Links for Friday, September 11, 2020

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Luxury business is alive and well
  Prada says China sales to date well above 2019 levels / Reuters
• Agricultural purchases and strategic reserves
  China buys 664,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans, biggest daily total in nearly seven weeks: USDA / Reuters
  China maintains strong demand for U.S. corn, soy: USDA / Reuters
  China set to be top world corn buyer on crop woes and demand / Caixin (paywall)
  China plans strategic boost to vast state commodity reserves / Bloomberg via Yahoo
  “China’s next five-year plan beginning in 2021 will call for increases to its mammoth state reserves of crude, strategic metals and farm goods.”
• Fashion marketing
  What fashion media can learn from the Chinese model / Business of Fashion (paywall)
• Blockchain development
  Beijing pulls ahead of Shenzhen as China’s top blockchain city / Cointelegraph
• A floating spaceport off the coast of Shandong
  China is building a floating spaceport for rocket launches / Universe Today

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Preliminary results from quantum computing experiment
  China claims quantum leap with machine declared a million times greater than Google’s Sycamore / SCMP
• Three environmental activists accused of accused of robbery and extortion
  Ningxia conservationists detained for ‘picking quarrels’ / Sixth Tone

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• India and China agree on disengagement, but there’s no clear path forward
  India, China issue joint statement on border dispute calling for quick disengagement / CNBC
  India, China agree to disengage thousands of border troops / AP
  No breakthrough, no climbdown: Despite ‘5-point agreement’, India and China seem headed towards a limited conflict / News18 (India)
  Five boys of Arunachal Pradesh yet to be handed over to India by China / Times of India
  China tests drones, new rocket launcher near disputed India border area / SCMP
  Tanvi Madan on Twitter: “A Chinese stmt claims Indian external affairs minister said Indian policy twd China has not changed. This might be wishful thinking or hope on Beijing’s part. While India’s app ban has got a lot of attention, this thread lists the no. of other steps 🇮🇳 has taken or floated”
• Retaliation for U.S. move toward “reciprocity”
  China imposes curbs on U.S. diplomats in response to U.S. move / Reuters
  Beijing will impose ‘reciprocal restrictions’ on U.S. diplomats in China — including Hong Kong / SCMP
• Inner Mongolia crackdown
  Authorities quash Inner Mongolia protests / FT (paywall)
  “Local authorities responded with a propaganda push, a heavy-handed police crackdown and intense pressure on parents to send children back to class.”
  Context on The China Project: Ethnic Mongols protest Beijing’s push for Mandarin-only classes.
• Vaccine diplomacy
  From Asia to Africa, China promotes its vaccines to win friends / NYT (porous paywall)
  “For all its talk of providing vaccines as a public good, China seems determined to do so only on its own terms. It has been reticent on whether it plans to join Covax, a World Health Organization-backed mechanism that aims to help countries distribute a coronavirus vaccine equitably. (The Trump administration has flat-out rejected the initiative.)”
• South China Sea diplomacy
  China, Philippines defence chiefs discuss South China Sea as Beijing pledges US$20 million donation / SCMP
  Vietnam backs U.S. role in South China Sea, rebuffing Beijing / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Microsoft reports on Chinese hacking
  Russia, China and Iran ramping up attacks ahead of election, Microsoft warns / CBS
  “The China-based hackers are also targeting individuals in the international affairs community, as well as academics from more than 15 universities and accounts with links to 18 international affairs and policy organizations, such as the Atlantic Council and the Stimson Center, Microsoft said.”
• “Community service centres” run by the Communist Party
  China’s Communist Party is splurging on new local drop-in centres / Economist (porous paywall)
• Middle East strategy
  China offers Taliban road network in exchange for peace / FT (paywall)
  China’s Middle East strategy comes at a cost to the U.S. / FT (paywall)
  ‘Negative peace’? China’s approach to the Middle East / War on the Rocks

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Man held liable as “de facto caretaker” of stray dog
  Guizhou court holds man who fed stray dog liable for dog’s actions / Sixth Tone
• Food company gets heat for boy and girl versions of snacks
  ‘Different gender, different snack’ food promotion slammed as sexist / Sixth Tone
• U.S.-China tensions in North Carolina
  U.S.-China rivalry reaches into North Carolina classrooms / Gaston Gazette