Links for Friday, January 15, 2021

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

“No, the chaos in America is not a gift to China and Russia,” writes media scholar Maria Repnikova in the New York Times today. Though Chinese officials and state media certainly delight in drawing attention to the chaos of American democracy, Repnikova makes several important points:

• According to surveys by Pew, there is “no direct connection” between America’s long-declining reputation and the reputation of authoritarian states. 
• Many Chinese do seem to be aware that the U.S. political system has important self-correcting mechanisms, and coverage of Trump’s impeachment after the Capitol insurrection only increases that awareness.
• If the U.S. emerges stronger after the political crisis — a big if — then Chinese efforts to draw attention to Washington chaos could backfire. 

We might add that COVID-19, which is not the focus of Repnikova’s thought-provoking argument, may have a different effect: Chinese people have seen the U.S. and China respond to exactly the same crisis for most of the last year, with dramatically different results, and probably altering perceptions in a much more direct way. 

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Aftershock of company blacklistings
  Investors resigned to Trump’s China ban, with Biden seen changing little / Reuters
  BlackRock sells $200 million China Telecom stake after U.S. ban / Reuters
  Xiaomi shares fall 10% as U.S. adds smartphone-maker to ‘blacklist’ / TechNode
  Yesterday on The China Project: U.S. sanctions on CNOOC and Xiaomi, and other moves. 

• U.S. Trade Representative releases annual “Notorious Markets” list
  U.S. counterfeit blacklist sees return of Baidu, debut of WeChat retail partner / Caixin (paywall)
  The 2020 edition of the USTR list singled out a major retailing partner on WeChat, “the Weidian program, whose large presence on WeChat allows millions of online merchants to ply their wares to the popular messaging and social networking app’s more than 1 billion users.”

• Rectification of Ant Group continues apace
  Ant Group is moving quickly to comply with regulations, China’s central bank says / WSJ (paywall)

• New interest rate caps apply to banks, not small-loan lenders
  Small-loan firms won’t be subject to new interest-rate ruling, China’s top court says / Caixin (paywall)

• Audiobook business
  China’s Tencent buys audiobook platform Lazy Audio for $417 million / Reuters

• Huawei in Saudi Arabia
  Huawei to open its biggest flagship store outside China in Riyadh / Reuters

• “Asian LNG spot prices have roughly tripled over the past month”
  Japan, China and South Korea compete for natural gas amid cold snap / Nikkei Asia via Caixin (paywall)

• Trump’s WeChat ban continues to fail First Amendment tests
  WeChat ban urged by U.S. gets skeptical review by appeal court / SCMP

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT: 

• Vaccine diplomacy
  International COVID-19 vaccine poll shows higher mistrust of Russia, China shots / Reuters
  European vaccine shipments fall short as Turkey, China race ahead / Reuters
  Azerbaijan to begin vaccinations next week, to use Chinese shot: govt / Reuters
  Hungary PM asks regulator to assess Chinese COVID vaccine quickly / Reuters
  Russia may be first to register CanSino COVID-19 vaccine outside of China / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Sinovac’s Indonesian partner sets sights on making Chinese vaccines for Southeast Asia / SCMP
  Irked by vaccine delays, Jamaica turns to Cuba and China / Bloomberg (porous paywall)

• COVID-19 and vaccine rollout in China
  China COVID-19 cases surge to over 10-month high; travel discouraged / Reuters
  China builds new quarantine center as virus cases rise / AP
  Shijiazhuang “is building a 3,000-unit quarantine facility to deal with an anticipated overflow of patients as COVID-19 cases rise ahead of the annual Lunar New Year travel rush.”
  China says COVID-19 hospitalizations above 1,000 / AP
  Many in China are strikingly accepting of harsh virus controls / Economist (porous paywall)
  China COVID-19 vaccinations gather momentum as outbreaks spread / Reuters

• Two Sinopharm resignations for “personal reasons”
  Two senior managers from one of China’s top vaccine companies have resigned / CNBC

• Larry David of Henan and fake health code app
  Sixth Tone on Twitter: “A man in Henan was detained five days for creating a public disturbance after he changed his negative nucleic acid test result to positive and shared it in a 20-member WeChat group to avoid attending a banquet where he had to drink alcohol, local authorities said Wednesday.”
  Hangzhou man arrested for developing fake ‘health code’ app / Sixth Tone

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Is China’s trade pressure on Australia backfiring?
  China mulls allowing some Australian coal imports amid ban / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Beijing ‘rebuffed’ pleas from Chinese steelmakers to lift ban on Australian coal / Sydney Morning Herald
  China-Australia relations: Breaking free of dependency on Australian iron ore would take years, but where is China looking? / SCMP
  Coal exports from Port of Newcastle strong despite China’s ban on Australian coal / Australian ABC
  Jeffrey Wilson on Twitter: “While some [Chinese] cities face rolling blackouts, Aus has largely offloaded the coal onto third markets like India, at surprisingly decent prices. Turns out diversification isn’t that hard.”

• Biden foreign policy picks
  Biden picks Clinton adviser Rosenberger as White House China director / Reuters
  Dhruva Jaishankar on Twitter: “THREAD: Now that U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has named or nominated senior members of his foreign policy and national security team, it might be useful to survey what all they have written or said in the recent past…”
  Dhruva Jaishankar on Twitter: “…Laura Rosenberger will be Senior Director for China at the White House. Here she is discussing Chinese influence in Europe with Juli Smith (another Biden advisor)”

• Trump support among Hongkongers
  Hong Kong democracy activists confront their Trump dilemma / Washington Post
  Shibani Mahtani on Twitter: “This moment of reckoning for the U.S. has also become one for the Hong Kong movement, where we have to confront how right-wing we have become.”  

• Debt relief in Africa
  As Angola gets debt relief from its creditors, Kenya hopes for the same from China / China-Africa Project
  The team at Boston University provides a fresh reminder that the world’s Chinese debt problem is concentrated in about 10 countries / China-Africa Project
  Gyude Moore: Disappointed that Chinese FM Wang Yi avoided talking about the debt crisis in certain African countries during his recent tour / China-Africa Project

• Detained Canadians update
  Huawei boss had Christmas with family as jailed Canadians got to phone home / Guardian
  Canada’s Justin Trudeau urges unified front against China detentions / Reuters via SCMP

• American financial assistance to Ecuador, with strings attached
  U.S. development bank strikes deal to help Ecuador pay China loans / FT (paywall)
  “The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation has struck a deal that will help Ecuador repay billions of dollars in loans to China and boost development in exchange for excluding Chinese companies from its telecom networks.”

• Hong Kong national security law has teeth
  China strips license of lawyer for Hong Kong activist / AP
  Hong Kong civil servants given four weeks to sign declaration of allegiance or face possible dismissal / HKFP
  Canada has given asylum to 14 Hong Kong protesters, advocacy group says / HKFP

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Murder in Cambodia
  Chinese couple murdered in Cambodia, last moments caught on CCTV camera / What’s on Weibo
  Chinese couple murdered in Cambodian capital, police hunt two male suspects / SCMP

• AI-powered recoloration of old photographs and video
  China re-rendered / Neocha
  “How did the socialites of Shanghai dress a century ago?…What would one of the terracotta soldiers of Xi’an look like in real life?”

• Is playing computer games really a sport? 
  Top broadcast exec questions if esports are really a sport — cue heated debate / Caixin

• “Deer Squad” animated series coming to U.S. on January 25
  Chinese video streamer iQiyi targets U.S. market with animation on Nickelodeon / Caixin