Links for Monday, August 31, 2020

WHAT WE’RE READING:

More important China news and analysis from around the web:

What if the CanSino vaccine only has 40% efficacy? According to some experts cited by Reuters, “High-profile COVID-19 vaccines developed in Russia and China share a potential shortcoming: They are based on a common cold virus [adenovirus type 5, or Ad5] that many people have been exposed to, potentially limiting their effectiveness.”

The other three Chinese vaccines in Phase 3 trials use an inactivated or weakened version of the SARS-COV-2 virus itself, according to the New York Times vaccine tracker. Vaccines in development in the U.S. and Germany use messenger RNA (mRNA) for delivery, while the University of Oxford vaccine is based on a chimpanzee adenovirus.

Related:

• China has been vaccinating essential workers since July 22 / The China Project
• Sinovac’s coronavirus vaccine candidate approved for emergency use in China / Reuters
• Chinese COVID-19 vaccine maker in talks with countries on early approval / WSJ (paywall)
• What happens if China gets the COVID-19 vaccine first? / Politico
  “U.S. prestige could falter, the administration could take deadly risks, the world will have to rethink its alliances — and those are just a few of the possibilities.”

The scapegoating of Confucius Institutes: One common argument from China hawks in Washington about the Chinese state-funded educational institutes is that their teaching materials, sanitized of politically sensitive topics for Beijing, will influence American students. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the most powerful China hawk in Washington, said earlier this month that Confucius Institutes are “advancing Beijing’s global propaganda and malign influence campaign.”

Naima Green-Riley, a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University, writes in the Washington Post that the data actually shows the opposite: Confucius Institute students develop less favorable views of China as their studies progress.

IN OTHER NEWS:

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Exports in July were the second-highest ever
  Trump’s tariffs? Coronavirus? China’s exports are surging anyway / NYT (porous paywall)
• Service sector is picking up
  China’s attempts to spur consumption show signs of working / WSJ (paywall)
  China’s economic recovery continues as services sector grows at fastest pace in over two and a half years in August / SCMP
  Domestic demand drives China’s post-pandemic recovery / FT (paywall)
  China’s theme parks ride a boom as tourists have nowhere to go / WSJ (paywall)
  “With foreign vacations off limits, China is in the middle of a theme-park boom as domestic tourists seek amusements in their own backyards.”
• Daiwa Securities gets majority ownership
  Japanese financial giant wins approval for majority-owned Chinese securities venture / Caixin (paywall)
• Digital currency trials joined by Postal Savings Bank and Citic Bank
  Two more state-owned banks join China’s digital currency trials / Caixin (paywall)
• The effects of suspended construction projects
  State construction giant CCCC reports six-month profit drop, first since 2013 / Caixin (paywall)
• No light at the end of the tunnel for this fiber optic cable
  L.A.-Hong Kong internet cable sits unused after U.S. flags security threat / Caixin (paywall)

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Science and technology spending increases
  China again boosts R&D spending by more than 10% / Science
• Safety measures at universities
  Facial recognition and bathtime bookings: How China’s universities are reopening / Reuters
• Over two weeks of no reported local transmissions
  China reports nine imported coronavirus cases, no local infections for record 14th day / Reuters
  China reports 17 new COVID-19 cases on August 30 vs nine a day earlier / Reuters
• Forced medication in Xinjiang
  In China’s Xinjiang, forced medication accompanies lockdown / AP via ABC
  “As parts of the Xinjiang region in China’s far northwest enters the 45th day of a second grueling lockdown due to a coronavirus outbreak, the government there is coercing some residents into using traditional Chinese medicine despite a lack of rigorous clinical data proving it works.”
• Yellow-spined bamboo locusts in Yunnan
  Crops at risk as southern China battles worst locust infestation in decades / SCMP

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• India-China border tensions
  India and Chinese troops clash on disputed Himalayan border / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “The defense ministry in New Delhi said on Monday its soldiers were able to stop a push by Chinese troops to claim more ground late Saturday in violation of existing agreements.”
  India accuses China of ‘provocative military movements’ at border / BBC
  Chinese troops never cross the line of actual control at Indian border, says China foreign ministry / Reuters
  China demands India withdraw troops from border to avoid escalation / Reuters
  Forget disengagement, China opens new front along LAC / Hindustan Times
  Context on The China Project: India and China hope to resolve border standoff in ‘expeditious manner,’ but dig in for extended conflict.
• Taiwan braces for more conflict with China
  Czech senate speaker will pay ‘heavy price’ for Taiwan visit, China says / Reuters
  Taiwan, Czech choose to live in democracy: Czech senate president / Focus Taiwan
  Taiwan says China still lacks ability for full assault on island / Reuters
  With a wary eye on China, Taiwan moves to revamp its military / NYT (porous paywall)
  Fearing Hong Kong’s fate, Taiwan moves to bolster its military against China / WSJ (paywall)
  China’s war games raise fears for Taiwan’s security / Economist (porous paywall)
  U.S. to declassify Taiwan security assurances / FT (paywall)
  Jessica Drun on Twitter: “Woah. The United States has declassified the cables on the ‘Six Assurances’ — one of the key policy elements in US-Taiwan relations (alongside TRA and the Joint Communiques). Text found in attached PDFs at link.”
• Mongolian language education
  Curbs on Mongolian language teaching prompt large protests in China / NYT (porous paywall)
  Mass protests erupt as China moves to end Mongolian-medium teaching in schools / Radio Free Asia
  Bilingual education in Inner Mongolia: An explainer / Made in China journal
  ‘Don’t try to tame me’: Mongols in China protest plan to teach in Chinese / Inkstone
• Tibet
  Xi says China to step up efforts to fight ‘splittism’ in Tibet / Reuters
• Restaurant collapse in Shanxi
  Investigation launched after restaurant collapse kills 29 in North China / Caixin
  Gallery: Combing through the rubble of a deadly restaurant collapse / Caixin
  Restaurant collapse in China’s Shanxi kills 29 / Reuters
• Thailand delays military purchase
  Thailand delays US$724 million China submarine deal after public outcry over economic pain / AFP via SCMP
• Macron’s “strong concerns” over Uyghurs and Hong Kong
  France’s Macron expressed concerns about human rights to China’s Wang Yi / Reuters
• Piketty’s new book censored for descriptions of inequality and “communist disaster”
  Thomas Piketty refuses to censor latest book for sale in China / Guardian
• Chinese researchers under scrutiny in California
  Chinese researcher at UCLA charged with destruction of evidence / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Chinese scholar wins bail over U.S. concerns she’ll try to flee / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• 5,797 people arrested since January for medical violence or fraud
  Thousands arrested for ‘virus-related crimes’ in China / AFP via HKFP

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• How tattoos have become trendy in urban China
  The new ink masters – China makes its mark on the world of tattoos / Economist (porous paywall)
  See also a Twitter thread, with pictures, by Economist correspondent Simon Rabinovitch.
• Wuhan to reopen all schools on September 1
  China’s Wuhan says all schools to reopen on Tuesday / Reuters
• Taiwanese gender politics lost in translation to mainland TV
  How China’s reality show roses lost their thorns / Sixth Tone