Links for Wednesday, July 15, 2020

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Social-media-powered bank runs
  Spate of China bank runs force police, regulators to act / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “Social media-fueled rumors about banks collapsing are popping up at an unprecedented frequency in China, forcing regulators and even the police to step in to calm depositors.”
• Will Canada also restrict Huawei?
  Canada faces new pressure to block Huawei from 5G, after U.K. ban risks marooning Ottawa from Five Eyes intelligence allies / SCMP
  “The decision renders Canada the only member of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence consortium — also made up of the United States, Australia and New Zealand — to have failed to block Huawei on security grounds from at least part of its high-speed 5G internet infrastructure.”
• China’s tourism industry dethaws
  Package tours resume in China after nearly six months / Caixin (paywall)
  “After a nearly six-month shutdown, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) issued a directive Wednesday calling for the resumption of domestic tourism trade in all regions with a low coronavirus risk.”
• Digital yuan tests on Meituan
  China plans to test digital yuan on food delivery Giant’s platforms / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “China’s central bank is planning to test its digital currency on platforms operated by Meituan Dianping [美团网 Mĕituánwǎng], enlisting the food delivery giant backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. in a major step toward the token’s mass adoption.”
• India’s app ban updates
  India asks banned Chinese apps 77 questions over content review and data security / Caixin (paywall)
  “The Chinese companies whose 59 apps have been banned in India on national security grounds have been given three weeks to respond to an Indian questionnaire consisting of more than 70 questions revolving around content moderation, foreign government ties and user data security…”
  Research shows 9 of 59 banned Chinese apps ‘fully functional,’ via websites / Times of India
• Delisting surge
  Delisting surges in China as Beijing adopts ‘survival of the fittest’ approach / Reuters
  “Having begun delisting 26 companies so far this year, China’s securities regulator is set to remove a record number of firms from the stock exchange, heeding a message from Vice Premier Liu He to ensure the ‘survival of the fittest.’”
• China’s unemployment crisis
  China’s unemployment crisis shows no signs of easing as graduates face reality check due to coronavirus / SCMP
  “While no official employment data on new graduates available, some research has estimated that only a quarter had received a job offer by the end of May… Add this to the questionable status of many of China’s 290 million migrant workers, many of which have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus, the outlook is bleak.”
• Lockheed Martin sanctions are mostly symbolic
  Beijing’s sanctions on Lockheed Martin diplomatic but not damaging, observers say / SCMP
  “Beijing’s announcement of sanctions against Lockheed Martin is a diplomatic gesture that is unlikely to hurt the U.S. weapons supplier’s bottom line given it holds a negligible share of the mainland China market, analysts said.”
• Wholesale mask prices drop
  Wholesale mask prices fall over 90% and raw materials fall to fraction of peak price / Caixin (paywall)
• Air conditioner maker warns of a profit drop
  Air conditioner maker Gree warns profit may drop sharply in first half of 2020 / Caixin (paywall)
• Defaulting property developer
  Property developer Tahoe warns creditors it will default, again / Caixin (paywall)
• Chinese carmaker sees a sales boost
  Carmaker Changan predicts first-half profits after selling spree / Caixin (paywall)
• New emissions standards fuel a truck buy-up
  New emissions standards power boom in truck sales / Caixin (paywall)
  “China’s commercial vehicle sales grew more than 60% in June to a record high, far outpacing the slumping broader vehicle market, as truck fleet operators snapped up new vehicles ahead of tougher emissions standards set to take effect next year.”
• Canadian pensions backed by Chinese investment
  Top Canadian institutional investor bets heavily on China / Caixin (paywall)
  “The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), a top institutional investor that has been putting money in China for years, is looking to bet more heavily on Chinese markets in the coming years.”
• Game over for an App Store loophole
  Over 2,500 games removed from Apple’s China App Store after loophole shuts: data firm / Reuters
  “Apple had given publishers of revenue-generating games a deadline of end-June to submit a government-issued license number that allows them to make in-app purchases, a requirement that Android-based app stores in China have long had. It was not clear why Apple had allowed the loophole to exist for so long.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Shanghai-made vaccine shows progress
  Shanghai-made COVID-19 vaccine ready for human trials / Sixth Tone
• Cattle disease outbreak in Zhejiang
  China reports skin disease outbreaks in cattle due to virus / Reuters
  “China is facing outbreaks of a debilitating virus in cattle that causes a condition called ‘lumpy skin disease’, following an incident on a farm in the eastern province of Zhejiang this week, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.”
• China moves to make Hainan a medical hub
  China creates Hainan special health care zone to tap growing medical tourism market / SCMP
  “As part of its ambitious plan to turn the island into a free-trade port, Beijing has established a special health care zone that under preferential policies will allow it to import medical devices, technology and drugs that are hard to access in the mainland.”
• WeChat cartography
  Meet the scientists mapping China’s wilderness with cellphone data / Radii China
  “Researchers at Tsinghua University’s Beijing City Lab utilized location-based services (LBS) data from some of the country’s most widely-used social applications — including messaging app WeChat — to map areas of potential wilderness in China.”
• “Unprecedented and rare” fishing ban in Yangtze River
  China says Yangtze River fishing is no longer viable and installs a ban / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “China will impose a 10-year ban on fishing in some key parts of the Yangtze from next year to protect biodiversity along the Asia’s longest river… The move means more than 100,000 fishing vessels will be made redundant and some 300,000 fish farmers will have to be relocated, vice agriculture minister Yú Kāngzhèn 于康震 said.”

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• China threatens retaliation for U.K.’s Huawei ban
  China warns U.K.: ‘Dumping’ Huawei will cost you / Reuters
  “The way you are treating Huawei is being followed very closely by other Chinese businesses, and it will be very difficult for other businesses to have the confidence to have more investment,” warned Liú Xiǎomíng 刘晓明, Chinese ambassador to the U.K.
  Huawei: China attacks UK’s ‘groundless’ ban of 5G kit / BBC
  Chinese media calls for ‘pain’ over U.K. Huawei ban as Trump claims credit / Guardian
• State council charges corrupt officials for deadly hotel collapse
  Corruption and illegal construction led to deadly coronavirus hotel collapse, state council says / Caixin (paywall)
  “Police have launched criminal proceedings against 23 individuals for their suspected roles in the collapse of the Xinjia Express Hotel in March, which the report blamed on illegal construction facilitated by fraud. Twenty-nine people died and another 42 were injured.”
• China-India military leaders meet
  China-India border dispute: Military leaders meet again in bid to ease tensions / SCMP
  “China’s Major General Liu Jin, commander of the South Xinjiang Military Region, and India’s Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, commander of Leh-based 14 Corps, began their fourth round of talks in Chushul, Ladakh, on Tuesday morning and did not finish until late in the night, according to Indian media reports.”
  Is New Delhi using Indian media to attack Nepal as it grows closer to China? / SCMP
• South China Sea updates
  Foreign ministers from China, Philippines discuss South China Sea after Pompeo statement / SCMP
  Xi’s call to Singapore: A subtle ‘reminder’ about the South China Sea? / SCMP
• Chinese boat supervisor charged with murder at sea
  Chinese boat supervisor charged following Indonesian crewman’s death / RFA

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• China’s fair skin obsession
  China’s quest for fair skin, from Zhuang Jiang to Ning Jing / Sixth Tone
  “The politically incorrect anger at BLM will probably draw most of the attention from international observers, but it’s important to understand that Chinese responses to the move — and their preferences for fair over dark skin — are grounded less in race and more in class.”
• Using Douyin to counter stereotypes
  Can Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, help China’s LGBT community? / Caixin (paywall)
  “The Beijing LGBT Center recently opened an account on Douyin, the domestic version of TikTok, attracting over 2,400 followers and featuring short videos that address misconceptions about the LGBTQ+ community. Center staff members are optimistic that they can inform more people about the true stories of China’s LGBTQ+ community by using creative videos.”
• Jail time for massage parlor sex scam
  Unhappy ending for massage parlor accused of conning johns / Sixth Tone
  “In April, the Shangcheng District court in the eastern city of Hangzhou ruled against six people affiliated with the massage parlor for misleading customers by suggesting they could receive sexual services. They were sentenced to between six months and 14 years in prison.”