China

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit dozens of cooperation agreements were signed in the fields of energy, trade and defence at the external borders. But - beyond the proclamations on the rejection of the dollar - China, India, Pakistan and the Central Asian countries remain well integrated in the world economy, taking care not to be dragged into the abyss of sanctions against Russia.

The WUC has organised various events to honour the victims of China’s most violent crackdown against the Muslim minority. Activist denounces policies that result in “crimes against humanity and genocide.” No Muslims from Xinjiang has been allowed to join the Hajj. Sinicisation and re-education camps have been set up for the Eid holiday.

An OECD-FAO report expects ice output to rise worldwide by 11 per cent with robust growth in exports from Cambodia and Myanmar. After the peak triggered by drought fears, prices are still 14 per cent higher than 12 months ago.

The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations and the China Labour Bulletin release a report that highlights the latest trends involving Chinese labour. The China Labour Bulletin has monitored labour actions across the country since 2011. In 2023, protests over non-payment of wages and factory closures jumped tenfold over the previous year. Several factors are at play, like higher labour costs, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the trade wars between China and the West.

Russia exported 24% more oil to China in 2023 than in the previous year. And the Sila Sibiri pipeline is also operating at full capacity. But Beijing's rush into renewable energy production and the electric car market says that its goals are divergent from Moscow's. And that the current boom - vital for Russian finances - cannot last long.

The region’s legislature passed a new law that changes the role of the regulator, who can now deregister social workers who supported the pro-democracy movement. Hong Kong’s welfare secretary called for the depoliticisation of the sector after so many social workers backed the 2019 demonstrations. The most vulnerable will pay for this in a society where the exodus of young families is creating an emergency for seniors.

In Manila, the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States spoke about Sino-Philippine tensions over sovereignty and maritime rights, recently highlighted by a direct clash at sea of the two countries’ navies. On the divorce law, the archbishop stressed that “the teaching of the Catholic Church with regard to marriage is very clear,” but “it is a matter for the bishops” to deal with.

The debate at the event promoted at the University of St Joseph on the occasion of the centenary of the Council of Shanghai. Leopold Leeb: In many Chinese there is interest in the newness of the Gospel and this is the precondition for any inculturation. The decisive role of the "sensum fidelium" of Chinese Catholic families in keeping the faith alive in the years of persecution.

A hundred scholars from “greater China" met at the University of Saint Joseph to share thoughts from an ecclesial perspective. Archbishop Savio Hon praised the encounter with the local culture, which owes a lot to the work of Card Celso Costantini a century ago. Prof Wang Meixiu expressed concerns over today's restrictions on the access of children and minors to places of worship. She wonders whether the “number of Catholics is decreasing”.

After Covid-19, the phenomenon of 'counter-urbanisation' is growing in China, with new resources and talents moving from the cities to rural areas to set up businesses. With a positive economic impact, but not without difficulties in relations between the "newcomers" and the native communities in the villages.

In Asia, Vietnam and Bangladesh serious cases of abuse and persecution were reported in 2023. India is criticised even though New Delhi is an important US ally against Beijing. In Pakistan, Ahmadi Muslims suffer the worst discrimination.

On the eve of the meeting between President Boluarte and Xi Jinping, Peru drops its lawsuit over exclusivity. The facility will be inaugurated in November, giving direct access to the region to the largest container ships from Asia. Pressure is building for a new Trans-Amazonian Highway to connect the port to Brazil.