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The Star
02-07-2025
- Climate
- The Star
China braces for more heavy rain as floods kill several people
An aerial view of a damaged bridge and submerged buildings at a flood-affected village in Kaili, in southwestern China's Guizhou province on June 28, 2025. - AFP BEIJING: China is bracing for more intense rainfall, in the latest extreme weather event that has left several dead and flooded some cities in the country. Heavy downpours are forecast this week to batter parts of northern and northeastern China, including major cities like Beijing and Tianjin, raising risks of geological disaster and flooding. Some areas in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces are expecting severe thunderstorms or hailstorms, and perhaps tornadoes, according to the weather bureau. Extreme weather - amplified by climate change - is sweeping the globe, spurring wildfires, flooding cities, and testing the limits of infrastructure. In China, heat waves and excessive rain have strained power grids and roiled grain production. In southern China's Guangxi region, more than 400 students and teachers were stranded in a local county after severe flooding triggered by heavy rain, according to local media. Further north, public transport and schools were suspended in parts of Hubei province as floodwaters inundated the area. In neighboring Henan province, brief episodes of extreme rainfall left several people missing, with five confirmed dead. China's capital of Beijing activated a citywide flood emergency response on Wednesday (July 2), urging government agencies to monitor rainfall and prepare for flood prevention. Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, which issued flash-flood disaster warnings, have asked local authorities to inspect risk-prone locations and relocate residents to avoid risks. Parts of Shaanxi, along with Sichuan, Gansu and the Tibetan region, are expecting more downpours this week, with cumulative rainfall in some areas forecast to exceed 400mm, according to the report from the National Meteorological Center on Tuesday. Excessive rainfall could flood farm fields in parts of China's northeastern region, the country's grains basket where corn and soybeans are in their key growing period. Crops in the south are also being threatened by weak roots and the spread of pests due to too much rain and lack of sunshine, the weather bureau said in a separate report on Monday. - Bloomberg
Straits Times
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
China vows crackdown on torture in rare admission
China's opaque justice system has long been criticised over the disappearance of defendants and regularly forcing confessions through torture. PHOTO: AFP BEIJING - China's top prosecutor has issued a rare admission that torture and unlawful detention takes place in the country's justice system, vowing to crack down on illegal practices by law enforcement officials. China's opaque justice system has long been criticised over the disappearance of defendants, the targeting of dissidents and regularly forcing confessions through torture. The country's top prosecutorial body, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), has occasionally called out abuses, while President Xi Jinping has vowed to reduce corruption and improve transparency in the legal system. The SPP announced on June 24 the creation of a new investigation department to target judicial officers who 'infringe on citizens' rights' through unlawful detention, illegal searches and torture to extract confessions. Its establishment 'reflects the high importance... attached to safeguarding judicial fairness, and a clear stance on severely punishing judicial corruption', the SPP said in a statement. China has frequently denied allegations of torture levelled at it by the United Nations and rights bodies, particularly accusations of ill-treatment of political dissidents and minorities. But several recent cases involving the mistreatment of suspects have drawn public ire despite China's strictly controlled media. A senior executive at a mobile gaming company in Beijing died in custody in April 2024, allegedly taking his own life, after public security officials detained him for more than four months in the northern region of Inner Mongolia. The man had been held under the residential surveillance at a designated location (RSDL) system, where suspects are detained incognito for long stretches without charge, access to lawyers and sometimes any contact with the outside world. Several public security officials were accused in court in June of torturing a suspect to death in 2022, including by using electric shocks and plastic pipes, while he was held under RSDL. The SPP also released details in 2024 of a 2019 case in which several police officers were jailed for using starvation and sleep deprivation on a suspect and restricting his access to medical treatment. The suspect was eventually left in a 'vegetative state', the SPP said. Chinese law states that torture and using violence to force confessions are punishable by up to three years in prison, with more serious punishment if the torture causes injuries or the death of the victim. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
A US attack on Iran would show the limits of China's power
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China was willing to play 'a constructive role' in de-escalating the conflict. PHOTO: AFP BEIJING/HONG KONG - When China helped negotiate a peace deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2023, it hailed the breakthrough as a victory for Chinese diplomacy and a sign that the United States' chief geopolitical rival had emerged as a major power broker in the Middle East. But as President Donald Trump openly ponders deploying US forces to join Israel in attacking Iran, the limits of China's clout in the region are coming into focus. China has much to lose from a runaway conflict. Half of the country's oil imports move in tankers through the Strait of Hormuz on Iran's southern coast. And Beijing has long counted on Tehran, its closest partner in the region, to push back against American influence. But despite those strategic interests, China, which has little sway over the Trump administration, is unlikely to come to Iran's defence militarily, especially if the United States gets involved. 'The reality is they don't actually have the capability to insert Chinese forces to defend Iran's installations,' said Mr Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. 'What they would prefer to do is very quietly provide some material support, some rhetorical support and maybe some humanitarian aid.' Though China favours stability in the Middle East, it could also gain if the United States gets roped into a prolonged war there, which might divert US troops, ships and other military resources away from Asia. Whether Mr Trump decides to strike Iran will offer lessons for Beijing that could shape its own geopolitical strategy. China will be trying to understand Mr Trump's approach to foreign policy and his willingness to use force. The outcome could influence Beijing's assessment of whether the United States would come to the defence of Taiwan, the self-governed island that Beijing claims, should China decide to invade it. Despite China's close relationship with Iran, its rhetoric about the current conflict has been strikingly measured at the highest levels. After its top leader, President Xi Jinping, called for a ceasefire during a call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia on June 19 , a summary of the call released by the Chinese government did not overtly criticise Israel for violating Iran's sovereignty. Mr Xi also refrained from directly urging the United States not to attack Iran, saying only that the 'international community, especially major powers that have a special influence on the parties to the conflict, should make efforts to promote the cooling of the situation, rather than the opposite.' When China's top diplomat Wang Yi called his counterpart in Israel, he expressed Beijing's opposition to Israel's attacks, according to the Chinese summary of the call. But he stopped short of saying that China 'condemns' them, as he had in a call with Iran. In another call, with the foreign minister of Oman, Mr Wang said that 'we cannot sit idly by and watch the regional situation slide into an unknown abyss,' according to a Chinese government statement. But it is unclear what, if any, specific efforts China has made to find a diplomatic solution. In any case, Israel would likely be sceptical of China's neutrality as a mediator because of its alignment with Iran and engagement with Hamas, the Palestinian ally of Iran that attacked Israel in October 2023. China's efforts, at least in public, have been focused on evacuating more than 1,000 of its citizens from Israel and Iran. 'Beijing is scrambling to keep up with the rapid pace of events and is prioritizing looking after Chinese citizens and assets in the region rather than any sort of broader diplomatic initiative,' said Dr Julian Gewirtz, who was a senior China policy official at the White House and the State Department during the Biden administration. Discussions of the conflict on China's heavily censored online forums have largely centred on the poor performance of Iran's military and security apparatus, though some participants have noted the limits of China's support for Iran. Dr Zhu Zhaoyi, a Middle East expert at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said in a post that China could not provide Iran with 'unconditional protection' and confront the United States and Israel militarily. He said Beijing could only exert pressure through the United Nations Security Council, of which China is a permanent member. 'The turmoil in the Middle East is both a challenge and a test for China,' Dr Zhu wrote. China's tempered response resembles that of its like-minded partner, Russia, which has done little more than issue statements of support for Iran, despite having received badly needed military aid from Tehran for its war in Ukraine. Both Beijing and Moscow were also seen as bystanders last year when their shared partner, the Assad regime, was overthrown in Syria. Their relative absence raises questions about the cohesiveness of what some in Washington have called the 'Axis of Upheaval' – the quartet of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, which have drawn closer diplomatically and militarily around a common opposition to the US-dominated world order. Of the four nations, only China is deeply embedded in the global economy, which means it has much to lose from turmoil in the Middle East. It buys virtually all of Iran's exported oil, at a discount, using clandestine tanker fleets to evade US sanctions. And its ships depend on safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz to transport additional oil from Gulf states. Higher energy prices would present another major headache for Beijing, which is trying to turn its sluggish economy around. Besides energy, Iran provides China with a crucial foothold in the Middle East for advancing its interests and countering the United States, which has tens of thousands of troops across the region. Beijing has cultivated closer ties with Gulf states for the same reasons. Chinese analysts often argue that Beijing is an attractive mediator in the Middle East because it will not lecture other countries about issues like human rights. 'It's the only major power trusted by rival factions in the region, capable of achieving breakthroughs where the U.S. cannot,' said Dr Wen Jing, a Middle East expert at Tsinghua University in Beijing. But some Western analysts say China played only a small role in the detente between Iran and Saudi Arabia, toward the end of those negotiations. Washington has also been frustrated by Beijing's reluctance to put pressure on Iran to stop Houthi rebels from attacking ships off the coast of Yemen, except in cases involving Chinese vessels. That unwillingness to apply pressure on its partners undercuts China's standing in the Middle East, said Ms Barbara Leaf, a former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs at the State Department who is now a senior adviser at Arnold and Porter, a Washington-based law firm. 'Nobody is saying, 'We better call up Beijing and see what they can do here,' because Beijing has played a purely commercial and economic role,' Ms Leaf said, describing the attitudes of Middle Eastern officials with whom she has spoken over the years. 'They just sort of take it as a given that China is going to look out for China,' she said. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Labubu human-sized figure sells for over $193,000 at Beijing auction
Labubu was created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and since 2019 has been sold by Chinese retailer Pop Mart. PHOTO: AFP BEIJING – A Beijing auction house sold a human-sized Labubu figure for 1.08 million yuan (S$193,400) on June 10, setting a new record for the 'blind box' toy as it moves from craze to collectible. The event held by Yongle International Auction, which traditionally specialises in modern art, as well as jewellery, marked the first ever auction dedicated to Labubu, toothy monster figurines that are mainly sold by China's toy company Pop Mart and have been at the centre of a global frenzy for the past year. The auction offered 48 lots for sale and was attended in person by roughly 200 people, while over a thousand bidders put down offers via Yongle's mobile app, the auction house said. The starting price for all the items started at zero and it eventually raised a total of 3.73 million yuan. The highest grossing item, a mint green, 131cm tall Labubu figure, received several bids to sell for 1.08 million yuan. The auctioneer said it was the only one available in the world. A set of three Labubu sculptures, about 40cm tall and made of PVC material, sold for 510,000 yuan. The set, from a series called 'Three Wise Labubu', was limited to a run of 120 sets in 2017 and another one sold for HK$203,200 (S$33,300) at Sotheby's most recent auction in Hong Kong. Labubu was created a decade ago by Hong Kong artist and illustrator Kasing Lung. In 2019, Mr Lung agreed to let them be sold by Pop Mart, a Chinese toy company that markets collectable figurines often sold in 'blind boxes'. A buyer of a blind box toy does not know exactly what design they will receive until they open the packaging. The starting price for Labubu blind box toys sold in Pop Mart's stores is around 50 yuan. The character's popularity skyrocketed after Lisa of the Korean pop music group Blackpink was spotted with a Labubu and praised the doll in interviews and online posts. Many celebrities followed. In May, British football star David Beckham shared a photo on Instagram of his Labubu attached to a bag. One Yongle auction bidder, a restaurant owner who only gave her surname as Du, said she had planned to spend a maximum of 20,000 yuan but walked away empty handed as the final prices were too high. 'My child likes it, so every time… Labubu released new products, we will buy one or two items. It is hard to explain its popularity, but it must have moved this generation,' she said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
China's copper boom under threat as miners test bargaining power
This photo taken on May 17, 2025 shows the Dexing Copper Mine, an open-pit copper mine in Dexing, in China's central Jiangxi province. China's refined copper output is set to rise ten per cent in the first half of this year and nearly five per cent for the full year. - AFP BEIJING: The unrelenting expansion of Chinese copper processing capacity over the past few years has now become a global headache, as smelters scramble to secure the ore they need to produce the vital industrial metal. Output in the world's top producer of the refined metal has ballooned to a record this year, even in the face of trade tensions wars that are clouding the outlook for demand. The resulting competition has handed bargaining power to some of the world's largest miners. Copper treatment charges, typically a key earner for processors, have plunged deep below zero on the spot market. Chilean miner Antofagasta Plc has proposed negative charges for contracted supplies to smelters in the second half. The fraught situation for smelters worldwide is fueling expectations of cuts - Glencore Plc shut a facility in the Philippines in February. It's also focusing market attention on the surprising resilience of China's output, and raising the question of how long that can last. Analysts and industry executives say China's output is more resistant to financial pressures because it is now dominated by state-owned producers and by relatively large, efficient and low-cost smelters. Three major new plants were opened just last year, more than offsetting the pain felt by more modest operations. But there's also a still-substantial segment of China's market that is made up of smaller, privately owned smelters with more exposure to a tightening spot market. CRU Group says those plants account for about a quarter of the country's output. "Even if you have very deep pockets and are willing to operate at a loss, at the end of the day you might have to cut production because you simply cannot get the copper concentrate,' said Craig Lang, principal analyst at CRU Group. The stakes are high for the global copper smelting industry. With all high-cost facilities facing losses, every tonne that resists financial pressure in China means more pain for those elsewhere. Spot treatment charges to process concentrate fell to negative levels in December, and reached minus-$60 a tonne last month. The fees are deducted from the cost of concentrate and ordinarily make up a large chunk of smelter revenues. Term supplies are now threatening to slide into negative territory too, meaning smelters are effectively paying more for copper ore than the value of the metal contained in it. In February, when fees were less punitive than they are now, Glencore Plc Chief Executive Officer Gary Nagle said he wouldn't keep open loss-making copper plants. The company mothballed a smelter in the Philippines and is cutting costs at plants in Canada. Older European copper smelters could be at risk, while Japanese plants may be sheltered due to their parent companies' stakes in Chilean mines, said Grant Sporre, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. "It's going to be a tough battle for survival.' Granted, the plunge in fees is partly due to relatively slow growth in mine output worldwide - but it's primarily driven by the rapid increase in smelting capacity. China's refined copper output is set to rise ten per cent in the first half of this year and nearly five per cent for the full year, according to researcher Shanghai Metals Market. The argument for China's resilient output rests largely on the belief that state-owned plants are protected because local governments want to safeguard jobs and the economy. "This is a consequence of an economic model that is less responsive to prevailing market conditions as plants can run on very thin margins - or even make losses - for extended periods of time,' Savant, a joint venture by Marex Group Plc and geospatial analysis company Earth-i, said in a note last month. Although cutting overcapacity across the Chinese economy has become a more important policy priority for Beijing recently, so called 'future-friendly' industries like copper, a metal required for electrification and so for the energy transition, are being given more leeway than sectors seen to be in structural decline, such as oil refining. For producers outside China, there is no such cushion. The suspension of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.'s Kakula copper mine in central Africa has been a blow to ore supply - and at the same time developments like the ramp-up of Freeport McMoRan Inc.'s Manyar smelter in Indonesia are adding more refining capacity to the market. Big smelters may still be able to maintain production for now, following some years of healthy cash flow, said Yongcheng Zhao, an analyst at Benchmark Minerals Intelligence Ltd. The less-efficient ones, though, are at risk. - Bloomberg
