China Retains Central Bank Governor During Regulatory Shake-Up; Exclusive Insight: Hong Kong's appeal to talents is rebounding
China Covid Zero Key Official Keeps Job, But With Most No Votes; US-sanctioned general to become public face of China's growing military; Wu Zhenglong takes on top State Council post to help steer cab
Hello, and welcome to today's edition of The China Brief. In today's news, China's role in brokering a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran highlights Chinese leader Xi Jinping's ambition to offer an alternative to the US-led world order, and General Li Shangfu, a US-sanctioned general, has been named as China's new defence minister. The Group of Seven (G-7) major economies are expected to call for the creation of a groupwide supply chain for strategically important goods to ensure stable supplies, and the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that discovering the origins of COVID-19 is a "moral imperative"” Meanwhile, Wu Zhenglong, former party chief of Jiangsu province, has been named a state councillor and secretary general of China's State Council.
And here’s today’s exclusive insight:
Exclusive Insight: Hong Kong's appeal to talents is rebounding
In the aftermath of the anti-extradition bill protests in 2019 and the 2020 national security law, Hong Kong has experienced a surge in emigration, with a significant number of young and middle-aged individuals opting to leave. Even those who remain are facing intense social discord due to the anti-extradition bill, particularly the erosion of trust between Hong Kong's youth and the government.
The Hong Kong SAR government has not adopted a conciliatory stance towards young people but has actively employed policies aimed at attracting overseas talent to increase the younger generation and alter the talent composition, with a primary focus on attracting mainland talent.
For the foreseeable influx of talent, the Hong Kong SAR government need not consider housing policies akin to those in Singapore. Incoming talent in Hong Kong will not rely on public housing policies but rather reside in the private housing market. As such, the Hong Kong SAR government's talent import policy has been less restrictive. On the other hand, Singapore boasts an excellent public housing policy, which it is reluctant to change, impeding more ambitious talent attraction plans.
By attracting overseas talent, Hong Kong can change the negative attitude of its youth towards the SAR government and society and mitigate political and value conflicts.
Mainland (including some other overseas) youth have no doubts about their national identity and prefer the "one country, two systems" approach. Moreover, following the 20th National Congress, Beijing will take more measures to restore the economy and solve long-term issues like housing and poverty in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is likely to rebound in the near future.
(This is the fourth article in the "Can Singapore Replace Hong Kong?" series. The author of this article, Shen Yeya, is an investor and a special analysis expert for The China Brief.)
NYT: China’s Role in Iran-Saudi Arabia Deal Shows Xi’s Global Goals
According to analysts, China's role in brokering a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran demonstrates Chinese leader Xi Jinping's ambition to offer an alternative to the US-led world order. The deal, which China facilitated, reflects Xi's vision of a world where power is shifted from Washington to multilateralism and non-interference and serves as a response to the new cold war he believes the US is driving. Although China's engagement in the Middle East has traditionally centered on promoting trade and investment, it is keen to present itself as a global statesman to rival the US.
WSJ: China Retains Central Bank Governor During Regulatory Shake-Up
China's legislature has voted to retain Yi Gang as governor of the People's Bank of China during restructuring the country's financial regulatory system. The decision will provide continuity during a period of transition. Yi is expected to extend his leadership for a few months, and Zhu Hexin, chairman of financial conglomerate Citic Group Corp, is still seen as the top candidate to succeed him when the transition is complete. The decision suggests that Beijing wants the restructuring of the financial sector to be as smooth as possible.
WSJ: China-Brokered Deal Between Iran, Saudi Arabia Marks a New Middle East
China's mediation in the detente between Iran and Saudi Arabia accelerates the geopolitical realignment in the Middle East, as regional rivalries that erupted during the Arab Spring fade and outside powers besides the U.S. vie for influence. The reconciliation is happening without U.S. involvement, creating doubts among longtime allies about its security guarantees. China intends to show it offers something different than the U.S. — the ability to talk to all sides without lecturing them on human rights, an attractive prospect for the region’s many authoritarian regimes.
Bloomberg: China Covid Zero Key Official Keeps Job, But With Most No Votes; NHC Head Ma Xiaowei receives 21 objections to reappointment
The head of China's National Health Commission, Ma Xiaowei, received the most "no" votes of cabinet officials confirmed at the National People's Congress, with 21 objections and eight abstentions for his reappointment. The vote signals dissatisfaction among top lawmakers over President Xi Jinping's Covid Zero policy, which relied on mass testing and lockdowns to eradicate the virus. Ma has been one of the key health officials promoting the strategy, calling for "taking a clear-cut stance in opposing the wrongful thoughts of living with virus" in a Communist Party paper's front-page commentary in April 2022.
Nikkei: With China in mind, G-7 to call for groupwide supply chains; Economic security to be major topic at Hiroshima summit in May
The Group of Seven (G-7) major economies is expected to call for the creation of a groupwide supply chain for strategically important goods to ensure stable supplies of microchips, rare earth, and other commodities that are increasingly important to economic security. With China in mind, the G-7 will consider building a network of supply chains in case of a crisis in Taiwan or a prolonged Ukraine war. Japan, as the chair country of the summit, will study the creation of a groupwide supply network in which the G-7 designates certain goods essential for economic activity and forms materials and inventory networks for them. The G-7's economic security theme has been positioned as a major agenda item at the summit, and Japan aims to prevent the flow of goods and technology to China through Europe.
Reuters: Finding COVID-19's origins is a moral imperative: WHO's Tedros
The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has stated that discovering the origins of COVID-19 is a "moral imperative" and all hypotheses must be explored. His comments follow a report by a US agency that assessed the pandemic had likely been caused by an unintended Chinese laboratory leak. China has denied the assessment. Tedros's statement coincides with the third anniversary of the WHO's first use of the word "pandemic" to describe the global outbreak of COVID-19. The WHO-led team that investigated the origins of the virus in 2021 said the virus had probably been transmitted from bats to humans through another animal, but further research was needed.
Reuters: US-sanctioned general to become the public face of China's growing military
China has named General Li Shangfu as the country's new defense minister, a role which is largely ceremonial and diplomatic but being closely watched given his background. Li was sanctioned by the US in 2018 over the purchase of 10 Su-35 combat aircraft and equipment related to the S-400 surface-to-air missile system from Russia's Rosoboronexport. Li's aerospace engineering background is likely to help him play a key part in meeting President Xi Jinping's goals for the PLA, with the aim of becoming a world-class military by 2049.
SCMP: Wu Zhenglong takes on top State Council post to help steer cabinet
Wu Zhenglong, former party chief of Jiangsu province and a former subordinate of Premier Li Qiang, has been named a state councilor and secretary general of China's State Council. Wu will work closely with the new premier and is expected to follow him on domestic and international trips. His role is similar to that of Li Qiang's chief of staff, and he will ensure the smooth operation of the State Council. Wu's appointment was made on Sunday by the national legislature on the second last day of its annual session in Beijing.
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