Links for Monday, April 5, 2021

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• China to be the world’s largest video-game streaming hub
  企名片资讯|【合作伙伴】腾讯5G行业观察《2021中国云游戏市场趋势报告》 / Qiming
  Cloud gaming, a type of online gaming where games are streamed from a remote server onto a user’s device, is picking up steam in China, according to a report by Tencent and Newzoo, a gaming consultancy.
  The report concludes that China’s cloud gaming industry will grow at an annual growth rate of 138% in the next two years, compared with the global average of 101%.
• Phone-charging station giants merge to surpass Energy Monster, the industry leader
  Jiedian, Soudian merge to form biggest player in China’s power bank rental market / Yicai Global
  Jiedian and Soudian, two Shenzhen-based companies that rent out phone chargers in public places for mobile devices, are joining forces on the back of news that Energy Monster, the Shanghai-based industry leader, listed on the Nasdaq on Friday.
  The merged company will have 360 million users, more than Shanghai-based Energy Monster’s 219 million, the report said.
  According to iResearch data, the size of China’s phone-charging services market is expected to reach $17 billion by 2028, fueled by expanding smartphone usage and dependence on 5G.
• Tesla delivers a rocking first quarter following China reception
  Tesla’s first quarter deliveries beat expectations on strong China reception / Bloomberg via Caixin
  The poster child of electric vehicles delivered more cars than expected in the first quarter thanks to sales from China, where a new factory began production in January.
  Tesla delivered 184,800 cars worldwide in the first three months of the year, up from 180,570 in the fourth quarter, about 15,000 more than analysts expected. Its shares jumped 7% after the company’s first-quarter announcements.
• Japan’s cough medicine king partners with major Chinese drugmaker
  新型コロナ: 龍角散、中国大衆薬大手と提携　販売網構築へ: 日本経済新聞 / Nikkei (paywall)
  Ryukakusan, a Japanese producer of over-the-counter medicines famous for its cough drops, is partnering with China Resources Sanjiu (华润三九), one of China’s biggest drug companies, to distribute one of their products in China. The partnership marks the first time the 300-year-old Tokyo-based drug producer will establish a distribution network in China.
  Ryukakusan’s products are already enormously popular among Chinese tourists. To keep up with demand, the company invested $14 million in a plant near Narita Airport.
• No late-night gaming for minors
  China tells gaming platforms to give school kids some shuteye / Yicai Global
  “The authorities in China have ordered gaming platforms to stop underage users playing online between the hours of 10.00 p.m. and 8.00 a.m. every day to make sure primary and middle school students get enough sleep.”
• Foreign investment in China up 81% in 2020
  Foreign investment in China up 81% in 2020 / Xinhua
  Last year, China attracted $520.6 billion of foreign investment, up by 81% from 2019, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).
• H&M can’t get a break
  H&M summoned by Chinese authorities over mapping issue / WSJ (paywall)
  “Chinese authorities summoned Hennes & Mauritz AB over what they said was improper mapping on the H&M HM.B -0.68% website, adding pressure on the Swedish clothing brand as it contends with social-media rage over its stance against sourcing cotton from China’s Xinjiang region.”
• Post-COVID pharma funding
  Chinese co-developer of DNA COVID vaccine raises $66 million / Caixin (paywall)
  “Advaccine and U.S.-based vaccine-maker Inovio Pharmaceuticals are creating a shot that is easier to produce, store and ship than many of the leading coronavirus inoculations.”
• 13 huge ships
  China’s top shipbuilder just got its biggest order ever / Caixin
  “CSSC wins $1.6 billion contract to build 13 container ships, possibly for MSC Mediterranean Shipping.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• 15 new COVID cases at Yunnan border with Myanmar
  China reports biggest daily COVID-19 case jump in over 2 months / Reuters
• Vaccination push at public institutions, and incentives for broader public
  China pushes vaccine on bankers, colleges to catch up with U.S. / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “Employees of at least three state-owned banks and at least one major university who would not speak on the record said that staff have been repeatedly urged to get vaccinated, and had to provide an official reason if they declined.”
  China offers free food to spur citizens to get vaccinated / Washington Post (porous paywall)
  “Others have offered free packs of tissues, eggs, flour and grocery coupons in exchange for submitting to the shots. In Beijing’s Chaoyang district, businesses where more than 80 percent of staff have been vaccinated were given brightly decorated certificates to hang up.”
• Next steps for COVID origins inquiry
  As WHO highlights COVID animal origins, China wildlife crackdown needs more teeth – experts / Reuters
  COVID-19 investigators turn focus onto Chinese wildlife farms / SCMP (porous paywall)
• Guidelines on pregnancy and vaccination
  China tells women they don’t need to delay pregnancy after being vaccinated / SCMP (porous paywall)
  “China has changed its vaccination advice for women trying for a baby, telling them they no longer have to wait for three months after receiving the jab before trying to get pregnant…while there is a consensus that women considering pregnancy should get vaccinated, scientific opinion is divided over whether those who are already pregnant — and those at risk of serious illness — should receive the jab.”

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Japan takes a tougher line on China, speaks up for Uyghurs
  Japan calls on China to improve conditions for Uyghurs, Hong Kong / WSJ (paywall)
  “The unusually strong message from Tokyo comes shortly before Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga travels to the U.S. for a summit with President Biden on April 16…During the ninety-minute phone call on Monday, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also raised concerns with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi about the continued presence of armed Chinese coast guard vessels around islands in the East China Sea controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing.”
  Japan’s PM aims to calm China-Taiwan tension on U.S. visit / AP
  Japan sends destroyer after China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier group spotted passing Okinawa / SCMP (porous paywall)
  China warns Japan to not follow suit after US sanctions over Xinjiang, Hong Kong / SCMP (porous paywall)
• New Xinjiang propaganda: A musical, and a “documentary”
  China tries to counter Xinjiang backlash with…a musical? / NYT (porous paywall)
  China launches musical in bid to counter Uyghur abuse allegations / AFP via Guardian
  “A new state-produced musical set in Xinjiang inspired by the Hollywood blockbuster ‘La La Land’ has hit China’s cinemas, portraying a rural idyll of ethnic cohesion devoid of repression, mass surveillance and even the Islam of its majority Uyghur population.”
  Chenchen Zhang on Twitter: “The latest ‘documentary’ from CGTN claims that there was [a] large quantity of materials inciting ‘blood, violence & extremism’ in the 2003 and 2009 versions of Xinjiang’s Uyghur language textbooks. What exactly did they find? I watched the full length video”
  China Law Translate on Twitter: “In Xinjiang, official documents say those placed in centers include those ‘engaged in extremist activities…not serious enough to constitute a crime'”
• Another detailed, first-person account of the Xinjiang camps, from Anar Sabit
  Surviving the crackdown in Xinjiang / New Yorker (porous paywall)
  “For many of the new arrivals, the reeducation camp was an improvement. At the detention centers, there was not even a pretense of ‘transformation through education.’ Uyghurs and Kazakhs were brought in hooded and shackled. The women spoke of beatings, inedible food, beds stained with urine, shit, and blood. Sabit met two women who had bruises on their wrists and ankles — marks, they told her, from shackles that were never removed.”
• South Korea diplomacy
  South Korean foreign minister meets Chinese counterpart / AP
  “South Korea’s foreign minister met his Chinese counterpart in the southern Chinese city of Xiamen on Saturday, as Seoul seeks to improve ties with its top trading partner even as U.S.-China relations remain strained.”
  China and Seoul vow to cooperate on Korean Peninsula denuclearization / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “Foreign ministers agree to first high-level security talks in 6 years.”
  S.Korea minister expects China to play role in N.Korea peacemaking / Reuters
  South Korea to invite Chinese President Xi when COVID-19 stabilizes: Yonhap / Reuters
• Prospects for U.S.-China climate cooperation
  Kerry: U.S. ‘hopeful’ it can work with China to tackle climate change / Reuters
  The climate crusaders / The Wire China (paywall)
  “John Kerry and Xiè Zhènhuá 解振华 are seen as uniquely capable of getting the U.S. and China to cooperate on climate change. But when it comes to the world’s two biggest emitters, a rivalry might be just as useful.”
• Deadly accidents in eastern China
  12 dead, 4 missing after fishing boat sinks in eastern China / AP
  “A Chinese fishing boat capsized and sank early Sunday off the coast of the eastern Zhejiang province, killing at least 12 people and leaving four missing…Four of the 20 crew members were rescued alive, and search efforts were ongoing.”
  11 killed, 19 injured in China truck-bus highway collision / AP
  “The accident happened in the early hours of Sunday, with the truck crossing the central divider in the middle of a highway in the eastern province of Jiangsu and colliding with a bus traveling in the opposite direction, causing the bus to overturn.”
• Beijing warns India over Taiwan contact
  China upset as India, Taiwan exchange condolences / The Tribune India
  “India had first sent its condolences to the victims of a train crash in Taiwan which was acknowledged by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A couple of days later, Taiwan’s Foreign Office expressed its condolences on the loss of life and injuries in the Chhattisgarh ambush…In a statement, the Chinese embassy…urged the relevant Indian media to take a correct stance on issues of core interests concerning China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
  Taiwan message: New Delhi-Taipei cooperation is both mutually beneficial and a pointed signal to China / Times of India

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Anti-Asian violence in the U.S.
  Swelling anti-Asian violence: Who is being attacked where / NYT (paywall)
  “The New York Times attempted to capture a sense of the rising tide of anti-Asian bias nationwide. Using media reports from across the country, The Times found more than 110 episodes since March 2020 in which there was clear evidence of race-based hate.”
  Georgia spa-shooting victim is mourned by Chinese-American community / WSJ (paywall)
  “The Chinese-American community in Atlanta held a memorial for [Daoyou Feng] in a funeral home and then buried her ashes in a local cemetery. The events followed the wishes of Ms. Feng’s family, who were unable to come to the U.S. because of travel restrictions.”
• Little sex and no politics in Chinese stand-up
  China stand-up comics find authorities no longer get the joke / FT (paywall)
  “The Culture and Tourism Bureau released a draft of rules last year to combat the ‘weak links’ of censorship in live performances and make event organizers and clubs responsible for checking content. That came after an industry association released a 94-point list of rules for online platforms last February, including a prohibition on stand-up shows that indulged in ‘one-sided, extreme analysis of social issues.’”
  Previously on The China Project:
  In China, women stand-up comedians offend their way into the mainstream
  Feminist comedian accused of ‘inciting gender-based antagonism’ after critiquing sexist haters
  Intel China removes ad featuring female standup comedian after complaints from unhappy male internet users
• Obituary for a Dutch Sinologist
  Kristofer Schipper, influential China scholar, dies at 86 / NYT (porous paywall)
  “A native of Holland, he helped change the understanding of Chinese religion and became a Taoist priest in the process.”