Links for Tuesday, March 16, 2021

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Baidu, zombie no longer?
  Baidu gets China’s first permit to charge robotaxi users / Yicai
  Baidu’s AI chip unit completes new funding as Beijing aims for semiconductor self-sufficiency / Caixin (paywall)
  Related, from Reuters last week: China’s Baidu to sell around 4% of shares in HK listing: sources.
• Signal down in China
  Rising encrypted app Signal is down in China / TechCrunch
  China appears to have blocked the popular encrypted instant messenger Signal today. The app was one of the few Western messaging services that remained accessible without using a virtual private network (VPN).
• Vanguard Group bets on Ant Group venture
  Vanguard hits pause on fund ambitions in China / WSJ (paywall, or see Reuters report)
  “The firm is focusing its China strategy around a venture with financial-technology firm Ant Group Co. that builds investment portfolios for consumers. The venture fits with Vanguard’s broader ambitions to grow by providing financial advice at a fraction of rivals’ costs. Vanguard said it believes the firm can offer investors more value by delivering financial advice through the venture rather than competing in a crowded fund market.”
• Ant is still very, very valuable
  Investors value China’s Ant Group at over $200 billion after IPO halt – sources / Reuters
  “The number is about a third above Ant’s valuation after its last fundraising in 2018 when it emerged as the world’s most-valuable unlisted tech firm, yet is far below the $315 billion it touted for what was set to be the world’s largest IPO.”
• Jollibee Foods to expand in China
  Philippine fried chicken king targets expansion after COVID / Bloomberg via Caixin
  “Some 80% of 2021’s new stores will be ‘equally split’ overseas among China, North America and Southeast Asia.”
• Privacy on iPhones
  China’s tech giants test way around Apple’s new privacy rules / FT (paywall, or see 9To5Mac summary)
  “Some of China’s biggest technology companies, including ByteDance and Tencent, are testing a tool to bypass Apple’s new privacy rules and continue tracking iPhone users without their consent to serve them targeted mobile advertisements.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• COVID origins investigation
  Full Text: Joint China-WHO press conference of WHO-convened Global Study of Origins of SARS-Cov-2 / Xinhua
• Natural reservoirs of coronaviruses in China
  Wildlife farms in China likely source of pandemic, say WHO investigators / NPR
  China’s Yunnan vows ecological ‘security barrier’ to limit disease risks / Reuters
  “In the border district of Xishuangbanna in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, the global pandemic has put residents of the small ethnic minority village of Mandian under pressure to change old habits.”
• Carbon cost of Brazilian beef imports
  Eating up the rainforest: China’s taste for beef drives exports from Brazil / Guardian
  “Almost 70% of China’s Brazilian meat imports came from the Cerrado, the vast tropical savanna region, and the Amazon in 2017…About half of the Cerrado and about 20% of the Brazilian Amazon have been cleared — with a devastating impact on global heating as both are important carbon sinks.”

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Reaction to Chinese factory attacks in Myanmar
  China tells state firms in Myanmar to evacuate non-essential staff / SCMP (porous paywall)
  Yesterday on The China Project: Beijing ‘deeply concerned’ for safety of Chinese in Myanmar after factories set ablaze.
• U.S., Japan, and U.K. talk tough on China
  U.S. Secretaries of State, Defense push back against China in Tokyo trip / WSJ (paywall, or see Reuters report)
  “‘China uses coercion and aggression to systematically erode autonomy in Hong Kong, undercut democracy in Taiwan, abuse human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet, and assert maritime claims in the South China Sea that violate international law,’ Mr. Blinken said at a news conference. ‘We will push back if necessary on China’s coercions or aggressions.’”
  Visiting Japan, top U.S. envoys set combative tone for China talks / NYT (porous paywall)
  Top U.S., Japan officials say China’s behaviour inconsistent with international order / Reuters
  Japan, U.S. share serious concerns over tensions in South China Sea: Kishi / Reuters
  U.S. and Japan express ‘serious concerns’ over China coast guard law / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  U.K. seeks more influence in Indo-Pacific as ‘moderating impact’ on China / Reuters
  U.K. wants positive China links but values come first, says foreign minister / Reuters
• Australia-China ties, and whether the U.S. can improve them
  Avoid media spats with China and protect Australian interests, Julie Bishop says / Guardian
  U.S. tells China to improve ties with Australia: U.S. official / Reuters
  “In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, the U.S. president’s Indo-Pacific coordinator, Kurt Campbell, said China’s ‘economic coercion’ of Australia had been raised in every meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials and ‘will be underscored in interactions in Anchorage later this week.’”
  Darren Lim on Twitter: “To me, that Campbell went on the record now, basically putting Beijing in a corner, is evidence of pessimism on the U.S. side that anything can be achieved. If they were optimistic, they would make these demands behind the scenes…”
• China tries to charm, intimidate Europe over Uyghur camps
  China: Xinjiang camps take similar approach to U.S., U.K., France / Politico
  “China’s Ambassador to the EU Zhang Ming said on Tuesday that his country’s ‘deradicalization centers’ for Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang are ‘not entirely different’ from those found in Britain, France and the U.S.”
  China warns European Union against human rights sanctions / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
• The U.S. debates Taiwan
  Max Hastings: China might defeat America in war over Taiwan / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  U.S.-Taiwan relations: Biden administration gives green light to exports of key submarine technology / SCMP (porous paywall)
  U.S. warns of China’s growing threat to Taiwan / Politico
  Julian Ku on Twitter: “Some confusing and somewhat inaccurate statements about Taiwan make me wonder if this Politico article’s internal Biden admin sources understand U.S. Taiwan policy all that well.”
  Chinese envoy’s letter to French senator over Taiwan island trip plan a ‘measured heads-up’ / Global Times

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Changzhou, Jiangsu, offers cash rewards for tips on domestic violence
  Saying domestic abuse not a family matter, city pays for tips / Sixth Tone
• Chinese representation at the Oscars
  Chinese film, Asian actors and directors get historic Oscar nods / Sixth Tone
  Chloé Zhao is first Chinese woman nominated for Best Director at the Oscars / NYT (porous paywall)
  On The China Project last week: Following nationalist backlash, Chloé Zhao finds no place in China for her ‘Nomadland.’