GOOD MORNING FROM LONDON
#1 WEDDING CEREMONY 14 YEARS LATE
#2 CHINA DISMISSES FOREIGN MINISTER AND
DEFENCE MINISTER
#3 HSBC SEES LIGHT AT END OF CHINA’S
TUNNEL
#4 US CHIP WAR REBOUNDS ON WASHINGTON
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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST 29 OCTOBER 2023
#1 WEDDING CEREMONY 14 YEARS LATE
A formerly impoverished man in China has held a proper wedding with
his wife more than a decade after they were formally married, fulfilling a
promise he made when he was not in a financial position to do so. The
42-year-old man, surnamed Wen, officially tied the knot with his wife 14
years ago without a ceremony because he was too poor at that time,
news portal Sohu reported.
“This has been my biggest regret in the past decade,” the husband was
quoted as saying. Now Wen and his wife own a company in Changsha in
central China’s Hunan province and are faring much better than before.
The joy of the long-awaited day was encapsulated in a moment when
the groom carried his wife on his back. “In the past, we had nothing. My
wife has not abandoned me over all these years and she’s always been
with me through various difficulties together. Whatever happened, she
would always support me,” said Wen.
“Every time I think of what my wife did for me, I tell myself that I should
repay her with a proper wedding. I often said to my wife that when I am
rich enough, I will give you a perfect wedding and invite all our relatives
and friends to witness our happiness,” he said. The couple’s nuptials
were held on October 17 in their hometown village in suburban
Changsha.
Their relatives and friends were seen cheering joyfully for the couple,
with some beating drums to add a celebratory vibe. “I think at whatever
your age, fine ceremonies are necessary in our lives,” said Wen.
GRAHAM PERRY COMMENTS
A very pleasing human story to read that focuses on loyalty,
affection, character and commitment. See the wedding photo on
page 1 of this issue
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SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST 29 OCTOBER 2023
#2 CHINA SACKS FOREIGN + DEFENCE
MINISTERS
China has dismissed General Li Shangfu as defence minister, the
second senior official to be ousted in the past three months with no
explanation from official China announcements.. State broadcaster
CCTV reported on 24 October that Li had been removed from his
position, after weeks of speculation over the fate of the US-sanctioned
general who has not been seen in public since the end of August. The
decision to remove him was approved by the National People’s
Congress Standing Committee.
Li is the second minister to be removed since Xi Jinping began his
unprecedented third term as the party’s leader last October. Qin
Gang was replaced as foreign minister in July by his predecessor Wang
Yi, after a similar unexplained withdrawal from public engagements. The
reason for Qin’s removal is still not known.
Li and Qin were also removed as state councillors on Tuesday – a senior
cabinet position with a higher ranking than regular ministers. No
replacements were named.
GRAHAM PERRY COMMENTS
One of the standout differences between China’s Democracy and
the West’s Democracy becomes apparent when leading officials are
dismissed from office. The Western media is full of discussion and
speculation, Did he fall or was he pushed? And this is
accompanied by media pressure for prime time interviews. By
comparison, China is quite silent so far as the rest of the world is
concerned. Undoubtedly there is comment in China especially
when, as has happened recently, the Foreign Minister and the
Defence Minister are both removed from their positions. But so far
as the public outside China is concerned it is “business as usual”
in China and life goes on.
Because of our own background and experience we in the West are
frustrated. We want to know more because we are used to hearing
more. But China has its own form of government and rarely stops
to conduct public investigations when a leading Minister is
removed.
There are many differences in the norms that apply in China and in
the rest of the world and that explains, to an extent, why China has
made such progress since the end of the Cultural Revolution. Our
respective systems of democracy are quite different and a read –
through of the UK media reporting of the Covid Enquiry will leave
many people open mouthed at the shocking language and
behaviour displayed by former Prime Minister Johnson and the
colleagues around him. But the differences in democracy between
the West and China is part of a much bigger story. What is the best
system of government? If the Cultural Revolution was China’s
lowest point then the last forty years since the death of Deng
Hsiaoping represent China’s highest point
#3 HSBC SEES LIGHT AT END OF CHINESE
TUNNEL
FINANCIAL TIMES 31 OCTOBER 2023#
The chief executive of HSBC said he believed China’s property sector
has hit its lowest ebb and can begin to recover, even as banks take
hundreds of millions of dollars in charges over their exposure to a crisis
in the sector. Speaking as the bank announced its third-quarter earnings,
which included a $500mn provision related to commercial property in
mainland China, Noel Quinn said Beijing’s most dramatic actions to rein
in excesses in the industry were over.
“If you look at the policy correction that took place . . . they went very
deep and hard over a short period of time,” he said. “The sector itself
has bottomed and it now has to recover from that new lower position.”
“Does that mean that there aren’t any further issues to emerge? No,
there’s always a risk of some developers having further problems,”
Quinn added.
China’s real estate sector tipped into crisis two years ago when the
heavily indebted developer Evergrande defaulted. HSBC has twin bases
in the UK and Hong Kong, which gives it closer ties to China than other
western banks. It has $13.6bn in total exposure to commercial real
estate in the country.
GRAHAM PERRY COMMENTS
China’s economic figures show that mistakes have been made, and
progress has been frustrated. The full story is unclear – is it greed
in the property sector or bad management in Beijing at the heart of
Government. As is usual in China, there will be a thorough going
review of what has gone wrong. And that is right. Every
Government – Chinese, American, Saudi Arabian or Chilean –
carries a duty to its people to do things right and when things go
wrong there is always a re-assessment. Often it is conducted
behind closed doors but corrections are made and changes in
personnel are undertaken.
Great attention focuses on China’s economy because of its size
and importance to the world economy and different experts will
have different views on the causes of the problems and on the
remedies that are implemented. It is relevant, though, that HSBC –
one of the world’s leading Banks is prepared to state publicly and
officially that China has turned a corner. Celebration is premature
because the property sector remains in crisis but the sense is
growing that the authorities have re-established control. Changes
will follow. There is a parallel – under-appreciated in the West – it is
the Cultural Revolution. A period of self-inflicted hardship for
China. The prescription for recovery was harsh but successful and
that is why the 137 million Chinese tourists who travelled abroad –
and retuned home in 2019 – is such a significant figure.
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#4 SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
US CHIP WAR REBOUNDS ON WASHINGTON
After US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo landed in Beijing in
late August, Huawei Technologies unveiled its now bestselling Mate 60
smartphone with a 7-nanometer processor made by Semiconductor
Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC). The timing could not have
been a coincidence.
Having seen its global business battered by US sanctions, the Chinese
telecoms giant has not only made a comeback that is giving Apple’s new
iPhone 15 a run for its money, but also has shocked Washington’s China
containment brigade and chip warriors.
The response from the United States was predictable: close supposed
loopholes in global chip sales restrictions, and add more sanctions.
Apparently, US policymakers think they can enhance national security
while protecting and promoting American industry and economy. The two
goals may be incompatible. The worst scenario, now increasingly being
realised, is that Washington’s misguided policy – call it de-risking or
decoupling – will end up weakening both.
Lin Burn-jeng doesn’t mince words. The former vice-president of Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) said
“What the US really should do is to focus on maintaining its chip design
leadership instead of trying to limit China’s progress, which is futile,” he
said, “as China is adopting a whole-nation strategy to boost its chip
industry, and hurting the global economy.”
What we do know is that the chip war is already hurting the US chip
industry. An informal alliance has been formed between three of
America’s biggest chip makers – Nvidia, Intel and Qualcomm – to lobby
policymakers and educate policy think tanks on the wisdom of scaling
back crackdowns on chip sales to China. According to the companies,
losing China’s business, which accounts for a third of the global chip
market and generates more than US$50 billion in combined annual
revenue for the three, will mean job losses and cuts in research and
development. Ultimately, the chip war could backfire on US industry.
GRAHAM PERRY COMMENTS
This article is not so much about Huawei’s Mate 60 smartphone but
about how best to respond to China. Trying to limit China’s
progress, says Lin Burn-jeng the former Vice President of TSMC “is
futile”. The chip war is already hurting the US chip industry. De-
coupling and de-risking do not work. There is an alternative that the
US fears – co-operate with China, It is the best way for the US in the
long-term.
GRAHAM PERRY
