Links for Monday, October 26, 2020

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

How the Epoch Times gained a huge U.S. following, to the point that former Trump adviser (and a man who knows a thing or two about right-wing propaganda) Steve Bannon predicted it will be the “top conservative news site in two years,” is the subject of a new New York Times investigation. The NYT suggests that the Falun Gong–affiliated, Communist Party–scorning media outlet has gained its massive audience through some questionable means:

The publication and its affiliates employed a novel strategy that involved creating dozens of Facebook pages, filling them with feel-good videos and viral clickbait, and using them to sell subscriptions and drive traffic back to its partisan news coverage…

the organization and its affiliates have grown, in part, by relying on sketchy social media tactics, pushing dangerous conspiracy theories and downplaying their connection to Falun Gong, an investigation by The Times has found.

“Where the paper’s money comes from is something of a mystery,” the NYT adds. “Former employees said they had been told that The Epoch Times was financed by a combination of subscriptions, ads and donations from wealthy Falun Gong practitioners.”

Is Beijing alienating South Korea? The South Korean government said it was “taking necessary communication measures with the Chinese” after Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 made a nationalistic speech marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean War. Bloomberg reports:

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Monday dismissed as inaccurate claims that China fought against “imperialist invaders” during the 1950-1953 Korean War. “The international debate on this has already been terminated,” Kang said in testimony to parliament, adding the war was started by North Korea, an ally of the Soviet Union and China, when it invaded South Korea.

Notably, this isn’t the first time Xi’s comments about the war have sparked a backlash in Seoul. As vice president, Xi said in 2010 (in Chinese) that the conflict was a “just war against aggression,” leading South Korean media outlets to demand an apology, and the South Korean foreign minister to make the same clarification about who initiated the war.

• A recent Pew survey found that negative views of China in South Korea have reached historic highs — 83% of respondents said they had “no confidence” or “not too much confidence” that Xi Jinping would “do the right thing regarding world affairs.”
• Pew also found this: “The only country surveyed in which younger people hold more unfavorable views of China than their elders is South Korea.”
• Perhaps that helps explain why Chinese diplomats ended up declining to escalate a conflict over some banal comments by K-pop band BTS.

More on South Korea’s geopolitical position, via the Carnegie Endowment: South Korea is caught between China and the United States.

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Ant Group IPO share price indicates largest listing ever
  Ant Group’s IPO will be the biggest ever / Caixin (paywall)
  “Some institutional investors on Friday submitted bids in the range of 68 to 69 yuan per share in the initial inquiry for the Shanghai offering, with 69 yuan from some large mutual fund firms… The 69 yuan price will likely set Ant Group up to raise some $17.3 billion in the Shanghai offering of up to 1.67 billion shares, and the same amount from its Hong Kong listing, excluding the overallotment option. If it goes ahead, the IPO would surpass Saudi Aramco’s record $29.4 billion sale around the beginning of this year to become the world’s biggest.”
  China’s Ant Group prices world’s biggest IPO to raise $34.5bn / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  Ant Group to raise more than $34 billion in record IPO / WSJ (paywall)
  All about Ant Group, the next big tech I.P.O. / NYT (porous paywall)
  Ant challenged Beijing and prospered. Now it toes the line. / NYT (porous paywall)
• Trade deal updates: Agricultural purchases boosted, but manufacturing stagnant?
  China’s purchases of U.S. farm goods at 71% of target under trade deal: U.S. / Reuters
  China trade war didn’t boost U.S. manufacturing might / WSJ (paywall)
  “Factory production peaked in 2018, data show; Trump advisers say tariff campaign will yield benefits over time.”
• Jack Ma criticizes the Basel Accords
  Jack Ma rails against global financial rules ahead of $30bn Ant Group IPO / FT (paywall)
  “Ma said the challenges that the rules were designed to resolve were not relevant to China’s phase of development. ‘Many of the world’s problems’ stemmed from ‘only talking about risk control, not talking about development, not thinking about young people’s or developing countries’ opportunities,’ he said.”
  Social media applauds Jack Ma’s detailed critique of China’s financial sector / Caixin
• ByteDance considers listing Douyin in Hong Kong or Shanghai
  ByteDance weighs listing Chinese unit Douyin / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
• Bulgaria is latest European country to shun Chinese telecoms
  Bulgaria signs 5G deal with U.S. excluding Chinese firms / AP
• Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail to introduce variable pricing on December 23
  China rail operator opens gate to flexible ticket prices / Caixin (paywall)
  “The flexible system should allow China State Railway Group Co. Ltd., operator of the nation’s high-speed rail system, to more closely mirror the prices of airplane tickets that also vary depending on the date and time.”
• Foxconn “set up a task force” to deal with Luxshare competition
  Apple supplier Luxshare unnerves Foxconn as U.S.-China feud speeds supply chain shift / Reuters
• Crackdown on unfair competition in ecommerce and livestreaming
  China says looking into unfair competition on e-commerce platforms: Xinhua / Reuters
  “The operation will run until December and will also look into areas such as livestreaming, which has in the past two years become a popular sales channel in China, Xinhua said on Saturday.”
• Inequality in China’s economic recovery
  China aims to end extreme poverty, but COVID-19 exposes gaps / NYT (porous paywall)

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Antarctic preservation
  Will China follow through on green pledge with Antarctica protections? / SCMP
  Opinion | John Kerry: China’s chance to save Antarctic sealife / NYT (porous paywall)
  Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry writes, “China could make a powerful statement about climate leadership by throwing its weight behind the creation of three new marine parks — where no fishing or other industrial activity would be allowed — in the Southern Ocean waters off the East Antarctic, around the Antarctic Peninsula and in the Weddell Sea.”
• North Korea warns of COVID-laced dust blown over from China
  North Korea says China dust could spread COVID-19, warns people to stay inside / Reuters
• Brazil’s health regulator approves import of Chinese vaccine
  Brazil approves import of Chinese shot that Bolsonaro nixed / AP

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• The 14th five-year plan
  Xi’s carbon neutrality vow to reshape China’s five-year plan / Reuters
  China makes historic progress over 13th Five-Year Plan period under Xi’s leadership / Xinhua
  China’s leaders look to boost self-reliance as country turns inward / Guardian
  U.S. chokehold pushes China chip self-sufficiency up the agenda / FT (paywall)
  China forecast 2025 report: China adjusts course / MacroPolo
  “So what kind of China should be expected by 2025?…Our simple answer: A China that will be near-majority middle class for the first time, with increasing technological parity with Silicon Valley and a less carbon-intensive energy landscape, all under the aegis of a stronger Xi Jinping and his vision of governance. Achieving these outcomes will require trade-offs, in this case a China that will likely redouble on domestic priorities and moderate its appetite for global adventurism.”
• Beijing sanctions American defense contractors, but spares Boeing, for now
  Beijing imposes sanctions against U.S. defense suppliers over arm sales to Taiwan / Caixin (paywall)
  “China’s foreign ministry said Monday that American defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Defense and Raytheon Co., are on a list of U.S. businesses and individuals that will face Chinese sanctions over arm sales” to Taiwan.
  China to sanction three U.S. firms over Taiwan arms deal / SCMP
  “Boeing Defence was singled out, but there was no word of any action against its parent company, which has significant mainland business interests.”
  Related The China Project coverage: Trump administration approves $1.8 billion in Taiwan arms sales as Joe Biden praises Taiwanese democracy.
• U.S.-China race to the bottom on media
  China retaliates against news media in latest feud with U.S. / AP
  “A foreign ministry statement issued late Monday demanded that the bureaus of ABC, The Los Angeles Times, Minnesota Public Radio, the Bureau of National Affairs, Newsweek and Feature Story News declare information about their staff, finances, operations and real estate in China within seven days.”
  The full statement is available in English and Chinese.
• Pompeo in India
  Pompeo, Esper to push Trump’s anti-China message in India / AP
  U.S., India expected to sign military pact as China prompts closer ties / WSJ (paywall)
• South America diplomacy: China and U.S. both congratulate new socialist leader
  Xi congratulates Arce on election as Bolivian president / Xinhua
  Congratulations to Bolivia’s President-Elect Luis Arce / U.S. State Department
• Japan-U.S. military exercises
  Japan and U.S. begin major military exercise as concern about China grows / Reuters
• Details on African debt
  African debt to China: ‘A major drain on the poorest countries’ / FT (paywall)
  “Chinese lenders have lent money to almost every country on the continent and eight have borrowed more than $5bn apiece this century. But Beijing’s involvement in a debt service suspension initiative from the G20 group of the world’s largest economies has been slow.”
  New AidData research explains why China isn’t fully participating in the DSSI and not interested in seizing assets / China-Africa Project

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Addressing fake news and health scams shared by elderly Chinese
  Chinese want online parental controls — for their own parents / Sixth Tone
• How rap became “one of China’s preferred vehicles for conveying mainstream values”
  On China’s ‘Rap for Youth,’ the medium is the message / Sixth Tone
• Racism against Asian Americans
  Asian American businesses hit especially hard during pandemic / CNN
  “In a recent report, United Nations experts expressed concern over the ‘alarming level’ of racially motivated incidents against Asian Americans and ‘and the contribution of the President of the United States in seemingly legitimizing these violations.’”
  Amid rising xenophobia, Chinese-American communities on both coasts look out for themselves / SCMP