Links for Tuesday, April 6, 2021

WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Pieces of news or analysis that caught our eye:

What is the objective of human rights sanctions? If it is simply to raise awareness of abuses, then the many rounds of U.S. sanctions over the abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, plus the coordinated condemnations from the EU and others last month, have been quite effective at that.

But if Western countries want to actually change China’s behavior, they should take a different approach, argues the scholar David Brophy in the Guardian:

Sanctions send a signal that the world is watching. But if they are to be in any way effective, the sanctioned have to believe that changes to their behavior will lead to some improvement in relations. There’s little chance of Beijing forming this view, given the state of Sino-western relations…

That requires us to sharply differentiate today’s concern for the well-being of the Uyghurs from the U.S. strategy to preserve its “diplomatic, economic, and military preeminence” in Asia…

Western governments don’t go anywhere near China’s lengths, of course, but their policies reflect the same Islamophobic principle that situates Muslims along a “pathway to radicalization.” And while critical of Beijing, they lend their support to harsh policies elsewhere in the name of fighting “terrorism”…

For the west to generate political pressure on this point, its own anti-Muslim practices need to end. We need to delegitimize our own failed and counterproductive war on terror and the global securitocracy it has given rise to — and situate criticisms of China within that effort…

“If the West is capable of launching a global war on terror, why should it not be able to organize a similarly global campaign to undo the damage that war has done?” asks Brophy. “This is what we should be calling on our politicians to lead, and they should be pressing China to join it.”

Kuzzat Altay, president of the Uyghur American Association, completely disagrees: Here he is talking about sanctions in an NPR interview.

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Chinese DNA COVID shot raises $66 million with U.S. partner
  Chinese co-developer of DNA COVID vaccine raises $66 million / Caixin (paywall)
  Beijing Advaccine Biotechnology, a vaccine maker that is developing a DNA COVID-19 vaccine with U.S.-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc., has raised $66 million in new funding.
  Advaccine’s coronavirus vaccine candidate is already in phase 2 clinical trials.
• An unglamorous fall for Pinduoduo’s rival
  曾比肩拼多多，如今市值不到5亿美金，这家社交电商怎么了?_详细解读_最新资讯_热点事件 / 36k
  Before Pinduoduo, the online shopping giant now a rival to Alibaba, there was Yunji, the first “social e-commerce” platform whose stock price on the Nasdaq dropped 85% since its IPO in May 2018. Last week, Yunji released fourth-quarter earnings of $200 million, a 54% decrease from the year prior. Pinduoduo, meanwhile, reported $4 billion in the same period, a 126% increase from the year prior.
• Japan retail giant partners teams up with Chinese AI startup
  Japan’s Daiei to open unmanned supermarket with Chinese startup / Nikkei Asia
  Daiei, Japan’s largest supermarket chain, is partnering with Cloudpick, a Chinese tech startup, to open a cashier-less supermarket in Tokyo.
• China’s digital economy remains prone to abuse
  Chinese public wait for consumer protection to catch up with ecommerce / SCMP (porous paywall)
  “Beijing attaches great importance to consumption to drive growth. But consumer protection has not matched the country’s rapid economic advance.”
• China asked banks to reduce loans to avoid financial risk
  China is said to ask banks to curtail loans for rest of year / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “China’s central bank asked the nation’s major lenders to curtail loan growth for the rest of this year after a surge in the first two months stoked bubble risks, according to people familiar with the matter.”
• Autonomous taxis in Beijing
  Pony.ai to offer robotaxi service in Beijing / PingWest
  “Pony.ai plans to expand its robotaxi service to Beijing, Chinese state-owned media China Daily reported. The autonomous driving company now has Robotaxi fleets in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and California.”
• Facebook and Google create underwater cable to Singapore
  Facebook and Google underwater cable protect U.S. tech from China / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “Facebook and Google are seeking to build underwater cables connecting the U.S. to Singapore…They’re being backed by Google and Facebook Inc. and they’ll take a novel route that ensures they steer well clear of China. The projects reveal the extent to which parts of the world are growing warier of China and more dependent upon the U.S. tech giants.”
• Tomb-Sweeping Day holiday tourism at 95% of pre-pandemic levels
  China tourism surges close to pre-pandemic levels during holiday weekend / Caixin (paywall)
• Xinjiang cotton dumpster fire
  China’s anger at foreign brands helps local rivals / NYT (porous paywall)
  Chinese ‘limited edition’ sneakers soar after Xinjiang backlash / Reuters
  Global brands find it hard to untangle themselves from Xinjiang cotton / NYT (porous paywall)
  Earlier on The China Project: H&M faces boycott in China over year-old Xinjiang cotton ban; Everyone is in a rush to escape the dumpster fire that is the Xinjiang cotton crisis.
• The digital yuan
  China creates its own digital currency, a first for major economy / WSJ (paywall)
  “A cyber yuan stands to give Beijing power to track spending in real time, plus money that isn’t linked to the dollar-dominated global financial system.”
• Podcasts and social audio apps
  Chinese podcast giant Lizhi brings Clubhouse-like interactive audio to Tesla rival Xpeng / SCMP (porous paywall)
• Evergrande in debt forever?
  Evergrande’s debt by any other name / WSJ (paywall)
• Financial industry corruption
  Hidden bonuses bring down Shanghai Clearing House ex-boss / Nikkei (paywall)
  Shanghai Exchange condemns tycoon who fled ahead of bond default / Caixin (paywall)

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Vaccine diplomacy
  Mexico minister plans visits to Russia, China, India, U.S. over vaccines / Reuters
  China to donate 150,000 Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine doses to El Salvador / Reuters
  “El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said on Sunday that China will donate 150,000 Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine doses to the Central American nation, on top of the 2 million Sinovac jabs his government already purchased.”
• Outbreak and mass COVID testing in Ruili, Yunnan
  Chinese border city reports 112 coronavirus cases after mass testing / Sixth Tone
• Space research and collaboration
  Russia continues discussions with China on lunar exploration cooperation / SpaceNews
  China’s premier astronomy and planetary resources lure foreign collaborators / Science

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Beijing warns Japan over hardening foreign policy stance
  China tells Japan not to side with U.S. in ‘great power rivalry’ / Caixin (paywall)
  Wáng Yì 王毅 “also warned his Japanese counterpart not to interfere in China’s domestic affairs, including issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong. ‘Don’t extend your hand too far,’” Wang said in a statement (in Chinese).
  Wang’s remarks “came ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s upcoming visit to Washington for a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden” on April 16.
  De-facto stern warning from Beijing towards Tokyo ahead of Suga’s meeting with Biden / Pekingnology
  Japan eyes F-35 deployment in south for Senkaku defense / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “Kyushu air base cited as ‘leading candidate’ for new jets, with focus on China.”
• Americans “wish to discuss” Beijing Olympics boycott with allies
  2022 Beijing Olympics: U.S. considering joining boycott, state department says / CNBC
  “‘It [a joint boycott] is something that we certainly wish to discuss,’ State spokesman Ned Price told reporters when asked about the Biden administration’s plans ahead of the international games…‘A coordinated approach will not only be in our interest but also in the interest of our allies and partners,’ he added.”
• Turkish politicians and Chinese diplomats spar over 1990 “uprising” in Xinjiang
  Chinese ambassador to Turkey summoned over response to Uyghur claims: source / Reuters
  “The politicians, IYI Party leader Meral Aksener and Ankara mayor Mansur Yavas of the main opposition CHP, had marked what they called the 31st anniversary of a brief uprising by Uyghurs against the government in China’s far west…Aksener and Yavas are seen as potential rivals to President Tayyip Erdogan in elections slated for 2023.”
  Turkey summons China’s envoy over Uyghur tweets / AFP via SCMP (porous paywall)
  “Turkey on Tuesday summoned China’s ambassador after his office took to social media to denounce two top Turkish politicians over their criticism of Beijing’s crackdown on Uygurs in Xinjiang…Accounts of those events [in 1990] vary but they are believed to have been followed by mass arrests of Uygurs, tens of thousands of whom have since taken refuge in Turkey.”
• South China Sea: Duterte plays down Whitsun Reef spat
  Philippines’ Duterte calls for peaceful resolution of China boats impasse / Reuters
  South China Sea: Beijing accuses Philippines of ‘hype’ over Chinese fleet at Whitsun Reef / SCMP (porous paywall)
  U.S. Navy strike group entered South China Sea on April 4: U.S. Navy / Reuters
  Yesterday on The China Project: The Philippines is fed up with China’s ‘maritime militia’.
• Taiwan
  China says carrier group exercising near Taiwan, drills will become regular / Reuters
• U.S. science research policies still apparently unchanged since Trump years
  U.S. universities call for clearer rules on science espionage amid China crackdown / Nature
  “As the National Institutes of Health begins implementing Trump-era guidelines, researchers voice concerns over transparency and racial profiling.”
  U.S. judge tosses claims by Chinese-born professor over arrest / AP
  “Nine of 10 counts in the lawsuit by physics professor Xi Xiaoxing were dismissed…and his lawyers said the final count regarding surveillance of Xi would be dealt with in a separate decision.”
• Uyghurs, Xinjiang, Olympics, tankies
  Olympic committee gave uniform contract to company with Xinjiang ties / Axios
  Human rights lawyer: Genocide in Xinjiang is “crystal clear” / Axio
  Why does the anti-imperial left so often end up denying genocide? / Byline Times
• Labor activism
  Release delivery workers’ spokesperson Chen Guojiang / China Worker

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Mourning the Atlanta victims
  Asian Americans hold service for Atlanta spa shooting victim with no local family / Atlanta Journal-Constitution
  Féng Dàoyǒu 冯道友 “had no family in America and had evidently only been in the Atlanta area for a couple months. Relatives in China couldn’t travel to Georgia because of the pandemic, and her mother is in poor health. But Charlie Li of the Atlanta Chinese American Alliance, the good Samaritan group that organized the funeral, told what little of Feng’s story he’s been able to glean from anguished phone calls with her family.”
• Five feature profiles for Sixth Tone’s fifth anniversary
  Changemakers / Sixth Tone
  “For Sixth Tone’s fifth anniversary, we revisit some of the issues and individuals central to our first half-decade covering today’s China, profiling five people from various backgrounds who have shifted mindsets and reshaped discourse.”
• Andrew Yang, front-runner for NYC mayor, and his Asian-American identity
  Andrew Yang’s Asian American superpower / Politico
  Tina Nguyen writes, “Yang finally opened up over lunch, the two of us chatting fluently to each other in the shorthand of Asian immigrant kids — me, the Vietnamese American smartass from Boston’s South Shore, and him, the sunny child of Taiwanese academics who settled in Westchester County. We talked about Asian American bloggers, John Cho, classic anime and Korean martial arts; we griped over people automatically assuming we were from California…No matter how much we had in common, though, there were enormous chasms between our views on how America worked.”