Links for Wednesday, January 6, 2021

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Trump admin successfully pressures NYSE to delist Chinese telecoms
  NYSE reverses itself again, moving to delist 3 large Chinese telecoms / NPR
  “On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly criticized the NYSE’s decision not to delist the Chinese companies. The secretary called NYSE Group Inc. President Stacey Cunningham to disagree with the approach, according to Bloomberg News.”
• Chinese e-cigarette company files to list on NYSE
  Sequoia-backed Chinese e-cigarette brand RLX files for $100m U.S. IPO / DealStreetAsia via Caixin
• Digital yuan rollout
  Gilding the lily or ground-breaking invention? E-RMB lands in Shanghai / Caixin (paywall)
  “On January 5, Shanghai became an experimental hub for the country’s e-RMB, making it the fifth city in China, after Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu and Xiong’an, to pilot the digital currency. “
• Alibaba gives up on streaming music
  Music stops for Alibaba’s Xiami streaming service / Caixin (paywall)
  “Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will shut down its 12-year-old music streaming service next month as Xiami Music had trouble securing the copyrights to keep users interested.”  
• The problems of China’s rich
  Jack Ma’s absence is stirring uneasy memories of a series of disappeared Chinese tycoons / Quartz
  China’s rich face million dollar question: stay and risk losing assets, or face the coronavirus abroad? / SCMP
• Electric vehicles
  Nio starts trade-in deals to boost customer loyalty, sales / Caixin (paywall)
  Foxconn in talks With Chinese EV startup Byton for funding / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “Under the arrangement, Foxconn will supply Byton with its advanced manufacturing technology, operation management expertise and supply chain resources. The Taiwan-based company is however also talking to other Chinese electric-car makers on potential collaborations.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Retail protests against COVID-19 restrictions in Hong Kong
  Hong Kong’s ailing beauty salons to open their doors in act of protest against social-distancing rules / SCMP
• A faster test for COVID?
  Chinese researchers develop device that may detect coronavirus in 10 minutes / SCMP
  “Peking University team say their patented sensing chip is as accurate as the standard PCR testing, based on initial study results.”

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• China’s new Commerce Minister
  China turns to new commerce minister as U.S. tensions simmer / Bloomberg (porous paywall)

Wáng Wéntāo 王文涛 has the investor-friendly background that one might expect from China’s next commerce minister. But it’s political credentials that might be key to his success amid increasing hostility with the U.S.

Wang, 56, has held top positions in a number of provincial capitals across China, and was most recently governor of northeast Heilongjiang Province for more than two years. He replaces Zhōng Shān 钟山, who has reached the retirement age of 65 for ministerial-level officials.

• Will EU-China investment deal fall through?
  China’s investment deal with the EU has raised 3 big concerns in Europe / CNBC
  “The EU and China’s new investment deal may fail to make it past European lawmakers after they raised three big concerns with the agreement… Some politicians believe the agreement is lacking on enforcement, on human rights and say it could dent Europe’s relationship with the United States.”
  On EU deal, the word is “win-win” / China Media Project
  How Chinese state media is talking about the deal.
• Predictions on Xi’s policy in 2021
  China’s new plan to counter the U.S. economy / Nikkei (porous paywall)

Minxin Pei writes:

As the [U.S.-China] trade war and tech war…escalated after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Chinese leaders concluded that they must prioritize national security in their economic planning…

Since 2021 is the first year of the CCP’s 14th five-year plan, the priority tasks for the year set by last year’s Central Economic Work Conference naturally reflect the two prongs of China’s new economic strategy: technological self-sufficiency and growth based mainly on domestic consumption.

• Essay: Freedom in post-COVID China
  In a topsy-turvy pandemic world, China offers its version of freedom / NYT (porous paywall)
  “Citizens of China don’t have freedom of speech, freedom of worship or freedom from fear — three of the four freedoms articulated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt — but they have the freedom to move around and lead a normal day-to-day life.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Cyberbullying
  Libel, caution: Smeared online, a woman fights back / Sixth Tone
• Kitsch and corruption
  ‘Waste of money’ giant statue of Chinese general to be moved at cost of $23.8 million / SCMP (porous paywall)
• New music
  Two of China’s most controversial rappers just released new music / Radii China