Links for Thursday, June 4, 2020

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Airline and travel updates
  China to punish, reward airlines based on passengers’ COVID-19 tests / Sixth Tone
  “In an announcement [in Chinese] Thursday, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said air carriers will be granted one additional weekly flight if none of their passengers test positive for COVID-19 for three consecutive weeks.”
  China’s aviation authority to allow more foreign flights after the U.S. bans Chinese carriers / CNBC

China’s aviation authority said [in Chinese] Thursday that it would allow foreign airlines to increase flights between the country and other regions from June 8.

The online statement came about 12 hours after President Donald Trump’s administration issued an order to suspend Chinese passenger airlines from flying to the U.S. beginning June 16, with the option to take effect earlier.

• China says 95 foreign airlines can apply to resume flights / Reuters
  U.S. to revise Chinese passenger airline ban after Beijing move: sources / Reuters
  Singapore and China will restart some travel, but flying won’t be quick or easy / WSJ (paywall)
  “But the list of requirements, from approvals to multiple coronavirus tests, shows the difficult balancing act between allowing international travelers and keeping infections contained.”
• Canada snubs Huawei’s 5G tech
  Bell and Telus snub Huawei in move to build 5G network in Canada / CBC News
  “BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. will both use equipment from Scandinavian component makers Nokia and Ericsson to build out their next-generation 5G networks in Canada.”
• Street vendor van stocks soar after Li Keqiang’s speech
  Getting rich quick by investing in street vendors / Caixin

Shares in Hong Kong-listed SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile (SGMW) were up as much as 120% during Wednesday’s trading session as Wuling microvans became the new coveted asset for would-be street vendors feeling warm vibes from the government.

Premier Lǐ Kèqiáng 李克强 on Monday gave his public support of the country’s “vendor economy,” as a way to address urban unemployment and revitalize the economy in the wake of COVID-19 downturn, after years of regulations that have seen many street vendors disappear from city streets. The day after the premier’s comments, Wuling Motors announced that it would “start selling a new model cargo van — officially a mainstay of the market economy!”

• China likely to keep buying U.S. soybeans
  China importers likely to keep buying U.S. soybeans, analyst says / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “China’s commercial soybean importers are likely to keep buying from the U.S. to cover a shortage later in the year despite rising bilateral tensions, according to an influential Chinese agricultural consultant [Monica Tu of Shanghai JC Intelligence Co].”
• U.K. moves to reduce its reliance on Huawei…  
  U.K. opens talks with Huawei rival as Johnson confronts China / Bloomberg (porous paywall)

The U.K. is in talks with a rival to Huawei Technologies Co. as Boris Johnson’s officials revise the British government’s stance toward China in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Officials spoke with Japanese technology company NEC Corp. in May as part of efforts to diversify the range of equipment providers for the U.K.’s fifth-generation mobile networks, a person familiar with the matter said.

• …As the EU moves to expand scrutiny of foreign investors
  EU considers broadening scrutiny of foreign investments / Reuters
  “The European Union’s executive has proposed broadening scrutiny of foreign investments in the bloc, according to a public draft document, part of efforts to shield more sectors from potential Chinese buyers.”
• Beijing to issue consumption vouchers
  Beijing to give $1.7 billion in vouchers to boost shopping / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “The Beijing municipality government plans to issue [in Chinese] 12.2 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) in consumption vouchers, which can be used to shop online or in physical stores in sectors including catering, shopping, tourism, education and sports. Distribution will begin Saturday.”
• Taiwan plans to attract tech R&D investments
  Taiwan draws up plan to woo $1.3 billion of annual tech research / Bloomberg (porous paywall)

As part of the initiative, the cabinet plans [paywall] to allocate more than NT$10 billion to entice foreign chipmakers to set up R&D facilities locally, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report [porous paywall]. The government said Thursday it aims to subsidize as much as half of all research and development costs incurred by global chip companies that build centers on the island.

• Electric vehicle charging network expansion
  BMW and China’s State Grid partner on EV charging network expansion / TechNode
  “BMW and Chinese power company State Grid on Wednesday announced a massive charging network expansion that would roughly double the number of charging piles for the carmaker’s vehicles in the country as it seeks to resolve a critical bottleneck in electric car adoption.”
• Hong Kong firms raise funds at rapid rate
  Hong Kong firms currently raising funds at fastest pace all year / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “Seven companies have raised a total of $1.76 billion this week alone, the most both in terms of number of deals and amount since the start of the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.”
• Yuan grows in importance as market indicator  
  China’s yuan joins ranks of world’s most influential currencies / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “‘The yuan is definitely on my radar,’ said Stuart Simmons, a senior portfolio manager at QIC Ltd., which manages about A$83 billion ($53 billion). ‘I use it more as an indicator to take advantage of opportunities in markets.’”
• Beijing’s blockchain vision for Hainan
  Hainan FTZ master plan counts on blockchain / TechNode

• On June 1, the central government released its master plan for turning Hainan into the country’s largest free-trade zone, according to Xinhua (in Chinese).
• The official plan calls for using blockchain technology in intellectual property transactions, in modernizing governance systems, and in finance, among other areas.
• It also proposes (in Chinese) that by 2025, China should build a “National Blockchain Technology and Industrial Innovation Development Base” in Hainan.

• Surveillance giant in the red…  
  Chinese surveillance giant borrows 1 billion yuan to cope with pandemic fallout / Caixin
  “Major Chinese surveillance-equipment maker Hikvision has issued 1 billion yuan ($140.6 million) in short-term debt as it struggles to cope with U.S. trade sanctions and fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
• …As Shenzhen considers new bankruptcy legislation  
  Shenzhen mulls China’s first personal bankruptcy legislation / Caixin (paywall)
  “China may soon have its first personal bankruptcy legislation, with a draft regulation [in Chinese] released on Tuesday by the southern city of Shenzhen providing a way out for individuals saddled with debts they cannot pay off.”
• Banks to simplify proof of identity requirements
  Banks slash red tape to verify ID, receiving both cheer and skepticism / Caixin
  “In an effort to simplify banking formalities, the PBOC announced on June 2 that it will reduce the amount of documents that clients or their designated proxies need to provide in order to establish their identities.”
• Microlender invests in online luxury goods retailer
  Chinese online microlender Qudian invests in luxury goods e-retailer / Caixin
  “Shares of Qudian, a New York-listed Chinese online microlender, closed up nearly 5% on Wednesday hours after announcing an agreement allowing it to buy shares in Nasdaq-listed Chinese online luxury retailer Secoo for $100 million.”
• China to promote the reopening of tourism, culture, and sports
  China will promote resumption of tourism, culture and sports: state media / Reuters
• Adidas’s China sales bounce back
  Adidas says China sales back to growth faster than expected / Reuters

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Clean energy electricity line completed
  A 1,000-mile long clean energy artery is completed in China / Bloomberg (porous paywall)

China completed construction of a 22.6 billion yuan ($3.17 billion) ultra-high voltage electricity line [paywall] that for the first time will transport only clean energy.

It’s the first UHV line in the world built to transmit only carbon-free electricity, its developer, State Grid Corp. of China, said in a statement [in Chinese]. It will allow more renewables to be developed in Qinghai and Gansu provinces and deliver the electricity all the way to Henan in central China.

• COVID-19 vaccine: The new space race?
  The global race for a coronavirus vaccine could lead to this generation’s Sputnik moment / Washington Post (porous paywall)
  “With testing underway on five experimental vaccines in China and four in the United States, the race to produce a vaccine for COVID-19 has taken on political dimensions that echo jockeying for technological dominance during the Cold War, including the space race after the launch of Sputnik in 1957.”

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Statements on Tiananmen from U.S. and Taiwan
  ‘We mourn the victims’: Amid unrest at home, US presses China on Tiananmen Massacre / HKFP
  Mike Pompeo meets with 1989 Tiananmen Square activists at U.S. State Department / SCMP
  Biden assails Trump in commemoration of Tiananmen Square / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  President hopes Tiananmen history will not be forgotten / Focus Taiwan
• U.S. to further restrict Chinese media outlets?
  U.S. to impose restrictions on additional Chinese media outlets / Reuters
  “The United States is expected to designate at least four additional state-run Chinese media outlets as foreign embassies, increasing restrictions on their operations on American soil.”
  U.S. considers adding more Chinese media outlets to foreign-mission list / WSJ (paywall)
  “The Trump administration is weighing placing new requirements on a second tranche of Chinese state-controlled media outlets, in a move that would extend a battle with Beijing that has seen reporters expelled by both countries.”
• As Chinese workers return to Indonesia, terrorism looms
  Terror attacks feared ahead of Chinese workers returning to Indonesia / SCMP
  “The return of Chinese workers to Indonesia could trigger terror attacks due to growing resentment of foreigners amid the coronavirus outbreak and Beijing’s treatment of Uygur Muslims, security analysts have warned.”
• Op-ed: China has no need for a “new world order”
  China doesn’t want a new world order. It wants this one. / NYT (porous paywall)
  Vijay Gokhale, a former Indian ambassador to China, writes, “Far from opening up a new battleground, China’s plan is to fight on familiar territory. Its message to the world is simple: China is ready to pick up the slack, as the United States retreats from its global responsibilities.”
• Singapore’s PM pleads for U.S. not to abandon SCS
  Singapore PM in op-ed says China can’t take U.S.’s security role in Southeast Asia / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “In an article published by Foreign Affairs on Thursday, [Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong 李显龙  Lǐ Xiǎnlóng] wrote that China’s competing maritime and territorial claims in the South China Sea meant that countries in the region will ‘always see China’s naval presence as an attempt to advance those claims.’”
• Will China fill the trans-pacific trade deal vacuum left by U.S.?
  China renews interest in trans-Pacific trade pact that followed TPP amid escalating US tensions / SCMP
  “China again expressed its willingness to join an 11-nation Pacific region trade pact on Thursday amid escalating tensions with the United States.”
• PEN America honors Chinese dissident
  Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong to be honored by PEN America / Washington Post (porous paywall)
• Retired footballer calls for a coup
  Retired footballer denounces Communist Party, calls for ‘Chinese federation’ / SCMP
  “Speaking in Mandarin, Hao [Hǎo Hǎidōng 郝海东] said in the video that his ‘Chinese federation’ had been backed by fugitive Chinese tycoon Guō Wénguì 郭文贵 and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.”
• New report on erasure of Uyghur culture
  Kashgar coerced: forced reconstruction, exploitation, and surveillance in the cradle of Uyghur culture / UHRP
  “UHRP Executive Director Omer Kanat said of the report: ‘It is difficult to overstate the importance of Kashgar for the Uyghur people. It has been horrifying to watch the city being decimated. Even worse, it is a deliberate government policy.’”
• Coronavirus testing as a gateway for DNA sampling?
  Chinese coronavirus test maker agreed to build a Xinjiang gene bank / Axios
  “U.S. officials are worried that widespread coronavirus testing may provide an opportunity for state-connected companies to compile massive DNA databases for research as well as genetics-based surveillance.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• School stabbing in Guangxi
  39 injured in Guangxi school stabbing, suspect detained / Sixth Tone
  “Thirty-nine students and staff at the Wangfu Central Elementary School in Wangfu Town were attacked by a knife-wielding man at around 8:30 a.m. Thursday, according to an announcement from the local government.”
  39 children, staff hurt in knife attack at south China primary school / SCMP
  Security guard with knife wounds 39 at Chinese elementary school / NYT (porous paywall)
• China’s stagnant animal rights movement
  Why China needs a law against animal abuse / Sixth Tone
  “Although scholars and legal experts renewed calls for an animal welfare or animal cruelty law at this May’s ‘two sessions’ legislative meetings, public misunderstandings regarding the term ‘animal welfare’ have slowed progress.”
• COVID-19 stigma costs a woman her job
  First she beat the virus. Now, she’s battling its stigma. / Sixth Tone
  “From her COVID-19 hospital bed in Shanghai around mid-February, Jiajia took to a social app to say the virus was not invincible. She meant it as a message of hope. She never expected it to cost her a job.”
• Streamer battles to trademark his own voice
  “Oh, my God!” Li Jiaqi’s legal battle to trademark his voice / Sixth Tone
  “Li Jiaqi, one of China’s most popular livestreamers, is trying to get his iconic catchphrase — ‘Oh, my god! Buy it! Buy it!’ — trademarked. Audio logos have been able to be registered as trademarks in China since May 2014, but their approval rate remains low.”
• Can international education recover from COVID-19?
  Tide of Chinese students studying abroad slowed by coronavirus, US tensions as international education sector stumbles / SCMP
  “Some agents worried that even when the economy does return to normal, the attitude towards studying abroad is likely to have changed, at least for some.”
• Female legislators bring forth feminist legislation
  Women at the Two Sessions / World of China
  “Female-led proposals for allowing single women to freeze their eggs, raising the age of consent, and providing insurance coverage for postpartum depression treatment were applauded on social and mainstream media alike, with some comments by feminist bloggers on Weibo receiving tens of thousands of ‘likes.’”