Links for Tuesday, January 18, 2022
BUSINESS NEWS FROM SUPCHINA A.M.:
- The Huawei founder is bullish despite ongoing U.S. sanctions, say media reports (in Chinese), after Rรฉn Zhรจngfฤi ไปปๆญฃ้ gave his first public comments since his daughter returned to China, in a letter circulating on the internet: โAlthough it is winter now, spring is coming soon,โ said the 77-year-old CEO, who started Huawei in 1987.
- There is no real market for secondhand electric cars, and dealers do not know how to handle them, at least not yet, according to a new report (in Chinese) that surveyed used car and EV dealers around China.
- Kuaishou, one of the biggest short-video players, has selected Jฤซn Bวng ้็ง as its chief financial officer in the latest corporate shakeup for a company suffering heavy losses.
- The NYSE has notified Best, a Chinese logistics services provider, that it will be delisted after its share price fell below $1 for more than 30 trading days straight. The company has struggled to stay afloat in the fiercely competitive logistics sector.
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Additional business and technology links:
Alibaba probed by U.S. over data privacy, China fears
U.S. examining Alibaba’s cloud unit for national security risks / Reuters
Alibabaโs cloud business is under review by the Biden administration to determine whether it is a U.S. national security risk โ specifically on how the company stores client data and whether the Chinese government could gain access to it.
China posts record trade surplus, but fears persist over slowing economy
Chinaโs trade surplus hits annual record as exports soar 30% / FT (paywall)
Chinaโs economy is slowing, a worrying sign for the world / NYT (paywall)
โEconomic output climbed 4 percent in the last quarter of 2021, slowing from the previous quarter. Growth has faltered as home buyers and consumers become cautious.โ
China sounds alarm on slowing economy as key political risk / Bloomberg (paywall)
โChinaโs top law-enforcement body identified global inflation and slowing domestic growth as key political risks, a rare warning about the economy from one of the ruling Communist Partyโs most powerful organizations.โ
Xi warns of threats to global recovery / FT (paywall)
Chinaโs slowing growth will have a global impact / FT (paywall)
The FT editorial board writes: โEach element of [Chinaโs] crackdown, on industries from fintech to online gaming, appears to reflect a strongly-held official conviction.โ
Macau lets U.S. firms keep their gaming licenses
Macau casino shares rally after gaming law offers reprieve to U.S. companies / FT (paywall)
โMacau casino stocks shot higher after officials said they would maintain the number of licenses available to gaming operators in the territory, ending years of uncertainty for U.S. companies in the Asian gambling hub.โ
Macau’s draft gaming bill outlines tighter control of casinos, junkets / Reuters
ByteDance expands into ticketing and comics
ByteDance acquires two new entertainment companies / TechNode
โChinese tech unicorn ByteDance has acquired cinema ticketing platform Yingtuobang and online comics service Yizhikan Comics to further ramp up its push into the entertainment market.โ
Self-driving cars and EV batteries
BYD partners with Nuro to build driverless delivery vehicles / TechNode
BYDโs $61 million Chile lithium deal hits the rocks / Caixin (paywall)
BYDโs multimillion-dollar lithium mining deal with Chile โhas been suspended by a local court, just two days after the Chinese electric-car and battery maker won a quota of 80,000 tons of the sought-after metal.โ
China’s robotaxis charged ahead in 2021 / TechCrunch
TechCrunch breaks down the progress of Chinaโs big robotaxi operators โ AutoX, Baidu, Deeproute.ai, Didi, Momenta, Pony.ai, and WeRide โ in 2021.
Tesla buys Mozambique graphite to reduce dependence on China
Tesla inks deal to get key battery component outside China / AP
โElon Muskโs company signed an agreement last month with Australiaโs Syrah Resources, which operates one of the worldโs largest graphite mines in the southern African country.โ
The rapid fall of Chinaโs mutual aid industry
How Chinaโs health-care mutual aid industry folded in just three years / Caixin (paywall)
China craves American lobster
Pandemic hasnโt slowed Chinaโs love for U.S. lobster / AP
โAmerican exporters sent more than 13.2 million pounds of lobster to China during the first 11 months of 2021, about 6% more than last year.โ
JD and Shopify pair up to grow overseas ecommerce
Shopify and Chinaโs JD.com team up to capture cross-border sellers / TechCrunch
JD, Shopify to help U.S. merchants sell in China / AP
Shopify, JD.com pair up in China as ecommerce competition intensifies / Reuters
Volkswagenโs Tianjin plant partially resumes after COVID suspension
Volkswagen Group China’s component factory in Tianjin resumes some shifts / Reuters
Starbucks pairs with Meituan to deliver coffee in China
Starbucks ties up with Meituan to bolster presence in crucial China market / Reuters
Xiaomi names Yรบ Lรฌguรณ ไบ็ซๅฝ as head of EV unit
Xiaomi hires former BAIC executive for its electric car project / TechNode
โXiaomi has hired Yรบ Lรฌguรณ ไบ็ซๅฝ, a former senior executive at state-owned automaker BAIC Motor, to lead its autonomous electric vehicle (EV) project.โ
Suicide of top booze brand exec
Death of top Moutai sales executive under investigation / Caixin (paywall)
SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:
Hong Kong to cull thousands of hamsters over COVID fears
Hong Kong to cull over 1,000 hamsters after Delta flare / Bloomberg (paywall)
- Nearly a dozen hamsters imported from the Netherlands and sold at a local pet store called Little Boss tested positive for the Delta COVID variant.
- All 34 pet shops that sell hamsters in Hong Kong were shut down for further testing and cleaning. People who recently purchased hamsters were ordered to turn them over to authorities, and more than 100 people who visited Little Boss are being sent to quarantine camps.
Companies deal with COVID in Hong Kong
Hong Kong police arrest two ex-flight attendants over COVID-19 rule breach / Reuters
HSBC splits Hong Kong team to different locations to manage quarantine risks / Bloomberg (paywall)
China suspends more U.S. flights to Shanghai
China aviation regulator suspends eight more incoming U.S. flights / Reuters
For COVID reasons, โChina’s aviation regulator on Tuesday suspended another eight incoming U.S. flights by U.S. airlines, bringing the total cancellation this year to 84.โ
China suspends more international flights to Shanghai / Caixin (paywall)
The economic risks of environmental destruction
Safeguarding nature can avert $9 trillion risk to Chinaโs economy, study says / Caixin (paywall)
A new study by the World Economic Forum said that โmore than $9 trillion of the countryโs annual economic output โis at risk of disruptionโ due to its dependence on natural ecosystems and their services.โ
Chinaโs delivery packing compounds plastic waste
Whoโs responsible for Chinaโs growing mountain of plastic waste? / Caixin (paywall)
POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:
No quiet on the India-China border
India, China talks on border standoff end in stalemate / AP
โTalks between Indian and Chinese military commanders on easing a 20-month border standoff ended without a breakthrough for the second time in three months, an Indian Defense Ministry official said Thursday.โ
Australian writer detained in China โcould die in jailโ
Health fears rise for Australian writer held in China for spying / Bloomberg (paywall)
โAustralian writer Yรกng Hรฉngjลซnโs ๆจๆๅ health condition has deteriorated since his arrest in China three years ago with his family now warning he could die in jail if he doesnโt get urgent medical attention and Canberra calling for his immediate release.โ
Health fears for Australian blogger held three years in China on spying charges / Reuters
The money behind online tankies
The big business of Uyghur genocide denial / New Lines
โA New Lines investigation reveals a network of charities funneling millions into left-wing platforms that take Beijingโs side on the genocide allegations โ and theyโre all connected to an American tech magnateโฆNeville Roy Singham.โ
Ai Weiwei and Yao Ming weigh in on the Olympics, Peng Shuai
Exiled artist Ai Weiwei on Beijing Games / AP
รi Wรจiwรจi ่พๆชๆช writes in an email responding to the Associated Press: โThe 2022 Olympics will further testify to the effectiveness of authoritarianism in China and the frustration of the Westโs democratic regimes.โ
Former NBA great Yao Ming addresses Peng Shuai, Olympics / AP
โFormer NBA great Yรกo Mรญng ๅงๆ said Monday he and others had a pleasant talk when they met last month with Chinese tennis player Pรฉng Shuร i ๅฝญๅธ
, whose disappearance after making a sexual assault allegation against a former government official raised international concern.โ
Yao Ming says he and Peng Shuai ‘chatted merrily’ at event last month / Reuters
Polandโs leader to attend Olympics
Poland’s president to attend Beijing Olympics amidst U.S. boycott / Reuters
Taiwanโs influence in Europe and the U.S.
Taiwan plans representative office in Slovenia as the EU nation blasts Beijing / SCMP (paywall)
This comes after โSlovenian leader Janez Jansa condemn[ed] โcapital with a one-party system lecturing about democracy and peaceโ and [said] Beijing could gain from Taiwan joining WHO.โ
Naval association rejects Taiwanese members after pressure from China / FT (paywall)
โChinaโs increasingly muscular efforts to isolate Taiwan internationally have paid off in Washington after a foreign naval association caved to Chinese pressure and reversed course on letting Taiwanese officers join the group.โ
Taiwan pays $900,000 for ally Guatemala to lobby Washington / AP
โGuatemala has hired for $900,000 a major supporter of former President Donald Trump to seek influence with U.S. officials in an unusual lobbying contract paid for by its ally Taiwan, foreign lobby records show.โ
Hong Kong to release activist Edward Leung from prison
Hong Kong activist who inspired violent resistance set for release from jail / WSJ (paywall)
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Edward Leung (ๆขๅคฉ็ฆ Liรกng Tiฤnqรญ), a leading figure in the movement who was imprisoned for rioting during the Hong Kong protests in 2019, is expected to be released as soon as Wednesday.
Xiโs anti-corruption campaign grinds on
State documentary details crimes of former high-ranking police, judicial officials / Caixin (paywall)
โA documentary series produced by Chinaโs top graft watchdog and state broadcaster CCTV has revealed details of the cases of several former high-level officials ensnared for corruption, including a former vice minister of public security who is accused of cultivating a โpolitical clique.โโ
How Sun Lijun, once China’s youngest vice minister in public security, falls in corruption / Pekingnology
Xi Jinping recently vows unrelenting graft-busting / Pekingnology
Pekingnology translates parts of two speeches delivered by Xรญ Jรฌnpรญng ไน ่ฟๅนณ, in which he made it โabundantly clear that the unprecedented corruption-busting will continue in full force.โ
China hits back at U.K. over โpolitical interferenceโ accusations
China dismisses British accusation of political interference / AP
Foreign ministry speaker Wฤng Wรฉnbฤซn ๆฑชๆๆ said China has โno need to and will never engage in the so-called interference,โ and accusers โmay be too obsessed with James Bond 007 movies and made some unnecessary associations.โ
MI5 warns U.K. MPs against โpolitical interferenceโ by Chinese agent / FT (paywall)
SOCIETY AND CULTURE:
Stranded abroad in Chinaโs COVID crackdown
โReturning to China is like buying a lottery ticketโ / Sixth Tone
โDozens of international flights have been canceled as the country reports a surge in COVID-19 infections among inbound passengers.โ
What life is like for one of Chinaโs stranded international students / Sixth Tone
An international student from Malaysia writes about her first three semesters thousands of kilometers from Nanjing University.
Ex-athletes teach students how to get fit
Chinaโs champion athletes help schools promote fitness, not endless study / AFP via SCMP (paywall)
โLessons taught by former top athletes are part of a recent government push to carve out more time for youth fitness in the worldโs most populous country, as it hopes to capitalize on heightened enthusiasm for sport ahead of next monthโs Beijing Winter Olympics.โ
Are meals for monkeys causing mayhem?
To feed or not to feed, thatโs the question atop Guizhouโs monkey mountain / Sixth Tone
โFor years, animal lovers have fed the wild monkeys at the Qianling Mountain Park. Authorities say it is leading to overpopulation.โ