Links for Thursday, November 12, 2020

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

A “China-anchored free-trade zone,” the world’s largest, will be established this weekend, Bloomberg reports. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) “includes countries stretching from Japan to Australia and New Zealand,” and “aims to reduce tariffs, strengthen supply chains with common rules of origin, and codify new e-commerce rules.”

Following the withdrawal of India from RCEP negotiations last year, the remaining 15 nations sought to announce the agreement by the end of this week’s Asean Summit, which Vietnam is hosting virtually. Malaysia’s Trade Minister Azmin Ali told reporters the deal would be signed on Sunday [November 15], calling it the culmination of “eight years of negotiating with blood, sweat and tears.”

“China has pulled off a diplomatic coup in dragging RCEP over the line,” said Shaun Roache, Asia-Pacific chief economist at S&P Global Ratings. “While RCEP is shallow, at least compared to TPP, it is broad, covering many economies and goods, and this is a rarity in these more protectionist times.”

See also, in the SCMP: What is RCEP and what does an Indo-Pacific free-trade deal offer China?

Beware the Beijing blockchain? That seems to be the advice from Yaya J. Fanusie, writing in Lawfare:

Earlier this year, Beijing launched the Blockchain-Based Service Network (BSN), a system of low-cost backend architecture on which software developers around the world can build blockchain applications — including digital assets such as cryptocurrencies…This BSN has received little attention in the U.S.—but if the network gains significant international adoption, it could give the CCP greater influence in digital commerce and complicate U.S. economic statecraft. For decades, U.S. financial authorities have benefited from the ubiquity of U.S. computer infrastructure in global business. The BSN is trying to challenge that norm.

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• U.K. to raise barriers for foreign acquisitions
  U.K. proposes new powers to curb foreign takeovers of strategic companies / WSJ (paywall)
  U.K. takes aim at China with revamp of takeover rules / FT (paywall)
• Baidu combines Haokan and Quanmin video units
  Baidu takes aim at ByteDance, Tencent with internal video merger / Caixin (paywall)
• Uncertain futures for Chinese chipmakers
  Chinese chipmaker SMIC sees record profits despite U.S. pressure / Caixin
  “For the three months through September, Shanghai-headquartered SMIC racked up $1.1 billion in revenue, representing a year-on-year increase of 32.6%.”
  China’s biggest chipmaker warns of delays due to U.S. sanctions / FT (paywall)
  “SMIC, regarded as China’s most promising hope for breaking the country’s dependence on foreign manufacturers, acknowledged it was facing “extended or uncertain delivery lead times” for some US equipment as well as logistics delays due to the restrictions.”
  Chinese chipmaker Tsinghua Unigroup’s bonds crash after debt warning / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  See on The China Project:
  Will government incentives make or break China’s semiconductor industry?
  How China’s would-be silicon savior became a debt-ridden disappointment
  Huawei is now cut off from advanced semiconductors. What happens next?
  Nanjing launches chip university in bid to fill China’s semiconductor talent gap
• More U.S. flights to China to resume
  American Airlines restarts China flights, bringing U.S. weekly total to 10 / Reuters
• Is ChiNext tightening control over new share sales?
  ChiNext turns down first IPO applicant since listing revamp / Caixin (paywall)
• China’s massive lead in 5G technology
  U.S. vs. China in 5G: The battle isn’t even close / WSJ (paywall)
  China 5G base station tops the rest of world combined, Chinese official says / PingWest
  China sends ‘world’s first 6G’ test satellite into orbit / BBC
• Trade war, schmade war; tech war, schtech war
  Boeing confident in China with thousands of jet orders forecast / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  China inks first term deal for U.S. LNG since trade war erupted / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Alibaba rakes in the cash from consumers as investors dither
  Alibaba’s Singles Day sales top $74 billion, planned rules hit shares / Reuters
• Propping up a crumbling empire
  Luckin boss to raise $232 million by selling stake in rental car business / Caixin
• Government blockchain
  Major Chinese state-owned bank uses blockchain to sell $3 billion of bonds / Caixin (paywall)

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Migratory birds
  Defending Shanghai’s last natural haven / Sixth Tone
  A “collection of wetlands in eastern Shanghai, a rare haven for migratory birds.”
• Get ready for three more years of COVID-19?
  Pandemic could last through 2024, Chinese model suggests / Sixth Tone
  “The world may have to endure another three years of intermittent lockdowns, breathing through face masks, and regular reminders to social distance.”
• Deep-sea exploration
  China breaks national record for Mariana Trench manned-dive amid race for deep sea resources / CNN
  “China has broken its own record for deepest manned dive into the world’s oceans, sinking an estimated 10,909 meters (35,790 feet) into the Mariana Trench…The current world record is believed to have been set by American undersea explorer Victor Vescovo, who claimed to have reached a depth of 10,927 meters (35,853 feet) in May 2019.”
• Hepatitis 
  China must lower hepatitis rate further to meet WHO goal / Sixth Tone
  “Even with the success of China’s 1992 childhood vaccination program, less than 20% of people living with hepatitis in the country have been diagnosed.”
  Note: Hepatitis has a highly politicized recent history in China.

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Reaction to disqualifications and resignations of Hong Kong lawmakers
  Beijing condemns mass resignation of Hong Kong democrats as a ‘blatant challenge’ to central gov’t / HKFP
  China is breaking Hong Kong treaty with UK, says Dominic Raab / Guardian
  China deals ‘severe blow’ to Hong Kong freedoms, EU says / Reuters
  Germany criticizes China for dismissal of Hong Kong opposition lawmakers / Reuters
  Trudeau minister condemns China’s removal of Hong Kong lawmakers / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Trump national security adviser slams China over ouster of pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong / The Hill
  Hong Kong and China could face fresh U.S. sanctions over ousting of lawmakers / Guardian
  The China Project coverage yesterday: Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers resign en masse after Beijing requires patriotism for public office.
• Canada lures disgruntled Hong Kong talent
  Canada reaches out to Hong Kong students amid China crackdown / SCMP
  “New rules for easier path to permanent residency: Recent university graduates from Hong Kong can apply to work in Canada, while process to bring family members over will be accelerated.”
• ‘Poisoned ties’ between Australia and China
  China-Australia relations: ‘crude’ meddling and disrespect ‘poisoned’ ties, says Beijing, after latest ban / SCMP
  Australia calls on China to resolve standoff over coal ship stranded offshore for five months / Guardian
  Sino-Australian diplomatic ruckus hits gas project sale by Australia energy major / Australian Financial Review via Caixin (paywall)
  “Chinese players were forced to pull out of Woodside Petroleum’s process to sell a stake in its A$16 billion ($11.6 billion) Scarborough gas project in Western Australia in the first evidence that the worsening diplomatic hostilities between Australia and China have extended into gas.”
  There’s no need for panic over China’s trade threats / The Conversation
  James Laurenceson argues that China’s trade blocks are more “psychological warfare” than a ramp-up to a full-blown trade war.
• Not locked up, but locked out of the digital economy
  In cashless China, criminals are punished with payment app bans / Sixth Tone
• Two dueling internets  
  China growls over “Clean Network” plan / China Media Project
  A People’s Daily editorial suggests that Mike Pompeo’s “Clean Network” program “is a naked attempt to ‘carry out “cyber surveillance” in the name of network security.’”  
• Coal miners trapped underground
  Five trapped in mining incident in coal-rich Shanxi Province / Caixin (paywall)
• China in America’s neighborhood
  China extends reach in the Caribbean, unsettling the U.S. / NYT (porous paywall)
  See also on The China Project:
  Amid U.S.-China conflict, can Latin America find its way?
  China’s public diplomacy in Latin America and the Caribbean — COVID-19 edition 

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Art in the age of surveillance
  How to evade Big Brother: An artist’s guide / Sixth Tone
  “Artist Dèng Yùfēng 邓玉峰 dreams of walking the Chinese capital unwatched. But as he’s discovered, dodging the city’s surveillance cameras takes almost superhuman ingenuity and determination.”
• Self-help books and demotivational slogans
  Why self-help books are so popular in China / Economist (porous paywall)
  Anti-chicken soup for real life / World of Chinese
  “Cynical sayings of depressed Chinese youths.”
• K-pop band ignites panda controversy
  Blackpink cuddled a baby panda. Not cute, the Chinese internet said. / NYT (porous paywall)
  K-pop girl band pulls video after backlash in China over baby panda / Reuters