Links for Friday, August 7, 2020

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Can TikTok operate in the U.K.?
  Setting up shop in London / The Information (paywall)
• China’s biggest chipmaker reports sixfold profit spike
  SMIC profits soar to $138m in second quarter / Caixin
  Last month on The China Project: China’s biggest chip maker set for massive IPO.
• China’s economy a “model of recovery”
  China becomes a refuge for U.S. companies after overcoming COVID-19 / WSJ (paywall)
  China’s July export surge may point to more sustainable recovery / Reuters
• Royole to IPO in Shenzhen
  Foldable phone-maker plans Shenzhen IPO, dispelling rumors of U.S. listing / Caixin
• Soybean imports
  China soybean imports rise 18% through July as Brazilian cargoes arrive / Reuters
• China KFC owner to IPO in Hong Kong
  Yum China targets September for Hong Kong listing / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Your clothes are probably not made in China anymore
  China no longer top clothes exporter to US as Vietnam gains market share / SCMP
• U.S.-China trade figures
  China July trade surplus with U.S. at $32.46 billion / Reuters
• China’s gray-haired internet
  Infographic: How China’s elderly behave online / China Skinny
• China needs wheat
  China to import most wheat in seven years to ensure food supply / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• HSBC’s China woes
  In showdown between China and the West, HSBC gets caught in the middle / NYT (porous paywall)

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• COVID-19 vaccine progress
  Astra inks Oxford vaccine production deal with China’s Kangtai / Bloomberg via Caixin
• COVID-19 testing in Hong Kong
  Hong Kong announces free voluntary COVID-19 testing for all residents / Caixin
• Second day of 37 cases
  China reports 37 new COVID-19 cases in mainland, same as day earlier / Reuters
• Why it may not be a good idea to electrocute earthworms
  Environmentalists call for ban on ‘electric earthwork machines’ / Sixth Tone
• Taiwan COVID-19 risk is low
  U.S. lists Taiwan as very low-risk destination for COVID-19 / Focus Taiwan
• “Some farmers are prioritizing aquaculture in violation of a national regulation”
  State media admonish China’s crawfish-favoring rice farmers / Sixth Tone

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Leading U.S. tractor brand making a mint from cotton linked to Uyghur repression
  U.S. farm brand John Deere at forefront of surging cotton machinery sales to Xinjiang, as human rights sanctions loom / SCMP
• Xinjiang and Uyghur updates
  Ex-lawmaker raises rare criticism of Iran’s silence about China’s abuse of Uyghurs, other Muslims / Radio Free Europe
  Uyghurs to China: “Return our relatives’ passports” / Uyghur Human Rights Project
  U.S.-sanctioned Xinjiang paramilitary owns over 800,000 subsidiaries worldwide / Sayari
  “We looked at Chinese public records and discovered that the XPCC is an ultimate beneficial owner of over 862,600 subsidiaries in 147 countries, including the United States, Germany, and the UK, as well as offshore jurisdictions like the British Virgin Islands. These companies reach as far as 34 layers of ownership from the XPCC.”
  Related, on The China Project: U.S. sanctions the biggest ‘company’ in Xinjiang.
• Another Canadian citizen given death penalty
  China: Fourth Canadian citizen given death penalty over drugs charges / Guardian
  “China has sentenced a fourth Canadian citizen to death on drug charges in less than two years.”
• U.S. and China military chiefs have first phone call since March
  Pentagon chief expresses concern to Chinese counterpart about Beijing’s activity in South China Sea / Reuters
  U.S. and Chinese military chiefs talk as relations fray / NPR
• U.S. sells drones to Taiwan
  China says U.S. should stop arms sales to Taiwan / Reuters
• Sri Lanka election
  Pro-China populists consolidate power in Sri Lanka / WSJ (paywall)
• Another anti-U.S. diatribe from China’s foreign ministry
  Full text of Yáng Jiéchí’s signed article on China-U.S. relations / Global Times
  In Chinese here.
• Is the P.R.C. redrawing Tajikistan’s border?
  Russia and China in Belarus / China-Russia Report newsletter
• Russia, Iran, and Kazakhstan also face concerns when it comes to Beijing’s behavior
  China’s assertiveness is becoming a problem for its friends, too / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Scrutiny, or persecution, of Chinese citizens in the U.S.?
  More Chinese nationals searched at U.S. customs, government data shows / SCMP
  Calpers investment chief Ben Meng to step down from largest U.S. pension / WSJ (paywall)
• India, Japan, Australia, and the U.S. vs. China
  The Quad is poised to become openly anti-China soon / RAND
• The Party’s summer working holiday — no longer a thing?
  China’s secretive conclave fades to background under Xi / Nikkei Asian Review (porous paywall)

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Information overload or censorship
  Code-like message goes viral on Chinese internet / Sixth Tone 
• Anti-Chinese racism
  Congressional candidate Nick Freitas of Virginia sells anti-China coronavirus masks / Washington Post
  British Chinese, long low-profile, worry about place in UK society / Nikkei Asian Review (porous paywall)
• Chinese-South African gay couple immigration issues
  Court tells home affairs to let Chinese man back into SA for birth of his child / TimesLIVE (South Africa)
• Internet livestreaming culture
  Bilibili vs. Bilibili: The culture clash dividing China’s YouTube / Sixth Tone
• Domestic workers
  China’s 35 million domestic workers, silent no more / Sixth Tone
• Reality TV
  Why TV shows made in China’s Hunan Province are so popular / Economist (porous paywall)