Links for Wednesday, October 21, 2020

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

How much has inequality worsened in China? The Wall Street Journal reports on China’s “K-shaped” recovery, where, like in the U.S. and other countries, the wealthy have bounced back from COVID-related difficulties, but the less well-off have struggled.

Growth in average incomes for the country’s 290 million migrant workers in the second quarter was 6.7% below the same period last year, indicating a “severe and long-lasting impact,” according to Nomura…Wei He, an analyst at Gavekal Research, estimates that China’s bottom 60% of households lost about $200 billion in income during the first half of 2020.

Surveys by Ant Group Co. and China Household Finance Survey, a research institute, also found drops in wealth for poor families in the first half of this year, while families with higher incomes reported gains.

The government has made the problem worse because overall economic growth numbers are the top priority: “Chinese leaders have resisted going too far in distributing wealth directly to households, partly because some officials believe this is a less effective way to get growth compared with government-led investments,” the WSJ reports.

Meanwhile, Quartz reports that this year, China created a record number of billionaires despite COVID-19.

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Curbing risky chipmaking
  Beijing to inexperienced companies: Stay out of chipmaking / Caixin (paywall)
  China to curb ‘chaos’ in semiconductor industry and hold bosses accountable for risky, loss-making projects / SCMP
  Semiconductor tech trends favor China / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
• ICBC gets a larger chunk of Africa’s biggest bank
  South Africa’s Standard Bank signs $520 mln loan with Chinese lenders / Reuters via Nasdaq
• Chinese firms lobby against Nvidia-Arm deal
  Huawei, China firms said to seek curbs on Nvidia’s Arm deal / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Why did a U.S. asset management giant ditch its Chinese government clients?
  Vanguard exit from China state fund mandates prompts speculation / FT (paywall)
  “Having shuttered its Hong Kong and Japan offices, Vanguard is moving its regional headquarters to Shanghai, Ignites Asia reported in August. The move means the U.S. company is betting big on building a strong, profitable business in China’s retail funds market.”
  Chasing individual investors, Vanguard ditches Chinese state clients / Caixin (paywall)
• Fewer Chinese workers in Africa
  Belt and Road Initiative: Chinese workers leave Africa as lending slows / SCMP
  Chinese workers may be leaving Africa, but they’re not necessarily returning home says researcher / China-Africa Project
  Report: Number of Chinese workers in Africa has steadily fallen since 2015 / China-Africa Project
• Unemployment in Hong Kong at 6.4%
  Chart of the Day: Hong Kong unemployment hits nearly 16-year high / Caixin (paywall)
• Cathay Pacific budget crunch
  Cathay to cut over 5,000 Hong Kong jobs and close Dragon brand / Caixin (paywall)
• China threatens retaliation for Sweden banning Huawei and ZTE
  China urges Sweden to reverse its Huawei, ZTE ban to avoid harming its companies / Reuters
• Mobile video games
  ‘Genshin Impact’ revenues soar as China gaming goes global / Reuters
  “Free-to-play fantasy game ‘Genshin Impact’ from Shanghai-based developer Mihoyo is proving a hit beyond its home market, raking in money with a controversial payment system and creating a potential breakout moment for China’s gaming industry.”
  ‘Honor of Kings’ reclaims crown as world’s highest-earning mobile game, besting PUBG / Reuters
• Thailand welcomes Chinese tourists
  39 Chinese are Thailand’s 1st foreign tourists in 7 months / AP

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Shaoxing, Zhejiang to distribute unspecified vaccine
  Chinese city to offer COVID-19 vaccine candidate as emergency use expands / Reuters
• Challenges of reaching the carbon-neutral target
  Clean power won’t be enough for China to meet Xi’s pledge, report says / Caixin (paywall)
  China says environment still grim despite five years of progress / Reuters
• Bolsonaro contradicts his health minister on COVID vaccine
  Brazil’s Bolsonaro says his government will not buy China’s Sinovac vaccine / Reuters
• Vaccine distribution deals
  Venezuela plans to use Russian and Chinese coronavirus vaccines / Reuters
  In blow to Fosun Pharma, its German partner to make COVID-19 vaccine for China market / Caixin (paywall)

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• India returns captured Chinese soldier
  Chinese soldier captured by India handed back: Indian govt source / Reuters
  India returns captured China soldier in sign of easing tensions / NYT (porous paywall)
• Vaccine diplomacy
  China’s COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy steals a march on U.S. / FT (paywall)
  “Experts debate whether China will be able to overcome logistical and regulatory hurdles to fulfil its grand promises.”
• Beijing avoids blowup with South Korea over K-pop band controversy
  Beijing diplomats brush away K-pop Korean war controversy, saying relations are harmonious / SCMP
  Related The China Project coverage: K-pop band BTS faces boycott calls in China, but do they care?
• Yáng Héngjūn 杨恒均 intrigue
  Australian writer detained in Beijing told supporter he was a former Chinese spy / Reuters
  “Yang Hengjun, an Australian writer detained in Beijing and facing trial for espionage on behalf of a country China hasn’t publicly named was a former Chinese spy, according to a confidential letter he wrote to a supporter in 2011.”
• Vatican-China deal
  Vatican number two says deal with China on appointment of bishops will be renewed / Reuters
• Pompeo accuses Yicai Global and five other firms of “Chinese communist propaganda”
  Pompeo says designating six China-based media firms as foreign missions / Reuters
• Arrest of Geng Xiaonan
  ‘A Sunflower Glaring at the Sun’ — on Geng Xiaonan being formally arrested / China Heritage
  Arrested publisher Geng Xiaonan is paying the price for supporting me, says dissident law professor / SCMP
• Saudi Arabia and Uyghurs
  Four Uyghurs facing persecution after deportation by Saudi Arabia to China identified / RFA

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• A crazy expensive blind date, but is the story even true?
  Girl brings 23 relatives on blind date, dinner bill comes down to 20,000 yuan / What’s on Weibo
  “Despite the online interest in the topic, there are also some netizens doubting whether or not the story is real. Although screenshots were shared by online media, the actual source of the story remains unknown. It is also not disclosed where or when the incident took place.”
• The “52-year-old had fled his hometown of Xuzhou in 1990 after a fight”
  Man on the lam surrenders after 30 years, finds he wasn’t wanted / Sixth Tone
• Chinese architecture — photos
  10 jaw-dropping Chinese architectural projects that won 2020 Architizer A+Awards / Radii China