Links for Tuesday, January 19, 2021

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• GDP numbers and other economic figures
  With 2.3% growth, China likely to be only major economy to expand in 2020 / Caixin (paywall)
  China’s fourth quarter GDP grows 6.5% year-on-year, beats expectations / Reuters
  China industrial output rises 7.3% year-on-year in December; retail sales miss forecast / Reuters
  Hong Kong’s bankruptcy filings hit four-year high amid pandemic / Caixin (paywall)
  Chinese pork output beats expectations in 2020, after swine fever hit / Reuters
  Most major economies are shrinking. Not China’s. / NYT (porous paywall)
  China’s consumers fall behind even as its economy marches forward / WSJ (paywall)

• A bad year for state-owned enterprises?
  China’s central SOEs see sharp slowdown in profit growth / Caixin (paywall)
  “Net profits rose 2.1% in 2020, decelerating from 10.8% growth the previous year.”

• Brazil to allow Huawei 5G?
  Brazil’s Bolsonaro to allow China’s Huawei in 5G auctions: newspaper / Reuters
  “Brazil’s government will not seek to bar Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from 5G network auctions slated for June this year, newspaper Estado de S. Paulo reported on Saturday, citing government and industry sources.”

• Douyin Pay launch — yet another mobile money service
  TikTok owner ByteDance launches Douyin Pay, mobile payment service for China / Reuters
  Related The China Project reporting: The next target for TikTok’s parent company: Payments.

• Soaring shipping costs
  Tripling of China-Europe shipping costs threatens goods supply / FT (paywall)
  “Soaring prices fuelled by shortage of containers and recovery in consumer demand.”

• Cisco gets merger approval after delay
  Chinese regulator approves Cisco’s $4.5 billion Acacia deal / Reuters
  Last week in WSJ: China holdup proves costly for Cisco.

• Kuaishou IPO set for “as early as February 5”
  Kuaishou IPO could be only weeks away / Caixin
  China’s Kuaishou Hong Kong IPO could value firm at about $60 billion / Reuters
  Related The China Project reporting: Tech companies prepare for jumbo IPO season in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

• Soaring semiconductor fundraising
  Charts of the Day: STAR market powers up China’s microchip sector / Caixin (paywall)
  “Semiconductor investments in China soared to 140 billion yuan [$21.6 billion] in 2020, more than quadruple the previous year, as Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style board hosted 32 deals.”
  See also, in the The China Project 2021 Red Paper: China struggles for semiconductor self-sufficiency.

• Pushing back on international criticism of Beijing’s economic control
  China’s economy isn’t ‘state capitalism,’ banking regulator says / Caixin (paywall)
  “‘They [international observers] accused China of state capitalism, because China has a strong public sector and its industrial policies distort the market. This is a big misunderstanding,’ said Chairman Guō Shùqīng 郭树清 of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) in a speech delivered to the 14th Asian Financial Forum held in Hong Kong.”

• Autonomous vehicles and “smart cars”
  China’s Geely teams up with Tencent on smart car tech / Reuters

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT: 

• COVID-19 outbreaks continue in Hebei and Jilin
  China’s COVID outbreak worst since March 2020 / Reuters
  “China reported more than 100 new COVID-19 cases for a seventh day on Tuesday. It posted 118 new cases on Monday, up from 109 a day earlier…106 were local infections, with 43 reported in Jilin, a new daily record for the northeastern province, and 35 in Hebei Province.”
  China says latest COVID-19 outbreak caused by imported cases / Reuters
  Chinese city reports coronavirus found on ice cream / AP
  ‘One village, one policy’: China keeps it local to battle COVID wave / Reuters
  Overwhelmed Hebei lab said COVID-19 tests were fine. They weren’t. / Sixth Tone
  China rushes to build coronavirus quarantine center for 4,000 as it battles local outbreaks / Washington Post 

• China criticized for initial COVID response by international panel
  Helen Clark-led COVID-19 independent review panel criticizes China, WHO / Radio New Zealand
  “An independent panel says Chinese officials could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January to curb the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and criticised the World Health Organisation (WHO) for not declaring an international emergency until 30 January.”
  Independent pandemic review panel critical of China, WHO delays / Reuters
  China rebuffs WHO report claiming slow COVID response / Nikkei Asia (paywall)

• Vaccine diplomacy
  Philippines, China vow cooperation for post-pandemic recovery / Reuters
  “China promised on Saturday to donate 500,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to the Philippines as the two countries signed infrastructure deals aimed at boosting post-pandemic recovery efforts, officials said.”
  See also: China to fund $940m Philippine railway linking former U.S. bases / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  Serbia receives million doses of China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine / Reuters
  Cambodia says China donates 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines / Reuters
  U.A.E. pushes ahead with Chinese COVID-19 vaccine, hoping to avoid lockdowns as cases surge / WSJ (paywall)
  Brazil authorizes use of two COVID-19 vaccines / WSJ (paywall)
  China’s Sinovac steps up defense of vaccine after confusing data / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Last week on The China Project: What if China’s COVID-19 vaccines are the least effective?

• Lunar rover mission update
  China’s retrieved lunar samples weigh less than targeted / Reuters
  Related, on The China Project: Chinese capsule returns to Earth with Moon rocks.

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Biden administration appointees and expectations
  Biden intelligence pick to call for tough scrutiny of China, source says / Reuters
  “Avril Haines, a former White House and CIA official whom President-elect Joe Biden chose for the top U.S. intelligence job, will tell Congress on Tuesday that she will continue tough U.S. scrutiny of China and press spy agencies to help resolve the COVID-19 crisis, a Biden transition official said.”
  Blackstone’s Schwarzman: New U.S. admin going to take a ‘softer tone’ toward China / Reuters
  Departing EXIM chief urges Biden team to counter Chinese lending dominance / Reuters
  Biden will wait for recommendation on sharing secrets with Trump / Reuters
  China welcomes expected U.S. return to Paris accord / Xinhua

• Xi Jinping wears a mask as he observes 2022 Winter Olympics preparations
  Xi confident of successful Beijing 2022, underscores Games’ role in developing China’s winter sports / Xinhua
  习近平考察北京冬奥会、冬残奥会张家口赛区 / Xinhua
  冬奥冰雪有多“热”｜思客数理话 / Xinhua

• Taiwan Strait tensions
  Taiwan military stages drill aimed at repelling China attack / AP

• North Korea trade down
  North Korea’s trade with China plunges 81% as lockdown bites / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “Analysts say isolated nation’s economy may have shrunk up to 10% last year.”

• Belt and Road bumps in Pakistan
  China and Pakistan fall out over Belt and Road frameworks / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “Deadlock over interest rates for major rail project stalls annual summit.”

• Hong Kong crackdown continues
  China signals action to block critics from Hong Kong elections / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Hong Kong protesters to seek asylum in U.S. / NYT (porous paywall)
  In Hong Kong, a new party calls for stability (and raises suspicions) / NYT (porous paywall)

• Beijing’s influence in the EU
  Beijing hopes Germany will continue China-friendly approach after Armin Laschet wins Christian Democrat Union leadership race / SCMP
  Chinese university to open Budapest campus as Orban tilts to Beijing / FT (paywall)
  The EU-China investment deal, broken down / Quartz

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Shandong trapped miners
  Trapped China gold miners get porridge, blankets, one miner in coma — state media / Reuters

• Death of a journalism professor in Chengdu
  Professor’s suicide puts forced demolition back in spotlight / Sixth Tone
  Tuǒ Jìguāng 庹继光 “had accused Chengdu authorities of shirking resettlement negotiations since 2011 before ultimately demolishing his family’s two apartments last year without warning.”

• Student perspectives on U.S.-China relations
  American students’ love affair with China cools as political tensions rise / WSJ (paywall)
  “Mary Gallagher, a political-science professor at the University of Michigan, said students in her classes now generally regard China as a potential enemy or a competitor of the U.S., while they saw China as a land of opportunity 10 to 15 years ago.”
  Related The China Project reporting: Doomsday scenarios and optimism: Next-generation China scholars on U.S.-China relations.