Global Impact: China ends 2022 with a bang with the end of zero-Covid, but what’s around the corner in 2023?
- Global Impact is a fortnightly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world
- In this edition, we look back at the events that unfolded in 2022 and also looks ahead to what we can expect in 2023.
The changes are as abrupt as they are consequential, and this is a befitting end for a year full of dramatic and monumental events.
Geopolitical tensions intensified in Asia, with the US and China locking horns over almost every arena.
Looming large on the horizon, the deadly coronavirus is still active and keeps mutating, showing no signs of approaching the end of its lethal evolution.
Like the Covid-19 relaxation in China, many of these bewildering stories are still unfolding. So buckle up! We are promised to have another roller-coaster year in 2023.
The war in Ukraine is entering a stalemate. How this may end will impact global geopolitics for the years to come. With so many uncertainties around, nobody can confidently say that the global economy is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
We are grateful to have you as our reader and look forward to being your trusted news source for the history-making stories ahead of us in a new year.
60 second catch-up
Deep Dives
China’s sudden shift from Covid-zero raises more questions than answers
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People who were grateful for the precautions are asking why the time wasn’t used to prepare for the current surge
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Officially, daily infections are in the thousands and deaths are minimal but social media outpourings paint a different picture
Wang, who lost his job as an IT engineer when his multinational employer divested from China during zero-Covid, did not expect the lifting of the policy to throw his life into further disarray.
China’s reopening presents rest of world with dilemma: put out the welcome mat or tighten border controls?
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Countries such as the US, Japan and Italy are testing new arrivals, while other countries are actively courting Chinese tourists
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Many European countries as well as Australia and New Zealand have started campaigns on social media saying they welcome visitors from China
At least six governments have announced new restrictions on new arrivals from mainland China, but other countries have launched or stepped up campaigns aimed at attracting Chinese visitors with slogans such as “waiting for you” or “waiting until I see you”.
All eyes on China’s economic ‘balancing act’ with Beijing urged to lift mood
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Businesses are watching keenly for concrete steps to get the economy back on track following the 20th party congress
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Steadying investor sentiment will be no easy feat, however, as uncertainty remains over China’s new leadership line-up
As the dust settles on the Communist Party’s leadership reshuffle, China must urgently restore confidence among private and foreign investors in its coronavirus-battered economy, analysts and economists say.
The 20th party congress wrapped up on Sunday, handing President Xi Jinping a norm-breaking third term as the party secretary at the apex of power in the world’s second-largest economy. Xi tightened his dominance by lining the country’s top decision-making body with loyalists, while leaving the door open for a fourth five-year term in 2027.
Queen Elizabeth’s moments in Asia: dinner with Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew, being ‘chased’ in Malaysia, meeting ‘royal friend’ Thai King Bhumibol
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The late queen made several trips to Commonwealth states, including former colonies like Singapore, Malaysia and India, and was also the first royal to visit China
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In Bangkok, she shared that Queen Victoria had been pen pals with Thailand’s King Rama IV, Mongkut; while her 1975 trip to Hong Kong was so successful that it later inspired the building of a sports stadium
The richest queen in the world, she was also the second-longest reigning monarch, after French King Louis XIV; he ruled for more than 72 years before he died in 1715.
Will Sunak’s rise in UK prompt soul-searching in Chinese-majority Singapore?
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Singapore’s three prime ministers are all of Chinese descent, but observers note Sunak’s rise should not be ‘romanticised’ as he was chosen by a small circle of Tory MPs
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Observers also question whether takeaway should be about a person from an ethnic minority group being PM or that a ‘ridiculously rich elite’ could take the top job
Chance for stability in aftermath of China hawk Liz Truss, analyst says
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The former British PM was ready to forge ahead with her China threat plan before her resignation
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Her departure could ease strained ties but the long-term prospects may not be rosy, analysts warn
Will Shinzo Abe’s widow take over his safe seat, or is Japan ready to move on?
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Akie Abe fanned speculation she may take over her late husband’s constituency, viewed as the ‘safest of safe seats’, following comments at a funeral service
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She faces opposition from the Abe family, and lack of political experience makes her no match for Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, who is touted as a future leader
Akie Abe fanned speculation she may assume the Yamaguchi No 4 constituency and then stand in the April 2023 by-election, saying during a funeral service in Nara for her husband on October 15: “My husband really loved Yamaguchi, as well as the cities of Shimonoseki and Nagato. I also want to engage in some sort of activity for this area.”
Senior US diplomats visit China in wake of Bali talks but little hope of a full thaw
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US State Department says the trip, yet to be confirmed by Beijing, aims to manage bilateral rivalry and ‘explore potential areas of cooperation’
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Concrete outcomes on trade, military and other thorny issues unlikely as both sides focus on core interests, observers say
Observers described the trip, the first such exchange in months, as “a continuation of the Bali talks”, referring to President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden’s first in-person meeting on the margins of the G20 summit last month.
Trump vows to cut ‘dependence on China’ as he launches 2024 White House bid
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Third run for Oval Office will face opposition from own Republican Party after lacklustre midterm election results for candidates he backed
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Former president who steered US into direct economic confrontation with China undeterred by impeachment and ongoing January 6 probe
Global Impact is a fortnightly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world.