Links for Thursday, July 7, 2022

China weighs bond sale to boost local government budgets
China considers $220 billion stimulus with unprecedented bond sales / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China’s Ministry of Finance is considering allowing local governments to sell 1.5 trillion yuan ($220 billion) of special bonds in the second half of this year, an unprecedented acceleration of infrastructure funding aimed at shoring up the country’s beleaguered economy.”

China’s GDP sees 4.1% growth amidst zero COVID
China GDP seen up 4.1% in 2022 as zero-COVID bites: Nikkei survey / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Economists expect China’s growth to slow to 4.1% in 2022, after the government’s zero-COVID policy led to a prolonged lockdown in Shanghai that paralyzed the world’s second-largest economy and hit global supply chains.”

Copper prices plunge as fear of recession worries investors
Copper crash deepens as fears of recession and virus outbreaks in China loom / Caixin (paywall)
“Copper resurfaced above its $7,500 per ton plunge as fears of a global economic slowdown piled pressure on industrial metals and deepened their dive from record highs just months ago.”

The current state of China’s electric vehicle market
China unveils plans to spur car demand, may extend EV tax break / Reuters
China Evergrande NEV starts preorders for first car / Caixin (paywall)
How China’s BYD played catch-up with Tesla / FT (paywall)

Beijing criticizes India over frequent probes of Chinese businesses
Beijing decries India’s ‘frequent’ probes after raid of phonemaker Vivo / FT (paywall)
“Beijing has criticized New Delhi for launching “frequent investigations” into Chinese companies operating in India, after financial authorities raided Chinese mobile phonemaker Vivo over money-laundering allegations.”
China says India’s frequent probes of its firms hurt business confidence / Reuters

China’s near monopoly on solar panel manufacturing worries IEA
IEA warns on China’s dominance of solar panel supply chain / FT (paywall)
“An IEA report on the issue, the first of its kind by the organization, found that China’s share in the manufacturing stages for solar, from the production of polysilicon to the panels themselves, exceeds 80%, and in some stages could reach as high as 95% by 2025.”
China’s solar panel supply chain domination cause for worry: IEA / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
China’s domination of solar a risk to zero-carbon future: IEA / Al Jazeera

Suncity’s new executive director restores investor confidence
Macau’s Suncity shares more than triple after new majority shareholder named / Reuters
Shares in Macau’s Suncity “more than tripled on Thursday after they resum[ed] trading for the first time in nearly two months and the firm said Executive Director Andrew Lo was its new majority shareholder.”

Shenzhen citizens yearn for old Hong Kong culture
In China’s Shenzhen, nostalgia persists for the old days of Hong Kong culture / Reuters
“A trip to glamorous Hong Kong was a distant dream for most Chinese mainlanders in the mid-1990s, but for schoolgirl Tracey Chen in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen, it was just a lunchtime stroll.”

State jobs are all the rage among China’s youth
How Communist Party membership and state-sector jobs became fashionable choices for young Chinese / SCMP (paywall)

Wind detection by laser
Chinese team develops world’s most sensitive wind-detecting laser / SCMP (paywall)
“Chinese researchers say they have developed the world’s most advanced laser for wind detection, which could be used to monitor air pollution, predict the weather, and make high-speed trains faster.”

Chinese foreign minister trip to Myanmar provoked mixed reactions
Wang Yi’s Myanmar trip could derail Asean’s peace plan by legitimizing junta, analysts say / SCMP (paywall)
“Chinese Foreign Minister Wáng Yì’s 王毅 trip to Myanmar this week has received mixed reactions by analysts, with some welcoming China’s willingness to keep dialogue channels open and others saying it had undermined Asean’s efforts to help resolve the country’s crisis.”