Links for Monday, March 1, 2021

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Douyin bans wealth displays
  TikTok’s Chinese version bans videos of money worship, minors’ luxury goods / Yicai
  TikTok’s Chinese version Douyin has banned videos that contain conspicuous wealth displays or show discrimination against the poor. Minors are also barred from showing off luxury goods.
• Another Chinese SOE delisting
  Cnooc faces NYSE delisting of American depositary shares / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  China’s largest offshore oil producing company and third largest oil giant, CNOOC, faces New York Stock Exchange proceedings to delist its American depositary shares on March 9.
• Wuhan’s chip dream crashes
  Wuhan gives up on troubled $18.5 billion chipmaking project / Caixin (paywall)
  An $18.5 billion semiconductor company in Wuhan that could have been China’s silicon savior is letting all of its workers go and shutting up shop.
• Rare earth prices
  China says domestic competition hurting rare earth prices / Reuters
• Struggling retail giant receives state bailout
  State comes to the rescue of former retail superstar Suning / Caixin (paywall)
  “Two state-owned investment entities from the southern boomtown of Shenzhen will pay $2.3 billion for a combined 23% of the struggling company.”
• China’s trying to lead the world in green finance
  China and U.S. to lead G-20’s sustainable finance study group / Caixin (paywall)
  Cover Story: The green finance challenge facing China’s banks / Caixin (paywall)
• Australia-China business
  Yancoal Australia swings to loss in 2020 amid China-Australia tensions / Caixin (paywall)
  “Company’s shares in Sydney fall nearly 7% after announcing plan to diversify to new markets ‘in response to difficult market conditions, partly attributable to the geopolitical challenges’ between the two countries.”
  Chinese investors turn away from Australia after Canberra crackdown / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “Investment fell 61% last year after deals were scuppered over security concerns.”
• Less state bailout money for local banks
  China seeks to avoid more bank bailouts with ‘living will’ requirement / Caixin (paywall)
  “Draft rules would require certain financial institutions to come up with a plan in case they ever find themselves on life support.”
• Diary giant sells Chinese shares due to pandemic hit
  Danone prepares to sell $1 billion stake in China’s Mengniu / Bloomberg via Caixin
  “Chinese dairy-maker is expected to post a 17% profit decline for 2020 amid the pandemic’s disruption of the supply chain and logistics.”
• Bitcoin and cryptocurrency
  China’s furtive bitcoin trade heats up again, worrying regulators / Reuters
  “Bitcoin’s 300% price surge since October has revived China’s grey market in cryptocurrency trading, putting regulators on alert over financial risks and capital outflows as volatility spikes.”
  China’s Inner Mongolia to end cryptocurrency mining, ban new steel, coke projects / Reuters
• Delivery driver labor activist arrested
  Arrested: Chinese delivery activist / Protocol
  “A Chinese delivery worker who has been vocal about the need for greater labor rights protections in the industry was detained by authorities on Feb. 25.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Domestic vaccine rollout
  China says it aims to vaccinate 40% of population by June / AP
  Some local Beijing communities start giving elderly COVID-19 shots / Reuters
  Beijing starts vaccinating residents above 60 as nation cautiously expands inoculation / Global Times
  Last week on The China Project: China might soon have four approved COVID-19 vaccines.
  Related Reuters report: China approves two more domestic COVID-19 vaccines for public use.
• Vaccine diplomacy
  Philippines begins vaccinations with China-donated Sinovac shots / Bloomberg via Caixin
  Philippines receives Chinese vaccine, but Duterte prefers another brand / Reuters
  “But Duterte, who turns 77 next month, told a news briefing that, though he wants to be vaccinated, his doctor wants a different Chinese brand of vaccine for him.”
  Polish and Chinese presidents discuss buying Chinese COVID vaccine – PAP / Reuters
  China to provide Afghanistan with 400,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine / Reuters
  China’s CanSino says first vaccines packaged in Mexico will be ready in March / Reuters
  Malaysia receives China’s Sinovac vaccine for regulatory testing / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Decarbonization goals
  China chips away at coal addiction to chase climate goals / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  China targets national carbon trading online by end of June / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  China’s five-year plan will determine the future of decarbonization / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Lauri Myllyvirta on Twitter: “China’s State Council released a big directive this week on speeding up green and low-carbon development. Starting the transition to low-carbon economy is the key task for next 5yrs, in preparation for peaking CO2 and starting rapid reductions in the second half of the decade.”
  Isabel Hilton on fixing the bigger problem / The Wire China
  “The China Dialogue founder talks about China’s evolution on climate issues.”
• New cancer drugs to market
  AstraZeneca to market Junshi Bio’s PD-1 cancer drug in China / Bloomberg via Caixin
  “Under the agreement, effective Sunday, AstraZeneca will be granted the right to market Junshi’s anti-PD-1 cancer drug toripalimab for urothelial carcinoma across China, and for other cancer types in some areas, according to a news release from Junshi. The two companies will also discuss commercial cooperation in emerging markets.”

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Xinjiang and Uyghurs
  China counters Uyghur criticism with explicit attacks on women witnesses / Reuters
  “Chinese officials have named women, disclosed what they say is private medical data and information on the women’s fertility, and accused some of having affairs and one of having a sexually transmitted disease. The officials said the information was evidence of bad character, invalidating the women’s accounts of abuse in Xinjiang.”
  How Beijing uses family videos to try to discredit Uyghur advocates / HKFP
  Biden pressed for tough response to China’s repression of Uyghurs / FT (paywall)
  Canada hypocritical to label Xinjiang genocide, Chinese state newspaper says / SCMP (porous paywall)
  “‘Canada is notorious for its human rights record, but some politicians have indulged in ideological confrontation and cooked up an anti-China farce,’ read a Sunday commentary in Zhong Sheng [in Chinese], a column in party mouthpiece People’s Daily that tackles international issues. The pseudonym translates as ‘the voice of China.’”
  Disgust at China’s state-sponsored ‘Uyghurface’ in Wellington / Newsroom
  “As part of Chinese New Year celebrations, the China Cultural Centre in Wellington put on a multicultural display, which was attended by Wellington Mayor Andy Foster, and supported by Council City Housing…The new year display included New Zealand Han Chinese dancers, dressing up in the cultural dress of Uyghur Muslims, and performing a Uyghur dance.”
  Teng Biao on Twitter: “I told the #HRC46: In #Xinjiang, more than a million Turkic peoples are held in concentration camps, subject to torture and sterilization, by a government intent on destroying their ethno-religious identity. #UyghurGenocide”
  兔兒神 on Twitter: “The struggle against anti-Muslim racism and the devastating effects of the ongoing War on Terror is international, and our solidarity in that struggle must extend to its victims in China.”
• National security law enforcement in Hong Kong
  Hong Kong charges 47 democracy supporters with violating security law / NYT (porous paywall)
  Hong Kong protesters defy ban to show support for detained leaders / FT (paywall)
  Senior Beijing official calls for three ‘extremely bad’ Hong Kong opposition figures to be ‘strictly punished’ / SCMP (porous paywall)
  Hong Kong democrats facing security law charges still in court after seven hours as police arrest lawyer outside / SCMP (porous paywall)
  Britain scolds China over charging of Hong Kong activists / Reuters
  How a primary got Hong Kong activists in trouble / AP (see also an explainer from the SCMP)
  U.S. hurts whomever it claims to be on its side: Global Times editorial / Global Times (in Chinese here)
  Beijing listens to suggestions on HK political reforms / Global Times (in Chinese here)
  “Over the week, senior central government officials on Hong Kong affairs listened to views from Hong Kong society on imminent political reforms…with major consensus reached on the principle of only patriots governing Hong Kong.”
  Last week on The China Project: Beijing to further tighten grip on Hong Kong by enshrining patriotism test for public office.
• India-China border conflict: Some Indian officials are not happy
  China-India demilitarized zone upsets defense officials in Delhi / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “While the pullback has calmed tensions for the moment, some members of India’s security establishment believe the creation of non-militarized areas work in Beijing’s favor…They said China raised suspicions by objecting to an Indian proposal for both countries to patrol the area around the lake on alternate days on the grounds that it would affect Beijing’s sovereignty.”
  India suspects China may be behind major Mumbai blackout / WSJ (paywall)
  “Officials are investigating whether cyberattacks from China could have caused the power outage, an assertion that China rejects.”
  China appears to warn India: Push too hard and the lights could go out / NYT (porous paywall)
  Ananth Krishnan on Twitter: “What to make of this? Sanjay Shintre, SP, Maharashtra Cyber, tells @ThePrintIndia: ‘There is no concrete evidence Chinese hackers disrupted power…There were suspicions of Chinese involvement…Technical experts did not conclude Chinese hackers caused it.'”
  Robert M. Lee on Twitter: “Interestingly, the NYT writes: ‘Now, a new study lends weight to the idea that those two events may well have been connected’ referring to a power outage last year in India. But what’s interesting is the RF analysts don’t seem to say that noting instead a link is unsubstantiated.”
  China charges blogger who questioned official death toll in India border clash / SCMP (porous paywall)
  On The China Project last week: After successful disengagement at Pangong Lake, India-China tensions are easing.
• Foreign journalist conditions continue to worsen
  Foreign journalists in China see ‘rapid decline in media freedom’: survey / Reuters
  Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China on Twitter: “1/ The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China’s annual media freedoms report is out today: Track, Trace, Expel: Reporting on China Amid a Pandemic. For the 3rd straight year, not a single foreign correspondent said reporting conditions improved in China.”
• Canada-China relations
  Meng returns to court amid signs Canada-China standoff may ease / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Meng Wanzhou returns to court to lay out abuse-of-process claims / Caixin (paywall)
  Blinken says U.S. stands in solidarity with Canada in calling for release of two Canadians detained in China / Reuters
• South and East China Seas
  South China Sea: PLA starts month-long drill in push to modernize soldiers while resisting US operations / SCMP (porous paywall)
  Pentagon: Remarks supporting Tokyo’s claim on Diaoyu Islands sovereignty ‘were an error’ / SCMP (porous paywall)
• More backdoor COVID diplomacy
  Tokyo asks China to stop anal swab tests for COVID-19 on Japanese citizens / Reuters

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Scamming retirees
  China’s retirement home industry is plagued by ponzi schemes / NYT (porous paywall)
  The NYT reports that there are “hundreds” of known cases of retirees being scammed amid a national shortage of space in affordable retirement homes.
  See also, a story in Caixin about a company in Hunan that exploited the nursing home shortage.
• Hate crimes in the U.S. and U.K.
  Hate crime charges added in New York Chinatown stabbing case / SCMP
  University lecturer racially abused and assaulted by gang of men in Southampton / ITV News