Links for Thursday, March 11, 2021

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

Is the “lab leak” theory really credible? Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin makes the case for the fringe COVID-19 origin theory in a section of his upcoming book, based largely on conversations with former Trump administration officials.

Eric Hundman, a professor at NYU Shanghai, reminds us that there are good reasons why a lab leak is not the dominant theory. “No responsible student of COVID’s origins would categorically rule out a lab leak hypothesis; we lack sufficient evidence to do so. But Rogin’s piece fails to make the positive case for a leak, because it makes the elementary mistake of ignoring more plausible alternatives…”

• Read his whole Twitter thread.
• Note that while the WHO has said that “all hypotheses remain open and require further analysis and studies,” experts such as U.S. animal disease specialist Peter Daszak, who was part of the WHO team to visit Wuhan, see a “clear link and a potential pathway” for COVID to transmit from animals to humans, no labs required.
• See also, in Science: ‘Politics was always in the room.’ WHO mission chief reflects on China trip seeking COVID-19’s origin.

Alibaba will be fine as long as Jack Ma is quiet, according to new reporting by Keith Zhai and Lingling Wei in the Wall Street Journal. Alibaba will “face softer treatment than its Ant affiliate, provided it distances itself from founder Jack Ma,” they report, adding:

Alibaba now faces a two-pronged challenge: correcting the anticompetitive behavior alleged by regulators and adhering to the government’s political agenda…

While painful, none of the measures under consideration would come close to crippling the company, whose businesses include online retail, entertainment, media and cloud computing. Unlike Ant, which regulators viewed as a disrupter and a threat to the stability of the financial system Alibaba is considered the pride of China, a showcase for technology innovation that also is vital to the nation’s economy.

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• LinkedIn China pauses user signups: Trouble for the only U.S. social platform with a real Chinese business?
  An update on LinkedIn China / LinkedIn Pressroom
  Professional networking platform LinkedIn said it will pause new user sign-ups from China, saying the company is working “to ensure we remain in compliance with local law.”
  • LinkedIn operates in China where it agreed to adhere to state censorship rules, and now has 52 million users.
  • The move comes after LinkedIn’s parent company Microsoft last week said China-based hackers had conducted a cyber attack on its Microsoft Exchange server that affected at least 60,000 victims.
• Chinese and U.S. chipmakers trying to cut a deal?
  China semiconductor trade association establishes work group with U.S. counterpart / Reuters
  The Chinese Semiconductor Industry Association, a trade group for China’s chip industry, said it will build a working group with its U.S.-based counterpart Semiconductor Industry Association to address global semiconductor shortages.
  • The two associations, each represented by 10 chip companies, will meet twice a year to discuss issues such as export control, supply chain safety, encryption, and trade restrictions.
  • The announcement led to a 12.4% surge of China’s top chipmaker, the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation.
• How Chinese people get their money out of China
  From crypto to offshore accounts: tactics used to get cash out of China / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  Bloomberg outlines three ways Chinese people get their money out of the country to save or invest abroad:
  • Peer-to-peer arrangements with someone who wants to get money into China, then transfer yuan to their account in China as they transfer the equivalent in foreign currency to an account abroad.
  • Find ways to buy bitcoin and other virtual currencies in China and then exchange abroad for the currency of the destination country.
  • Overpay for an overseas asset with money legally transferred abroad for the purchase, and arrange with the seller to receive a kickback.
• Sunny economic signals
  China’s February credit expansion beats expectations / Caixin
  “New lending totaling $209 billion in a typically slow month indicates continuing momentum for economic recovery.”
  China’s JD.com cashes in on steady online demand, beats market expectations / Reuters
• If the walls at CLSA could tell tales department
  Ex-CLSA banker accuses firm of wrongdoing on Chinese bond deal
• Supply chain and outsourcing shifts
  Foxconn set to make iPhone 12 in India, shifting from China / KrAsia
  ANZ Bank to shift roles, cut jobs at service center in China / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Self-driving cars and trucks
  Baidu wins $16.1 million bid to upgrade roads for autonomous driving in Chengdu / KrAsia
  Autonomous truck startup Inceptio powers up new autopilot system / Caixin (paywall)
• Chinese auto disruptor to get into U.S on-demand cars?
  Geely’s Lynk & Co. sets sights on U.S. for car sharing concept / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• Australian coal still not really welcome
  China’s coal imports from Russia may increase as supply from Australia ‘expected to decline’ / SCMP
  Ship forced to wait 269 days unloads Australian coal in China / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• The challenges of building ultra-high voltage power networks
  Untangling the crossed wires of China’s ‘Super Grid’ / Sixth Tone
  “According to China Energy News, many UHV lines are running at just a bit more than 60% of their design capacity due to technological limits and conflicts of interests between power generators, grid companies, and local governments.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Less coal on the Belt and Road?
  China turns its back on Bangladesh BRI coal projects / FT (paywall)
  “In a letter seen by the Financial Times, China’s embassy to Bangladesh informed the local Ministry of Finance that ‘the Chinese side shall no longer consider projects with high pollution and high energy consumption, such as coal mining [and] coal-fired power stations’.”
• Vaccine diplomacy
  IOC and China make vaccine deal for Tokyo, Beijing Olympians / AP
  Brazil asks Chinese embassy for help securing extra COVID-19 vaccines: document / Reuters
  “Brazil has asked the Chinese embassy to help secure 30 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine from China to ensure its inoculation program does not grind to a halt, according to a document seen by Reuters.”
  Vaccine diplomacy is paying off for China / Foreign Affairs
  Yanzhong Huang writes, “Beijing hasn’t won the soft-power stakes, but it has an early lead.”
• Advisory panel of 42 experts will try to address China’s world-leading childhood myopia rate
  Expert committee sets sights on China’s myopia crisis / Sixth Tone
• Dams in Tibet
  China’s parliament approves Five-Year Plan to build dam on Brahmaputra in Tibet region / The Print

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Tough-on-China politics in the U.S.
  President Biden’s second big bill may be China package pushed by top Senate Democrat / Washington Post
  U.S. Senate panel chairman hopes for vote on China measures as soon as April / Reuters
  “Senator Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Tuesday he hoped the Senate could vote as soon as April on a sweeping bi-partisan package of legislation to address threats from China.”
  A tough-on-China GOP is split on whether to boycott the China Olympics / Politico
  “Some Republicans want to pull out, but others say there are better ways to highlight Beijing’s human rights abuses.”
• Xinjiang and Uyghurs
  Norway wealth fund to probe whether firms could be using forced labour from China’s Xinjiang / Reuters
  Chinese pressure upends Uyghur refuge in Turkey / France 24
  Sister of Uyghur entrepreneur believed to be detained in China urges Biden to act over ‘unspeakable injustice’ / CNN
• Taiwan
  U.S. warship transits Taiwan Strait, third under Biden administration / Focus Taiwan
• India-China border conflict
  Beijing replicates its South China Sea tactics in the Himalayas / The Strategist
  China’s LAC activities will deepen India’s engagement with Quad, says top Pentagon commander / The Print
  Reading China’s Foreign Minister’s Press Conference, dams on the Brahmaputra, and bureaucracy in India and China / The India-China Newsletter

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Survey says 30% of Chinese consumers spend over $61/month on milk tea
  Is milk tea Chinese millennials’ avocado toast? / Caixin
• Noodle vendor in rural Shandong gains internet fame for not raising prices in 15 years
  ‘Ramen brother’ farmer in China selling 46 US cents noodles becomes internet celebrity / SCMP (porous paywall)
• An American pilot living in Chongqing
  U.S. mom flying high to a new life / Shanghai Daily
• 100 Trump Buddha statues for sale on Taobao
  Chinese entrepreneur sells pensive Donald Trump Buddha statues / Guardian
  “China’s state-owned Global Times paper first reported on the product and spoke to the seller, based in Xiamen, Fujian province, who is promoting the statue with the slogan ‘Make your company great again!’ The seller said they had already sold ‘dozens’ of the 100 statues manufactured so far.”