Links for Tuesday, March 9, 2021

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

The debate over what to call the atrocities in Xinjiang is the subject of a new report from a think tank in Washington, D.C. that concludes that China has “violated every single provision in the United Nations’ Genocide Convention,” CNN reports.

• The report, The Uyghur Genocide: An Examination of China’s Breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention, is exhaustively detailed.
• CNN says that “more than 50 global experts in human rights, war crimes and international law” contributed to the report, and some of those experts that agreed to be identified include: The China Project’s Xinjiang columnist Darren Byler; the lawyer Rayhan Asat, one of the hosts of last month’s Xinjiang Clubhouse conversation; and the professors Joanne Smith Finley, Rachel Harris, and Sean Roberts, to name a few.
• Also on the list, of course, is Beijing’s persona non grata Adrian Zenz (now being sued by Chinese companies for losses after he published research alleging widespread forced labor in the Xinjiang cotton industry).

We would also note that while most Xinjiang-focused scholars already agreed that China is likely committing several of the five acts specified in the United Nations’ Genocide Convention — violating any one of the convention’s provisions is enough to technically qualify as “genocide” under international law — the first one, “killing members of the group,” is not well-established as a widespread occurrence in Xinjiang.

• The Newlines report says on page 5 that there have been “reports of mass death” in Xinjiang, using the plural, but in its more full explanation on pages 26-27, only mentions “one…report of mass deaths within an internment camp,” linking to a story from the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia from 2019. That report has not been confirmed by other outlets.

This is not to downplay any of the horrors occurring in Xinjiang; The China Project has covered news from the region, and will continue to do so.

But if you are looking for a well-sourced, in-depth and up-to-date read on what life in Xinjiang is like today, in and out of the camps, we recommend instead this piece from the New Yorker: “Inside Xinjiang’s Prison State.”

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Baidu approved for Hong Kong listing — drift away from Wall Street continues
  Baidu files updated documents for second listing in Hong Kong / SeekingAlpha
  百度通过港交所上市聆讯_10%公司 / The Paper
• China Telecom phones home
  China Telecom plans Shanghai second listing after NYSE setback / Bloomberg (porous paywall, or see Reuters report)
  中国电信启动A股上市，将对外发行不超过120.93亿股 / 36kr.com
  China Telecom said it plans to use the new funding from Shanghai on the construction projects of 5G industrial internet and new infrastructure.
• Beijing urges for patience in developing 5G, chip, and other new industries
  工信部部长肖亚庆：发展5G等新兴战略产业要防止一哄而起 / Caixin (paywall)
  The head of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Xiāo Yǎqìng 肖亚庆, warned against “blind and repetitive” capacity building for new strategic industries such as silicon chip manufacturing and 5G. Xiao is ringing the alarm after many semiconductor startups sponsored by local governments went bankrupt.
• A breakout year for China’s EV makers?
  Chinese EV trio eye HK listings this year to raise combined $5 billion – sources / Reuters
  “U.S.-listed Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers Li Auto Inc, Nio Inc and Xpeng Inc plan to list in Hong Kong as soon as this year.”
  Electric vehicles will account for three out of five new cars on China’s roads by 2030, UBS forecasts / SCMP (porous paywall)
• Wobbly stocks and state intervention
  Chinese technology stocks have fallen harder than U.S. peers / WSJ (paywall)
  Chinese stocks enter correction territory / FT (paywall)
  Chinese stocks erase plunge after state funds said to intervene / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Mixed feelings from American companies in China
  U.S. companies in China say political tensions remain top concern / WSJ (paywall)
  “Half of U.S. companies are pessimistic about the effect that the bilateral relations could have on their China business over the next two years, with only 16% of respondents expressing optimism, according to the chamber’s annual Business Climate Survey.”
  U.S.-China relations: investment environment improving for American firms, AmCham survey shows / SCMP (porous paywall)
  “Overall, 83 per cent of respondents said they would maintain their existing manufacturing and sourcing in China in 2021, the same level as last year’s survey, with a mere 2 per cent saying they were considering reshoring their production or operations back to the US.”
  U.S. firms in China see growth after COVID hurt profit / Bloomberg via Caixin
  “Half of the surveyed companies said the investment environment is improving and just 12% said it is deteriorating.”
• Booming auto sales
  China’s car sales more than quadrupled in February / WSJ (paywall)
  “Retail sales of passenger cars last month more than quadrupled to 1.18 million vehicles compared with the year before, the China Passenger Car Association said Tuesday.”
• Gap to exit China market?
  Gap said to weigh sale of China business as sales lag behind / Bloomberg (porous paywall)

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Digital COVID passport
  China launches digital ‘vaccine passport’ for international travel / Caixin (paywall, or see Reuters report)
  “Electronic document accessible through WeChat shows individuals’ COVID-19 test results and inoculation status, as well as the type of shot they received.”
• Russia-China space cooperation
  Russia, China sign memorandum on lunar research station / Reuters
  Russia and China want to build a Moon station together / Axios
• Vaccine diplomacy
  Mexico to rely heavily on Chinese vaccines / AP
  “Mexico announced a huge bet on Chinese vaccines Tuesday, without making public any information about their efficacy…the Mexican government has signed agreements for 12 million doses of the yet-unapproved Sinopharm vaccine and increased to a total of 20 million doses its contracts for the Coronavac dose made by China’s Sinovac.”
  Ukraine approves China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine / Reuters
  China’s #2 at the embassy in Zimbabwe gets in a Twitter feud over vaccines with opposition youth leader and media / China-Africa Project
  Hundreds of thousands of Chinese nationals in Africa will receive COVID-19 vaccines / China-Africa Project
  More than 75% of Taiwanese will refuse Chinese COVID-19 vaccine / Focus Taiwan
  China COVID-19 Vaccines Tracker / Bridge Beijing
  The privately-run Beijing-based development consultancy Bridge Beijing has developed an interactive map that “tracks the vaccine sales and donations China and Chinese vaccine developers have made as well as the number of vaccines delivered by China.”
• Swine fever
  China reports African swine fever outbreak in Sichuan province / Reuters

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Hong Kong
  Chinese official says Hong Kong electoral changes will ‘protect’ international role / Reuters
  Former Hong Kong lawmaker lands in Australia; to continue pro-democracy work / Reuters
  “Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ted Hui has arrived in Australia where his family will settle after the Australian government provided an exemption to its closed border policy and assistance with flights.”
  Will Hong Kong’s free press survive? / Columbia Journalism Review
  Hong Kong patriotism includes party loyalty, Chinese official says / AFP via HKFP
  200 Hong Kong civil servants could face the sack after refusing to sign oath of allegiance to gov’t / HKFP
• Crime prosecution
  China gang crackdown led to tens of thousands of criminal cases / Caixin (paywall)
  “Courts dealt with over 220,000 people as part of a three-year campaign against organized crime, top judicial official revealed.”
• Poverty alleviation
  UN chief congratulates Xi on China’s success in fight against extreme poverty / Xinhua (in Chinese here)
• U.K. complains about criticism of WeChat post protesting censorship
  China summons U.K. ambassador as press freedom row intensifies over WeChat post / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Caroline Wilson on Twitter: “I stand by my article. No doubt the outgoing Chinese Ambassador to the U.K. stands by the 170+ pieces he was free to place in mainstream British media.”
  UK watchdog fines banned Chinese broadcaster CGTN over ‘forced confessions’ and Hong Kong protest coverage / SCMP (porous paywall)
• U.S.-China relations
  China and U.S. in talks for top-level relationship reset meeting in Alaska / SCMP (porous paywall)
  China says hopes U.S. will remove ‘unreasonable’ curbs on cooperation / Reuters
• South and East China Seas
  Japan considers sending in troops to help meet China’s Diaoyu challenge / SCMP (porous paywall)
  ‘Uncomfortable signal to China’: Japan’s Suga raises Hong Kong, South China Sea, Xinjiang in phone call with India’s Modi / SCMP (porous paywall)
  European navies hold stronger China deterrent than first appears / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  Hiroyuki Akita writes that “if the Europeans demonstrate their ability and willingness to project naval power in the Indo-Pacific, China will have no choice but to modify its operations plans with respect to Taiwan and the South China Sea. The Chinese military will have to assume that the U.K., France and Germany, as well as Japan and Australia, will provide some form of support to U.S. forces in the event of a conflict. This would set a higher bar for a Chinese decision on military action.”
• The cult of Guo Wengui and harassment of Chinese dissidents
  Guo Wengui, Trump, and the war on truth / Blog of Teng Biao
  Previous reporting from the Washington Post: Human rights scholar Teng Biao says Bannon friend Guo Wengui harassing him.
• Multilateral trade and investment deals
  China has ratified RCEP free trade pact, commerce minister says / Caixin (paywall)
  Europe’s biggest party set to take tougher line on China, push Taiwan investment deal / SCMP (porous paywall)
  “The European People’s Party lends support for investment agreement with Beijing, but calls for ban on goods made in ‘re-education camps.’”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• More on International Women’s Day
  This video challenging gender stereotypes went viral for Women’s Day / Radii China
  Baidu honors the Communist Party on Women’s Day / Protocol China
  Made in China Journal on Twitter: “To celebrate International Women’s Day, here is a thread with a series of article from our archives that offer insight into the plight and resistance of women in China. We start with three essays that reflect on the policies of the Chinese government…”
  Yesterday on The China Project: Chinese women lead men in personal investment and other lessons from International Women’s Day 2021.
• Why did the largest dim sum restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown close?
  Jing Fong couldn’t survive. Will Manhattan’s chinatown? / The Nation
  “Around 180 workers were on Jing Fong’s payroll; its dining room staff was the only one in Chinatown still represented by a union. But instead of celebrating a good run, the workers were outside battling for more time. On Tuesday, dozens of staffers and anti-gentrification activists protested outside Eastbank, the firm run by Jing Fong’s father-son landlords Alex and Jonathan Chu, accusing them of forcing the restaurant to close.”

Correction: Originally, the “Worth Thinking About” section of this post linked to an article by the Center for Security Policy, which said that the predecessor to the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy was linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. We have removed this reference, as the Center for Security Policy is not credible, and its article contained inaccurate information. We apologize for the error.