China

Xinhua | English | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | Geopolitical Conflict and Disputes

A spokesperson for China's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office condemned Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for challenging the one-China principle and distorting historical and international legal interpretations. The spokesperson accused the DPP of using the San Francisco Peace Treaty, which China considers invalid, to promote a secessionist narrative and mislead the public.

The spokesperson emphasized that multiple international legal documents, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, affirm China's sovereignty over Taiwan. The shift from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China represented a change in government, not a change in China's legal status, maintaining Taiwan's status as part of China.

China also reiterated its position that the San Francisco Peace Treaty, drafted without China's involvement, holds no authority over Taiwan's status or China's territorial rights. China has consistently refused to recognize the treaty from the beginning.

深圳“迷你宅地”出让获追捧 溢价率高达65%

STCN | Local Language | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | UndeterminedReal Estate

On December 10, Shenzhen’s Futian District sold the mini residential land parcel B405-0308 after 148 rounds of bidding, with China Railway Real Estate winning at 792 million yuan. The parcel, covering 4,994.02 square meters, sold at a premium rate of 65%, equivalent to 42,695 yuan per square meter, and all units must be sold as completed homes. This marks Futian’s first pure residential land sale since 2016 and represents the last residential plot sale in Shenzhen for 2025.

The sale is significant as a pilot for the completed-home sales model, which encourages industry consolidation by favoring large developers and promoting competition based on quality rather than speed. This model is expected to boost buyer confidence and stabilize market expectations. The high premium rate signals Shenzhen’s housing market is entering a phase of structural recovery, driven by land scarcity in core districts. Moving into 2026, Shenzhen is projected to maintain a strong market through a limited number of high-quality land parcels to avoid oversupply, with premium transactions in key locations becoming the norm.

On December 8, China Overseas Property acquired parcel T207-0068 in Shenzhen Bay for 3.186 billion yuan, and Longfor Group purchased parcel A627-0268 in Guangming District for 766 million yuan, together raising 3.952 billion yuan. Shenzhen has sold 12 residential parcels in 2025, totaling 29.09 billion yuan with an average premium rate of 32.81%.

Analysts note a divergence between land auctions and new-home market activity, with luxury homes in prime Shenzhen locations maintaining strong sales despite overall market weakness, driven by geographic rarity and limited competing offerings. Policy trends continue to focus on stabilizing the market by removing restrictive measures, lowering purchase costs, and promoting urban redevelopment, aiming to stimulate demand while emphasizing quality over quantity in land supply.

MERICS | English | AcademicThink | Dec. 12, 2025 | Regulation

Chinese greenfield investment in the EU, particularly from electric vehicle (EV) and battery makers, has tripled to EUR 5.9 billion between 2019 and 2024. However, these investments often rely heavily on imported parts and labor, limiting local job creation, technology transfer, and supplier opportunities. Examples include Chery and Leapmotor assembling imported semi-knockdown kits in Spain and Poland, and CATL planning to bring in 2,000 Chinese workers for its new Spanish battery plant, raising concerns about limited local economic benefits and poor working conditions.

The EU currently regulates foreign direct investment (FDI) through member states, but application is inconsistent and sometimes lacks conditions, as evidenced by EUR 900 million in state aid given to CATL and LG Energy without strings attached. However, EU officials have indicated a shift toward conditioning Chinese investments on technology transfer and other requirements. The European Commission’s new economic security communication highlights a move from risk identification toward active risk reduction, with an Industrial Accelerator Act expected to introduce local content rules.

To maximize local benefits from greenfield investments, the article suggests imposing EU-wide minimum conditions. These include setting concrete local content targets within the EV supply chain, especially at the supplier level, requiring co-funding of local research partnerships or minimum local R&D expenditure, and enforcing social conditions like worker rights, local hiring, and funding for infrastructure and training. These measures could be applied either as prerequisites for public support or as binding conditions for investment approval, potentially necessitating a comprehensive reform of EU FDI screening.

Despite potential opposition from China, which has tightened export controls on battery technologies, the EU holds significant leverage due to its large automotive market. With limited access to the US market, Chinese EV makers cannot easily forgo the EU. Moreover, Europe’s leadership in sectors like high-end machine tools and aerospace offers additional strategic advantages. The article concludes that Europe must enhance its regulatory approach to ensure that Chinese greenfield investments deliver real economic and technological benefits to the region.