Links for Monday, October 12, 2020

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• How strong will the yuan become?
  China acts to slow yuan’s rapid ascent without causing panic / Caixin (paywall)
  Leading banks still bullish on yuan case despite policymakers’ nudge / Reuters
  “Over the weekend, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) scrapped a requirement for banks to hold a reserve of yuan forward contracts, removing a guard against depreciation…[yet] an identical move three years ago ultimately proved ineffective, and investors say this time the conditions are even more likely to buoy the yuan, perhaps as far as 6.5 per dollar.”
• App promising to get around censors gets censored
  Tuber app that promised access to blocked sites in China gone within a day / What’s on Weibo
• Cambodia signs free trade agreement
  China, Cambodia clinch free trade pact in under a year / Reuters
  China and Cambodia seal free-trade deal, funding for ‘priority’ projects / SCMP
• Baowu takes over Sinosteel
  Beijing melds steel behemoth Baowu to troubled mining giant / Caixin (paywall)
• Livestreaming merger urged by common backer Tencent
  China’s live game streaming firms Huya, DouYu to merge / Reuters
  “Tencent will integrate its game live streaming business under its ‘Penguin’ arm with the combined businesses of Huya and DouYu after the merger for a total consideration of $500 million.”
• Car technology development
  Self-driving taxi service launched in Beijing, but can we drop the human drivers? / Caixin
  Chinese smart car solutions developer JOYNEXT secures $107 million / DealStreetAsia via Caixin
• Biotech IPO in Hong Kong
  Chinese biotech firm Everest Medicines raises $451 million in Hong Kong IPO / DealStreetAsia via Caixin (paywall)
• GM sales grow in Q3
  Cadillac, Buick help GM to first China sales growth in two years / Reuters
• Investment in power grids
  State Grid pledges to juice up clean energy investment in next five years / Caixin (paywall)
  China to invest nearly $900 billion in power grids: state media / Reuters
• Brokerage deal broken off
  Guolian, Sinolink end plan to create $13 billion broker in China / Bloomberg (porous paywall)

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Climate action pressure at a Tsinghua University seminar
  China’s top climate think tanks push for more cuts to coal use & emissions: report / Reuters
• Wild animal trade
  China to phase out farming of 45 wild animal species by 2020 / Sixth Tone
  “Authorities continue to make strides deterring people from consuming wild animals and minimizing the risk of disease, but experts say more are needed.”
• Shenzhen is trying to stop smoking and vaping
  Shenzhen expands its war on tobacco, e-cigarettes / Sixth Tone
  “In a further step toward becoming a ‘smoke-free city,’ Shenzhen has banned the sale of vapes near schools and set ambitious goals targeting secondhand smoke at home.”

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Xi to visit Shenzhen on 40th anniversary of the city’s Special Economic Zone
  Chinese President Xi Jinping starts southern tour with call to have confidence in future / SCMP
  Xi to attend grand gathering marking 40th anniversary of Shenzhen SEZ / Xinhua
  In Chinese here.
  China’s special economic zone ushers in new reform / Xinhua
  China showers policy incentives on Shenzhen as Xi pushes to create model city / SCMP
  China stocks jump on hopes Xi will announce reforms in Shenzhen / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Yáng Héngjūn 杨恒均 confirmed to be indicted for espionage; Australia-China tensions
  Australian writer indicted for espionage in Beijing, says China / Reuters
  Yang was detained in early 2019 and charged with espionage in August that year.
  Last month, in the Guardian: Yang Hengjun: I am innocent and will fight to the end, Australian detained in China tells family.
  China reportedly orders halt to imports of Australian coal / Guardian
  How Australia-China relations have hit ‘lowest ebb in decades’ / BBC
  Australian state premier had secret relationship with China-linked politician / Reuters
• Detained Canadians given consular access
  Canada given ‘virtual’ consular access to Spavor and Kovrig detained in China / AFP via SCMP
  Canadian detained in China ‘astonished’ to learn about scale of COVID pandemic / Guardian
  Trump, Trudeau discuss two detained Canadians; China grants virtual consular access / Reuters
  China denies Canadians ‘arbitrarily’ detained over Meng case / AP
• Taiwan-China tensions
  China says it has captured a group of Taiwanese spies / AP
  Taiwan claims entrapment after China shows spy ‘confession’ / Reuters
  Taiwanese man held in China ‘confesses’ on TV to filming troops on Hong Kong border / AFP via Guardian
  AFP reporter Xinqi Su has more notes on the CCTV interview on Twitter.
  Taiwan president calls for ‘meaningful dialogue’ with China / Reuters
  China threatens invasion of Taiwan in new video showing military might / Washington Post
  China’s insistence that Taiwan isn’t a country starts backfiring / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• South China Sea territory dispute
  Malaysia detains 60 Chinese nationals, 6 vessels for trespassing / Reuters
  China urges Malaysia to ‘fairly investigate’ held fishermen / AP
• India-China border standoff
  India, China hold fresh talks on ending military faceoff / AP
  ‘New arms race’: border roads put India and China on route to conflict / SCMP
  China kits out army for winter combat as India border dispute drags on / SCMP
  Pompeo says China has deployed 60,000 soldiers on Indian border / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  As India-China border stand-off endures, a fear: Ladakh is the new Kashmir / SCMP
• Japan-China territory dispute
  Japan coast guard says Chinese vessels sail near disputed East China Sea islands / Reuters
  Japan sends three vessels to South China Sea in anti-submarine exercise / Reuters
• Serbia and China
  Serbia cultivates both U.S. and China in Balkans tug of war / Financial Times (paywall)
  Serbia tests Chinese combat drones and Russian jets at military training ground / Reuters via SCMP
• North Korea
  China’s Xi says intends to deepen relations with North Korea: KCNA / Reuters
• Chinese diplomacy in South and Southeast Asia
  Philippines says it and China reaffirm strong relations / Reuters
  Chinese foreign minister begins SE Asian tour in Cambodia / AP
  China grants $90 million to Sri Lanka after visit by top official / AP
• Chinese high-speed trains in North Africa
  Egyptian-Chinese consortium wins bid to construct Egypt’s first electric high-speed rail / Egypt Independent
• Uyghur exclusion in Xinjiang
  Ethnic Han leading top Xinjiang University signals end of ‘autonomy’ in region: observers / RFA

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• A rave in Chengdu
  Following months of COVID-19 restrictions, the dance music scene is back in China / NPR
• Beijing Music Festival features musicians from Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra
  China classical music festival to feature Wuhan musicians / AP
• Shanghai women pretending to be rich
  The ‘fake rich’ of Shanghai: Peeking inside a wannabe socialite WeChat group / What’s on Weibo
• Fake history runs out of steam
  In Datong, a crumbling legacy of China’s most extreme urban makeover / Sixth Tone
  “A decade on, the grandiose plan to restore the dusty coal town to its former glory has officially been called into question.”
• Village scandals
  Oh, the drama! Chinese opera performance turns into stage fight as drunken man attacks actors / What’s on Weibo