Links for Thursday, November 19, 2020

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

“The future of U.S. policy toward China” is the title of a series of 17 policy papers by scholars, published by the Brookings Institution. See also a summary of the topics covered in a Twitter thread by Ryan Hass.

Here is a selection of more articles from the recent surplus in speculation about U.S.-China relations during the upcoming Biden administration:

• Joe Biden’s China policy will be a mix of Trump’s and Obama’s / Economist (porous paywall)
• Obama-era veterans will shape Joe Biden’s China policy / Economist (porous paywall)
• GOP report, like Biden, urges multilateral approach to China / WSJ (paywall)
• Biden’s China policy? A balancing act for a toxic relationship / NYT (porous paywall)
• Justice Dept.’s China focus likely to continue under Biden / AP

See also:

• European leaders call for unity with U.S. against China / SCMP
• The Road to a successful China policy runs through Europe / War on the Rocks
• “China is not an enemy,” says NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg / GZERO Media
• Kissinger warns Biden of U.S.-China catastrophe on scale of WWI / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Singapore PM calls for U.S.-China truce after ‘tumultuous’ years / Bloomberg (porous paywall)

Pig farm repopulation has been successful: The Wall Street Journal reports that “foreign meat is dropping off the menu in China as local pork prices fall”:

Pork prices have been volatile this year, but they are trending lower. Wholesale prices have fallen 18% since the start of September to the equivalent of about $2.75 a pound, according to Wind, a Chinese financial data provider. Pork now costs slightly less than it did a year ago.

Swine fever outbreaks are still occurring, but the country has moved to repopulate its pig farms, cumulatively adding 60 million hogs since the start of 2020, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics.

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Skincare and cosmetics startup lists on NYSE
  China cosmetics firm Yatsen raises $617 million in U.S. IPO / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Founded in 2016, the company behind the fast-growing, online-first “Perfect Diary brand sold 58.75 million American depositary shares for $10.50 each.”  
• More trouble for chipmaker HSMC
  China’s semiconductor dream takes a hit as local authority takes over ‘nightmare’ Wuhan factory / SCMP
  “Wuhan Hongxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (HSMC) has been taken over by the Dongxihu district government in central province of Hubei.”
  Chief executive quits troubled $18.5 billion Chinese chip champ / Caixin (paywall)
  “Chiang Shang-yi, a semiconductor industry veteran who became the CEO and general manager of HSMC in July 2019, resigned from all posts in the Wuhan-based company in July, a lawyer’s statement viewed by Caixin showed.”
  Related The China Project coverage: Wuhan Semiconductor stalls amid China’s push to develop domestic chipmakers; How China’s would-be silicon savior became a debt-ridden disappointment.
• Huawei in Sweden
  Ericsson chief hits out at Swedish 5G ban on Huawei / FT (paywall)
  “Borje Ekholm says action against his rival undermines free competition and trade.”
• Is JOYY a fraudulent company?
  Short-seller Muddy Waters takes aim at Chinese social media firm JOYY / Reuters
  Joyy shares plunge after Muddy Waters attacks Chinese tech group / FT (paywall)
  Joyy rejects short-seller fraud claim that sent its shares plunging / CNN
• Investors clamor for more exposure to China
  Foreign investors pile back into booming China / FT (paywall)
  “Official data show that foreign direct investment in China rose in October for the seventh straight month, jumping 18 percent year on year to Rmb81.9bn ($11.8bn).”
  China sells bonds at a negative rate for the first time / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “China, whose bonds have been a magnet for global investors because of their relatively high returns, has for the first time sold government debt at a negative interest rate — joining the ‘club’ of nations that are seeming to defy economic logic by in effect getting investors to pay to lend them money.”
  China borrows at negative rates for the first time / WSJ (paywall)
  “Fund managers are willing to buy bonds that offer negative yields in part because they are betting that the European Central Bank will continue scooping up the debt, allowing them to sell the securities for a profit.”
• Will Alibaba crush African traders?
  China’s African traders confront a formidable new foe: Alibaba / Sixth Tone
  “As the Chinese tech giant tightens its grip on Africa’s e-commerce market, Africans in China suddenly find their businesses at risk.”
• BMW and its troubled Chinese partner
  BMW’s main China venture partner sued by Singapore creditor / Caixin (paywall)
  BMW deal to lift stake in China venture unaffected by Brilliance parent’s debt issues / Reuters
• Boatloads of corporate debt
  Bond default dominoes as Tunghsu fails to pay due interest / Caixin (paywall)
  Huaxin Trust struggles as corporate debt problems spill into shadow banking / Caixin (paywall)
  Interbank regulator bars bond issuers from buying their own debt / Caixin (paywall)
  “Ban closes the door on the murky practice of ‘structured issuances’ that made it easier for poorly rated companies to raise funds.”
  Creditors approve restructuring of indebted Peking University-linked conglomerate / Caixin (paywall)
  “Peking University Founder Group will merge with a handful of subsidiaries as it looks to deal with billions in debt.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Lasting health effects of permanent IUDs
  Women fitted with mandatory birth control devices find little recourse after decades of pain / Caixin (paywall)
  “Permanent IUDs were key to enforcing the one-child policy, but complications and side effects have blighted many lives.”
• Singles’ Day packaging waste
  Singles’ Day: Record-breaking sales focus new attention on packaging waste as almost 4 billion parcels are shipped / SCMP
• China COVID-19 entry requirements
  U.K. health service COVID tests now invalid for China inbound travel / Caixin

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Xi talks up trade at APEC
  President Xi says China is willing and open for new free-trade deals in speech to Apec CEOs / SCMP
  China’s Xi vows no decoupling in call to halt protectionism / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Read Xi’s entire speech in English and Chinese.
• Australia responds to China’s 14 grievances
  Australia ‘will always be Australia,’ PM responds to China grievances / Reuters
  Scott Morrison says Australia won’t back down to China’s demands on security, free speech / Brisbane Times
  Yesterday on The China Project: The 14 sins of Australia: Beijing expands list of grievances and digs in for extended diplomatic dispute.
• Beijing tightens its grip on Hong Kong courts and legislature
  Hong Kong breached bill of rights over police scrutiny, court rules / Guardian
  Hong Kong police played pivotal role in radicalizing protests in build-up to Poly-U siege, policing expert report says / HKFP
  Jerome Cohen on Twitter: “Every day there are more disturbing reports about the increasing pressures on the HK courts. At the policy level, Zhāng Xiǎomíng 张晓明, Deputy Director of the PRC Hong Kong and Macao Office, has just made a direct call for the ‘reform’ of the judiciary.”
  Hong Kong police arrest 3 pro-democracy ex-lawmakers in connection with throwing foul-smelling objects in legislature / HKFP
  Hong Kong national security law pits judges against justice officials in activist’s trial / Guardian
  HK people detained in China send ‘doubtful’ letters from prison — families / Reuters
• Canada-China tensions
  Canada names China, Russia as main cyber-crime threats; sees risk to power supply / Reuters
  Canadian accusations on China being cyber-crime threat are groundless, says China / Reuters
  Canada’s opposition parties urge Trudeau government to ban Huawei 5G, say China is threat / Reuters
• Report on Chinese hacking of Japan-linked organizations
  Massive, China-state-funded hack hits companies around the world, report says / Ars Technica
• Blame for November 3 industrial fire that killed seven in Guangxi
  Lax safety measures blamed for deadly blaze at PipeChina gas terminal / Caixin (paywall)
• U.S.-China rivalry
  Pentagon invests $12.7 million in rare earth producers to reduce reliance on China / SCMP (porous paywall)
  U.S. actions could raise risk of war over Taiwan, warns Chinese leading military researcher / SCMP (porous paywall)
• Espionage in the U.S. and in Poland
  Chinese-American Raytheon engineer sentenced to prison for technology exports / Reuters
  Pole and Chinese citizen indicted in Warsaw for spying / Reuters

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Vulgar public statue to be moved 
  God of war statue has to go, Jingzhou officials say / Sixth Tone
  “A colossal 1,200-ton bronze statue of Chinese warrior-god Guan Yu that enjoyed a brief bout of global notoriety in 2016 will be moved from its current location in a park in the ancient central city of Jingzhou [because it has] ‘ruined Jingzhou’s historical character and culture.’”
• Social commentary on America’s Asian stereotypes
  A devastating (and darkly hilarious) new novel from the ‘Westworld’ writer Charles Yu / NYT (porous paywall)
  “Interior Chinatown posits that we are reading a teleplay about Chinatown — specifically the Golden Palace restaurant, which is the setting for a cop show called ‘Black and White.’ Through his protagonist, Willis Wu — who has a small part on the show — Yu explores in devastating (and darkly hilarious) fashion Hollywood’s penchant for promoting clichés about Asians and Asian-Americans. Wu has worked his way from ‘Background Oriental Male’ to ‘Dead Asian Man’ to ‘Generic Asian Man Number Three/Delivery Guy’ — a long way from ‘Kung Fu Guy,’ which is where he wants to be.”
• Continued erasure of actress Fàn Bīngbīng 范冰冰
  Fan Bingbing erased from trailer for long-delayed star-studded fantasy drama / Radii China
• Domestic violence
  A woman was beaten to death by her in-laws. They got three years / Sixth Tone
• Chinese Trump supporters open their mobile wallets
  Chinese American Trump fans raise election recount funds on WeChat / Nikkei (porous paywall)