Category: China Business & Economy

‘Dirty Secret’: Made-In-China Solar Panels Produce 3 Times More Carbon Emissions Than UN Claims: Study

An analysis by a non-profit research group drawing on calculations by an Italian analyst looking into the carbon footprint of made-in-China solar panels claims that the influential United Nations body on climate change has been drastically underestimating the carbon intensity of Chinese-made photovoltaic cells. Environmental Progress, a non-profit co-founded by investigative journalist Michael Shellenberger, in…


Fraud Fears After 30 China-Linked Businesses Use Leicestershire Residents’ Addresses

Residents of a small English street have spoken of fraud fears after discovering their home addresses are being used by China-linked companies. The mysterious targeting of homeowners in the Netherley Road area of Hinckley in Leicestershire was reported to Action Fraud last week after Companies House contacted the residents. According to documents filed with the…


Three Lessons on Doing Business With China: Red Roulette Author Speaks at House Hearing

Desmond Shum, a former Chinese tycoon living in exile in the United Kingdom, recently traveled to Washington to appear before the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. Mr. Shum is the author of Red Roulette, a 2021 memoir that exposes the secretive power and money entanglements…


TSMC Delays Arizona Factory Opening Due to Insufficient Skilled Local Talent

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest chipmaker, will delay production at its new Arizona chip plant to 2025 due to a shortage of skilled labor. The year-long delay comes as trade relations between Washington and Beijing, have deteriorated over the past several years. TSMC Chairman Mark Liu broke the news to investors on a…


Vulnerabilities in Solar Panels Could Be Exposed by Chinese Hackers: Senator

The rush to net zero could leave gaping holes for Chinese-backed hackers to disrupt Australia’s energy grid, warns Senator James Paterson. Solar power is a key pillar in the march towards reducing emissions with Australia estimated to need 2.7 billion solar panels to reach net zero by 2050, according to estimates from the University of…


WeChat Only Has a Few Hours Left to Respond to a Parliamentary Inquiry

WeChat has only hours left to respond to an Australian government inquiry after it refused to front a parliamentary inquiry earlier this month. Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media, Senator James Paterson, said that he has sent WeChat detailed series of questions after it failed to appear to give…


Chinese E-Retailer Temu Sues Fast-Fashion Giant Shein Over Alleged ‘Anticompetitive Scheme’

Chinese e-retailer Temu has filed a lawsuit against fellow Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein, accusing the latter of engaging in an “anticompetitive scheme” aimed at stymieing its business. The lawsuit (pdf) was filed in Massachusetts court on July 14 and accuses Shein of engaging in a “campaign of threats, intimidation, false assertions of infringement, and attempts to impose…


Data With Chinese Characteristics

//Commentary// China released its latest GDP figure showing strong 6.3 percent year-on-year growth in the second quarter. There is, of course, a low base effect in play, given the 0.4 percent year-over-year growth in 2022Q2. A simple way to adjust such an effect is to sum the two numbers that differ by four quarters. The…


China’s Q2 GDP Growth Slows to 0.8 Percent as Economic Engines Stall

The Chinese communist regime admitted on July 17 that the GDP growth rate in the second quarter of the year was lower than expected. Observers pointed out that China’s economy is actually in stagnation or even decline, as investment and demand both domestic and foreign continue to weaken, with domestic structural problems predicted to lead…


Australian Treasurer Meets Chinese Finance Minister Over Trade Disputes at G20 Summit

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has met with his Chinese counterpart, Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun, during a G20 meeting in India as the country seeks to progress further in resolving trade disputes with Beijing. This was the first meeting between an Australian treasurer and a Chinese finance minister in four years following a diplomatic fallout,…