Working from 9 in the morning until 9 in the evening, six days a week. What may seem like a true white-collar horror to many is the daily routine of China’s tech workers. But the work culture also known as “996” has come under heavy criticism. Our team of writers in Beijing shows how the pressure on tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent continues to mount – and how corporate executives are now responding.
Fast, faster, hyper-fast – this is the development goal of Chinese scientists. As early as 2030, hypersonic aircraft with a speed of more than 7,000 kilometers per hour are to transport passengers to any place in the world – in less than two hours. But hypersonic technology is also of military significance: It could shift the balance of power to the disadvantage of the US, since Washington seems to be lagging behind the People’s Republic in this field.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere among China’s economic leaders has turned sour. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies as well as for large and state-dominated industrial corporations has dropped to its lowest level since May 2020, citing increased raw material and logistics costs as well as supply shortages in global trade as reasons. But the impact of extreme weather is also preventing economic recovery. Meanwhile, according to official figures, the number of flood victims in the central Chinese province of Henan has risen from 99 to more than 300.
I hope you enjoy our latest briefing!
Your Michael Radunski
Feature
An end to the “996” work culture?
Chinese Internet companies are known for their exceptionally long working hours. At the heart of the years-long debate about the high workload of employees, lies the working time culture, known as “996”: from nine in the morning to nine in the evening – six days a week.
Two years ago, Alibaba founder Jack Ma poured more fuel into the fire by calling “996” a “huge blessing”. “Anyone who starts at Alibaba should be willing to work 12-hour days,” the billionaire demanded with full commitment. “We don’t need those who comfortably work eight hours”. His colleague Richard Liu, founder and CEO of JD.com saw eye to eye with him and criticized “lazy people”.
Changes are also starting to creep in at the Chinese Internet giant Tencent – albeit at a slower pace. Tencent’s subsidiary “Lightning & Quantum Studio Group”, a developer of smartphone games, introduced “Healthy Wednesday”. According to the company’s new policy, workers are supposed to stay in the office only until 6 p.m. every Wednesday. However, overtime is still scheduled on all other days of the week, as well as on weekends.
Clear guidelines are not followed
In China, too, authorities regulate the maximum working hours by law. Accordingly, eight hours of work per day are stipulated. Overtime may not exceed three hours per day and must be compensated with double the salary. Employees who have to work on a public holiday are theoretically even to receive three times the salary. Many tech companies comply and pay higher compensation. But whenever this was not the case, employees were often reluctant to invoke their rights in the past. The fear of ruining potential chances of promotion or not receiving high bonus payments was often too high.
Since public pressure is mounting, companies are now starting to reconsider their models. Most recently, Chinese online retailer Pinduoduo has witnessed a wave of public outrage in January, when two deaths among workers made headlines. First, an employee collapsed due to overwork and later died in hospital. A short time later, another employee threw himself from a rooftop. These tragedies had once again drawn attention to “an abnormal overtime culture,” state news agency Xinhua wrote in response to the two deaths. While tech workers should have the opportunity to chase their dreams, their health should not be put at risk in the process.
Companies launch recruitment drive
Many large tech companies, which have been under increasing pressure from Beijing’s regulators of late anyway, apparently wish to avoid having their companies’ workloads become another point of contention with the government next. In response to public criticism of “996,” many companies have recently launched massive hiring campaigns, according to the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post.
Alibaba even spoke of its biggest recruitment drive ever. The Fintech subsidiary Ant Group alone is expected to hire 250 percent more university graduates in the coming year than in 2021, while delivery service Meituan announced plans to hire up to 10,000 graduates – an increase of over 7,000 to this year. The number of new jobs at JD.com is still expected to be 30 percent higher, according to the report. The increase in staff is intended to distribute the workload more evenly, disencumbering the individual employee.
With the new job positions, corporations want to bury the 996-work culture, Li Chengdong, founder of Beijing-based technology think tank Dolphin, told the newspaper. As pressure from both regulators and the public mounts, companies are looking for ways to reduce their employees’ work hours. “What used to be a one-person job will be done by two people in the future,” Li said. Only time will tell if this will actually work in practice. Gregor Koppenburg/Joern Petring
China wants to set new standards for the construction of passenger aircraft and aims to be able to transport passengers to any place on earth in less than two hours by 2030. They are currently developing a hypersonic aircraft with acceleration up to six times the speed of sound (Mach 6), or 7,344 km/h, utilizing a new generation of air-breathing jet engines. With a length of 45 meters, this new aircraft is nearly a third longer than a Boeing 737, and its delta wings resemble those of a Concorde. This was reported by the bi-monthly Chinese magazine “Physics of Gases”.
Hypersonic aircraft play an important role in Beijing’s plans to become the leading high-tech power by the mid-century. By 2045, hypersonic aircraft are expected to be able to carry more than 100 passengers per flight and 10,000 annually with an addition of 10,000 tons of transported cargo. Private companies in the USA are also developing hypersonic passenger aircraft. However, a cruising speed of Mach 6 is an ambitious goal. The fastest military jets currently in service are able to reach speeds of up to 2.5 Mach, although test flights have already reached speeds of over Mach 9.
China plans on reaching the next milestone in just a few years. By 2025, a newly developed engine is to carry aircraft up to rocket speed. However, unlike rockets, these engines draw oxygen from the surrounding air in order to be able to burn the fuel. Conventional rockets, on the other hand, have to carry the necessary gas onboard, which drives up the cost dramatically. The Beijing Institute of Technology and the Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering partnered for the purpose of this project. It is headed by Liu Rui, one of the top researchers of China’s missions to Mars and Earth’s Moon.
However, the complex design of hypersonic aircraft poses many technical challenges. First and foremost, the strong turbulence caused by speed and extreme heat generation. For this reason, Researchers are using aerodynamic models which have proven effective in China’s recent space missions for this test. This enables the scientists to locate areas most likely to be exposed to sudden heat and pressure peaks.
China sees itself decades ahead
To that end, scientists in Beijing have constructed a wind tunnel able to simulate speeds of up to Mach 25, 25 times the speed of sound, which leaps China decades ahead of the West. The Chinese see themselves as 20 to 30 years ahead of other nations, reports Asia Times. Existing tunnels were only able to simulate speeds of Mach 9.
For the time being, however, the aircraft will only be used by the military because – despite their enormous size – they only offer little space for passengers, since the engine and the air intakes take up most of the space in the body.
However, China is not only investing in aircraft, but also in weapons systems with hypersonic propulsion. These systems are considered to be the greatest advance in missile technology in the last ten years, because missiles flying at hypersonic speed cannot yet be stopped efficiently by any existing air defense system. Missiles outfitted with his technology are able to change their altitude in the atmosphere and are thus much more precise than ballistic missiles.
Hypersonic missiles, which are able to reach more than five times the speed of sound, have been around since the 1960s in the form of ballistic missiles. However, these new systems are optimized for a much shorter range, making them ideal for precision strikes, for example on aircraft carriers. At the 2019 National Day military parade, China’s military unveiled operational DF-17 hypersonic missiles and DL-ZF hypersonic gliders for the first time. The latter is launched from a ballistic missile and then glides towards its intended target on a barely predictable trajectory.
Hypersonic weapons tip the global balance of power
The DL-ZF glider system can be armed with nuclear and conventional payload and is a serious threat to US aircraft carriers as it flies too fast to be repelled by an interceptor missile. Currently, only Russia and China possess operational weapons of this type. According to the US military, China conducted more hypersonic flights in 2019 than in the entire previous decade.
But one thing is true for all nations: The technical requirements, for example for the control systems and the construction materials, are very high for the time being. Many systems are not yet fully developed. It is not yet clear whether these weapons are actually as resistant in practical use as they are on paper, which is why it is not yet clear how powerful the Chinese DF-ZF weapons really are. However, China conducted two tests of its DF-17 hypersonic missiles in Inner Mongolia in November 2017. The missile was traveling at 1400 kilometers per hour. After eleven minutes, according to official data, it hit its target almost precisely.
Military
Technology
Verteidigung
News
Millions of Chinese back in lockdown
Since Monday, Millions of people in China have been placed in lockdown again– including the population of Beijing and Nanjing. This means that more than 20 cities in several provinces are now affected by new infections due to several Covid outbreaks throughout the country. On Monday alone, Chinese authorities reported 55 new infections, all of which were locally transmitted (as reported by China.Table).
The city of Wuhan in central China has also seen seven new infections at the beginning of the week – and rigid restrictions were subsequently imposed on the city. However, as infections in Wuhan were only reported after the publication of the daily case numbers by health authorities, they still have to be added to the number of 55 new infections. According to state news agency Xinhua, a railway station in Wuhan has been identified as the source of the infection, and that the seven infected people are migrant workers.
On Monday, authorities of Zhuzhou, located in the Province of Hunan, ordered its roughly 1.2 million residents to stay home for three days. During this time, everyone is to be tested and the urban vaccination campaign accelerated. New Covid cases were also reported on Monday on the popular vacation island of Hainan, as well as in the flood-ravaged province of Henan.
More than 360 cases have been registered across the country over the past two weeks. Health authorities attribute the rise in infection cases to the spread of the highly contagious delta variant of the Covid-19. Meanwhile, millions of residents of cities like Beijing have been tested, entire residential areas have been sealed off, and people have been quarantined through close contact tracing. Beijing also banned tourists from entering – in the middle of the peak summer travel season. Only those who have an important reason for entering the country and are able to present a negative test are allowed to enter the city.
China’s government is pursuing a so-called “zero-covid strategy“, which means that if small clusters occur in a city or province, the affected areas are immediately sealed off and all inhabitants are tested for the virus. rad
Beijing
Coronavirus
Health
Wuhan
Purchasing Managers’ Index drops
The mood among China’s economic leaders is deteriorating. After an initial strong recovery from the Covid crisis, the direction of economic trends among small and medium-sized manufacturing companies has deteriorated significantly again in July. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (EMI), compiled by the respected business magazine Caixin, dropped unexpectedly in July and is now at its lowest level since May 2020, slipping one point from the previous month to 50.3, the magazine said on Monday.
Due to the second decline in a row, the indicator is now only just above the so-called expansion threshold of 50 points: Values above this mark indicate growth in economic activity. Values below the mark signal a contraction.
On Saturday, the Chinese statistics authority in Beijing had published the mood indicator for large and state-dominated industrial enterprises. Here, too, the index fell to its lowest level since the start of the Covid pandemic. According to the statistics authority, the EMI fell to 50.4 points in July, down from 50.9 of the previous month. The agency named weather extremes as one of the reasons for the decline.
Zhao Qinghe from the statistics authority explained that the Chinese economy is still growing overall, but that it is slowing down. He cited higher raw material and logistics costs as well as supply shortages in global trade as reasons. But the “impact of extreme weather, such as high local temperatures, floods and natural disasters” had also led to a “relative weakening” of growth in the manufacturing sector. Central China’s province of Henan was recently hit by devastating floods caused by heavy rain. More than 300 people were killed, damages to property is said to amount to several billion yuan.
According to economists, the latest data suggest that the Chinese economy is likely to lose further momentum. They expect further downward risks in the coming months. rad
Climate
Economy
Growth
Henan
Raw materials
Trade
Investment program for Beijing’s south
Beijing’s municipal government has outlined plans for its investment package for the south of the capital city. A total of 260 major projects are to be realized over the next five years, with a combined volume of 590 billion yuan, or more than 80 billion euros. The development commission expects a significant boost to Beijing’s economy as a result. More than two-thirds of the invested capital is to be used to establish four new industrial zones.
Environmental and cultural projects are also being financed, according to the Beijing authorities. New schools and hospitals are intended to make respective districts more attractive for workers. 10,000 hectares of land are to be developed into recreational areas such as parks and green spaces.
Foreign companies can also hope to acquire contracts as part of the investment. However, non-Chinese companies – mainly from Europe and the US – have been complaining about a lack of equal treatment in public tenders for decades. grz
Beijing
Economy
Investments
Trade
Naval vessel in the Indo-Pacific
The German frigate “Bayern” set off on its Indo-Pacific mission from Wilhelmshaven on Monday. German Minister of Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) called the voyage a “sign of stability, prosperity and a rules-based, multilateral order,” on Twitter. “It’s good to talk about our values, it’s even better to take action for them.” Shortly after, the warship then departed from the naval base in Wilhelmshaven with 243 soldiers on board.
The frigate will be on the sea for around six months, traveling around the Horn of Africa to Singapore, Japan and South Korea. Off the Korean peninsula, the frigate will take part in monitoring United Nations sanctions against North Korea before continuing on to Australia. In this region, “important decisions on peace, security and prosperity are made,” the CDU politician went on to explain. “Security in the Indo-Pacific is also our security.”
While traversing the South China Sea, the frigate is to stick to international trade routes. The navy expects both Chinese escort ships and overflights by the Chinese air force, but no confrontations. In order to prevent diplomatic disagreements or even incidents, the Chinese were informed about the frigate’s route in advance by both the Minister of Defense and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD).
The “Bavaria” is the first German warship to be sent to the Indo-Pacific region in almost two decades. In this way, the German government wants to display more German commitment to its allies. The Indo-Pacific is currently seeing major geopolitical and economic tensions. China is making territorial claims, especially in the South China Sea. These claims are being countered above all by the United States – which is increasingly demanding the same stance from its Western partners.
Last year, the German government published its own guidelines for its policy of the Indo-Pacific for the first time. The guidelines state that the government is striving to strengthen security cooperation in the region and to “defend a rules-based international order”. With the deployment of the frigate, the government now seemingly wants to back these guidelines with military force as well. However, Berlin does not intend to antagonize anyone. rad
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
Geopolitics
Heiko Maas
Indo-Pacific
Military
Sanctions
UNO
Hong Kong pop star arrested
Popular Hong Kong singer Anthony Wong is facing backlash for a performance at an election rally three years ago. The artist was arrested by China’s anti-corruption authority on Monday for performing at an event hosted by pro-democracy candidate Au Nok Hin in 2018. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) called it a “corrupt conduct and a serious offense” because Wong is said to have violated election requirements. Au Nok Hin was also arrested on the same charge and are both due to appear in court on Thursday.
The anti-corruption law bans the payment of drinks, meals, or any form of entertainment for third parties in exchange for votes. The accused politician Au defended Wong’s appearance by pointing out that the election commission itself had publicly announced the singer’s appearance in advance at the time, and thus apparently showed no objections.
Wong, who enjoys great popularity in Hong Kong as a member of the Cantonese pop duo Tat Ming Pair, has been known, for example, to publicly advocate for the rights of sexual minorities for many years. The 59-year-old has not been allowed to perform in the People’s Republic of China since 2014. He is one of 47 pro-democracy politicians and activists who have been awaiting their trial for violations of the National Security Law. Many of the accused have been detained. Wong, on the other hand, is currently at liberty after paying bail, according to media reports. grz
Corruption
Hongkong
Justice
National Security Act
Society
Number of casualties tripled after Henan floods
The official death toll of the flooding in central China’s Henan province has tripled. The provincial government raised the death toll numbers to 302 peopleon Monday, with 50 others still missing. The city of Zhengzhou, which has seen heavy flooding such as filled subway shafts after heavy rains, is mourning the numerous deaths. Most victims, however, died as a result of landslides or inside collapsed houses. Ten deaths have been reported from other cities in the province.
The devastating rainfalls of July 20 also destroyed 250,000 hectares of agricultural land. Around 1.5 million people had to be evacuated. Authorities estimate the damage at around 90 billion yuan, or just under twelve billion euros. grz
Climate
Environment
Flooding
Henan
Zhengzhou
Profile
Timo Balz – Exploring the distance from Wuhan
Actually, Timo Balz should have known better. As a professor of remote sensing, the native Swabian is a precise observer of minimal fluctuations and tiny changes. He uses satellite radars to survey movements on the planet. Balz collects data on volcanoes, tectonic plates or the subsidence of cities. It’s a matter of a few centimeters per year – if at all that. But the isolation of his adopted home, the city of Wuhan, in January last year, on the other hand, was one thing Balz hadn’t seen coming, even though there were plenty of clues. “I was certainly a bit naive in this case,” he recounts a year and a half after the pandemic began. Rumors had long been circulating that the city was about to be sealed off.
When it became clear that no one would be allowed to leave the city, and soon after that no one would be allowed to leave the house either, the 46-year-old went shopping and stocked up on canned food. He lobbied the German media for the German government to fly their citizens out of Wuhan. But it was already clear at the time that a return to Germany was out of the question for Balz and his family: “We have no place to live in Germany. So that was also a very practical consideration. And besides, Wuhan is my home.” But he knew many colleagues who wanted to return, so he supported the pressure on the government, Balz says.
In China, Wuhan is considered the “city of heroes” who took the harsh lockdown, with all its drastic and sometimes brutal measures, to protect the rest of the country from the virus. “I think that was a spontaneous reaction of the people. Later, of course, the government was happy to embrace it,” Balz says.
Balz has now lived in Wuhan for thirteen years. But he established his first ties with China early on at the beginning of his doctorate at the University of Stuttgart. A scientific project was planned but failed at the time. His interest in language was sparked, however, and Balz traveled to Wuhan for a year on a language scholarship in 2004. Even then, the local university was considered a good research location for remote sensing. Today, the University of Wuhan regularly takes the top spot of Shanghai Rankings in this field. During his scholarship, Balz established contacts with local colleagues and contributed to various projects. This also helped him to gain a foothold in Wuhan after finishing his doctorate.
Throughout the years, he has also noticed the changes in the Chinese science system. “In Germany, it is hard to understand how quickly things develop in China. That also applies to universities,” says Balz. China has learned a lot from Germany and Europe, but now China is slowly taking the lead. “There is a lot of investment in science. Our university, for example, has now launched its very own satellite into space.”
A University education has long since ceased to be an elite privilege in China. However, there are still big differences between the level of the individual universities. “I am already aware that I have a certain insight into an elite world,” says Balz. This disparity in quality is perhaps the only detail where Chinese universities still lag a tad bit behind German ones, he adds. David Renke
Research
Science
Wuhan
Executive Moves
Kristina Mohr has been working as General Manager of the Global Technology Solution Center at DB Schenker in Nanjing since August 1. Mohr previously held an IT management position at Daimler China.
Ralf Selig has been appointed Head of Integrity Office in Beijing within Volkswagen Group China. Previously, the HR manager had been working as Project Manager of VW’s Together4Integrity program.
Dessert
Two chairs, a bucket and a game board: Two gentlemen pass the afternoon in classic Chinese fashion in the central Chinese city of Pingyao, Shanxi.
Working from 9 in the morning until 9 in the evening, six days a week. What may seem like a true white-collar horror to many is the daily routine of China’s tech workers. But the work culture also known as “996” has come under heavy criticism. Our team of writers in Beijing shows how the pressure on tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent continues to mount – and how corporate executives are now responding.
Fast, faster, hyper-fast – this is the development goal of Chinese scientists. As early as 2030, hypersonic aircraft with a speed of more than 7,000 kilometers per hour are to transport passengers to any place in the world – in less than two hours. But hypersonic technology is also of military significance: It could shift the balance of power to the disadvantage of the US, since Washington seems to be lagging behind the People’s Republic in this field.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere among China’s economic leaders has turned sour. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies as well as for large and state-dominated industrial corporations has dropped to its lowest level since May 2020, citing increased raw material and logistics costs as well as supply shortages in global trade as reasons. But the impact of extreme weather is also preventing economic recovery. Meanwhile, according to official figures, the number of flood victims in the central Chinese province of Henan has risen from 99 to more than 300.
I hope you enjoy our latest briefing!
Your Michael Radunski
Feature
An end to the “996” work culture?
Chinese Internet companies are known for their exceptionally long working hours. At the heart of the years-long debate about the high workload of employees, lies the working time culture, known as “996”: from nine in the morning to nine in the evening – six days a week.
Two years ago, Alibaba founder Jack Ma poured more fuel into the fire by calling “996” a “huge blessing”. “Anyone who starts at Alibaba should be willing to work 12-hour days,” the billionaire demanded with full commitment. “We don’t need those who comfortably work eight hours”. His colleague Richard Liu, founder and CEO of JD.com saw eye to eye with him and criticized “lazy people”.
Changes are also starting to creep in at the Chinese Internet giant Tencent – albeit at a slower pace. Tencent’s subsidiary “Lightning & Quantum Studio Group”, a developer of smartphone games, introduced “Healthy Wednesday”. According to the company’s new policy, workers are supposed to stay in the office only until 6 p.m. every Wednesday. However, overtime is still scheduled on all other days of the week, as well as on weekends.
Clear guidelines are not followed
In China, too, authorities regulate the maximum working hours by law. Accordingly, eight hours of work per day are stipulated. Overtime may not exceed three hours per day and must be compensated with double the salary. Employees who have to work on a public holiday are theoretically even to receive three times the salary. Many tech companies comply and pay higher compensation. But whenever this was not the case, employees were often reluctant to invoke their rights in the past. The fear of ruining potential chances of promotion or not receiving high bonus payments was often too high.
Since public pressure is mounting, companies are now starting to reconsider their models. Most recently, Chinese online retailer Pinduoduo has witnessed a wave of public outrage in January, when two deaths among workers made headlines. First, an employee collapsed due to overwork and later died in hospital. A short time later, another employee threw himself from a rooftop. These tragedies had once again drawn attention to “an abnormal overtime culture,” state news agency Xinhua wrote in response to the two deaths. While tech workers should have the opportunity to chase their dreams, their health should not be put at risk in the process.
Companies launch recruitment drive
Many large tech companies, which have been under increasing pressure from Beijing’s regulators of late anyway, apparently wish to avoid having their companies’ workloads become another point of contention with the government next. In response to public criticism of “996,” many companies have recently launched massive hiring campaigns, according to the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post.
Alibaba even spoke of its biggest recruitment drive ever. The Fintech subsidiary Ant Group alone is expected to hire 250 percent more university graduates in the coming year than in 2021, while delivery service Meituan announced plans to hire up to 10,000 graduates – an increase of over 7,000 to this year. The number of new jobs at JD.com is still expected to be 30 percent higher, according to the report. The increase in staff is intended to distribute the workload more evenly, disencumbering the individual employee.
With the new job positions, corporations want to bury the 996-work culture, Li Chengdong, founder of Beijing-based technology think tank Dolphin, told the newspaper. As pressure from both regulators and the public mounts, companies are looking for ways to reduce their employees’ work hours. “What used to be a one-person job will be done by two people in the future,” Li said. Only time will tell if this will actually work in practice. Gregor Koppenburg/Joern Petring
China wants to set new standards for the construction of passenger aircraft and aims to be able to transport passengers to any place on earth in less than two hours by 2030. They are currently developing a hypersonic aircraft with acceleration up to six times the speed of sound (Mach 6), or 7,344 km/h, utilizing a new generation of air-breathing jet engines. With a length of 45 meters, this new aircraft is nearly a third longer than a Boeing 737, and its delta wings resemble those of a Concorde. This was reported by the bi-monthly Chinese magazine “Physics of Gases”.
Hypersonic aircraft play an important role in Beijing’s plans to become the leading high-tech power by the mid-century. By 2045, hypersonic aircraft are expected to be able to carry more than 100 passengers per flight and 10,000 annually with an addition of 10,000 tons of transported cargo. Private companies in the USA are also developing hypersonic passenger aircraft. However, a cruising speed of Mach 6 is an ambitious goal. The fastest military jets currently in service are able to reach speeds of up to 2.5 Mach, although test flights have already reached speeds of over Mach 9.
China plans on reaching the next milestone in just a few years. By 2025, a newly developed engine is to carry aircraft up to rocket speed. However, unlike rockets, these engines draw oxygen from the surrounding air in order to be able to burn the fuel. Conventional rockets, on the other hand, have to carry the necessary gas onboard, which drives up the cost dramatically. The Beijing Institute of Technology and the Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering partnered for the purpose of this project. It is headed by Liu Rui, one of the top researchers of China’s missions to Mars and Earth’s Moon.
However, the complex design of hypersonic aircraft poses many technical challenges. First and foremost, the strong turbulence caused by speed and extreme heat generation. For this reason, Researchers are using aerodynamic models which have proven effective in China’s recent space missions for this test. This enables the scientists to locate areas most likely to be exposed to sudden heat and pressure peaks.
China sees itself decades ahead
To that end, scientists in Beijing have constructed a wind tunnel able to simulate speeds of up to Mach 25, 25 times the speed of sound, which leaps China decades ahead of the West. The Chinese see themselves as 20 to 30 years ahead of other nations, reports Asia Times. Existing tunnels were only able to simulate speeds of Mach 9.
For the time being, however, the aircraft will only be used by the military because – despite their enormous size – they only offer little space for passengers, since the engine and the air intakes take up most of the space in the body.
However, China is not only investing in aircraft, but also in weapons systems with hypersonic propulsion. These systems are considered to be the greatest advance in missile technology in the last ten years, because missiles flying at hypersonic speed cannot yet be stopped efficiently by any existing air defense system. Missiles outfitted with his technology are able to change their altitude in the atmosphere and are thus much more precise than ballistic missiles.
Hypersonic missiles, which are able to reach more than five times the speed of sound, have been around since the 1960s in the form of ballistic missiles. However, these new systems are optimized for a much shorter range, making them ideal for precision strikes, for example on aircraft carriers. At the 2019 National Day military parade, China’s military unveiled operational DF-17 hypersonic missiles and DL-ZF hypersonic gliders for the first time. The latter is launched from a ballistic missile and then glides towards its intended target on a barely predictable trajectory.
Hypersonic weapons tip the global balance of power
The DL-ZF glider system can be armed with nuclear and conventional payload and is a serious threat to US aircraft carriers as it flies too fast to be repelled by an interceptor missile. Currently, only Russia and China possess operational weapons of this type. According to the US military, China conducted more hypersonic flights in 2019 than in the entire previous decade.
But one thing is true for all nations: The technical requirements, for example for the control systems and the construction materials, are very high for the time being. Many systems are not yet fully developed. It is not yet clear whether these weapons are actually as resistant in practical use as they are on paper, which is why it is not yet clear how powerful the Chinese DF-ZF weapons really are. However, China conducted two tests of its DF-17 hypersonic missiles in Inner Mongolia in November 2017. The missile was traveling at 1400 kilometers per hour. After eleven minutes, according to official data, it hit its target almost precisely.
Military
Technology
Verteidigung
News
Millions of Chinese back in lockdown
Since Monday, Millions of people in China have been placed in lockdown again– including the population of Beijing and Nanjing. This means that more than 20 cities in several provinces are now affected by new infections due to several Covid outbreaks throughout the country. On Monday alone, Chinese authorities reported 55 new infections, all of which were locally transmitted (as reported by China.Table).
The city of Wuhan in central China has also seen seven new infections at the beginning of the week – and rigid restrictions were subsequently imposed on the city. However, as infections in Wuhan were only reported after the publication of the daily case numbers by health authorities, they still have to be added to the number of 55 new infections. According to state news agency Xinhua, a railway station in Wuhan has been identified as the source of the infection, and that the seven infected people are migrant workers.
On Monday, authorities of Zhuzhou, located in the Province of Hunan, ordered its roughly 1.2 million residents to stay home for three days. During this time, everyone is to be tested and the urban vaccination campaign accelerated. New Covid cases were also reported on Monday on the popular vacation island of Hainan, as well as in the flood-ravaged province of Henan.
More than 360 cases have been registered across the country over the past two weeks. Health authorities attribute the rise in infection cases to the spread of the highly contagious delta variant of the Covid-19. Meanwhile, millions of residents of cities like Beijing have been tested, entire residential areas have been sealed off, and people have been quarantined through close contact tracing. Beijing also banned tourists from entering – in the middle of the peak summer travel season. Only those who have an important reason for entering the country and are able to present a negative test are allowed to enter the city.
China’s government is pursuing a so-called “zero-covid strategy“, which means that if small clusters occur in a city or province, the affected areas are immediately sealed off and all inhabitants are tested for the virus. rad
Beijing
Coronavirus
Health
Wuhan
Purchasing Managers’ Index drops
The mood among China’s economic leaders is deteriorating. After an initial strong recovery from the Covid crisis, the direction of economic trends among small and medium-sized manufacturing companies has deteriorated significantly again in July. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (EMI), compiled by the respected business magazine Caixin, dropped unexpectedly in July and is now at its lowest level since May 2020, slipping one point from the previous month to 50.3, the magazine said on Monday.
Due to the second decline in a row, the indicator is now only just above the so-called expansion threshold of 50 points: Values above this mark indicate growth in economic activity. Values below the mark signal a contraction.
On Saturday, the Chinese statistics authority in Beijing had published the mood indicator for large and state-dominated industrial enterprises. Here, too, the index fell to its lowest level since the start of the Covid pandemic. According to the statistics authority, the EMI fell to 50.4 points in July, down from 50.9 of the previous month. The agency named weather extremes as one of the reasons for the decline.
Zhao Qinghe from the statistics authority explained that the Chinese economy is still growing overall, but that it is slowing down. He cited higher raw material and logistics costs as well as supply shortages in global trade as reasons. But the “impact of extreme weather, such as high local temperatures, floods and natural disasters” had also led to a “relative weakening” of growth in the manufacturing sector. Central China’s province of Henan was recently hit by devastating floods caused by heavy rain. More than 300 people were killed, damages to property is said to amount to several billion yuan.
According to economists, the latest data suggest that the Chinese economy is likely to lose further momentum. They expect further downward risks in the coming months. rad
Climate
Economy
Growth
Henan
Raw materials
Trade
Investment program for Beijing’s south
Beijing’s municipal government has outlined plans for its investment package for the south of the capital city. A total of 260 major projects are to be realized over the next five years, with a combined volume of 590 billion yuan, or more than 80 billion euros. The development commission expects a significant boost to Beijing’s economy as a result. More than two-thirds of the invested capital is to be used to establish four new industrial zones.
Environmental and cultural projects are also being financed, according to the Beijing authorities. New schools and hospitals are intended to make respective districts more attractive for workers. 10,000 hectares of land are to be developed into recreational areas such as parks and green spaces.
Foreign companies can also hope to acquire contracts as part of the investment. However, non-Chinese companies – mainly from Europe and the US – have been complaining about a lack of equal treatment in public tenders for decades. grz
Beijing
Economy
Investments
Trade
Naval vessel in the Indo-Pacific
The German frigate “Bayern” set off on its Indo-Pacific mission from Wilhelmshaven on Monday. German Minister of Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) called the voyage a “sign of stability, prosperity and a rules-based, multilateral order,” on Twitter. “It’s good to talk about our values, it’s even better to take action for them.” Shortly after, the warship then departed from the naval base in Wilhelmshaven with 243 soldiers on board.
The frigate will be on the sea for around six months, traveling around the Horn of Africa to Singapore, Japan and South Korea. Off the Korean peninsula, the frigate will take part in monitoring United Nations sanctions against North Korea before continuing on to Australia. In this region, “important decisions on peace, security and prosperity are made,” the CDU politician went on to explain. “Security in the Indo-Pacific is also our security.”
While traversing the South China Sea, the frigate is to stick to international trade routes. The navy expects both Chinese escort ships and overflights by the Chinese air force, but no confrontations. In order to prevent diplomatic disagreements or even incidents, the Chinese were informed about the frigate’s route in advance by both the Minister of Defense and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD).
The “Bavaria” is the first German warship to be sent to the Indo-Pacific region in almost two decades. In this way, the German government wants to display more German commitment to its allies. The Indo-Pacific is currently seeing major geopolitical and economic tensions. China is making territorial claims, especially in the South China Sea. These claims are being countered above all by the United States – which is increasingly demanding the same stance from its Western partners.
Last year, the German government published its own guidelines for its policy of the Indo-Pacific for the first time. The guidelines state that the government is striving to strengthen security cooperation in the region and to “defend a rules-based international order”. With the deployment of the frigate, the government now seemingly wants to back these guidelines with military force as well. However, Berlin does not intend to antagonize anyone. rad
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
Geopolitics
Heiko Maas
Indo-Pacific
Military
Sanctions
UNO
Hong Kong pop star arrested
Popular Hong Kong singer Anthony Wong is facing backlash for a performance at an election rally three years ago. The artist was arrested by China’s anti-corruption authority on Monday for performing at an event hosted by pro-democracy candidate Au Nok Hin in 2018. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) called it a “corrupt conduct and a serious offense” because Wong is said to have violated election requirements. Au Nok Hin was also arrested on the same charge and are both due to appear in court on Thursday.
The anti-corruption law bans the payment of drinks, meals, or any form of entertainment for third parties in exchange for votes. The accused politician Au defended Wong’s appearance by pointing out that the election commission itself had publicly announced the singer’s appearance in advance at the time, and thus apparently showed no objections.
Wong, who enjoys great popularity in Hong Kong as a member of the Cantonese pop duo Tat Ming Pair, has been known, for example, to publicly advocate for the rights of sexual minorities for many years. The 59-year-old has not been allowed to perform in the People’s Republic of China since 2014. He is one of 47 pro-democracy politicians and activists who have been awaiting their trial for violations of the National Security Law. Many of the accused have been detained. Wong, on the other hand, is currently at liberty after paying bail, according to media reports. grz
Corruption
Hongkong
Justice
National Security Act
Society
Number of casualties tripled after Henan floods
The official death toll of the flooding in central China’s Henan province has tripled. The provincial government raised the death toll numbers to 302 peopleon Monday, with 50 others still missing. The city of Zhengzhou, which has seen heavy flooding such as filled subway shafts after heavy rains, is mourning the numerous deaths. Most victims, however, died as a result of landslides or inside collapsed houses. Ten deaths have been reported from other cities in the province.
The devastating rainfalls of July 20 also destroyed 250,000 hectares of agricultural land. Around 1.5 million people had to be evacuated. Authorities estimate the damage at around 90 billion yuan, or just under twelve billion euros. grz
Climate
Environment
Flooding
Henan
Zhengzhou
Profile
Timo Balz – Exploring the distance from Wuhan
Actually, Timo Balz should have known better. As a professor of remote sensing, the native Swabian is a precise observer of minimal fluctuations and tiny changes. He uses satellite radars to survey movements on the planet. Balz collects data on volcanoes, tectonic plates or the subsidence of cities. It’s a matter of a few centimeters per year – if at all that. But the isolation of his adopted home, the city of Wuhan, in January last year, on the other hand, was one thing Balz hadn’t seen coming, even though there were plenty of clues. “I was certainly a bit naive in this case,” he recounts a year and a half after the pandemic began. Rumors had long been circulating that the city was about to be sealed off.
When it became clear that no one would be allowed to leave the city, and soon after that no one would be allowed to leave the house either, the 46-year-old went shopping and stocked up on canned food. He lobbied the German media for the German government to fly their citizens out of Wuhan. But it was already clear at the time that a return to Germany was out of the question for Balz and his family: “We have no place to live in Germany. So that was also a very practical consideration. And besides, Wuhan is my home.” But he knew many colleagues who wanted to return, so he supported the pressure on the government, Balz says.
In China, Wuhan is considered the “city of heroes” who took the harsh lockdown, with all its drastic and sometimes brutal measures, to protect the rest of the country from the virus. “I think that was a spontaneous reaction of the people. Later, of course, the government was happy to embrace it,” Balz says.
Balz has now lived in Wuhan for thirteen years. But he established his first ties with China early on at the beginning of his doctorate at the University of Stuttgart. A scientific project was planned but failed at the time. His interest in language was sparked, however, and Balz traveled to Wuhan for a year on a language scholarship in 2004. Even then, the local university was considered a good research location for remote sensing. Today, the University of Wuhan regularly takes the top spot of Shanghai Rankings in this field. During his scholarship, Balz established contacts with local colleagues and contributed to various projects. This also helped him to gain a foothold in Wuhan after finishing his doctorate.
Throughout the years, he has also noticed the changes in the Chinese science system. “In Germany, it is hard to understand how quickly things develop in China. That also applies to universities,” says Balz. China has learned a lot from Germany and Europe, but now China is slowly taking the lead. “There is a lot of investment in science. Our university, for example, has now launched its very own satellite into space.”
A University education has long since ceased to be an elite privilege in China. However, there are still big differences between the level of the individual universities. “I am already aware that I have a certain insight into an elite world,” says Balz. This disparity in quality is perhaps the only detail where Chinese universities still lag a tad bit behind German ones, he adds. David Renke
Research
Science
Wuhan
Executive Moves
Kristina Mohr has been working as General Manager of the Global Technology Solution Center at DB Schenker in Nanjing since August 1. Mohr previously held an IT management position at Daimler China.
Ralf Selig has been appointed Head of Integrity Office in Beijing within Volkswagen Group China. Previously, the HR manager had been working as Project Manager of VW’s Together4Integrity program.
Dessert
Two chairs, a bucket and a game board: Two gentlemen pass the afternoon in classic Chinese fashion in the central Chinese city of Pingyao, Shanxi.
