Links for Monday, February 15, 2021

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

Despite the trade war and everything else: More Chinese companies listed on Nasdaq in 2020 than any year since 2010. The Wire China digs in.

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• 70% plunge in Lunar New Year railway passenger traffic
  Lunar New Year traffic flood turns to a trickle / Caixin (paywall)
  According to official figures, “between Jan. 28 and Feb. 11 this year, China’s railways transported just 52.33 million passengers, down 68.8% from a year ago.”

• Leading tea shop company to IPO in Hong Kong
  Premium tea giant Nayuki brews up Hong Kong IPO / Caixin (paywall)
  “Money-losing premium tea specialist Nayuki Holdings Ltd. has filed to list in Hong Kong, shifting gears from an earlier plan to float shares in New York as it races to beat larger rival HeyTea to market…Co-founded by husband and wife Zhao Lin and Peng Xin, who control about two-thirds of the company pre-IPO, Nayuki opened its first teahouses six years in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen.”
  Related, last August in KrASIA: Founder of China’s rising tea-chain Nayuki on tackling overseas expansion.
  “Nayuki (known as ‘Naixuedecha’ [奈雪的茶] in China) is a well-known new-style tea drink (instead of powder-based milk tea, new-style tea drinks are made of fresh ingredients) and bakery brand in China. We chat with Founder Peng Xin on how she built the USD 870 million business after quitting her job as a white-collar employee.”

• U.S. tech policy
  White House shifts from tech ‘decoupling’ to ‘small yard, high fence’ approach / Caixin (paywall)
  “Instead of Trump’s scorched-earth tactics, Biden will define which technologies are key to the national interest and take action to protect them.”
  U.S. concerned over China’s ‘predatory’ behavior when comes to technology: State Dept / Reuters
  Citing China threat, business groups, experts push Biden administration for digital policy / Reuters

• Ongoing crisis at Huaxin Trust
  Government to dispatch team to deal with risks at Huaxin Trust / Caixin (paywall)

• Nvidia-Arm acquisition in question
  Google, Microsoft, Qualcomm protest Nvidia’s acquisition of Arm Ltd. / Bloomberg via Caixin
  “The acquisition would give Nvidia control over a critical supplier that licenses essential chip technology” to many of the largest tech companies, but before the deal is sealed, “Nvidia must get through a long review process by antitrust officials in the U.S., U.K., European Union and China.”

• Clubhouse security concerns
  Clubhouse says it will improve security after researchers raise China spying concerns / The Verge
  Clubhouse says reviewing data protection practices after report points to flaws / Reuters
  “U.S. audio app Clubhouse said it is reviewing its data protection practices, after a report by the Stanford Internet Observatory said it contained security flaws that left users’ data vulnerable to access by the Chinese government.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT: 

• COVID containment working?
  Chinese mainland reports 1 new locally transmitted COVID-19 case / Xinhua
  China confirms first local COVID-19 infection of Lunar New Year / Sixth Tone

• Vaccine regulation
  China cracks down on spurious, illegal, pricey vaccines / Reuters
  “China is cracking down on vaccine-related crimes, making dozens of arrests over the production and distribution of fake coronavirus vaccines, price gouging and illegal inoculations, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday.”

• COVID-19 disinformation
  Scientists said claims about China creating the coronavirus were misleading. They went viral anyway. / Washington Post (porous paywall)
  Takeaways: AP investigation of China COVID-19 disinformation / AP

• A smoggy new year in Beijing
  Beijing smog casts gloom over China’s Lunar New Year holiday / Reuters
  “The PM 2.5 level — which measures pollution — in the city’s urban areas reached 239 micrograms per cubic meter according to state news agency Xinhua.”

• Vaccine diplomacy
  Zimbabwe receives first vaccines from Sinopharm in China / AP
  Chinese vaccine will pull Hungary ahead of EU, PM says / AP
  Pakistan approves Chinese CanSinoBIO COVID vaccine for emergency use / Reuters
  EU approves all requests for COVID-19 vaccine export to UK, U.S., Japan, China / Reuters
  China’s COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy boosts its influence in Europe / WSJ (paywall)

• Mekong conservation
  Mekong River at ‘worrying’ low level amid calls for more Chinese dam data / Reuters

• Biodegradable plastics
  China aims to go as big in bioplastics as it did in solar panels / Nikkei Asia via Caixin
  “A single company, China BBCA Group, aims to build up its capacity to produce the plastic to a level that far outstrips global demand.”

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Statement against arbitrary detention led by Canada
  West unites against detention of foreign nationals in signal to China / WSJ (paywall)
  “Fifty-eight nations, including the U.S., Japan, Australia and almost all members of the European Union, have signed a declaration that is nonbinding and has no tools for enforcement. The Canadian foreign ministry, which is launching the initiative publicly on Monday, says that it doesn’t target a single nation but is aimed at bringing diplomatic pressure to bear on the issue.”
  Declaration against arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations / Government of Canada

• Is India-China border deescalation working?
  Withdrawal of tanks, troops from Panggong Tso by China, India helpful for border peace: expert / Global Times
  Chinese soldiers vacating Finger 4 area of Pangong lake, dismantling shelters / Times of India
  On The China Project last week: India and China disengage at one of many border conflict zones. 

• Muslim repression in Hainan
  China’s crackdown on Muslims extends to a resort island / NYT (porous paywall)
  “The Utsuls of Hainan island were once celebrated by the government for their links to the larger Muslim world. Not anymore.”

• G7 meeting on February 19
  Biden to discuss pandemic, economy and China in Friday G7 meeting / Reuters
  “The meeting is the first by top leaders from the G7 group of rich democracies since April.”
  ‘Let’s think big’ – Germany wants to work closely with Biden on trade, China, climate / Reuters

• Aftermath of BBC and CGTN blocking
  EU calls on China to reverse ban on BBC World News channel / AP
  Concerns over media freedom as Hong Kong follows China on BBC ban / Quartz
  Xinhua commentary: BBC, a biased broadcaster on China / Xinhua
  Last week on The China Project: China bans BBC after CGTN taken off air in Britain.

• Southeast Asia geopolitics
  What’s behind Cambodia’s cancellation of military exercises with China? / The Diplomat
  Sebastian Strangio writes, “The cancellation, purportedly due to COVID-19, could be a peace offering to the Biden administration.”

• Uyghur activism in Turkey
  Protesting Uygurs in Turkey demand release of relatives allegedly held in China / SCMP

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Wa village in Yunnan burned to ground
  Matthew Chitwood on Twitter: “BREAKING: China’s ‘last primitive tribal village’ goes up in flames, heritage site now in ashes. Current reports say no injuries, cause of fire being investigated. One of my sources suspects cigarette. This is heartbreaking. I visited Wengding several times 2018-19 and wrote about its transformation from villagers’ homes to a tourist site…”
  Read: Chitwood’s 2019 piece on Wengding.

• Anti-Asian racism in the U.S. and elsewhere
  COVID-19: Chinatowns fighting racism and pandemic to survive / BBC
  COVID fueled anti-Asian racism. Now elderly Asian Americans are being attacked. / Washington Post (porous paywall)

• A time of short local vacations
  Chinese scour megacities for peace and quiet as COVID-19 curbs travel / Sixth Tone