Links for Friday, January 8, 2021

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Elon Musk earns positive state media coverage as rival EV firms team up to take on Tesla
  Elon Musk’s praise of China’s government for being ‘very responsible’ to its people’s needs and happiness is objective: Chinese FM / Global Times
  Baidu set to announce EV venture with automaker Geely, report says / Tech in Asia

• Will the Year of the Ox be a good time for hog sales?
  With prices high, pork players fatten up supply before holiday / Caixin (paywall)

• Toyota sales rose 11% in China in 2020
  Toyota sees growth in China as other carmakers falter / Caixin (paywall)

• Power infrastructure in West Africa
  Ghana to open sub-Saharan Africa’s first LNG-to-power plant with China-made equipment / Bloomberg via Caixin

• New deals and setbacks for Chinese firms in East Africa
  Tanzania to sign $1.32 billion rail contract with Chinese firms / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  In a surprise move, Kenya’s Safaricom suspends its Huawei-powered 5G rollout / China-Africa Project

• Bilibili’s Hong Kong listing
  Bilibili aims to raise more than USD$2 billion in Hong Kong listing / PingWest

• Office space cost falls another 1.6% in Shenzhen
  Shenzhen office rent drops for ninth straight quarter / Caixin (paywall)

• Autonomous driving
  China’s Horizon Robotics raises $400 million to develop autonomous driving chips / Caixin 
• Selling at Impossible prices?
  Impossible Foods aims to take bigger bite out of China’s meat market / Caixin (paywall)
  “Plant-based burger producer to slash prices in Hong Kong and Macao as it awaits regulatory approval to move into the Chinese mainland.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT: 

• Hebei COVID-19 outbreak sparks worries about Lunar New Year travel
  Shijiazhuang on lockdown over local COVID-19 outbreak / Sixth Tone
  China seals off two cities following COVID outbreaks / DW
  “Almost 20 million people living near the capital Beijing are now under strict lockdown as China witnesses its largest coronavirus outbreak since the summer.”
  Three things to know about North China’s locally transmitted COVID outbreak / Caixin (paywall)
  Coronavirus lockdown disrupts logistics across northern China / Caixin (paywall)
  Beijing shuts religious venues as coronavirus spreads in Hebei Catholic heartland / SCMP
  With active COVID-19 outbreaks, China fears Lunar New Year travel / Sixth Tone
  Coronavirus: Chinese urged not to make ‘unnecessary’ trips home for Lunar New Year / SCMP
  Coronavirus: Chinese province of Guangdong extends quarantine and urges people not to travel over Lunar New Year / SCMP
  Chinese chambers urge members not to come home for Spring Festival to reduce infection risks / Global Times

• Sinovac vaccine in Indonesia and Brazil
  Indonesian leader volunteers to be first in country to get China’s new COVID vaccine / Caixin
  Indonesia’s top Islamic body OKs China’s Sinovac vaccine / AP
  Brazil snaps up local output of Chinese vaccine for national immunization / Reuters

• Record cold in northern China
  Beijing sees coldest temperatures in over 50 years / Sixth Tone
  Record cold weather in China sends power demand through the roof / Reuters

• Another study on original Wuhan infection numbers
  China study says Wuhan COVID infections 3 times higher than official figure / Reuters
• Vaccine diplomacy has yet to arrive in sub-Saharan Africa
  China’s closing more deals to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, but none so far in sub-Saharan Africa / China-Africa Project

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Hú Huáibāng 胡怀邦, former chairman of China Development Bank, jailed for life
  Head of Chinese bank behind foreign building spree jailed / AP
  Hu was “convicted of taking 85.5 million yuan ($13.2 million) in bribes between 2009 and 2019.”
  Related, on The China Project: China gives death penalty to former senior banking regulator for corruption. 

• Beijing claims ignorance on Afghan spy cases
  China ‘unaware’ of any Afghan deportation of Chinese on spying charges / Reuters

• Hong Kong rule by law
  Hong Kong public broadcaster chief ‘reminds’ staff not to interview 53 arrested democrats / HKFP
  Trio jailed for up to 5.5 years for rioting at Hong Kong airport and assaulting state media reporter / HKFP
  Hong Kong protesters given prison terms for beating reporter at airport / NYT (porous paywall)
  UN says ‘deeply concerned’ over Hong Kong dissident arrests / AFP via HKFP
  Justin Cremer on Twitter: “In crazy non-US news, pro-China Hong Kong officials have issued Intl arrest warrants for Danish MPs Uffe Elbaek and Katarina Ammitzboell for their role in helping a HK activist into Denmark”

• More details on EU-China negotiations
  China tried to punish European states for Huawei bans by adding eleventh-hour rule to EU investment deal / SCMP
  “The clause was struck-through by EU negotiators, with veteran officials pointing to a ‘classic’ Chinese negotiating move.”

• Debt relief for the D.R.C.
  China cancels Democratic Republic of Congo loans as it joins Belt and Road / SCMP
  “Beijing writes off US$28 million in matured loans and pledges US$17 million of support in a country where Chinese firms already dominate mining sector.”
• Uyghur forced labor in the solar panel supply chain?
  Chinese solar companies tied to use of forced labor / NYT (porous paywall)
  “Major solar companies including GCL-Poly, East Hope Group, Daqo New Energy, Xinte Energy and Jinko Solar are named in the report as bearing signs of using some forced labor, according to Horizon Advisory, which specializes in Chinese-language research.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Small underwear turns wedding into New Year’s party
  Wedding canceled over too-tight underwear: Chinese local wedding tradition goes trending / What’s on Weibo
  “According to local customs [in Guizhou Province], the groom’s side was supposed to buy the bride a new outfit from top to bottom, including shoes (a custom called shàngtoulǐ “上头礼”). But because the undergarment purchased by the groom was too tight, the wedding ceremony was called off at the very last moment… Not wanting to waste the expensive food and arrangements, the groom’s relatives decided to turn the wedding reception into a New Year’s party instead.”

• Nine million users of Xiami mourn loss of one of China’s original music-streaming sites
  China’s music aficionados lament loss of streaming service Xiami / Sixth Tone

• Graffiti from across China
  Great walls of China: Beijing’s burgeoning graffiti scene – in pictures / Guardian
• The disturbing biological sketches of Xiè Kùn 谢困
  Project Gross-out / Neocha
  “Dismembered body parts piled up in a bathtub, two human torsos conjoined by their intestines, and a rotten decapitated head being held by the victim themself. Perusing the works of Xie Kun can be a spine-chilling experience… Ego death and the meaning of existence are themes that she mostly hones in on.”