Links for Wednesday, September 9, 2020

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

How “tough on China” would a President Biden be? Two recently published pieces give clues:

• Pulled in many directions, Biden may keep Trump’s China tariffs in place / Reuters
  “Biden is backed by labor unions who want job protections and infrastructure spending, and progressives who want action on climate change, lower drug prices and human rights, while facing demands from farmers and U.S. corporations eager for tariff cuts and a less disruptive China trade relationship.”
• Joe Biden’s China journey / NYT (porous paywall)
  “Mr. Biden now sees the country as a top strategic challenge, according to interviews with more than a dozen of his advisers and foreign policy associates, and his own words.”

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 warned Trump of the severity of COVID-19 on February 6, and in tapes from February 7 published today by journalist Bob Woodward, Trump can be heard:

• Indicating that Xi told him the virus was airborne.
• Emphasizing that the novel coronavirus was at least five times deadlier than the seasonal flu — the opposite of his public message for more than a month afterward.

“I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down because I don’t want to create a panic,” Trump said in a separate tape from March 19.

More Trump administration intrigue: A whistleblower report from Department of Homeland Security official Brian Murphy says that he was told “to stop producing intelligence assessments on Russia and shift the focus on election interference to China and Iran.” The “instructions specifically originated from White House National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien.”

O’Brien, as well as Attorney General Bill Barr, have been saying that China poses more of an election interference threat than Russia, but this is the opposite of what American intelligence services have indicated, according to Politico.

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• American firms in China more pessimistic than ever, but want to stick it out
  U.S. firms in China grow gloomier over deteriorating bilateral relations: survey / Caixin (paywall)
  “Half of all companies in a new survey expect tensions to drag on for three years or longer, up from 30% who felt that way last year.”
  US companies defy Trump’s threats about “decoupling” from China / FT (paywall)
  “The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai found that fewer than four percent of respondents were relocating some production capacity back to the U.S.”
  AmCham Shanghai releases 2020 China Business Report / American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai
• Former finance minister on macroeconomic uncertainty
  Lóu Jìwěi 楼继伟: The four uncertainties China faces in the pandemic world / Caixin
  The four biggest uncertainties, per the former Chinese finance minister: “whether, or when, the global pandemic can be practically contained”; China-U.S. relations; “the uncertainty of other countries’ short-term policies”; and “investment risks in different countries.”
• A Baidu-backed biotech startup?
  Exclusive: Baidu, investors in talks to raise $2 billion for biotech startup / Reuters
• Yum China allocates more shares to retail investors
  KFC operator Yum China’s Hong Kong IPO oversubscribed dozens of times / Caixin (paywall)
• Upcoming IPOs
  Sequoia-backed iRay Technology eyes $318m in STAR Market IPO / Caixin
  Chinese voice chat firm Yalla files for U.S. IPO / Caixin
  Wall Street abuzz over Chinese data center operator’s IPO / Caixin
  Chinese e-learning company iHuman files for U.S. IPO / Reuters
• South Korean business connections
  Samsung to close sole TV manufacturing plant in China by November / Caixin
  South Korea struggles to lure factories home from China / FT (paywall)
• Japanese business connections
  Huawei says Japan ‘extremely important’ after 50% rise in procurement / FT (paywall)
  Japan companies line up for ‘China exit’ subsidies to come home / Caixin (paywall)

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Controversial case of environment rule enforcement
  Is strict local enforcement of environmental rules causing safety risks? / Caixin (paywall)
  “A steel plant executive in northern China says he was detained for refusing to follow an order that he believed put the plant at risk.”
• Does COVID-19 disrupt production of insulin?
  Chinese scientists find more evidence that COVID-19 may cause diabetes, top doctor says / Caixin (paywall)
• Spent rocket booster falls near village, releases toxic gases
  Another Chinese rocket falls near a school, creating toxic orange cloud / Ars Technica
  Chinese rocket stage appears to crash near school during Gaofen 11 satellite launch / Space

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• U.S. ramps up scrutiny of Chinese students
  U.S. says blocking visas of some Chinese graduate students and researchers / Reuters
  “Nearly 50 students holding F-1 academic visas including postgraduates and undergraduates said in a WeChat chat room the notices stated they would have to apply for new visas if they wanted to travel to the United States.”
  U.S. border agents turn up the heat on Chinese students / FT (paywall)
  Chinese students face scrutiny at U.S. airports / BBC
  U.S. political crackdown spurs fears of Chinese brain-drain / Nature
• India-China border standoff
  Indian and Chinese troops man remote Himalayan outposts just hundreds of meters apart / Reuters
  China-India border dispute: PLA bombers pictured close to troubled region / SCMP
  China-India border dispute: video of violent clash between soldiers goes viral / SCMP
  Aadil Brar on Twitter: “A video has been shared on Weibo which shows PLA and Indian Army pushing and shoving each other.”
  Yesterday on The China Project: Shots fired on India-China border.
• Taiwan tracks Chinese fighters
  Taiwan reports multiple Chinese fighters to its southwest / Reuters
• Hong Kong updates
  Beijing agencies express support for Chief Exec. Carrie Lam’s stance that Hong Kong has no separation of powers / HKFP
  Hong Kong school suspends teenager for online protest-related slogan / FT (paywall)
  Opinion by Joshua Wong: China is targeting and arresting Hong Kong dissidents. I could be next. / Washington Post (porous paywall)
• South China Sea
  China’s Wang Yi slams US for being ‘biggest driver’ of South China Sea militarization / SCMP
  US expected to step up surveillance as China continues to escalate naval exercises / SCMP
• Ambassador to U.K. has an embarrassing Twitter “like”
  Embassy blames ‘anti-China elements’ after UK ambassador’s Twitter account ‘likes’ porn clip / HKFP

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• The historical inaccuracies of Disney’s Mulan
  The new “Mulan”’s uncomfortable relationship with China’s past and present / New Yorker (porous paywall)
  “The film is, put crudely, an Americanized celebration of Chinese nationalism, on a two-hundred-million-dollar budget.”
• International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition un-canceled, scheduled for November
  China’s biggest airshow to go ahead as originally planned — event organizer / Reuters
• The long-form comics of Kuāng Fú 匡扶
  Our sleepless nights / NeoCha
• The pull of Chinese universities
  China now the top destination for African students, says new report / China-Africa Project