Sun Yu

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Xi Jinping’s appointments to the Chinese Communist party politburo reflect his ambitions to harness commercial technologies for the benefit of the country’s modernising military © FT montage/Getty Images/Reuters/Bloomberg

When the Chinese Communist party leadership gathered in Beijing for its quinquennial congress last October, the media spotlight was firmly on President Xi Jinping securing a precedent-shattering third term as China’s unchallenged leader.

Overlooked by many at the time was the rise of a new group of political leaders in the top echelons of power whose background diverges from the usual careers in provincial government or Communist party administration. Instead, they all have deep experience in China’s military-industrial complex.

Their swift advancement is part of Xi’s efforts to reinvigorate China’s long-running project of “military-civil fusion”, a policy that seeks to harness new technologies from the private sector for the benefit of the country’s rapidly modernising military.…  Seguir leyendo »

Xi Jinping’s plan to reset China’s economy and win back friends

The costs of China’s chaotic exit from its zero-Covid strategy are surging. In spite of a virtually static official death toll, a slew of obituaries for elderly public figures from academics to opera singers demonstrate the impact of the virus among its vulnerable population.

Hospitals in several parts of the country are overwhelmed, and a scramble for antiviral drugs and painkillers is creating shortages across Asia. Unofficial projections are putting the number of people that could die in China’s exit wave at about 1mn.

Such prospects not only damage the image of Xi Jinping, China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.…  Seguir leyendo »

The humbling of Xi Jinping

For Chinese football fans watching World Cup matches on television, the first sign there was something amiss was when they realised they could hear the crowds in the stadium, but could not see them on their screens.

As nationwide protests against President Xi Jinping’s draconian zero-Covid policy gathered pace last weekend, the censors decided it was too embarrassing to see fans enjoying themselves in crowded stadiums in Qatar, with no one wearing a mask. So after every goal, Chinese television feeds focused only on the players and coaches on the pitch and ignored jubilant fans embracing each other in the stands.…  Seguir leyendo »

© Giles Sabrié/New York Times/Redux/Eyevine | Children at a Beijing exhibition ‘100 Years Towards Greatness’

Fish ponds have been abandoned, fields growing bamboo and flowers have been torn up. Instead, Xi Jinping wants China’s farmers to grow rice and wheat.

In the run-up to next week’s Chinese Communist party congress at which Xi, 69, is expected to be appointed for a third term as leader, farmers across China have been contending with unwelcome ultimatums from local authorities.

In accordance with Xi’s determination to enhance China’s food security in the face of what he sees as a hostile west led by the US, they have been told to divert resources from profitable agribusinesses to basic staples.

These edicts represent a departure from the historic agricultural reforms that, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, set the foundation for China’s rapid transformation into the world’s second-largest economy.…  Seguir leyendo »

© FT montage: Bloomberg/AP

If the world’s second-largest economy shows any sign of recovery from its Covid-induced slump, Wang Neng should be among the first to know.

But so far, he sees few indications of that. Like many small businesses in China, Wang’s cement mixing station in central Henan province has been hit hard by controversial lockdowns in dozens of cities ordered by President Xi Jinping to stamp out outbreaks of the Omicron variant.

Two months after Beijing promised vague measures to support the economy through the crisis — and despite Xi’s assurance of an “all out” infrastructure drive — Wang’s business is still struggling.…  Seguir leyendo »

The rising costs of China’s friendship with Russia

When the Russian invasion of Ukraine started two weeks ago, Jane Yan, a senior executive at a machine parts maker in eastern China, says she was not too worried about the impact. After all, buyers in Russia and Ukraine accounted for less than 5 per cent of the company’s overseas sales last year.

But as the full ferocity of the Russian onslaught started to become apparent, the outlook shifted dramatically. Important clients in countries such as Poland and Germany cancelled orders with the Zhejiang-based company.

“A Munich-based client said ‘it feels terribly wrong to send money to a country that is tolerating war in Ukraine — sorry’”, said Yan, who asked that her employer not be identified.…  Seguir leyendo »