Links for Tuesday, August 4, 2020

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Railway projects in southern China
  China approves $67.9 billion of urban railway projects in Greater Bay Area / Reuters
• $1.65 billion in fraud at a laminating firm manufacturer
  Investigators reveal how Kangde Xin carried out 11.5 billion yuan fraud / Caixin (paywall)
• Aviation progress update
  China’s aviation future rests with the Comac C919 aircraft / CNET
• HSBC on a hiring spree
  HSBC to hire 3,000 wealth planners in China amid tension / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Car sales up
  China’s vehicle sales rise for fourth month with outbreak easing / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  China auto sales expected to rise 15% in July: industry body / Reuters
• Trade deal targets
  China only fulfils 5% of Sino-U.S. energy trade deal in first half of 2020 / Reuters
• Luckin affiliates get slaps on wrist
  Two Luckin Coffee affiliates fined by CSRC for disclosure violations / Caixin
• Hog futures
  China’s hog futures set to make debut, but faces big challenges / Reuters
• Economic risk
  China’s robust factory activity masks economic risks / Nikkei Asian Review (porous paywall)

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Hardware and software on BeiDou
  Core parts of China’s BeiDou satellite system ‘100% made in China’ / Caixin
  Software upgrades for Beidou to continue / China Daily
  Related on The China Project, from June 23: China launches final satellite for BeiDou, its GPS competitor.
• WHO completes three-week advance mission
  WHO says China team interviewed Wuhan scientists over virus origins / Reuters
  Officials “did not provide details on the timing or composition of the broader mission.”
• Hong Kong COVID-19 testing
  China says it can boost Hong Kong virus testing by 20 times / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Hong Kong denies mass Chinese virus tests are bid to harvest DNA / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Side effects of panda conservation
  China’s focus on panda conservation has come at the cost of other species: study / CNN

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• India puts more pressure on China, but runs into limits
  Eye on China, India looks to increase barriers on imports from Asia / Economic Times
  Upset at India’s big review of Confucius Institutes tomorrow, China says ‘be fair’ / Hindustan Times
  India cannot ‘completely block off’ all ties with China, former national security advisor says / CNBC
  Japan, Swadeshi Jagran Manch and BCCI: Why Modi’s China headache just got bigger this week / ThePrint (India)
  “New Delhi’s second big concern is its friend and ally Japan’s recent unusual request to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to exempt 990 items from raised tariffs because these are imported from China, pointing out that these are necessary for the production of Japanese goods in India.”
• Australia urges U.S.-China caution
  Australian PM Scott Morrison urges U.S. and China to respect international law, resolve disputes peacefully / ABC News
• Hong Kong updates
  Security law: France halts ratification of extradition treaty with Hong Kong / AFP via HKFP
  National security law: Beijing, Hong Kong slam France for halting ratification of extradition treaty with city / SCMP
  UK lawmakers call on gov’t to sanction Hong Kong’s Carrie Lam following police ‘rights abuses’ / Hong Kong Free Press
• South China Sea
  Chinese air force steps up combat-readiness drills / SCMP
  “Three of China’s five main military regions have mounted air combat readiness exercises as tensions rise with the United States in the South China Sea.”
• Japan to clamp down on China-connected research?
  Japan considers tougher rules on research interference amid US-China tensions / Nature
• Swedish singer and Huawei endorser calls China “not a nice state”
  Swedish singer Zara Larsson ends collaboration with Huawei / Barrons

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Comment moderation and counseling services by NetEase Cloud Music
  Can music streamers help users’ depression? / Caixin
  NetEase to provide counseling services for depressed music fans / Sixth Tone
• Asia’s largest digital entertainment expo continues, with caution
  ChinaJoy 2020: Cute cosplayers, high-tech gadgets, lots of face masks / Sixth Tone
• Internet users tell a Peking University student to ignore her dreams
  Class debate in China over high-achieving ‘left-behind child’ who chooses to study archaeology at university / SCMP
• Vague laws on those “medically unsuitable for marriage”
  Disabled couple’s marriage petition sparks discussion on consent / Sixth Tone
• Documentarian of Mao-era China
  Hu Jie: The Chinese documentary filmmaker exposing the harsh realities of early Communist Party rule / NüVoices
• Anti-Asian racism in the U.S.
  Rep. Judy Chu: How to talk about China’s role in pandemic in racially sensitive way / NBC