Highlighted Links for Wednesday, August 3, 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:

• Driverless cars in Beijing and Shenzhen
  Pony.ai and Caocao to provide robotaxi services in Beijing / TechNode
  “On Tuesday, the self-driving car startup Pony.ai announced that it partnered with ride-hailing company Caocao to provide robotaxi services in Beijing.”
  China’s southern tech hub Shenzhen becomes first city on mainland to regulate fully autonomous, driverless cars on some roads / SCMP (paywall)

• More Chinese electric cars in Europe
  BYD looks to European dealer giant for help entering Germany, Sweden / TechNode
  “BYD announced on Monday that it has formed a partnership with Hedin Mobility Group, one of the largest automotive retailers in Europe, to sell vehicles in Germany and Sweden as part of the Chinese automaker’s plans to expand its passenger vehicle business across the continent.”

• New Ethiopian Airlines cargo route to Hunan
  Hunan province is fast becoming a major hub for China-Africa trade and logistics / China Global South Project (paywall)
  “Ethiopian Airlines launched a new cargo route between Addis Ababa and Changsha, the provincial capital of Hunan…The first flight took off last week and is expected to ferry some 17,000 metric tons of goods.”

• Chinese gamblers back to Macau after COVID outbreak?
  China reopens border with Macau after six weeks as cases ebb / Bloomberg (paywall)
  A “move that could herald a tourism revival for casinos that have been bleeding cash for months.”
  Macau resumes quarantine free travel with mainland China / Reuters

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

• Chinese farmers are raising pigs in multi-story buildings
  Will mega ‘hog hotels’ help meet China’s rising pork demand? / Sixth Tone
  “A new multi-story facility in the central Hubei province is being touted as the ‘world’s tallest hog breeding site’ that will house tens of thousands of pigs, as companies seek to modernize the husbandry sector and satisfy the country’s growing appetite for pork…China is both the world’s biggest pork supplier and consumer…”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

• Despite government efforts, Chinese couples still aren’t having babies
  China Is pushing for a baby boom. It’s getting a baby bust. / Sixth Tone
  “After China’s birth rate plunged to a record low last year, authorities introduced a slew of measures to encourage couples to have more kids. They haven’t worked.”
  Yesterday on The China Project: China’s desperate struggle for more babies.

• Will China’s COVID zero ever end?
  China’s COVID zero could last for years because it works for Xi / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “​​As omicron sub-variants become ever-more infectious, Xi’s resolve to avert virus fatalities is growing stronger – leading many experts to warn that COVID Zero could continue well beyond 2022.”

• Fire engulfs Hong Kong warehouse, leaves one man dead
  One body found after fire at Hong Kong warehouse burns for almost 12 hours / HKFP
  “The body of a man was found at a Fanling warehouse that was engulfed in flames for almost 12 hours on Wednesday, Hong Kong authorities have said. A fire broke out at a warehouse near Kwan Tei at around dawn, the Fire Services Department (FSD) said.”

• Getting tough on China is new election promise in Kenya, too
  China’s role at the heart of Kenya’s election campaign / FT (paywall)
  “Deputy president threatens deportations of Chinese nationals while veteran rival promises renegotiation of Beijing loans.”
• China shifting from infrastructure investment to emergency loans overseas
  China’s $26 billion pivot from infrastructure to emergency loans / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “China has made nearly $26 billion in short and medium-term loans to Pakistan and Sri Lanka over the past five years as its overseas lending shifts from funding infrastructure toward providing emergency relief.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• “My son came out”
  My journey from concerned parent to LGBT ally / Sixth Tone
  “Advocacy groups like PFLAG and online support groups are — slowly — challenging stereotypes around China’s LGBT community.”

• Brutal killing of a woman sparks gender-based violence conversation
  China shocked after man allegedly drives over girlfriend repeatedly and kills her, reigniting gender-based violence debate / SCMP (paywall)
  “The alleged brutal killing of a woman by her boyfriend yesterday after he drove her down and then ran her over repeatedly in a Chinese city where four women were viciously assaulted in a restaurant just two months ago has renewed public outrage over gender-based violence.”