China’s crackdown on property developers and its draconian “Covid Zero” policies are bad news for most of its people, as well as businesses abroad hoping to make money from Chinese customers.
 
But China’s internal troubles have an upside: lower demand for imported metals, energy, food and capital goods is alleviating inflationary pressures in the rest of the world. For the first time in decades, the country’s enormous trade surplus is a boon for workers elsewhere.

The result is extra supply for the rest of the world. Iron ore, metallurgical coal and copper are essential materials for making construction steel, household appliances and electrical wiring.  
 
Before the recent downturn, China consumed about two-thirds of the world’s iron ore and metallurgical coal and about 40 per cent of the copper. Lower demand means lower prices. Compared with the recent peak in July 2021, iron ore futures are down by half, while Chinese metallurgical coal prices are down by about a third. Global copper prices have dropped by a quarter despite the expected tailwind of additional climate-related green investments in the US and Europe.

Chinese consumer spending in the first half of 2022 was barely higher than in the first half of 2021 after accounting for inflation, and is now running more than 10 per cent below the pre-pandemic trend. Chinese oil refiners have been processing 10 per cent less crude oil since April compared with last spring thanks to the plunge in petrol demand. Electricity consumption, which had been expanding by about 7 per cent a year before the pandemic, is now growing just 2 per cent.

UN Expert Finds Forced Labor Claims in China’s Xinjiang Credible
Report offers rare critique of Beijing from within world body

Tomoya Obokata, the UN’s special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, said in a report that the involuntary nature of China’s employment programs in Xinjiang indicated forced labor, even if they did improve job opportunities for some minorities. The findings were based on an “independent assessment of available information,” including stakeholder submissions, victim testimony and government accounts.  
 
“The special rapporteur regards it as reasonable to conclude that forced labor among Uyghur, Kazakh and other ethnic minorities in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing has been occurring in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China,” Obokata’s report said. Similar policies were in place in Tibet, according to the report, which was dated July 19 and posted on Obokata’s Twitter feed Tuesday.

US-China Tech Export Approval Rate Proof of Policy Failure, Says Ex-Pentagon Analyst
 
In 2021, 88% of tech exports to China sailed through the US approval process.

Strident-sounding U.S. tech sanctions on China don't bite very hard. Official data from the Commerce Department shows the U.S. approves almost all tech export requests to China, according to a new Wall Street Journal report.  
 
The data reveals that, in 2020, of the <0.5% of exports to China that required a license to be exported, 95% were approved. In 2021, the approval rate dropped to 88% — meaning nearly nine out of 10 tech export licenses were still greenlit.

The WSJ report references the findings of U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, which highlight the fact that blacklisted Chinese companies such as Huawei and SMIC were issued with more than $100 billion worth of export license between November 2020 and April 2021. Blacklisted entities aren't automatically denied exports, they just have to apply for a license

@davegreenidge57
There is a small anti mask and quarantine movement starting and with some support from local officials.
 
“On August 16, Li Keqiang took the lead and toured Shenzhen, an iconic city of the CCP's reform and opening up, interacting with people at close range without wearing masks.”

Chinese vice premier urges greater effort to boost consumption

China must take more effective measures to speed up the pace of recovery in domestic consumption including spending on services and big-ticket items, Vice Premier Hu Chunhua said on Wednesday, as the already soft economy showed more signs of weakening.
 
At a meeting aiming to stabilise trade and consumption, Hu also called for greater efforts to support exporters to gain orders as well as to attract new foreign investment, according to state media.

But China's zero tolerance for COVID and the disruptive measures being taken to contain any flare-up will be a stumbling block for policymakers as they seek to exit the current economic doldrums.

@USTradeRep
 
The United States and Taiwan, under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), will commence formal negotiation on the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade.

蔡英文 Tsai Ing-wen @iingwen
 
I welcome the start of talks under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, a major step forward for #Taiwan & for our trade ties with the #US & the world. Thanks to all who made this possible & continue to promote joint economic cooperation based on our shared values.

@CGMeifangZhang-China government official
#BREAKING  China is resolutely opposed to trade talks between the U.S. and the Taiwan region under a so-called "U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade," the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.@CGTNOfficial

@inquirerdotnet
 
A delegation of Canadian lawmakers plans to visit Taiwan in October to seek economic opportunities in the Asia Pacific region, Liberal Member of Parliament Judy Sgro said, a move that could further stoke tensions between China and the West. | @Reuters

Taiwan has said it will closely work with the newly named Lithuanian envoy to Taipei after the Baltic state confirmed that it would open its first trade representative office on the island – a move that has angered Beijing.
Paulius Lukauskas, an adviser to Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, has been appointed as the country’s first representative to Taiwan, according to the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation. He is expected to arrive in Taipei next month to open the office.

@tingtingliuTVBS
 
Screenshot taken fr @iingwen’s latest video & it’s the newest released footage of how close the distance was when @MoNDefense navy monitored a PLA vessel. My sources confirmed to me that this was taken btw 13-15 Aug, fr ROCS frigate Yueh Fei towards PLAN 054A frigate 536 Xuchang.
 

D’après des informations de presse, le magnat aurait eu des liens étroits avec de hauts dirigeants du Parti communiste (PCC) au pouvoir en Chine.

@taiwanplusnews
 
Relaxed restrictions? President Tsai has instructed her administration to work on a timetable for reopening Taiwan's borders to travelers.

@pajolicoe
 
The quarantine hotel sent us a video to show us that we need to swab our door handle, faucet, flush knob, shoes and mobile phone.  
 
I mean come on. I want to ask in the WeChat group if they will give us a fish to swab for Covid.

Les dessins sur un coin du cahier, c'est terminé. Des établissements du primaire et du secondaire en Chine distribuent à leurs élèves des stylos intelligents. À l'aide d'une mini-caméra, ils sont en mesure de filmer la prise de notes des enfants et de les envoyer en temps réel aux professeurs.

Le ministère japonais de la Science et de la Technologie a récemment publié un rapport selon lequel la Chine occupe désormais la première place mondiale en matière de nombre d'articles de recherche scientifique et d'articles les plus cités, ce qui devrait renforcer la compétitivité de son économie et de ses industries à l'avenir. Entre 2018 et 2020, la Chine aurait publié 27,1 % des 1 % des articles les plus cités dans le monde, dépassant les États-Unis avec 24,9 %. L'étude place le Royaume-Uni en troisième position avec 5,5 %.