Highlighted links for Monday, August 1, 2022

Below are links to other noteworthy reports published in the last 24 hours from and about China. Click through to our China NewsBase to see all the other stories we collected today.

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

Electric car maker NIO plans first overseas plant in Hungary
China’s NIO to make power products for Europe at its first overseas plant / Reuters
“Chinese electric car maker Nio plans to open its first overseas plant in September to make power products for the European market as it accelerates expansion abroad. The plant, in Pest, Hungary, will develop and manufacture power products such as battery-swapping stations to serve European users, NIO said in a statement late on Friday.”
NIO to start operation at new Hungary plant in September / TechNode
China’s NIO to open first overseas plant in Hungary / Caixin (paywall)

Tax holiday for electric cars to continue
China to extend tax exemption on electric vehicle purchases for one year / Caixin (paywall)
“The move marks a U-turn from the government’s previously announced plan, which would have seen an exemption on the 10% EV-purchase tax expire at the end of 2022.”

China’s property crisis worsens
China Evergrande falls short of promised restructuring plan / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China Evergrande Group, the world’s most indebted developer, failed to deliver a ‘preliminary restructuring plan’ it had promised by the end of July, fueling risks investors will grow more impatient just as a broader debt crisis in the nation’s property industry spreads.”
Evergrande misses deadline for $300 billion debt restructuring plan / FT (paywall)
China home sales plunge in July, as mortgage revolt deters buyers / WSJ (paywall)
China’s home sales slump further during mortgage boycotts / Bloomberg (paywall)
On real estate: PKU professors call for changing “three red lines” / Pekingnology

China grants 136 online game licenses
China grants licenses to 136 online games / Reuters
“China’s gaming regulator on Monday granted publishing licences to 136 online games, including titles belonging to developers such as G-bits Network Technology Xiamen and iDreamSky.”

Mass layoffs at online Chinese grocery company
Laid-off employees of MissFresh file for labor arbitration: report / TechNode
“Last week, multiple Chinese media outlets reported that online grocery company MissFresh had laid off most of its 900 employees…On July 29, about 60 former MissFresh employees queued up in front of a local court in Beijing to apply for arbitrations and to claim unpaid wages.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Hong Kong records its hottest month ever
July was Hong Kong’s hottest month ever, breaking 11 weather records / HKFP

COVID restrictions ease across China
Hong Kong weighing cutting hotel quarantine to five days or less, health chief says / Caixin
(paywall)
“Hong Kong is considering reducing mandatory hotel quarantine for overseas arrivals to five days or less, down from seven days, according to the city’s health chief.”
China’s Guangdong Province rules out special health code for unvaccinated and warns against ‘excessive’ restrictions / SCMP (paywall)
Macau to reopen city as no COVID infections detected for nine days / Reuters

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

New Zealand cooperates with both China and the U.S.
New Zealand will continue to cooperate with ‘more assertive’ China, Ardern says / Guardian
“New Zealand will continue to cooperate on “shared interests” with China, even as tensions increase in the region and China grows ‘more assertive in the pursuit of its interests’, Jacinda Ardern has said.”
New Zealand’s Ardern urges China to condemn Russia’s Ukraine War / Bloomberg (paywall)
U.S. seeks to expand ties with New Zealand amid China worries / AP
Even as China becomes more assertive, there are still shared interests, New Zealand’s prime minister says / Reuters

Assertive and ambitious: Xi Jinping’s future moves
China on the offensive / Foreign Affairs
Bonny Lin and Jude Blanchette write:

It would be a mistake to brush aside China’s warnings — and its threats of military action — simply because prior warnings have failed to materialize…

Xi’s penchant for “own goals” and his dramatic overreach have proved to be the single biggest inhibitor for China’s grand strategy.

What to expect from a bolder Xi Jinping / Foreign Affairs
Yun Sun writes: “Get ready for a more ambitious Chinese foreign policy…Those who expect Xi to moderate his policies after the 20th Party Congress are likely to be disappointed.”
China’s Xi promotes team of allies to influential posts, fortifying his power / WSJ (paywall)
“Xi has assigned associates to senior roles overseeing law enforcement and propaganda in recent weeks, clearing their paths toward higher office.”
Xi Jinping urges Chinese Communist Party to step up efforts to ‘win hearts and minds’ in Hong Kong and Taiwan / SCMP (paywall)

Top aerospace expert becomes new head of tech regulator
China names new MIIT head after corruption probe of predecessor / Caixin (paywall)
“China named a top aerospace expert to lead its powerful Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) after the previous chief came under investigation on allegations of corruption.”

China’s advances in chip-manufacturing technology
China has leapfrogged the U.S. in key technologies. Can a new law help? / NYT (paywall)
“While Congress argued over whether and how to support American chip makers and research in other technologies, China was surging ahead.”

Rare signs of positive engagement from Beijing
Chinese think tank calls for restoring ppl-to-ppl exchanges ASAP / Pekingnology

Evidence of expanding nuclear test site in Xinjiang
Satellite photos show China’s new nuclear test site in Xinjiang / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China is expanding its nuclear test facilities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, an analysis of satellite photographs obtained by Nikkei suggests.”

Should China restructure Sri Lanka’s debt obligations? Netizens say no.
Chinese netizens aren’t keen to bail out Sri Lanka / China Global South Project (paywall)
Chinese media and online communities are showing an “increasingly negative public sentiment over the situation in Sri Lanka and what Beijing’s response should be.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Exiled dissident artist Badiucao
Chinese artist Badiucao: Drawing truth to power / CBS
“Since self-exiling from China in 2009, the artist known simply as Badiucao has used his work to take on the country’s leader Xi Jinping, specifically, and the regime more generally.”

Longer commutes for Chinese urbanites
China’s city dwellers endure ‘extreme commutes,’ report says / Sixth Tone
“More than 70% of the surveyed cities saw an increase in the percentage of people traveling for more than an hour to get to work.”