Links for Monday, March 22, 2021

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Musk uses Huawei playbook, saying Tesla would never spy “in China or anywhere”
  Tesla will never use its cars to spy in China, Musk says / Yicai
  Elon Musk, Tesla’s founder and CEO, said the company will in no way provide the data collected by its cars to the U.S. government, days after the Chinese military banned Tesla vehicles from military complexes.
  Musk said in a business forum held by a think tank under China’s State Council that “there’s a very strong incentive for us to be confidential with any information,” because “if Tesla used cars to spy in China or anywhere, we will get shut down.”
• The Wild East is over for data-hungry mobile apps
  China seeks to rein in mobile apps’ collection of personal data / Reuters
  Beijing continues to rein in tech companies’ use of customer data: The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said on Monday that mobile app providers cannot deny users basic access to their services if they decline to share non-essential personal information. No specific companies were named.
  CAC also listed what types of access are deemed essential for 39 types of apps, such as:
  • Ride-hailing apps can access users’ phone numbers, location, and payment information.
  • Online payment apps are allowed to collect phone numbers, ID information, and bank card numbers.
• Chinese students in the U.S. dropped 20% in 2020
  ICE report on international students in US details impact of COVID / ICE
  The number of Chinese students in the U.S. in 2020 dropped to 382,561 from 474,497 in 2019, according to new data released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The number of newly enrolled foreign students in the fall 2020 semester in the U.S. dropped 72%. China remains the largest source of foreign students in the U.S.
  • U.S.-China tensions and COVID-19 in the U.S. have led many Chinese students to consider other study-abroad destinations, but the ICE data shows that the decline is less significant than many expected.
• Carrefour China seeks independent IPO
  家乐福中国CEO田睿：未来谋求独立上市 / Sina
  Big-box store chain Carrefour China — most of which the French retail giant has sold — will seek an independent IPO, but did not disclose further details on the time and location of the public offering. The IPO plan comes 18 months after Chinese retailer Suning.com (002024.SZ) acquired 80% of Carrefour China’s stakes. Sunning itself has been under financial pressure, so the IPO may be a sign of desperation.
• BGI: A ‘merger of company, academic institution, and government’
  Jolly gene giant / The Wire China (paywall)
  “Last April, as the world fell to COVID-19, one Chinese company was there to offer a helping hand: BGI. But the line between the biotech giant and Beijing is increasingly blurry.”
• Ant marches on with new robo financial adviser
  Ant’s Alipay rolls out investment advisory platform in China / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “Ant Group Co. created an investment advisory platform on its Alipay app, allowing companies that offer robo adviser services to reach its 1 billion users.”
• Another financial opening: Wealth management services
  JPMorgan to buy $410 million stake in Chinese bank’s wealth business / WSJ (paywall)
  JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay $410 million for a 10% stake in the wealth subsidiary of China Merchants Bank.
• IPO for Quora-type website Zhihu?
  Could Chinese Q&A platform Zhihu raise $632.5 million in U.S. IPO? / Caixin
  ByteDance gaming unit agrees to acquire Mobile Legends developer / Caixin
• Ecommerce giant JD to take 51% stake in on-demand delivery platform Dada
  China’s JD.com to invest $800 million in Dada Group / Reuters

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• COVID-19 vaccine rollout in China
  China’s vaccine drive hits 75 million doses, accelerating after slow start / Caixin (paywall)
  “The figure represents a 15% increase on the previous week, but accounts for a far smaller proportion of the population than many developed nations.”
  More universities in Beijing start vaccination for students amid accelerated national immunization plan / Global Times
  Vaccinations only way out of pandemic, China tells reluctant public / Sixth Tone
• Heavy industry restrictions in Hebei
  Northern steel hub ordered to slash emissions, raising fears of higher prices / Caixin (paywall)
  “Mills in Tangshan have been told to cut emissions by up to 50% through July after a smoggy winter in nearby Beijing.”
• Vaccine diplomacy
  Egypt receives 2nd shipment of vaccine as gift from China / AP
  Egypt aims for deal to produce Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines / Reuters
  Hungary approves new Chinese vaccine, and CoviShield for emergency use / Reuters
  China donates 400,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine to Niger / Reuters
• Visa policies for entering China
  Think COVID’s messed up your travel plans? Try getting into China. / NYT (porous paywall)
  “To keep the virus out, Beijing has enacted some of the world’s toughest border controls. Lives have been upended, and business has been disrupted.”
  China steps up COVID-19 vaccination, considers differentiated visa policies / Reuters
  “Beijing is considering differentiated policies for visa issuance, flights and controls on the numbers of people arriving in China based on vaccination progress and the COVID-19 situations in different countries.”

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Kovrig trial ends with secret verdict
  Canadian ex-diplomat’s espionage trial in China ends, verdict due later / Reuters
  Michael Kovrig, Canadian accused of spying, is tried in China / NYT (porous paywall)
  “Two dozen diplomats were barred from the courtroom.”
• Beijing reassures North Korea of backing?
  Xi tells Kim Jong Un he will work for peace on peninsula / Kyodo via Nikkei Asia
  “As their ties with the United States have shown few signs of improvement soon since President Joe Biden took office in January, China and North Korea are expected to deepen their cooperation to resist political pressure from the new U.S. administration.”
  Xi says China ready to work with DPRK to preserve peace on Korean Peninsula / Xinhua (in Chinese here)
• U.S.-China relations after Alaska meeting
  China, U.S. to work on climate, Beijing says after rancorous meeting / Reuters
  “China and the United States will set up a joint working group on climate change, China’s official Xinhua news agency said, in a potentially positive takeaway from what was an unusually rancorous high-level meeting.”
  U.S., China climate envoys to meet despite frosty Alaska talks / WSJ (paywall)
  China says China-U.S. talks were candid, constructive and beneficial / Reuters
  “China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, said two days of talks with the United States in Alaska that ended on Friday were candid, constructive and beneficial, while adding: “But of course, there are still differences,” China’s CGTN television network reported.”
  U.S. officials say talks with China useful, but do not highlight any concrete outcomes / Reuters
  “Senior U.S. officials briefing reporters after the Biden administration’s first high-level face-to-face talks with China said the meetings that ended on Friday had been useful, but they did not highlight any concrete agreements, even in areas of common interest.”
  The Biden administration’s path forward for U.S.-China relations after confrontations in Anchorage / Washington Post (porous paywall)
  “Their deliberations, though, were more that of two powers setting out the terms of future confrontation, rather than cooperation. The Biden administration has made clear that Beijing’s perception of America in inexorable decline is misguided and that the United States sees itself locked in intense competition with China — particularly in the realms of cyberconflict and technological innovation — for years to come.”
  Biden clashes with China and Russia in first 60 days / NYT (porous paywall)
  “Part of the goal of the Alaska meeting was to convince the Chinese that the Biden administration is determined to compete with Beijing across the board to offer competitive technology, like semiconductor manufacturing and artificial intelligence, even if that means spending billions on government-led research and development projects, and new industrial partnerships with Europe, India, Japan and Australia.”
  “Sometime in the next few days to weeks, Mr. Biden’s aides say, the United States will respond” to both Chinese and Russian cyberattacks, the NYT reports.
  Analysis: After Alaska, open show of disagreement ‘new normal’ in China-U.S. relations / Caixin (paywall)
  Sellers of t-shirts, phone cases make most of China’s diplomatic riposte / Reuters
  Beijing urges U.S. to protect Chinese nationals after Atlanta shootings / Caixin
  NYU Shanghai seeking answers after police detain 9 students / AP
  U.S. and China clash at UN meeting on combatting racism / AP
• South China Sea
  Philippines says 220 Chinese boats have encroached in South China Sea / Reuters
  China denies incursion as 200 ships dock at Philippine reef / AP
• Hong Kong
  Democracy activists freed from Chinese jail back in custody in Hong Kong / Reuters
  Hong Kong’s arts scene shudders as Beijing draws cultural red line / Guardian
  NPCSC to revise Hong Kong Basic Law Annexes, implementing NPC’s electoral overhaul decision / NPC Observer
  Hong Kong pro-Beijing group claims over 2.38 million signatures in support of electoral changes / HKFP
• Bombing in outskirts of Guangzhou
  Man detonates explosives near Chinese city, killing four / Reuters

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• U.S. reckoning on anti-Asian bias
  Protests across U.S. call for end to anti-Asian violence / WSJ (paywall)
  Foreigners in their own country: Asian Americans at State Department confront discrimination / Politico
• Social media gossip about Alaska U.S.-China talks
  About Yang Jiechi’s instant noodle lunch at the U.S.-China talks in Alaska / What’s on Weibo
  The online hit of the China-U.S. meeting in Alaska: Interpreter Zhang Jing / What’s on Weibo
  ‘Beautiful translator’ at China-U.S. summit determined to work in diplomacy and was known as ‘little Zhao Wei,’ say former teacher and students / SCMP (porous paywall)
• Archaeology
  Latest haul from 5,000-year-old site shines light on Sichuan’s ancient culture / Caixin (paywall)
  “Discoveries in ‘sacrificial pits’ include a large gold mask, bird-shaped ornaments and 120 pieces of ivory.”
• Sports doping regulations
  China mulls lifetime sports bans for dopers / Sixth Tone