Links for Thursday, February 11, 2021

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye

Solar panels made in Xinjiang: Politico reports, “Nearly every solar power panel sold in the European Union has its origins in China’s oppressed Xinjiang region,” and lawmakers in the European Parliament are becoming increasingly active in pushing to shift supply chains away because of fears of forced labor. 

• Related, in Bloomberg: Why it’s so hard for the solar industry to quit Xinjiang
  “Nearly half the global supply for the raw material used to make solar panels is produced in the troubled Chinese region.”

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Tencent exec held on suspicion of giving WeChat data to corrupt official
  Tencent says exec being probed over links to ‘personal’ corruption allegations / Reuters

• Biden admin to drop WeChat ban?
  U.S. distances itself from Trump attempts to ban WeChat / AP
  “A day after it put a hold on a proposed ban of TikTok, the Biden administration is distancing itself from attempts by former President Donald Trump to ban the China-owned messaging app WeChat.”

• More anti-monopoly enforcement
  China regulator smashes cement price-fixing cartel / Caixin (paywall)
  “Eight companies in Shandong Province hit with record 228 million yuan fine for violating Anti-Monopoly Law after a 22-month probe.”

• Reduced travel for the new year
  As Lunar New Year begins, China’s multitudes stay home / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “Travel projected to plunge 60% from normal year over fear of virus spread.”

• Silicon chip shortage
  China calls on chipmakers to boost supplies to car manufacturers / Caixin (paywall)
  “Ministry of Industry and Information Technology makes unusual appeal after shortage of chips puts a dent in automakers’ January production.”

• For-profit hospital scams
  Scam surgeries expose ills at China’s for-profit hospitals / Caixin (paywall)

• Alibaba’s Jack Ma is still okay
  Jack Ma spotted playing golf, easing China detention fears / Bloomberg via Straits Times

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT: 

• COVID-19 cases in October 2019?
  Possible early COVID-19 cases in China emerge during WHO mission / WSJ (paywall)
  “About 90 people were hospitalized with COVID-19-like symptoms in central China in the two months before the disease was first identified in Wuhan in late 2019, according to World Health Organization investigators, who said they pressed Beijing to allow further testing to determine whether the new virus was spreading earlier than previously known.”

• Vaccine diplomacy
  China’s COVID-19 vaccine makers struggle to meet demand / WSJ (paywall)
  “Another bottleneck that analysts point to is the glass vials that contain the vaccine. China depends largely on foreign companies, having begun making its own high-quality vaccine vials only in recent years.”
  India and China use COVID vaccines as diplomacy tools / NYT (porous paywall)

• Mars mission
  Uncrewed Chinese spacecraft successfully enters Mars orbit / Reuters
  Mars mission inspires growing fan base back in China / AP
  Chinese spacecraft enters Mars’ orbit, joining Arab ship / AP
  China’s first Mars mission enters orbit around Red Planet / Spaceflight Now
  Update: China’s Tianwen-1 probe enters orbit around Mars / Xinhua

• CFC-11 emissions drop to lower levels
  China’s emissions of ozone-harming gas are declining, studies find / NYT (porous paywall)
  Ozone layer: China’s clampdown on harmful emissions puts rescue back on track / CNN
  Related The China Project reporting in 2018: Reports confirm ozone-killing substance in Chinese factories.

• Renewable power goals
  China plans to raise minimum renewable power purchase to 40% by 2030: government document / Reuters

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• U.S.-China relations
  U.S. to look at more restrictions on tech exports to China / Reuters
  Biden is ‘interested in getting all the facts’ about China and origins of COVID-19 / Reuters
  Biden says Pentagon to review strategy toward China / Reuters
  Biden announces DOD China Task Force / Defense Department News
  Asian shares mostly gain after Biden speaks with China’s Xi / AP
  China and America talk of co-operating on climate. It will be hard / Economist (paywall)

• South China Sea
  U.S. admiral says Chinese military activity is rising in S China Sea / FT (paywall)
  “Chinese military activity in the South China Sea has risen ‘steadily’ in recent months, according to the commander of the USS Nimitz.”

• Fading hope for release of detained Canadians
  As Huawei talks stall, detention of two Canadians in China drags on / WSJ (paywall)
  “Hope had surged recently among family members and supporters that the men might be released if separate talks to resolve criminal charges against Meng Wanzhou, an executive at China’s Huawei Technologies Co., bore fruit…With both sides digging in on demands too far to bridge, those discussions stalled and are now dormant.”

• Myanmar protests
  Myanmar anti-coup protesters rally at Chinese embassy / Reuters
  “Hundreds of protesters opposed to Myanmar’s coup demonstrated at the Chinese embassy in Yangon on Thursday accusing Beijing of supporting the military junta despite Chinese denials.”

• Declining Chinese influence in Eastern Europe?
  China’s Eastern Europe strategy gets the cold shoulder / Politico
  “The ‘17+1’ platform created by Beijing in 2012 to build ties with 17 Central and Eastern European countries looked decidedly like the 11+1 on Tuesday, when half of the 12 EU national leaders invited to the club failed to show up to pay homage to Chinese President Xi Jinping.”

• Repression in Tibet
  As in Xinjiang, China is tightening its grip in Tibet / Economist (paywall)
  “Officials fear that when the Dalai Lama dies, distraught Tibetans may once again stage big protests. The party would rather not be accused of crushing acts of mourning — better to deter people from displaying grief well beforehand by incessant waving of an iron fist.”

• A Clubhouse room all about laughing at Hu Xijin
  An outbreak of unapproved fun trashes Chinese propagandist Hu Xijin / Foreign Policy (porous paywall)
  Related, on The China Project: Hu Xijin, China’s greatest internet troll.

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Spring Festival Gala
  The Chunwan Liveblog: Watching the 2021 CMG Spring Festival Gala / What’s on Weibo

• Lunar New Year without travel
  The hidden costs of China’s canceled new year parties / Sixth Tone
  Shanghai normally empties for Spring Festival. But not this year. / Sixth Tone
  China’s stay-at-home Lunar New Year a welcome break from tradition for many / SCMP (porous paywall)
  Chinese New Year was always about traveling to family. This year, traditions are at home. / Washington Post (porous paywall)

• New Year celebrations in Hong Kong and Wuhan
  Hong Kong holds scaled-down Lunar New Year fairs amid COVID-19, China crackdown / Reuters
  In Wuhan, last-minute shopping and a return to normal on Lunar New Year eve / Reuters

• Photography
  Capturing the alienation of China’s young migrants / Sixth Tone
  “The playful, yet haunting images are the work of Lahem — a Chinese photographer known for his works exploring the fractured identities of the country’s rural migrants.”

• Racism against South Asians in Hong Kong
  Wave of coronavirus cases brings a tide of racism in Hong Kong / Washington Post (porous paywall)

• Better Days and 76 Days on Oscar shortlist
  Two Chinese movies have just been shortlisted for the Oscars / Radii China
  Related: Yangyang Cheng’s review of 76 Days: The Story of a Plague.