrols, it said on Tuesday.”
Paraguay president-elect arrives in Taiwan pledging closer ties / Reuters
“Paraguay’s president-elect, Santiago Pena, said on Tuesday his country’s relationship with Taiwan needed to be even closer and he would reinforce their friendship, even as China ramps up diplomatic and military pressure on the democratic island.”
Taiwan drills to involve civilian airports, practice keeping sea lanes open / Reuters
“Taiwan’s annual military drills will for the first time involve defending the island’s main international airport and also practice how to keep the sea lanes open in the event of a Chinese blockade, officials said on Tuesday.”
Taiwan’s annual air-raid drills to simulate evacuations in event of PLA attack / SCMP (paywall)
Taiwan plans massive safety drill to practice for possible China attack / FT (paywall)

U.S.-China competition and tensions
Was China’s ‘rainbow reception’ for Janet Yellen warmer than Antony Blinken’s ‘snub’? / SCMP (paywall)
“There was no red carpet for U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen when she visited China, but to many, she did receive a very warm welcome — compared to her colleague, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in China weeks earlier.”
Biden bets high-level diplomacy can cool fiery relations with China / NYT (paywall)
“President Biden hopes the diplomatic trips this summer by his aides lead to frank talks with Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 and other Chinese officials before the 2024 U.S. elections.”
Head of U.S.-based thinktank charged with acting as China agent / The Guardian
“The head of a U.S. thinktank has been charged with acting as an unregistered agent of China, as well as seeking to broker the sale of weapons and Iranian oil, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said.”

Germany
Germany wants to deepen China agricultural trade ties by combating climate change suffering, eyes lifting of pork ban / SCMP (paywall)
“China and Germany should deepen agricultural collaboration amid worsening climate change issues and global supply chain disruptions, said German diplomats, who are also hoping Beijing will relax its pork import ban.”

Australia and the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands, China should publish details of police deal, Australia says / Reuters
“Australia called on the Solomon Islands and China to immediately publish details of a police cooperation plan, which has reignited the U.S. ally’s concerns over Chinese security ambitions in the Pacific islands region.”
Australians see benefits of strong China ties but want Chinese apps banned, survey finds / SCMP (paywall)
“Australians remain wary of the security threat China may pose, even as they back efforts by the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to stabilize ties with Beijing, a new survey has found.”

U.K.
Britain’s MI5 is being sued for calling Christine Lee a Chinese agent / SCMP (paywall)
“A woman branded a Chinese agent by Britain’s domestic intelligence service MI5 is suing the agency in a bid to clear her name, with her lawyers on Tuesday trying to compel MI5 to disclose why it warned lawmakers about her.”

European Union
EU’s trade-focused climate policy seen as ‘new tariff barrier’ in China economic circles / SCMP (paywall)
“Taking a shot at the architects behind the European Union’s new climate policy, a Chinese central banker says the bloc’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) functions as a ‘new tariff barrier’ that violates economic principles.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Fashion
Prada shifts focus from celebrities to athletes, partners with Chinese women’s soccer team / Sixth Tone
“The Italian fashion label has had to cut ties with several celebrity brand ambassadors over major scandals in recent years. It’s now partnering with more athletes instead.”

Theater
New musical honors Shanghai’s legacy of welcoming Jewish refugees / Sixth Tone
“Composed and conducted by award-winning musicians, the oratorio will premiere in Shanghai on Nov. 17 and then embark on a global tour.”