Links for Monday, January 25, 2021

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

Vaccine distribution and credibility problems: Two New York Times pieces, one an op-ed by global health scholar Yanzhong Huang, and another a reported piece by Sui-Lee Wee, discuss challenges in China’s vaccine rollout at home and abroad.

• Huang argues that China “doesn’t care enough about vaccination because of a false sense of security,” and that the country has gotten off to a slow start in its vaccination campaign. With less effective vaccines at hand than those developed in the U.S. and Europe, Huang concludes that it is plausible that China may end up lagging behind in reaching herd immunity. 
• Wee reports that, in addition to the disappointing efficacy results for Chinese shots like CoronaVac, a lack of transparency around clinical trial data and delays in shipments have officials in many countries — like Brazil, Turkey, and the Philippines — regretting so much dependency on China. 

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• $163 billion in foreign direct investment
  China overtakes U.S. as world’s leading destination for foreign direct investment / WSJ (paywall, or see Reuters summary)
  “New investments by overseas businesses into the U.S., which for decades held the No. 1 spot, fell 49% in 2020.”

• Kuaishou’s blockbuster IPO
  TikTok rival Kuaishou to raise up to $6.3bn in Hong Kong IPO / FT (paywall, or see Reuters summary)
  “The listing will raise between $4.9bn and $5.4bn, but that could rise to $6.3bn if bankers exercise an overallotment option to increase its size.”

• Evergrande now one of the world’s most valuable auto companies
  Shares in Evergrande’s EV venture surge 60% on capital injection / FT (paywall, or see TechNode summary)
  “Shares in the electric car unit of China Evergrande, the world’s most indebted property company, surged to a record high as a $3.4bn cash injection catapulted its market valuation past those of traditional carmakers such as Ford.”
  China Evergrande’s NEV unit brings six investors on board to raise $3.4 billion / Caixin (paywall)

• Will Biden convince allies to also clamp down on chip supply?
  Chip industry group urges Biden admin to review export controls on China / Reuters
  “SEMI, which represents semiconductor equipment makers and device manufacturers worldwide, said the prior administration’s unilateral rules had made any potential benefit likely to be less effective over time, had unnecessarily hurt American industry, and had left U.S. exporters vulnerable to retaliation.”

• STAR market shares to be connected through Hong Kong
  China to open new path for foreign investors to trade hot high-tech board shares / Caixin (paywall)
  “Starting Feb. 1, shares listed on Shanghai’s STAR Market that are also part of the SSE 180 and SSE 380 indexes, or those whose issuers concurrently have shares listed in Hong Kong, will be eligible to be traded in the Asian financial hub through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program.”

• Guangzhou Futures Exchange to have private shareholders
  China gives nod to first bourse designed to run like private company / Caixin (paywall)
  “The Guangzhou Futures Exchange will be the country’s first to be run as a company with some private shareholders.”

• Chip supply for smartphones
  Taiwan’s MediaTek surpasses Qualcomm as China’s smartphone chip supplier of choice as U.S. sanctions bite / Caixin
  “During the six-month period, MediaTek controlled 31.7% of China’s smartphone chip market, nearly double the market share the firm had in the same period of 2019.”

• Big market for niche skincare products
  China’s new interest in niche Western beauty / Vogue Business
  “According to a 2019 Reuter Communications survey of more than 300 consumers across Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, niche beauty brands are preferred by 92 per cent of male and 31 per cent of female customers.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT: 

• COVID-19 hotspots and response
  Trending in China: Foreign medical students volunteer for battle against virus in freezing northeast / Caixin
  Officials in locked-down northern Chinese city apologize for food shortages / Caixin (paywall)
  Residents in Tonghua, Jilin, “had trouble buying food for days due to personnel issues, the vice major says.”
  China’s daily COVID cases rise, driven by previously asymptomatic patients / Reuters
  China sees fall in new COVID-19 cases amid strict local lockdowns / Reuters
  Hong Kong orders thousands to stay home in city’s first COVID lockdown / Guardian
  COVID-19: Hong Kong’s controversial neighborhood lockdown yields 13 positive cases after 7,000 tested / HKFP
  COVID-19: Hong Kong approves use of BioNTech vaccine – first batch arriving as early as Feb / HKFP

• Call for data transparency for Chinese vaccines
  Leading Chinese drug researcher calls for greater transparency on China vaccines / Caixin (paywall)
  “Ding Sheng, dean of Tsinghua University’s School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and director of the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute (GHDDI), called for the original clinical trial data from Chinese experimental vaccines to be made public.”

• Vaccine diplomacy
  Zimbabwe, beset by soaring COVID-19 cases, gets vaccine offers from Russia, China / Reuters
  Serbia turns to China for vaccine relief / DW
  Bolsonaro says China fast-tracking supplies for COVID-19 vaccines made in Brazil / Reuters
  Coronavirus: Egypt launches immunization drive with China’s Sinopharm vaccine / SCMP

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Injured soldiers on the India-China border?
  A clash on the India China border, marathon military talks / The India China Newsletter
  Ananth Krishnan provides an update on the India-China border standoff. In addition to the latest round of bilateral military talks that reportedly lasted for 16.5 hours straight, there was also a “clash at Naku La in Sikkim.” 

The area also had seen an incident in early May but hasn’t been the focus of recent tensions, which have largely been confined to the western sector in Ladakh. Media reports had initially suggested injuries on both sides. The Indian Army statement, however, appeared to try and play down what happened last Wednesday…

• See also:
  TikTok, WeChat, Baidu and UC Browser among 59 Chinese apps permanently banned in India / Times of India
  Chinese and Indian troops clash at their disputed border / NYT (porous paywall)
  India and China troops scuffle at border / WSJ (paywall)
  China-India border dispute: village built in conflict zone part of Beijing’s poverty alleviation scheme, source says / SCMP

• Davos address by Xi
  Full Text: Special Address by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the World Economic Forum Virtual Event of the Davos Agenda (Chinese here) / Xinhua
  China’s Xi calls for greater role for G20 in economic governance / Reuters
  China’s Xi calls for unity in fighting virus, climate change / AP
  Xi Jinping warns of ‘new cold war’ if U.S. keeps up protectionism / Guardian
  China’s Xi warns against confrontation in veiled message to Biden / WSJ (paywall)
  Xinhua Commentary: Guarding against all forms of pseudo multilateralism / Xinhua

• Michael Kovrig update
  Diplomats contact Canadian held for over 2 years in China / AP

• Biden administration rehires media chief purged by Trump
  Bay Fang resumes role as president of Radio Free Asia / RFA
  Last July, via NBC: Trump’s new global media chief fires top editor at Radio Free Asia.

• Opposition to EU-China investment deal
  Human rights concerns: Experts demand suspension of EU-China investment deal / Der Spiegel

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Wuhan, a year after lockdown
  A year later, Wuhan, the first post coronavirus pandemic city / NYT (porous paywall)
  “Wuhan has emerged from hibernation, reviving the city’s glitzy fashion shows, restaurants, music clubs and karaoke bars…Beneath the exuberant normalcy, some grieving families struggle to exorcise the ghosts — memories and anger that find no place in the government’s triumphant turn to the future.”
  Wuhan lockdown started a year ago: Residents look back with pride, anger, pain / NPR
  Anger at China’s COVID-19 response smolders in Wuhan / WSJ (paywall)
  Top-down mobilization saved Wuhan from lockdown chaos / Global Times

• Tragedy for trapped Shandong miners
  Day after dramatic rescue, 10 Shandong miners confirmed dead / Sixth Tone
  “A total of 22 miners were trapped underground for two weeks. One group was rescued, another group perished, and one miner remains unaccounted-for.”
  Trending in China: Gold mining rescue lights up Weibo / Caixin