News Briefing for Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

India’s population is set to overtake that of China: On World Population Day on July 11, the UN released a report projecting India will replace China as the world’s most populous country next year, in part due to China’s extremely low fertility rate (~1.15 children per woman). The UN also estimated the world’s population will reach 8 billion by November 15, 2023.

China will reimburse Henan bank scam victims: Chinese authorities have agreed to repay affected depositors of four Henan banks and one Anhui bank following a series of protests that turned violent this past Sunday. The local government will begin repaying individuals who held up to 50,000 yuan ($7,400) in their accounts before the scam.

Did China pressure Kiribati to leave the Pacific Islands Forum? Kiribati’s opposition leader, Tessie Lambourne, believes the nation’s decision to withdraw from the Pacific Islands Forum was influenced by China, citing a weak administration that is vulnerable and indebted to China, which is trying to step up its presence in the region.

A Buffett-sized hole in BYD: Shares of the Chinese electric vehicle giant sank the most in nearly two years, after a stake matching the size of Berkshire Hathaway’s hold in the EV firm popped up in Hong Kong’s clearing system, fanning rumors that Warren Buffett’s company may be selling its stake.

Huge rise in installed battery capacity…: During the first half of the year, the cumulative installed capacity of electric batteries in China was 110.1 gigawatt hours (GWh), a year-on-year increase of 109.8%, of which CATL accounted for 52.5 GWh, a share of 47.67%.

…And electric vehicle charging stations: Over the same period, a total of 1.3 million new charging stations were installed in China, with public charging stations increasing by 228.4% year-on-year, and private charging stations increasing by 511.3% year-on-year, for a total of 3.91 million charging stations as of the end of June.

Moutai ice cream sweeping the nation: While new fines imposed on Alibaba, Tencent, and others (and a rise in COVID infections in Shanghai) today dragged Hong Kong stocks down to a six-week low, Moutai’s alcoholic ice cream is spreading across China. The company opened five new ice cream stores this past weekend, and on Saturday sold a total of 4.19 million cups of ice cream.

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