Links for Friday, April 9, 2021

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Betting big on traditional Chinese clothing
  「十三余」完成过亿元A轮融资，打造年轻人“衣橱里的第一套汉服”_详细解读_最新资讯_热点事件 / 36Kr
  Thirteen Yu (十三余), a national brand that sells traditional Chinese garments known as Hanfu (汉服), completed a series A financing round of more than $15 million, reports 36Kr (in Chinese).
  Founded in Beijing in 2016, Thirteen Yu is dedicated to reintroducing Chinese culture into modern society by energizing contemporary products with a traditional Chinese flair.
  In 2020, the startup was the most popular Hanfu-style clothing brand on Taobao’s Tmall. The company boasts a total of 14 million users across its commercial platforms.
• Jailed former retail superstar is back
  Struggling former retail giant eyes comeback as founder retakes the helm / Caixin Global
  Huáng Guāngyù 黄光裕 (a.k.a. Wong Kwong-yu), previously China’s richest man, founder of Gome Retail, and a panjandrum of China’s home retail sector, revealed plans to expand the company on Wednesday, in his first remarks since his lengthy prison term.
• New property taxes coming?
  Finance Ministry to ‘actively’ push property tax legislation / Caixin Global (paywall)
• American fake meat, made in China
  Plant-based food firm Beyond Meat to open plant based in China / Caixin
  Beyond Burgers: China’s plant-based protein market maturing fast / Crain’s Chicago Business
• On-demand freight services
  Didi to expand new logistics service from 8 to 19 cities in China / Caixin Global
• Games are where the glamour’s at
  China’s film industry suffers brain drain as game developers poach talent / Caixin Global
• Managing in Africa
  Chinese companies in Africa can be flexible and adaptive in their employment strategies. / Washington Post (paywall)
• Italy closing off to Chinese tech acquisitions
  China targeted Milan semiconductor firm before Draghi’s veto / Bloomberg (paywall)

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Real-time vaccine effectiveness data from Chile
  Chile COVID-19 vaccination drive adds to Sinovac efficacy data / SCMP (porous paywall)
  “Chile has provided a real-time demonstration of the effectiveness of Chinese firm Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine, with its vaccination drive results showing it to be 56.5 percent effective two weeks after the second dose. The findings were in line with Phase 3 trial results of the vaccine in Brazil, which found an efficacy rate of around 50 percent.”
• Vaccine diplomacy
  Indonesia turns to China for more vaccines after AstraZeneca delays / Reuters
  “Indonesia is in talks with China to secure as many as 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to plug a gap in deliveries after delays in arrivals of AstraZeneca shots, the health minister said on Thursday.”
  Egypt to produce up to 80 million Sinovac vaccine doses annually, minister says / Reuters
• Infrastructure for rocket launches
  China begins construction of its fifth rocket launch site / Reuters
  China approves bid to build fifth rocket launch site as Zhejiang Province fires up for space boom / SCMP (paywall)

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• South China Sea
  Chinese navy chases Philippines’ news crew in disputed sea / Bloomberg (paywall)
  Manila confronts Beijing’s ‘utter disregard’ for law in South China Sea / FT (paywall)
  “On Thursday Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, and Teodoro Locsin, the Philippine foreign secretary, called on China to abide by the 2016 arbitration ruling at The Hague…This week Delfin Lorenzana, the Philippines defence secretary, said that China was showing an ‘utter disregard’ for international law that he described as ‘appalling.’”
• Bhutan plays down Chinese border incursions
  China, Bhutan agree to maintain border peace and stability / Global Times
  “Chinese experts said that the meeting shows Bhutan’s willingness to manage border affairs independently, rebutting India’s claims of ‘China threat,’ and reducing the risk on its eastern China-India border.”
  Related, in NYT last year: Beijing takes its South China Sea strategy to the Himalayas — “China built a village in territory also claimed by the kingdom of Bhutan, echoing its aggressive tactics at the border with India and in places much farther away.”
• U.S. formalizes new Taiwan contact guidelines
  U.S. to ease restrictions on meeting Taiwanese officials / FT (paywall)
  After the Trump administration “created confusion” by canceling Taiwan contact guidelines at the last minute and providing “little guidance” to government agencies on what they should do next, the Biden administration is issuing new policies on contact between U.S. and Taiwanese officials. The new guidelines are reportedly permissive of nearly all contacts, but still have some “guardrails.” A U.S. official told the FT: “We have brought guardrails back but they are much further apart so both sides (Beijing and Taipei) should be happy.”
  Yesterday on The China Project: U.S. debates changes in Taiwan policy as warships swirl around island.
• Myanmar diplomacy
  China in touch with ‘all parties’ in Myanmar, embassy says / Reuters
  Myanmar civilian envoy pleads with China and Russia to ‘stop’ junta / Nikkei (paywall)
• Iran diplomacy
  Parties to Iran nuclear talks see progress despite clash on sanctions / Reuters
  “Iranian officials indicated disagreement with Washington over which sanctions it must lift.”
• Hong Kong
  Hong Kong Customs reject allegations of ‘repressive, disproportionate’ action after pro-democracy retail chain raided / HKFP
  China blasts UK for granting asylum to Hong Kong activist Nathan Law / Guardian
• Tibet borders tightened in advance of “anniversary of liberation”
  Tibet issues border activity bans, strengthens control over illegal crossings / Global Times
  “Tibet is preparing to celebrate its 70th anniversary of liberation on May 23rd. The year 2021 also marks the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China.”
• Microsoft hack more sophisticated than initially thought?
  Suspected China hack of Microsoft shows signs of prior reconnaissance / WSJ (paywall)
  If the “suspected Chinese hackers mined troves of personal information acquired beforehand to carry out the attack,” as now suspected by those at Microsoft and the U.S. government investigating the attack, then it “would suggest the hackers had a higher degree of planning and sophistication than previously understood.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Hong Kong urban sketches by graphic novelist Chun Man, a.k.a. Pen So
  Etched in graphite / Neocha
• Understanding the public perception of China’s feminist movement through Zhihu
  China’s 3,500-post edit war over feminism / Sixth Tone
• China’s expanding alternative education system
  How old-school parenting is holding back alternative education / Sixth Tone
  “China’s alternative schools are helping stressed parents find a sense of community. Can they get them to stop seeing their kids as an extension of themselves?”
• Working on a construction site as a Chinese woman
  The learning curve of a female construction worker / Gushi
• Architecture
  Interview with winners of the ArchDaily China Building of the Year 2021 awards / ArchDaily