Subscribe to China 5

THIS WEEK:

Xi Jinping returns from Europe, Beijing’s new Climate Envoy meets his U.S. counterpart, and China’s TikTok cracks down on migrant information sharing.

1. Xi Jinping Wraps Up Paris Visit

What Happened: Xi Jinping met with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a two-day visit to Paris, with the war in Ukraine and trade high on the European agenda. 

Counting to Three: Xi spoke out firmly against criticism of China for its close relationship with Russia, saying that “we oppose the crisis being used to cast responsibility on a third country, sully its image, and incite a new cold war.” Von der Leyen had urged Beijing to “use all its influence on Russia to end its war of aggression against Ukraine.”

Trade Frictions: Macron and van der Leyen also voiced concerns about Chinese industrial goods flooding the EU market, especially electric vehicles. The European Commission head took a stronger line, saying current trade flows between China and the EU were “unsustainable” and “unbalanced.” 

Why It Matters: Macron had a delicate balancing act: speak up for French and EU concerns about Chinese subsidies and human rights, while also trying to get China to engage diplomatically to help bring an end to the war in Ukraine. Although Xi and Macron issued a joint statement on Gaza and the Iranian nuclear issue, they said little publicly about the Europeans’ main concerns.

By: Lyle Morris, Senior Fellow on Foreign Policy and National Security, Center for China Analysis 

Learn More: Watch this discussion moderated by Lyle on China's EU Diplomacy: The View from France, Germany, and the United States.

2. China’s Climate Envoy Visits U.S. for Talks

What Happened: Liu Zhenmin, China’s new Special Envoy for Climate Change, visited Washington for talks with his U.S. counterpart, John Podesta.

The Details: Liu and Podesta convened the bilateral “Working Group on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s,” which aims to accelerate concrete climate action during this decade. The meeting focused on follow-ups to the Sunnylands Statement agreed on by their predecessors in November 2023, including cooperation on energy transition, resource efficiency, methane and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases, and deforestation.

The Backdrop: Liu and Podesta — both new to their roles following the retirements of Xie Zhenhua and John Kerry — have spoken over the phone, but this was the first time they met in person for formal talks. 

Why It Matters: A cooperative U.S.-China climate relationship is of great importance to achieving the outcomes of the Paris Agreement. The outcomes of Liu’s U.S. meetings will be an indicator of the trajectory of bilateral climate action in the run-up to COP29 and the two countries' preparations to reach their 2035 climate targets.

By: Taylah Bland, Fellow on Climate and the Environment, Center for China Analysis

Learn More: Explore the key people, agencies, and networks instrumental to China’s climate policy decision-making with the new Climate Change feature on the Center for China Analysis’s interactive Decoding Chinese Politics website.

3. Douyin Censors Migrant Searches

What Happened: Douyin banned the term zouxian (“walk the line”) from its search results following media reports of undocumented Chinese migrants relying on information shared on the platform to plan their overland journey from South America to Texas. Douyin is the Chinese version of TikTok, and both apps are owned by ByteDance.

The Context: The number of undocumented Chinese entering the United States has spiked in the past two years as stringent COVID lockdowns hit many small business owners hard and urban unemployment rose to a record high of over 20%. An increasing number of Chinese citizens have found it impossible to make ends meet and decided to flee the country.

Social Discontent, Expressed Differently: In November 2022, urban residents and university students staged the White Paper protests, calling for the end of the Chinese Communist Party’s rule, to express their anger over strict COVID lockdowns. The increasing number of zouxian is another expression of discontent as Chinese migrants vote with their feet.

Why It Matters: The number of undocumented Chinese entering the United States provides some perspective on the level of social discontent with the regime. Douyin’s censorship was likely the result of pressure from Chinese authorities embarrassed by the magnitude of the exodus.

By: Lynette Ong, Senior Fellow on Chinese Society, Center for Chinese Analysis

Learn More: See Lynette’s paper, One Year on From “White Paper” Protests, Disillusionment with China’s Government Persists, for more on the discontent driving emigration.

4. Hospital Knife Rampage Amid Rising Crime

What Happened: A knife attack at a hospital in a remote region of Yunnan bordering Guizhou and Sichuan left two dead and twenty one injured. The assailant was captured in a village several miles away.

Mass Stabbings: A spate of knife attacks over the past two decades has led to tighter security around schools — where most of the mass stabbings have occurred — as well as public transport facilities. Mental illness was cited as a factor in many of these incidents, although some were acts of terrorism. In 2014, extremists armed with knives killed 31 people at a train station in Yunnan’s capital, Kunming.

The Official Data: According to a recent government white paper, there were 162,000 prosecutions for serious violent crimes in 1999, accounting for 25% of all criminal prosecutions, but only 61,000, or 3.6%, in 2023. However, the total number of people brought up on criminal charges, including less serious offenses, rose from around 650,000 in 2019 to almost 1,688,000 in 2023 — an increase of 160%, far outstripping the country’s 12% population growth over that time.

Why It Matters: China’s claim of a large drop in serious violent crime is hard to verify, although countries in Europe and North America saw significant declines in homicides over the past quarter century. The dramatic increase in the number of criminals brought to book in China is likely a combination of a surge in economic crimes — government data show cases of theft and fraud rising significantly — and the leadership’s determination to impose social order. 

By: G.A. Donovan, Fellow on Chinese Political Economy and Society, Center for China Analysis 

Learn More: Evan S. Medeiros analyzes the bumps along the road to achieving the China Dream in “The Delusion of Peak China.”

5. New Leader for National Health Commission

What Happened: Lei Haichao took the helm of the National Health Commission as party secretary. He was previously head of the commission’s Beijing branch.

Taking the Pulse of Power: The commission handles healthcare for senior Chinese leaders and is responsible for regulating the healthcare industry. Li’s predecessor, Ma Xiaowei, was an advocate of strict quarantines and lockdowns during COVID.

Dual-Minister Structure: The commission now has two Ministerial-rank officials: Lei and Zeng Yixin, who holds a prominent position as deputy-minister of the Central Health Care Committee. However, a scandal involving a Zeng protege at Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital in Guangzhou and the accidental passing of Premier Li Keqiang cast a shadow on Zeng’s career.

Why It Matters: The Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection launched a series of purges and investigations into the healthcare industry in 2023. Lei has made it clear that his priority in his new role will be to enforce Party discipline and root out corruption.

By: Shengyu Wang, Research Assistant, Center for China Analysis

Learn More: Jing Qian considered the Chinese leadership's ability to rebuild trust and confidence in China 2024: What to Watch.