Taiwan in Parliament, Hikvision, HSBC and Standard Chartered results
A Beijing to Britain briefing
Hello,
Export controls. Sanctions. Procurement restrictions. What connects these things, aside from them being topics my family and friends have asked me several times not to discuss with them at dinner? The answer, as I was telling some friends just last night before they removed me from the WhatsApp group, is that they are all tools a country can utilise to protect their economies and strategic interests. In its latest research briefing, leading think tank MERICS has delved deeply into the concept of “economic security”, and presented an overview of measures that countries and groups like the United States, China, the UK and the European Union have at hand. It’s worth having a look through the entire briefing, which includes a handy colour-coded chart of how strong each country’s hand is, because this is a topic that’s increasingly discussed across Whitehall and Parliament.
Talking of sanctions, HSBC’s Group Chairman Mark Tucker noted in the bank’s 2022 financial results published this week that they expected further US sanctions on China to appear at some point this year. Despite this, Tucker was bullish on China’s diplomatic push across key countries, including Britain. We unpack the results further down today’s Briefing. Also publishing their results this week: London-listed mining giants Rio Tinto and Anglo American. The former indicated in questions following the presentation that they observed China’s stocks of iron ore are currently depleted, predicting that this - along with steel for construction - would be good for their business. The latter barely mentioned China.
Finally, as Beijing to Britain exclusively revealed this week, social media giant TikTok has begun emailing Parliamentary staffers inviting them to an event next month. If the staffers turn up, the TikTok team on hand promises to “answer any questions that you or your members may have about using the platform.” The event will be set against an increasingly difficult backdrop for the Chinese social media firm. Internationally, the United States issued a ban on having the app on federal government devices at the end of last year, a move the European Commission unexpectedly mirrored this week. In Westminster, multiple MPs are on the warpath, picking up the torch first laid down by others including (now Minister) Nus Ghani MP in late 2020. Concerns on the China front among British politicians are typically threefold: British data being accessed by the Chinese state, TikTok shaping the content seen by easily influenced teens, and censorship of key issues concerning the Chinese state.
— Sam Hogg, Editor
In this week’s Briefing Note, we look at:
The latest British diplomatic push with the PRC
Repeated mentions of Taiwan in Parliament
HSBC’s annual results