Spin and stimulus

Dear Access member,

We’ve got three things at the top for you today.

If you’re in New York on November 7: Join the Asian Financial Society for a panel discussion on Asians in NYC Real Estate. For details and to reserve a space, click here.

—Jeremy Goldkorn, Editor-in-Chief

h2>1. Spin and stimulus

China’s responses to the trade war and the country’s slowing economy are coming into shape. It’s a mix of public relations, reassurance for the markets, new policies and promises about new policies, and economic stimulus.

• Today’s major event was the opening of the five-day China International Import Expo in Shanghai, where China vowed to “bake a 40-trillion-dollar big import cake.” Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 gave a speech — though, as we note below, the audience turnout among other world leaders was underwhelming.

• “The Shanghai stock exchange plans to launch a new trading platform to ease equity-raising for small tech companies, President Xi Jinping said on Monday,” reports Gabriel Wildau of the Financial Times (porous paywall). “The new ‘technology innovation board’ will also test out a new, deregulated mechanism for initial public offerings… The approval system has led to a chronically long queue of companies waiting for IPO approval and created incentives for corruption among officials with approval authority.”

• We’ll see if it actually happens: Way back in 2001, a Chinese technology magazine I was editing had a feature story censored. Its topic: “a Chinese version of Nasdaq, or a stock exchange for small companies which is not yet up but is expected in the next few years.” That mooted stock exchange never launched.

• Xi also promised to cut import tariffs, reduce trade barriers, and further open up access to the economy for foreign companies. He vowed better protection for intellectual property. You can read more about his promises via the BBC, AFP, SCMP, and Bloomberg.

• Shanghai correspondent of the Economist, Simon Rabinovitch, tweeted: “Xi Jinping’s line that China will import more than $40trn worth of goods and services over the next 15 years is a classic of its kind: a great, big number for a great, big headline, but one that looks far shabbier on closer inspection.” Click through to read the explanation.

• Chart of the day: China can nearly meet Xi’s import target without doing anything, says Caixin.

—Jeremy Goldkorn

2. Trade war, day 123: Seeking allies among indebted nations

There was a somewhat disappointing VIP turnout for Xi’s grand import fair, reports Keith Bradsher for the New York Times (porous paywall). “Despite months of energetic efforts by China to persuade foreign leaders to attend, only about a dozen presidents and prime ministers — from Hungary, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador, among others — showed up Monday morning.”

• Many came from developing countries with a history of heavy borrowing from Beijing, while “notably absent were the leaders of major trading nations like Germany, Britain, South Korea and Japan.”

• On the sidelines of the import fair, so far, China has wrapped up talks with Singapore to upgrade their free trade agreement and will sign a horticultural export deal with Kenya, though tensions remain with that country’s upcoming ban on Chinese fish imports.

• Alibaba’s Jack Ma (马云 Mǎ Yún) vented at the import fair, calling the U.S.-China trade war the “stupidest thing in the world.”

• Last week’s “irrational exuberance” over Trump-Xi talks in Buenos Aires next month following the G20 summit took a quick turn back to reality, with global markets mixed and analysts looking to the meeting as merely a starting point for resolution of the trade crisis. “The distance between a leaders’ statement that they would like to work something out…and actually reaching a deal is ginormous,” Scott Kennedy, a scholar of U.S.-China relations at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Bloomberg (porous paywall).

• Also looming: Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections, where gains by Democrats could provoke Trump into a more combative tone.

Other trade-war-related news:

• Soybeans
  Their soybeans piling up, farmers hope trade war ends before beans rot / NYT (porous paywall)
  “The latest federal data, through mid-October, shows American soybean sales to China have declined by 94 percent from last year’s harvest.”

• Tensions over research
  US medical school bars foreign scientists over intellectual property risk / SCMP
  “Although the suspension affects scientists from many countries who plan to conduct research at the top medical school, the move is primarily aimed at Chinese scientists and China’s flagship science talent recruitment program.”
  Chinese scientists want to conduct research in U.S. waters — should Washington let them? / The National Interest
  “In recent years, Chinese scientists — and the government agencies that back them — have fixed their gaze on American waters, especially those near the U.S. territory of Guam. This has raised questions about the ability of current policy to adequately protect U.S. interests.”

• Falling U.S. orders
  U.S. orders from Canton Trade Fair sink 30% / Caixin (paywall)

—Sky Canaves

3. Renmin University keeps pressure on Marxist students

On Friday, we noted reports that two students at Nanjing University were assaulted and hauled away, “according to a witness and video footage, after they led protests against their university on Thursday for refusing to recognize an on-campus Marxist student society.”

On October 20, Cornell University suspended a partnership with the prestigious Renmin University in Beijing after students affiliated with its Marxist society were punished for supporting labor rights in China. About 50 students from across China, including students from both Nanjing and Renmin universities, went to Huizhou in southern China in August to protest against the treatment of factory workers.

Yesterday, Yuan Yang of the Financial Times reported (porous paywall) that one of the students from Renmin University said “she had been carefully watched by teachers, who warned her against speaking out again.”

“They would keep asking to eat with me, and would always end the meals by asking me what activities I’ve been involved in. They keep ‘recommending’ that I don’t post more on social media or accept interviews,” she said. “I still feel these are things I should do. I have not violated any rules. These are my rights.”

—–

Our whole team really appreciates your support as Access members. Please chat with us on our Slack channel or contact me anytime at jeremy@thechinaproject.com.

—Jeremy Goldkorn, Editor-in-Chief

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Electric-vehicle manufacturing
  Why China indirectly controls EV markets / Oilprice.com
  China “is already well-established as the global leader for the batteries that power electric vehicles, which are seen as a vital component to the future of the automotive industry… The European market should start contending with the likely outcome that European car production will soon be making a mass move to China.”

• Music copyright protection
  Over 6,000 songs to be taken down from China’s karaoke systems / What’s on Weibo
  “A recent announcement issued by the CAVCA (China Audio-Video Copyright Association) ordered Chinese KTV managers and karaoke operators across the country to take down 6,000 Chinese music videos from their assortment of songs for copyright issues.”

• The increasing sophistication of censorship — Weibo
  Beijing now able to flag Weibo posts as ‘rumor’ / FT (porous paywall)
  Yuan Yang reports:

Sina Weibo, China’s top microblogging platform, has given the Chinese government the ability to directly flag posts as “rumor,” in the latest sign of how Beijing is policing online content.

“Media and government accounts [on Weibo] will no longer only have the simple role of providing information, but will also be able to directly participate in the governance of our platform’s content,” Weibo wrote on its official blog last week… Weibo’s decision, which was first reported by news website Sixth Tone, will make it easier for government bodies to shape internet discourse in a more subtle way than deleting posts.

• On-demand darling in trouble
  Ofo moves its Beijing headquarters in midst of cash crunch / TechNode
  The bike-rental company “has had a hard time in recent months. In November, Ofo denied that it was preparing bankruptcy reorganization plans… In addition, Ofo has faced reports of mass layoffs and being unable to pay its employees.”

• Regulation of gaming
  Tencent to require all gamers to verify their identities with police database from next year / SCMP
  The move is part of Tencent’s “attempts to assuage government concern that excessive gaming is hurting the health of the country’s young.”

• The growing electronic sports industry
  Agony and ecstasy: China wins first ‘League of Legends’ title / Sixth Tone
  About 26,000 spectators at an arena in Incheon, South Korea, watched China win its first championship of the computer game League of Legends, while “millions” watched in China “from internet bars, their homes, and paid viewing events at larger venues.”
  China’s frenzy over League of Legends championship sheds light on esports growth / TechCrunch

• JD.com CEO rape allegations
  University of Minnesota student told police she pleaded with billionaire, ‘I don’t want to do that’ / Star Tribune
  “While the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office assesses whether to charge Chinese billionaire Richard Liu (刘强东 Liú Qiángdōng) with sexual assault, his alleged victim has told police he raped her in her apartment after a night of drinking as she pleaded with him to stop.”
  On The China Project in September: JD stocks plummet as police report shows rape allegations.

• Swine fever in the pork industry
  China battles to control African swine fever as it reports 50th case / Reuters via Channel NewsAsia
  “The disease, which can be deadly for pigs and has no vaccine, has reached 14 provinces and municipalities in China since it was first detected in early August.”

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Taiwan and the American navy
  Taiwan would consider letting U.S. warships on Taiping Island: Yen / Focus Taiwan
  “Taiwan would consider allowing U.S. warships to dock on Taiwan-held Taiping Island in the South China Sea for humanitarian aid purposes, Defense Minister Yen De-fa (严德发 Yán Défā) said Monday at a legislative hearing.”
  Taiwan ‘will consider’ hosting US warships on Spratly Island for humanitarian operations / SCMP

• Dangerous encounters of the South China Sea kind
  Exclusive details and footage emerge of near collision between warships in South China Sea / SCMP
  “A Chinese warship warned a US Navy vessel in the South China Sea it would ‘suffer consequences’ if it did not change course, internal military documents show, as new details and never-before-seen footage emerge of last month’s near collision in the disputed waters.”
  Mattis-Wei talks ‘won’t curb unsafe encounters’ in South China Sea / SCMP
  “Talks this week between the defense ministers of China and the United States might ease pressure but are unlikely to end close encounters between the two countries’ displays of military force in the contested South China Sea, analysts said.”

• Xinjiang internment camps ?
  Inside China’s campaign against the Uyghurs / Globe and Mail
  New reporting on the ground by Nathan VanderKlippe.
  The Globe’s Nathan VanderKlippe recounts surveillance, threats of arrest, destruction of photos while reporting in Xinjiang / Globe and Mail
  “In total, I was followed and tracked for nearly 1,600 kilometres. At least nine cars and 20 people, nameless and dressed in plainclothes, kept watch across freeways, city streets and desert roads.”
  ‘Ruined dreams’: The people locked up in China’s desert ‘re-education’ centres / Sydney Morning Herald
  “Until a few weeks ago, the Chinese government denied any ‘re-education centers’ existed. But the scale of the building program, and the disappearance of tens of thousands of Uighurs, made this approach untenable.”
  China’s human rights record to be examined in UN review / Guardian
  “China’s human rights record will be examined on Tuesday at a UN event expected to focus on Beijing’s treatment of ethnic minorities, detention of activists and suppression of religious and civil freedoms… The process, known as a universal periodic review (UPR), takes place every five years for each UN member state.”

• Iran oil sanctions
  China, Japan, India among those exempt from Iran oil sanctions, says US / SCMP
  “The United States will exempt China, India and Japan from oil sanctions on Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday, while at the same time vowing to be ‘relentless’ in pressuring Tehran.”
  China says its lawful trade with Iran should be respected / Reuters
  “China said on Monday its lawful trade cooperation with Iran should be respected and expressed regret that the United States re-imposed sanctions on the Middle Eastern country.”

• Huawei hack allegations
  China used Huawei to hack network, says secret report / The Australian
  “Secret intelligence reports given to Australian officials outlined a case in which Chinese espionage services used telecommunications giant Huawei’s staff to get access codes to infiltrate a foreign network.”

• State-owned enterprise corruption
  Xi’an SOE suspends 3 female executives amid online backlash / Sixth Tone
  “Chinese netizens had questioned how the executives — all young women — could be experienced enough to manage Xi’an Hi-Tech Holdings, which claims to have a net worth of over 40 billion yuan ($5.8 billion)… Netizens had voiced concerns that civil servants, who are barred from working in private companies while holding government posts, had appointed the three women as stooges to be manipulated behind the scenes.”

• Treatment of dissidents in detention
  Jailed Chinese activist’s life in ‘immediate’ danger – rights groups / AFP via HKFP
  “China’s first ‘cyber-dissident’ Huáng Qí 黃琦 is in danger of dying under police custody if he does not receive medical treatment for a host of severe health conditions, human rights groups warned on Monday.”

• Sri Lanka
  Rivals China, India cautiously watch Sri Lankan crisis / AP via Bradenton Herald
  “For China, Sri Lanka is a critical link in its massive Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to use infrastructure projects to expand trade across a vast arc of 65 countries from the South Pacific through Asia to Africa and Europe. It has handed out billions of dollars in loans for Sri Lankan projects over the past decade.”

• Aid to Pakistan  
  China promises more economic aid for Pakistan, but won’t yet commit to specific pledges / SCMP
  “Chinese Prime Minister Lǐ Kèqiáng 李克强 and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan signed 15 agreements and memorandums of understanding in the Great Hall of the People in the Chinese capital.”

• Export of digital surveillance
  China is helping African countries control the internet / Quartz
  China “is becoming more brazen in exporting” internet control technologies and practices, including to Africa, according to a report from the US-based think tank Freedom House.”

• Air pollution: CFCs
  More evidence points to China as source of ozone-depleting gas / NYT (porous paywall)
  Trichlorofluoromethane, or CFC-11, is a gas that was widely used as a refrigerant. Its use is supposed to be phased out worldwide under the Montreal Protocol of 1987 because it depletes Earth’s ozone layer.
  In June and July, multiple reports traced an unexpected uptick in CFC-11 atmospheric concentrations to factories in China. Now the Environmental Investigation Agency says that independent laboratory tests confirm this connection.

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Art and dissent
  Badiucao – the interview: ‘I think we are witnessing the dying of Hong Kong’ / Hong Kong Free Press
  “Artist-provocateur Badiucao might have penned some of the most daring cartoons deriding China’s authoritarian and censorial regime, but he considers himself a coward.”

• Can China stop violent public disputes?
  Fresh passenger attacks on Chinese bus drivers highlight scale of problem after fatal Yangtze crash / SCMP
  “The accident in Chongqing — which killed 15 people after a female passenger assaulted the driver, causing it to plunge into the river — has triggered a national bout of soul-searching over how to stop similar incidents happening in the future.”

• Cruelty to animals
  Chinese tourists throw rocks at monster croc in latest zoo cruelty outrage / SCMP
  “Asia’s largest crocodile in captivity has been injured by a group of Chinese tourists who threw a large rock at it, drawing criticism on social media for animal cruelty.”

• China’s ‘crisis’ of masculinity
  Inside China’s training camps, where boys are learning how to be men / SCMP
  “For about 10,000 yuan (US$1,400) parents can sign up their sons for 18 sessions of weekend training. There are other, shorter themed activities such as running topless in winter, climbing a mountain in temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius in Heilongjiang, China’s northernmost province, or trekking for a week across a desert.”

VIDEO ON SUPCHINA

Viral on Weibo: A food delivery in the sky!

On November 4, a tower crane driver was filmed getting his food delivered in the sky in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

FEATURED ON SUPCHINA

And now, an amazing Chinese rendition of ‘Cell Block Tango’ (with translated lyrics)

This is the best thing we’ve seen on Chinese social media in a while — a song by Tú Yǒuqín 徒有琴, a student at the Central Conservatory of Music. She plays the part of six women from six different parts of China who sing, in their particular dialects, about their horrible experiences with the men in their lives. It’s all set — fittingly and so very well — to the tune of “Cell Block Tango” from the musical Chicago.

Kuora: Irony and postmodernism in China

Irony doesn’t permeate the attitudes of young Chinese to nearly the same extent that it does their counterparts in the developed anglophone West, and there’s much more direct, unfiltered earnestness to the way that your ordinary Chinese person will approach literature, televisual media, music, fashion, or sports. This is, of course, not to say that irony and some of its arguably related phenomena, like postmodernism, don’t exist in China. They do, and, in the case of irony, they have for a very long time.

Friday Song: The songs, dreams, and worlds inspired by Jin Yong

Karoline Kan writes for The China Project: The evening when news came out that Chinese wuxia writer Jin Yong 金庸 passed away, within minutes, my WeChat Moments timeline was filled with posts in which people expressed sadness and shared their memories of reading Jin Yong and watching films and TV shows adapted from his works. One can’t overstate how influential Jin Yong was in the Chinese diaspora. His works are a “shared language” among ethnic Chinese people, in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas communities in Singapore, North America, etc.

The Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, episode 68

This week on the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief: Alibaba’s “hotel of the future,” the fall of Féng Lìzhì 冯立志, Google’s project to develop a search engine for the Chinese market, and what happened with the Brazil election and its meaning for China.

• Subscribe to the Business Brief on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, or Stitcher.

PHOTO FROM MICHAEL YAMASHITA

Sorting fish

In this 1998 photo, fishermen on Meizhou Island, which is close to the shores of Putian in Fujian, sort their catch on the beach. The island is known as the birthplace of the Chinese sea goddess Mazu.

—Jia Guo