News briefing for Tuesday, July 26, 2022

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

Alibaba wants to move its center of gravity to Hong Kong: The Chinese tech giant reported on Tuesday that it is seeking a primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which it expects to complete by the end of the year. The company first listed in New York in 2014, and then in Hong Kong in 2019. The move comes as Alibaba seeks to court mainland investors amid an ongoing battle over auditing issues between the U.S. and China, which could force Chinese companies to delist from American exchanges.

Ant Group and Alibaba move further apart: At the end of May, top executives from Ant Group severed ties with Alibaba Partnership, a body that can nominate the majority of Alibaba’s board. This is an effort to further separate the ecommerce brand from its financial counterpart, after the slapdown that began in 2020 when Beijing suspended Ant’s planned IPO.

Biden still plans to call Xi: U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that it is still his expectation that he will speak with his Chinese counterpart, Xí Jìnpíng 习近平, this week. The move comes as tensions between Beijing and Washington are ratcheting up in advance of a possible visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (also known as the XPCC, or Bīngtuán 兵团) is a paramilitary corporation that controls much of the agriculture and industry in Xinjiang. A new report by scholars at Sheffield Hallam University details the XPCC’s involvement in human rights abuses against Uyghurs.

Belgians are buying loads of Chinese electric cars: The China Passenger Car Association reported yesterday that Chinese exports of new energy passenger vehicles (NEVs, most of which are electric) in the first half of the year increased by 113% year-on-year. Of the total 362,200 NEV exports, 34% were exported to Western Europe, and 16% were exported to Southeast Asia. Belgium imported the largest number of Chinese NEVs at more than 70,000 units.

Software industry growth: According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the total revenue of China’s software industry in the first half of the year was 4.62 trillion yuan ($685.06 billion), a year-on-year increase of 10.9%. Total profits amounted to 489.1 billion yuan ($72.42 million), a year-on-year increase of 7.3%.

Urban-rural disparity to disappear by 2050?: According to a new report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the urban-rural income ratio will drop to 1.8 in 2035 and 1.2 in 2050, while the urban-rural consumption gap will drop to 1.3 in 2035 and disappear completely by 2050.

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