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 Rén Zhèngfēi 任正非 gave his first public comments since his daughter returned to China, in a letter circulating on the internet: “Although it is winter now, spring is coming soon,” 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 Jīn Bǐng 金秉 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.

Click here to subscribe to The China Project A.M., which goes out at the end of every business day in China (coffee time in New York).

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
Alibaba’s cloud business is under review by the Biden administration to determine whether it is a U.S. national security risk — 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
China’s trade surplus hits annual record as exports soar 30% / FT (paywall)
China’s economy is slowing, a worrying sign for the world / NYT (paywall)
“Economic 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.”
China sounds alarm on slowing economy as key political risk / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China’s 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 Party’s most powerful organizations.”
Xi warns of threats to global recovery / FT (paywall)
China’s slowing growth will have a global impact / FT (paywall)
The FT editorial board writes: “Each element of [China’s] crackdown, on industries from fintech to online gaming, appears to reflect a strongly-held official conviction.”

Macau lets U.S. firms keep their gaming licenses
Macau casino shares rally after gaming law offers reprieve to U.S. companies / FT (paywall)
“Macau 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.”
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
“Chinese 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.”

Self-driving cars and EV batteries
BYD partners with Nuro to build driverless delivery vehicles / TechNode
BYD’s $61 million Chile lithium deal hits the rocks / Caixin (paywall)
BYD’s multimillion-dollar lithium mining deal with Chile “has 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.”
China’s robotaxis charged ahead in 2021 / TechCrunch
TechCrunch breaks down the progress of China’s big robotaxi operators — AutoX, Baidu, Deeproute.ai, Didi, Momenta, Pony.ai, and WeRide — in 2021.

Tesla buys Mozambique graphite to reduce dependence on China
Tesla inks deal to get key battery component outside China / AP
“Elon Musk’s company signed an agreement last month with Australia’s Syrah Resources, which operates one of the world’s largest graphite mines in the southern African country.”

The rapid fall of China’s mutual aid industry
How China’s health-care mutual aid industry folded in just three years / Caixin (paywall)

China craves American lobster
Pandemic hasn’t slowed China’s love for U.S. lobster / AP
“American 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.”

JD and Shopify pair up to grow overseas ecommerce
Shopify and China’s 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

Volkswagen’s 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 Yú Lìguó 于立国 as head of EV unit
Xiaomi hires former BAIC executive for its electric car project / TechNode
“Xiaomi has hired Yú Lìguó 于立国, a former senior executive at state-owned automaker BAIC Motor, to lead its autonomous electric vehicle (EV) project.”

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, “China’s aviation regulator on Tuesday suspended another eight incoming U.S. flights by U.S. airlines, bringing the total cancellation this year to 84.”
China suspends more international flights to Shanghai / Caixin (paywall)

The economic risks of environmental destruction
Safeguarding nature can avert $9 trillion risk to China’s economy, study says / Caixin (paywall)
A new study by the World Economic Forum said that “more than $9 trillion of the country’s annual economic output ‘is at risk of disruption’ due to its dependence on natural ecosystems and their services.”

China’s delivery packing compounds plastic waste
Who’s responsible for China’s 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
“Talks 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.”

Australian writer detained in China “could die in jail”
Health fears rise for Australian writer held in China for spying / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Australian writer Yáng Héngjūn’s 杨恒均 health condition has deteriorated since his arrest in China three years ago with his family now warning he could die in jail if he doesn’t get urgent medical attention and Canberra calling for his immediate release.”
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
“A New Lines investigation reveals a network of charities funneling millions into left-wing platforms that take Beijing’s side on the genocide allegations — and they’re all connected to an American tech magnate…Neville Roy Singham.”

Ai Weiwei and Yao Ming weigh in on the Olympics, Peng Shuai
Exiled artist Ai Weiwei on Beijing Games / AP
Ài Wèiwèi 艾未未 writes in an email responding to the Associated Press: “The 2022 Olympics will further testify to the effectiveness of authoritarianism in China and the frustration of the West’s democratic regimes.”
Former NBA great Yao Ming addresses Peng Shuai, Olympics / AP
“Former NBA great Yáo Míng 姚明 said Monday he and others had a pleasant talk when they met last month with Chinese tennis player Péng Shuài 彭帅, whose disappearance after making a sexual assault allegation against a former government official raised international concern.”
Yao Ming says he and Peng Shuai ‘chatted merrily’ at event last month / Reuters

Poland’s leader to attend Olympics
Poland’s president to attend Beijing Olympics amidst U.S. boycott / Reuters

Taiwan’s influence in Europe and the U.S.
Taiwan plans representative office in Slovenia as the EU nation blasts Beijing / SCMP (paywall)
This comes after “Slovenian leader Janez Jansa condemn[ed] ‘capital with a one-party system lecturing about democracy and peace’ and [said] Beijing could gain from Taiwan joining WHO.”
Naval association rejects Taiwanese members after pressure from China / FT (paywall)
“China’s 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.”
Taiwan pays $900,000 for ally Guatemala to lobby Washington / AP
“Guatemala 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.”

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 (梁天琦 Liáng Tiānqí), 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.

Xi’s anti-corruption campaign grinds on
State documentary details crimes of former high-ranking police, judicial officials / Caixin (paywall)
“A documentary series produced by China’s 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 ‘political clique.’”
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 Xí Jìnpíng 习近平, in which he made it “abundantly clear that the unprecedented corruption-busting will continue in full force.”

China hits back at U.K. over “political interference” accusations
China dismisses British accusation of political interference / AP
Foreign ministry speaker Wāng Wénbīn 汪文斌 said China has “no need to and will never engage in the so-called interference,” and accusers “may be too obsessed with James Bond 007 movies and made some unnecessary associations.”
MI5 warns U.K. MPs against ‘political interference’ by Chinese agent / FT (paywall)

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Stranded abroad in China’s COVID crackdown
‘Returning to China is like buying a lottery ticket’ / Sixth Tone
“Dozens of international flights have been canceled as the country reports a surge in COVID-19 infections among inbound passengers.”
What life is like for one of China’s 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
China’s champion athletes help schools promote fitness, not endless study / AFP via SCMP (paywall)
“Lessons taught by former top athletes are part of a recent government push to carve out more time for youth fitness in the world’s most populous country, as it hopes to capitalize on heightened enthusiasm for sport ahead of next month’s Beijing Winter Olympics.”

Are meals for monkeys causing mayhem?
To feed or not to feed, that’s the question atop Guizhou’s monkey mountain / Sixth Tone
“For years, animal lovers have fed the wild monkeys at the Qianling Mountain Park. Authorities say it is leading to overpopulation.”