Links for Thursday, August 20, 2020

WHAT WE’RE READING:

More important China news and analysis from around the web:

“How to teach China this fall” is a series of proposals by a group of college professors in the U.S., published today in ChinaFile. The memo comes a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that some Chinese politics classes would begin to institute blind grading and other measures to ensure that students can speak their minds without being targeted by the national security law in Hong Kong. Per the memo:

The general spirit of our recommendations is that we must continue to teach China as rigorously as before, and we also need to be more thoughtful as a community in managing risks and protecting data security for students and instructors.

“China’s debt problem is mainly a local one,” writes MacroPolo in its interactive “Debt Hangover” map. “This map shows the extent to which local government financing vehicle (LGFV) debt has put a drag on regional GDP. All 31 regions and provinces are ranked based on LGFV debt’s drag on the economy.”

Related links:

• Local governments apply to swap hidden debts for bonds / Caixin
• How local governments’ ‘hidden debts’ create very visible losses / Sixth Tone

IN OTHER NEWS:

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• High expectations for domestic semiconductor market
  Semiconductor stock frenzy continues as money-losing firm’s shares triple / Caixin (paywall)
  “VeriSilicon’s shares were up 232% a few days after listing, as investors bet on a sector receiving massive state support.”
• Conflicting messages about digital currency
  China’s sovereign digital currency plan becomes a hot guessing game amid leaks and expectations / SCMP
  State media suggested that, at least for now, the pilot trials would not be expanded beyond the initial four cities plus venues for the 2022 Winter Olympics. That contrasts with a much more ambitious Ministry of Commerce announcement.
  Read on The China Project: Beijing pushes digital currency amid fears of a dollar planet.
• Taiwan clarifies Chinese TV streaming regulations
  Taiwan to stop local sales for Chinese TV streaming services, not block them / Reuters
• Stable upper-middle-class incomes buoy premium brands
  Premium retailers ride China’s recovery from COVID-19 crisis / WSJ (paywall)
  Why China’s economic recovery from coronavirus is widening the wealth gap / Financial Times (free to read article)
  “A lack of support has left lower-income workers unable to spend even as richer households splash out.”
• Taiwan tightens rules for mainland investors
  Taiwan tightens up on investment from mainland China / SCMP
• Is Brilliance Auto able to pay its debts?
  State parent of BMW’s China partner faces mounting debt woes / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• JD Health raises more funds for telemedicine
  JD.com healthcare arm raises $830m series B funding from Hillhouse / DealStreetAsia via Caixin
• Huaneng Power benefits from cheaper fuel
  Despite COVID-19 shutdowns, major power generator’s profit spikes nearly 50% / Caixin (paywall)
• Offshore energy producer hit by low oil prices
  China CNOOC’s interim profit tumbles, cuts costs further / Reuters
• Mutual aid programs
  China’s Waterdrop nabs $230M for its crowdfunded, mutual aid insurance platform / TechCrunch
• Delivery robots
  Chinese delivery robot startup PuduTech closes $14.5 million funding round / Caixin
• Struggling small businesses
  China’s outstanding loans to small businesses up 27.5% year-on-year by end-July / Reuters

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Detecting Alzheimer’s up to seven years in advance
  Chinese scientists claim early diagnosis breakthrough on Alzheimer’s / Caixin (paywall)
• Phase 3 trials of vaccines
  Peru to test China Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine in Phase 3 trial / Reuters
  Turkey in talks with Germany, China, Russia on vaccine trials / Reuters
  Related, on The China Project: When will China roll out a COVID-19 vaccine? Which countries will get it?
• Is COVID-19 contained in China again?
  China reports seven new coronavirus cases on August 19, fourth day of zero local cases / Reuters
  Chinese capital lifts outdoor mask order on road to recovery / SCMP
• The floods, and how to stop them in the future
  What’s behind China’s record floods? / AFP
  On The China Project yesterday: After weeks of flooding, China’s Leshan Giant Buddha gets its toes wet for the first time since 1949.
• Nitrogen dioxide levels were 50% lower during lockdown
  February lockdown in China caused a drop in some types of air pollution, but not others / ScienceDaily

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• U.S. officially scraps three agreements with Hong Kong
  U.S. suspends its extradition treaty with Hong Kong over China’s national security law / SCMP
  Suspension or termination of three bilateral agreements with Hong Kong / U.S. Department of State
  “These agreements covered the surrender of fugitive offenders, the transfer of sentenced persons, and reciprocal tax exemptions on income derived from the international operation of ships.”
  Hong Kong will suspend some legal cooperation with U.S., China says / Reuters
• U.S. policy toward China
  U.S. must forget ‘America first’ to counter China challenges, Biden campaign adviser says / SCMP
  To get tougher on China, Trump needs U.S. Navy, which is straining / WSJ (paywall)
  U.S. allies must brace for tougher China stance from Biden / Nikkei Asian Review
• Talent recruitment programs
  How China targets scientists via global network of recruiting stations / WSJ (paywall)
  “The talent programs, such as the Thousand Talents Plan, are supported by 600 recruitment stations in countries around the world. They include Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan, according to the report published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank created by the Australian government. The U.S. has the most with at least 146 stations, the report said.”
  Turning the spotlight on China’s global effort to recruit scientists / The Strategist — The Australian Strategic Policy Institute Blog
• Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party tightens supervision
  China’s Communist Party school told to ensure loyalty after outspoken academic purged / SCMP
  Read on The China Project: Retired professor who called Xi Jinping ‘mafia boss’ expelled from Party.
• Journalist union challenges warning to scrapped HK political parody show
  Hong Kong journalist unions take legal action to ‘safeguard free speech’ after gov’t issues warning to satirical show / HKFP
  Context on the show, which was axed by RTHK on May 19, via Antony Dapiran: “Political censorship of satirical program Headliner: because if there’s one thing dictators can’t stand, it’s being laughed at. You can read more about Headliner (+ Eng translations of some segments) in China Heritage here & here.”
• Search and rescue near Shanghai
  14 missing after oil tanker collision near Yangtze estuary / Sixth Tone
• Residency permit reform
  Changes to China’s hukou system are creating new divides / The Economist
  “The rich find it easier to move to big cities; the poor are being pushed towards small ones.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Normalization of large gatherings in virus-free parts of China
  Parties in Wuhan — a sign COVID-19 is under control or tempting a second wave? / Caixin
  China state papers back Wuhan park after viral pool party / Reuters
• Indie video game controversy
  Popular settlement sim criticized for glorifying historical villains / Sixth Tone
• Ten underground Chinese metal bands
  Chinese metal uprising / Neocha