Links for Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Notable China news from around the web.
BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:
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IPO application supervision is tightening ย
Ant Groupโs IPO debacle triggers tougher scrutiny of new listingsย / Caixin (paywall)
โTwo IPO applications have recently been rejected outright by the STAR Market โ one in September and one in November. Of the eight applications that have been suspended this year, three took place in November, including Ant Group. In November, ChiNext rejected an application from a Jiangsu-based software developer, the first such decision since the decade-old board revamped its listing regime in August to allow registration-based IPOsโฆ
The chairman of one fintech company, which had previously planned to list on the STAR Market told Caixin it decided to shift its IPO to Hong Kong in the wake of the tougher regulatory environment.โ -
Beijing defends fintech regulation
Fintech giants could pose โnew systemic risks,โ warns banking watchdog chiefย / Caixin (paywall)
โThe broad range of tech firmsโ financial activities necessitate โtimely and targetedโ regulatory intervention, Guo Shuqing says.โ
China going after Big Techโs monopoly in financial data to curb abuses and protect privacy, says regulatorย / SCMP -
Chinese 5G scrutiny in Brazil and Finland
Brazil looks for legal options to ban China’s Huawei from 5G: sourcesย / Reuters
Finland passes 5G security law banning suspect gearย / Caixin (paywall) -
Goldman gets all of its Chinese securities business
Goldman Sachs shifts to full ownership of China securities joint ventureย / Reuters
Goldman Sachs moves to acquire 100% of China securities joint ventureย / WSJ (paywall) -
TikTok ban gets blocked, again
Second US judge blocks Commerce Department curbs on TikTokย / Reuters via Nikkei Asia
TikTok download ban is blocked by second judgeย / WSJ (paywall) -
Another app cleanse
China removes TripAdvisor, 104 other apps from stores under cleansing campaignย / Reuters -
Shanghai is 10th place in Global Power City Index
Shanghai jumps into global Top 10 of attractive citiesย / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
โThe city leapt to 10th from 30th last year, improving its score in all six categories of economy, R&D, cultural interaction, livability, environment and accessibility. It earned the highest increase in workstyle flexibility in the wake of the pandemic.โ -
Car sales rise for fifth month in a row
China car sales rise again, cementing pandemic recoveryย / WSJ (paywall)
โPassenger car sales grew 8% to 2.1 million vehicles last month from a year earlier, the China Passenger Car Association said Tuesday. In October, sales rose by 8%.โ
Chip supply crunch likely to hit China’s auto output in first quarter 2021: industry bodyย / Reuters -
Should toilet paper dispensers have facial recognition technology?
Face-scanning Chinese public toilet is bog standard once againย / Caixin (paywall)
โA backlash has led authorities in the southern city of Dongguan to remove toilet paper dispensers equipped with facial recognition technology from a public restroom.โ -
Australia trade pressure
China boycott to hit Australian wine harder than expected as fruit and vegetable prices riseย / Guardian
China suspends halts importation of more Australian beef as trade battle escalatesย / Australian ABC
Beijing bans beef exporter with โmislabellingโ track recordย / SCMP
SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:
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Five COVID cases in Chengdu, as Hong Kong tightens restrictions
COVID-19 resurgence in southwestern metropolis raises fear of further spreadย / Caixin (paywall)
Hong Kong plans partial lockdowns for COVID-19 hotspots and more tests, as number of new infections surgesย / HKFP -
Vaccine diplomacy
Morocco to use Chinese vaccine to kick off mass vaccinationsย / AP
โMoroccoโs government seeks to vaccinate 80% of its adults, or 25 million people, as soon as the vaccines are approved by domestic regulatorsโฆ It will start with the Sinopharm vaccine, which was tested on 600 Moroccans as part of clinical trials this autumn. Morocco has ordered 10 million doses of the vaccine.โ
Related, on The China Project yesterday: China begins mass distribution of COVID vaccines. -
Mount Everest measurement
China, Nepal say Everest a bit higher than past measurementsย / AP
โThe new height of the worldโs highest peak is 8,848.86 meters (29,031.7 feet), which is slightly more than Nepalโs previous measurement and about four meters (13 feet) higher than Chinaโs.โ
Mount Everest grew two feet in height, say China and Nepalย / NYT (porous paywall)
Chinese, Nepali presidents exchange letters, jointly announcing Mt. Qomolangma’s heightย / Xinhua (Chinese version here)ย -
Pandas love horse poop
Why are pandas covering themselves with horse manure?ย / NYT (porous paywall)
Pandas rub themselves in horse manure to feel warm, study findsย / Sixth Tone -
HIV status privacy
Yunnan authorizes doctors to reveal patientsโ HIV status to partnersย / Sixth Tone
POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:
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Taiwan arms sales, and other friction in U.S.-China relations
Washington approves $280 million arms sale to Taiwanย / SCMP
Timeline: U.S. arms sales to Taiwan in 2020 total $5 billion amid China tensionsย / Reuters
China condemns new U.S. Hong Kong sanctions, Taiwan arms saleย / AP
U.S. diplomat summoned by Beijing for formal protest against sanctions on top Chinese lawmakersย / SCMP -
How much will Biden officials change China policy?
U.S. under Biden could reboot Canada-China ties by dropping Meng Wanzhou extradition, Canadian ex-officials sayย / SCMP
Jeffrey Prescott, Joe Biden aide noted for experience and calm, may become point person on Chinaย / SCMP
Bidenโs pick for defense chief unlikely to change China policy, analysts sayย / SCMP -
Hong Kongโs new reality
Pro-mainland Chinese financiers launch new Hong Kong party aimed at Legco reformย / SCMP
Hong Kongโs Carrie Lam rebuffs complaints of โpolitical revengeโ by exiled democrat Ted Hui after bank accounts frozenย / HKFP
Hong Kong police arrest 8 more opposition figures, inc. โLong Hairโ, Eddie Chu, Figo Chan, Wu Chi-waiย / HKFP
Hong Kong church says HSBC account frozen โin retaliationโ for helping protesters last yearย / HKFP
Bank account freezes in Hong Kong rekindle worries about asset safetyย / Reuters
See also a tweet from Jake Sullivan, Bidenโs nominee for national security adviser: “I’m deeply concerned about the continuing arrests and imprisonment of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. We stand united with our allies and partners against China’s assault on Hong Kong’s freedoms โ and to help those persecuted find safe haven.” -
Xinjiang and Uyghurs
Huawei tested AI software that could recognize Uyghur minorities and alert police, report saysย / Washington Post
XPCC cotton ban: A new U.S. rule could intervene in the genocide of Uyghursย / Washington Post -
Australia-China relations โ theyโre still bad
Australia government gains new power to scrap foreign pactsย / AP
Australia passes law that can scrap China Belt and Road accordsย / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
Economic decoupling from China would be ‘act of national self-sabotage’, Labor and Liberal MPs agreeย / Guardian
Labor says government must explain claim it called for COVID inquiry so it could make an announcementย / Guardian
Kevin Rudd says Scott Morrison’s ‘public relations eggbeater’ is harming relationship with Beijingย / Guardian
Australiaโs act that sparked feud, trade war and Twitter row with Chinaย / News.com.au
How Australia’s stance on South China Sea, 5G and coronavirus put it in China’s crosshairsย / Sydney Morning Herald
Nine entertainment newspapers quit carrying China Watch supplementย / Guardian -
Spy case in U.S.
How a suspected Chinese spy gained access to California politicsย / Axios
โA suspected Chinese intelligence operative developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including a U.S. congressman, in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by Chinaโs main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios found in a yearlong investigation.โ
U.S. boosts China spying budget to meet growing economic, national-security threatย / WSJ (paywall)
โThe U.S. is increasing the portion of the spying budget devoted to China by nearly one-fifth this yearโฆ While the precise amounts are classified, the officials said spending on China is being boosted across the roughly $85 billion annual intelligence budget to glean secrets from the country, analyze its current actions and predict its future course.โ -
Japan-China relations
China’s naval activity in Japanese waters is concern, Japan lawmaker saysย / CNBC
Japan sends top diplomat on Africa trip to offset China tiltย / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
SOCIETY AND CULTURE:
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The view from Wuhan, a year after the COVID outbreak
A year on, markets bustling in Chinese city where COVID-19 emergedย / Reuters
โWearing face masks is not mandatory, but most people do so in public. And while shoppers have returned to Wuhanโs streets, [shopkeepers] say business is yet to return fully to normal.โ -
Millennial and Gen Z Chinese who find China to be too capitalist
Fed up with capitalism, young Chinese brush up on โDas Kapitalโย / Sixth Tone
โWith a new generation increasingly burned out by the โ996โ grind and liberal platitudes of their elders, can Marxism make a comeback?โ -
Divorce rules and domestic abuse
โCooling offโ periods for divorcing couples could put abuse victims in danger, critics sayย / Caixin (paywall)





