Links for Tuesday, June 30, 2020

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Laoganma hot sauce in hot water
  Tencent requests seizure of 16.24 million yuan of properties of Guizhou Laoganma Company / Sina (Chinese)
  Simon Rabinovitch on Twitter: “The horrors of 2020 continue. Is China’s most famous hot sauce brand in trouble? It’s just been reported that Tencent has won a court ruling to freeze 16 million [$2.26 million] yuan of assets belonging to Lao Gan Ma; Tencent says that it was money owed for advertising.”
• Much ado about meatpacking
  Brazil says China bans three meatpacking plants amid COVID-19 pandemic / Reuters
  “China’s General Administration of Customs has temporarily banned the import of meat from three plants in Brazil amid concern over the novel coronavirus, according to the agriculture ministry on Monday.”
  China suspends bulk of Dutch pork imports after COVID-19 outbreaks / Reuters
• Are China’s factories up and running again?
  China factory outlook brighter in June as recovery continues / Caixin (paywall)

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.9 from 50.6 a month earlier, according to data released Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics. The nonmanufacturing gauge rose to 54.4. Readings above 50 indicate improving conditions from the previous month…

The data confirm the trend of a gradual domestic recovery from the historic contraction in the first quarter and back up the government’s relatively modest stance on policy stimulus. But with the coronavirus hitting global demand and continued outbreaks of the virus not ruled out, the rebound may prove hard to sustain.

• High-end COVID care in Thailand
  Thai hospital group targets wealthy in tie-up with Chinese insurer / Caixin (paywall)
  “Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, Thailand’s largest private hospital chain, has partnered with China’s leading Ping An Health Insurance in a move to provide wealthy Chinese clients with high-end care when the coronavirus pandemic ebbs sufficiently to allow air travel.”
• Beijing releases imprisoned FedEx pilot
  China releases FedEx pilot after nine month long detention / Reuters
  “Chinese authorities have released a U.S. pilot for FedEx Corp (FDX.N) who was detained last year on suspicion of smuggling weapons and ammunition, the pilot’s lawyer said.”
• New Yangtze dam starts churning
  China’s giant Wudongde hydro project begins power generation / Reuters
  “China’s massive Wudongde hydropower plant has begun generating power after a trial run, its owner announced, marking the launch of the latest in a series of costly and controversial giant dams on the upper reaches of the Yangtze river.”
• Canadian trade spat leads to crop change
  Canadian farmers cut canola acres amid lingering China trade spat / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “Simmering trade tensions with China and cool spring weather spurred farmers in Canada, the world’s biggest canola producer and a major wheat exporter, to shift more acres to the grain from the oilseed.”
• Livestream ecommerce regulations
  China to implement first rules on livestream ecommerce in July / TechNode
  “The China Advertising Association (CAA) issued a notice on June 24 about rules to be implemented on July 1 which restricts false and misleading advertising on livestreams and requires real-name registration from both merchants and individual livestreamers.”
• Beijing will not raise the retirement age
  Why Beijing has resisted raising the retirement age / MacroPolo
  “The short answer is that the Chinese government cannot afford to delay retirement at the moment. In the near term, postponing retirement will actually be negative for the economy. For one, since job creation is paramount amid the post-Covid recovery, Beijing needs retirees to vacate their spots that can then be filled by the unemployed, including many of the nearly 9 million recent college graduates.”
• Tesla’s new Fujian-based battery lab
  Tesla supplier CATL breaks ground with new battery lab / Caixin (paywall)
  “The 3.3 billion yuan ($466.7 million) facility, officially named 21C Lab, will focus on developing next-generation electrochemical energy storage systems, new energy conversion systems and technologies related to metal lithium batteries, all-solid-state batteries and sodium-ion batteries…”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Solar subsidies plummet
  Number of solar projects awarded national subsidies plummets / Caixin (paywall)
  “A total of 434 new industrial distributed solar projects and dedicated solar power stations have been granted subsidies after the closure of annual auction bids, according to a Sunday notice from the National Energy Administration (NEA). That’s down nearly 89% from 3,921 last year.”
• Tea shop pharmacies
  11 Guangzhou tea shops closed over pharmaceutical ingredients / Sixth Tone
  “Several local businesses had been adding acetaminophen, antihistamines, and antibiotics to their ‘cooling tea’ products in violation of China’s food safety law.”

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• India-China disputes
  Opinion: It can no longer be business-as-usual / Hindustan Times
  “The difference between the summer of 2020 and earlier face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh is that, this time around, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has come in strength.”
  Indian and Chinese commanders meet as tensions remain high after deadly clash / SCMP
  Why Russia’s relations with India and China will survive Galwan border clash / SCMP
  “The intensification of this dispute has spurred concern among Nepal, Japan and other regional players who have to balance their foreign policy between China and India. It has also drawn the attention of larger powers such as the United States and Russia, with the former offering mediation but to no avail.”
  TikTok India on Twitter: A statement from the head of TikTok India regarding the recent ban.
  India’s Chinese app ban seen jolting $1 billion expansion of ByteDance / Reuters
  “An Indian ban on dozens of Chinese apps following a border clash between the two nations has possibly derailed a $1 billion India expansion plan of China’s ByteDance, while also sparking an uproar from users of its popular TikTok video app.”
  China says India’s ban on Chinese apps may violate WTO rules / Reuters
  Ban on Chinese apps surprises India content makers / BBC
  TikTok denies sharing Indian user data with Chinese govt / AFP via Straits Times
• China’s nuclear buildup
  A new superpower competition between Beijing and Washington: China’s nuclear buildup / NYT (porous paywall)
  “Mr. Trump will not renew any major arms control treaty that China does not also join — dangling the possibility that Mr. Trump would abandon New START altogether if he did not get his way. The treaty expires in February, just weeks after the next presidential inauguration.”
• Will America really stand with Taiwan?
  Taiwan warned against ‘wishful thinking’ that U.S. will come to rescue if China attacks / SCMP
  “China’s increasing belligerence towards Taiwan has raised questions about whether the US would really come to the island’s aid if it was attacked, with one former senior security official warning against ‘wishful thinking.’”
• European views of China turn negative
  Ulrike Franke on Twitter: “How has your view of China changed during the coronavirus crisis? New European poll by @ecfr”
• The students who were too Marxist for Beijing
  Some of China’s freed labor activists start new lives, but state pressure lurks / NPR
  A comment from the author of this piece, Emily Feng, on Twitter: “Nearly 2 years [ago], dozens of young activists and Marxists were detained for trying to unionize the Jasic factory. What happened to them? At least two core activists have been given jobs by the state, under pseudonyms, in exchange for their silence.”
• Australia’s growing China espionage network
  Australia recruits 500 cyber spies as China tensions rise / FT (paywall)
  “The A$1.35bn ($930m) investment over a decade follows a warning from Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister, that the nation’s government, businesses and educational institutions have been under sustained attack from a sophisticated state actor.”
• China reasserts its sovereignty over Bhutan’s “disputed” territory
  China now claims Bhutan’s territory, Bhutan rejects Chinese claims / India Today
  “In yet another new move to claim land in Bhutan, China at the 58th meeting of the Global Environment Facility Council tried to ‘oppose’ funding to a project for the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary situated in Bhutan saying that it was ‘disputed’ territory.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Identity theft draws punishment
  Dozens punished over college identity thefts in eastern China / Caixin (paywall)
  “A total of 46 people have been punished for their involvement in two impostor scandals in East China’s Shandong province that involved life-altering identity thefts for college admission…”
  Context on Supchina: China faces college admissions scandal after identity theft cases reported in Shandong.
• Teaching internet skills to the elderly
  Dazed and confused — China’s elderly in online pandemic world / Caixin (paywall)
  “A 2019 study by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that only 23% of people aged 60 and above in China know how to access the internet. Citing this number, a recent TV program by state-broadcaster CCTV outlined typical difficulties that old people face in the digital era and urged young people to teach smartphone skills to their parents and grandparents.”
• Retaking the college entrance exam
  Try, try again: The students who keep retaking the ‘gaokao’ / Sixth Tone
  “Students consider an extra year or two spent cramming to be a worthwhile gamble, as the benefits of a super-high score can last a lifetime. But the trend is fueling concerns that China’s exam culture is becoming even more extreme, with students forced to make ever greater sacrifices for success.”