Links for Tuesday, September 22, 2020

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

Beijing may wait until after the U.S. election to release its long-threatened “unreliable entities list,” a response to the U.S. Commerce Department’s “entity list” and American moves against Huawei and other Chinese tech companies. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Officials are now debating when or whether to publish the list, with some arguing it shouldn’t be done before the U.S. election.

It is one of Beijing’s trickiest balancing acts under President Xi Jinping as the Chinese leadership weighs how to hit back at Washington without inflicting irreparable damage, either to the two countries’ relationship or to China’s own economy and industries…

Some senior officials, including Vice Premier Liu He, Beijing’s chief trade negotiator with Washington, now fear that publishing the list could provoke the U.S. to take even harsher measures and argue a decision should wait until after the U.S. election.

Cisco is likely to be on the list, if it is released, the WSJ reports.

The WSJ has another new piece that is important to read for those closely following U.S.-China business relations. It is a “tick-tock” (blow by blow) report on the TikTok saga, and how the tentative deal so far came about. The report dives right into the chaos:

Key to getting the president on board with the idea, which involved Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc. taking stakes in a new TikTok based in the U.S., was a thinly sketched-out plan to create a $5 billion education fund, described by people involved as a gesture to placate Mr. Trump. The provision came so late that when it was announced, TikTok and its Chinese parent company weren’t aware it was part of the plan.

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Selling European biometric surveillance to China
  EU companies selling surveillance tools to China’s human rights abusers / Amnesty International
  “Most EU governments, including France and Sweden, are resisting calls to strengthen export rules to include strong human rights safeguards in biometric surveillance technology, an area that European companies dominate.”
• WM Motor revs up
  New-energy vehicle maker raises $1.47 billion ahead of rumored IPO / Caixin
  WM Motor nabs $1.5 billion, eyes STAR market IPO / TechNode
• HSBC in politically risky waters
  HSBC stock pummeled by financial crimes report, China ‘unreliable entity’ list / Caixin (paywall)
  “HSBC was one of several banks named in a report released Sunday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) which showed that the lenders continued to do business with entities whose suspicious activities they had flagged to U.S. regulators.”
• Owner of Perfect Dairy considers U.S. IPO
  Youth-focused budget cosmetics brand eyes U.S. IPO / Caixin (paywall)
• More punishments for Luckin
  China’s market regulator piles penalties on Luckin Coffee over fraud scandal / Caixin (paywall)
  China fines Luckin Coffee and linked firms a total of $9 million / Reuters
• Sequoia raising new funds
  Sequoia Capital China raising $2.2 billion in new yuan fund, say sources / Reuters
• Shipping prices settle down
  U.S.-China shipping rates move into calmer waters / Caixin (paywall)
• U.S. accounts for 7.7% of Hong Kong’s exports
  End of ‘made in Hong Kong’ brand expected to hurt businesses, but not trade / Caixin (paywall)
  The U.S. rule, where “Hong Kong imported goods will no longer be allowed to indicate ‘Hong Kong’ as their origin and must be marked to indicate ‘China,’” was “set to take effect on Sept. 25 but was later postponed to Nov. 9.”
• Rise in luxury spending
  China luxury spend seen to jump 30% this year in industry relief / Bloomberg (porous paywall)

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• The continuing risk of a major second wave
  Zhang Wenhong: Second virus wave ‘inevitable’ in China this winter / Caixin
• Yunnan border city ends lockdown after no COVID-19 cases found beyond initial two
  Chinese border city ends lockdown but stays alert for illegal entrants / Caixin
• The race for a vaccine, and how to distribute it globally
  Pakistan launches Phase III trials for Chinese Cansinobio’s COVID-19 vaccine / Reuters
  Global COVID vaccine plan moves ahead, without China for now / Caixin

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• India-China border standoff
  China, India agree not to send more troops to border: Chinese defense ministry / Reuters
  Talks to get China to move back from places it intruded inconclusive: sources / NDTV (India)
  Sushant Singh on Twitter: “The missing bit is even an indirect reference to the situation on the ground as on April 2020, and India’s stated objective of restoration of status quo ante as of April 2020. The fact that China has denied access to 1000 sq km of territory makes the new status quo untenable.”
• Taiwan pushes back on China
  Taiwan president praises ‘heroic’ pilots who intercepted Chinese jets / Reuters
  Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen visits military base after PLA ‘provocations’ / SCMP
  China’s threats of war push Taiwan to boost U.S. economic links / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Hong Kong updates
  The Hong Kong police now get to decide who’s a member of the press / Quartz
  Hong Kong gov’t orders film distributor to include official warnings in documentaries about protests / HKFP
  Covid-19: Hong Kong to extend social distancing measures to National Day amid online calls for protest / HKFP
• Debt in Angola
  China is behind billion dollar debt restructure for Angola, analysts say / SCMP
• Hollywood censorship and the U.S. Treasury Secretary
  Films financed by Steven Mnuchin were tailored to appeal to China / The Intercept

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Art inspired by dead fish by the Chongqing-based Sun Keqin
  Fish out of water / Neocha
• Video game culture
  Ready player, too: Life as a woman in China’s gaming industry / Sixth Tone
  Future nostalgia: China’s video games plug into ancient culture / Sixth Tone
• Social credit system in academia
  China uses social credit system to punish academic misconduct / Sixth Tone