BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Discouraging travel over Spring Festival
  China orders airlines to allow full refunds for Lunar New Year fares / Caixin (paywall)
  “In a notice issued Tuesday, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said that all tickets purchased from Wednesday for flights between Jan. 28 and March 8 can get full refunds or can change their tickets at least once.”
  China’s flight prices plummet after holiday travel discouraged / Sixth Tone

• Ant Group can list if it would “just follow the standard of legal structure”
  Central bank governor suggests Ant Group may be allowed to list after all if it follows law / Caixin (paywall, or see Reuters summary)

• Tencent nearly reached $1 trillion valuation
  Tencent shares fall after nearing $1 trillion valuation / Caixin (paywall)
  “There were few obvious catalysts for a rally of that size, although traders cited an ambitious listing plan from video startup Beijing Kuaishou Technology Co. Ltd., in which Tencent holds a stake, as well as a bullish note from Citigroup Inc. analysts.”

• Guangzhou, center of the world?
  South China airport becomes world’s busiest as pandemic grounds flights almost everywhere / Caixin (paywall)
  “Despite 40% fall in passenger traffic, Guangzhou Baiyun takes crown from U.S. hub in Atlanta.”

• Education technology is hot
  Chinese edtech startup Huohua Siwei secures $400 million in series E funding round / Caixin
  Edtech firm Huohua Siwei valued at $1.5 billion / TechNode

• More digital currency testing
  Chengdu to distribute $7.7 million in its first digital yuan lottery: report / TechNode

• Continued stimulus for business
  China gives small and midsize lenders new tool to replenish capital / Caixin (paywall)
  China central bank won’t exit prematurely from stimulus, Yi says / Bloomberg (porous paywall)

• Food price inflation
  Beijing under pressure over rising food prices ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations / Straits Times
  “Certain vegetable prices have almost doubled compared to a year ago, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT: 

• Renewables now a majority of China’s overseas power investments
  China pours money into green Belt and Road projects / FT (paywall)
  “The share of wind, solar and hydropower made up 57%, or about $11bn, of China’s total investment in energy infrastructure in 2020, up from 38% in 2019, according to research from the International Institute of Green Finance at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing…[but] coal investments took up a larger portion of China’s $20bn total of energy investments, up from 15 percent in 2018 to 27 percent last year.”

• Declining COVID-19 numbers in Henan and Jilin, but not in Heilongjiang
  China reports decline in new COVID-19 cases / Reuters
  “A total of 82 confirmed cases were reported in the mainland on Jan. 25, the National Health Commission said in a statement, down from 124 cases a day earlier…Heilongjiang Province reported 53 of the new cases.”

• Vaccine diplomacy
  Malaysia secures 18.4 million doses of Russian, Chinese COVID-19 vaccines / Reuters
  Bolsonaro thanks China for fast-tracking COVID-19 vaccine supplies / Reuters

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• India-China relations
  No breakthrough in LAC talks, India honours Galwan braves / The India China Newsletter
  “The reference to ‘this round of meeting was positive’ was new (and leaves one wondering how the past 8 rounds were).”
  India retains ban on 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok / Reuters

• Taiwan response to Beijing warplane maneuvers
  Taiwan air force flexes muscles after latest Chinese incursion / Reuters
  Yesterday, on The China Project: Biden administration says Taiwan commitment ‘rock-solid’ after Beijing sends warplanes. 

• South China Sea
  China to conduct military drills in South China Sea amid tensions with U.S. / Reuters

• Grievances in Wuhan
  Son of Chinese coronavirus victim wants to meet WHO experts in Wuhan / SCMP
  Wuhan doctor: China authorities stopped me sounding alarm on COVID / Guardian
  Wuhan Central Hospital’s “respiratory department was full by 10 January, the unnamed doctor told the BBC for its programme, 54 Days…But hospital authorities banned them from speaking to anyone, and wouldn’t allow them to wear masks, he said.”

• Uyghurs and Xinjiang
  Jewish leaders use Holocaust Day to decry persecution of Uyghurs / Guardian
  Opinion by Rushan Abbas: China seized my sister. Biden must fight for her and all enslaved Uyghurs. / Washington Post

• “Poverty alleviation dramas” gaining popularity
  A show about poverty alleviation is getting historically high reviews / Sixth Tone
  “Critics and casual viewers alike appreciate how ‘Minning Town’ doesn’t shy away from some of the common missteps associated with government relocation projects.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Company in Hunan exploited nursing home shortage
  Elderly man’s suicide shines spotlight on scam care homes / Caixin (paywall)
  “The apparent suicide of an elderly care home resident in Central China has focused attention on private companies that persuade older people to pour their savings into risky investments in return for accommodation and care in their twilight years.”

• Shanghai property management company punishes employee for taking funeral leave
  Man fired for skipping work to mourn father gets billion views / Caixin

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Discouraging travel over Spring Festival
  China orders airlines to allow full refunds for Lunar New Year fares / Caixin (paywall)
  “In a notice issued Tuesday, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said that all tickets purchased from Wednesday for flights between Jan. 28 and March 8 can get full refunds or can change their tickets at least once.”
  China’s flight prices plummet after holiday travel discouraged / Sixth Tone

• Ant Group can list if it would “just follow the standard of legal structure”
  Central bank governor suggests Ant Group may be allowed to list after all if it follows law / Caixin (paywall, or see Reuters summary)

• Tencent nearly reached $1 trillion valuation
  Tencent shares fall after nearing $1 trillion valuation / Caixin (paywall)
  “There were few obvious catalysts for a rally of that size, although traders cited an ambitious listing plan from video startup Beijing Kuaishou Technology Co. Ltd., in which Tencent holds a stake, as well as a bullish note from Citigroup Inc. analysts.”

• Guangzhou, center of the world?
  South China airport becomes world’s busiest as pandemic grounds flights almost everywhere / Caixin (paywall)
  “Despite 40% fall in passenger traffic, Guangzhou Baiyun takes crown from U.S. hub in Atlanta.”

• Education technology is hot
  Chinese edtech startup Huohua Siwei secures $400 million in series E funding round / Caixin
  Edtech firm Huohua Siwei valued at $1.5 billion / TechNode

• More digital currency testing
  Chengdu to distribute $7.7 million in its first digital yuan lottery: report / TechNode

• Continued stimulus for business
  China gives small and midsize lenders new tool to replenish capital / Caixin (paywall)
  China central bank won’t exit prematurely from stimulus, Yi says / Bloomberg (porous paywall)

• Food price inflation
  Beijing under pressure over rising food prices ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations / Straits Times
  “Certain vegetable prices have almost doubled compared to a year ago, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT: 

• Renewables now a majority of China’s overseas power investments
  China pours money into green Belt and Road projects / FT (paywall)
  “The share of wind, solar and hydropower made up 57%, or about $11bn, of China’s total investment in energy infrastructure in 2020, up from 38% in 2019, according to research from the International Institute of Green Finance at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing…[but] coal investments took up a larger portion of China’s $20bn total of energy investments, up from 15 percent in 2018 to 27 percent last year.”

• Declining COVID-19 numbers in Henan and Jilin, but not in Heilongjiang
  China reports decline in new COVID-19 cases / Reuters
  “A total of 82 confirmed cases were reported in the mainland on Jan. 25, the National Health Commission said in a statement, down from 124 cases a day earlier…Heilongjiang Province reported 53 of the new cases.”

• Vaccine diplomacy
  Malaysia secures 18.4 million doses of Russian, Chinese COVID-19 vaccines / Reuters
  Bolsonaro thanks China for fast-tracking COVID-19 vaccine supplies / Reuters

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• India-China relations
  No breakthrough in LAC talks, India honours Galwan braves / The India China Newsletter
  “The reference to ‘this round of meeting was positive’ was new (and leaves one wondering how the past 8 rounds were).”
  India retains ban on 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok / Reuters

• Taiwan response to Beijing warplane maneuvers
  Taiwan air force flexes muscles after latest Chinese incursion / Reuters
  Yesterday, on The China Project: Biden administration says Taiwan commitment ‘rock-solid’ after Beijing sends warplanes. 

• South China Sea
  China to conduct military drills in South China Sea amid tensions with U.S. / Reuters

• Grievances in Wuhan
  Son of Chinese coronavirus victim wants to meet WHO experts in Wuhan / SCMP
  Wuhan doctor: China authorities stopped me sounding alarm on COVID / Guardian
  Wuhan Central Hospital’s “respiratory department was full by 10 January, the unnamed doctor told the BBC for its programme, 54 Days…But hospital authorities banned them from speaking to anyone, and wouldn’t allow them to wear masks, he said.”

• Uyghurs and Xinjiang
  Jewish leaders use Holocaust Day to decry persecution of Uyghurs / Guardian
  Opinion by Rushan Abbas: China seized my sister. Biden must fight for her and all enslaved Uyghurs. / Washington Post

• “Poverty alleviation dramas” gaining popularity
  A show about poverty alleviation is getting historically high reviews / Sixth Tone
  “Critics and casual viewers alike appreciate how ‘Minning Town’ doesn’t shy away from some of the common missteps associated with government relocation projects.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Company in Hunan exploited nursing home shortage
  Elderly man’s suicide shines spotlight on scam care homes / Caixin (paywall)
  “The apparent suicide of an elderly care home resident in Central China has focused attention on private companies that persuade older people to pour their savings into risky investments in return for accommodation and care in their twilight years.”

• Shanghai property management company punishes employee for taking funeral leave
  Man fired for skipping work to mourn father gets billion views / Caixin