Links for Friday, December 11, 2020

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Another boatload of money for electric cars
  Tesla’s China rival Nio joins race for cash with share sale / Bloomberg via Yahoo
• More dumb money rushes into chip industry as Tsinghua Unigroup goes delinquent
  Jiahua Energy co-launches $458 million fund for M&As in integrated circuit industry / Caixin
  “Shanghai-listed chemical products provider Zhejing Jiahua Energy Chemical Industry Co., Ltd said on December 8 that it has co-launched a semiconductor industry fund with a corpus of 3 billion yuan ($458 million).”  
  End could be nigh for Tsinghua Unigroup as defaults mount / Caixin (paywall)
• Digital yuan trial rollout 
  We got some digital yuan! / TechNode

Lucky winners of Suzhou’s digital yuan lottery can spend their digital currency on JD.com, Meituan, Bilibili, and Didi, depending on their bank card, a look at the wallet app reveals. The local government said users don’t have to register a bank card to use the digital wallet.

See also on The China Project: Beijing pushes digital currency amid fears of a dollar planet. 

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• China’s electricity: Half from coal, 18% from hydropower, 11% each from wind and solar
  Solar powers its way to China’s No. 3 electricity source / Caixin

Solar power is set to edge ahead of wind to become China’s third-largest electricity source by year-end…

Of China’s total power generating capacity, coal-fired power still accounts for the largest single part by supplying half the nation’s 2,100 gigawatts of capacity at the end of October. Hydropower was second with about 18%, while wind and solar each supplied about 11%.

• Endangered wildlife trade
  Chinese man extradited from Malaysia to U.S. over turtle-smuggling ring worth millions / CNN 
• Chinese vaccine news
  Sinovac: What do we know about China’s Covid-19 vaccine? / BBC  
  Chinese CoronaVac vaccine in demand across Latin America / Sydney Morning Herald China-made coronavirus vaccine at heart of political showdown in Brazil / SCMP (porous paywall)
  See The China Project for a summary of distribution plans for Chinese vaccines.

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Military pressure on Taiwan
  China launches ‘gray-zone’ warfare to subdue Taiwan / Reuters

Having crushed the resistance to its rule in Hong Kong, China is moving against Taiwan with irregular tactics meant to exhaust the island’s military — which is in bad shape to confront the threat. It’s unclear how the incoming Biden administration will respond.

• Disinformation in Taiwan
  Three alleged Chinese cyberagents held / Taipei Times 
• Australian worries about China’s presence in Papua New Guinea
  As the Australia-China relationship deteriorates, a $200m PNG ‘fishery’ deal raises eyebrows / ABC (Australia)
• Wuhan fallout: Hunger-striking citizen journalist
  Chinese citizen journalist detained for reporting on Wuhan coronavirus outbreak “may not survive” / CBS
  Zhāng Zhǎn 张展, a “Chinese citizen journalist who has been in government detention for nearly seven months after reporting on the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan is now on hunger strike and ‘may not survive,’” her lawyer told CBS News.  
• China’s growing nuclear power
  China boosts nuclear strike capability in face of growing rivalry with US, report says / SCMP (porous paywall)
  “The Chinese military has increased the number of ballistic missile brigades by around a third in the past three years to enhance its nuclear strike capabilities.”
• Australia and India
  ‘Fear of China’ pushing Australia and India towards trade pact / SCMP (porous paywall)
• India, China, and water security
  China’s ‘super dam’ near India’s north-east: Statesman contributor / Statesman India via Straits Times
  “China is building a ‘super’ dam on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo [Brahmaputra] River close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Tibet, a state media report said, in a move that could have a far-reaching impact on India’s north-east water security.”
  China’s actions on border violate agreements on ensuring peace: India / NDTV 
• Wang Chen doesn’t care about your sanctions
  China sends sanctioned official to AmCham dinner in Beijing / Bloomberg via Straits Times

The Chinese government was represented at the annual American Chamber of Commerce event on Thursday (December 10) in Beijing by Mr. Wáng Chén 王晨, a member of the Communist Party’s Politburo [and a] vice-chairman of the National People’s Congress [who is] among the 14 officials sanctioned by the U.S. on Monday over the body’s role in constraining freedoms in Hong Kong.

See also: Designations of National People’s Congress officials undermining the autonomy of Hong Kong / U.S. Department of State

• Belt tightening and Road blocks
  China pulls back from the world: Rethinking Xi’s ‘project of the century’ / FT (paywall)
  See also on The China Project: China’s Belt and Road lending dries up.

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Rejecting marriage
  Why some Chinese women are embracing a ‘no kids, no ring’ lifestyle / Sixth Tone
• U.S. belatedly honors Chinese-American veterans
  Chinese American WWII veterans honored with Congressional Gold Medal / NBC

“What was extraordinary for these 20,000 Chinese American veterans was the choice they made in the face of gross prejudice despite facing racial discrimination at home, including the hateful Chinese Exclusion Act,” Rep. Judy Chu said.