News Briefing for Tuesday, August 9, 2022

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

Taiwan holds live-fire drills in response to China’s war games: The Taiwanese military has conducted a series of live-fire artillery drills after China launched its war games in response to Pelosi’s visit to the island nation. Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吴钊燮 Wú Zhāoxiè) has said that China’s ambitions are larger than just annexing the island, and include a push to control the East and South China seas.

TikTok owner ByteDance has acquired Amcare Healthcare, one of China’s largest private hospital chains, for about $1.5 billion as it seeks to diversify away from social media, which has been the target of various regulatory crackdowns over the past few years.

Tibet’s famous Potala Palace has shut temporarily to curb the spread of COVID, after the Himalayan region reported its first confirmed outbreak in over two years. The museum in the capital city of Lhasa was the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959.

Electric vehicles are selling like hotcakes: The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on Tuesday that sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are forecast to reach a record 6 million units in the country this year, up from the previous estimate of 5.5 million units.

• In July, retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles more than doubled to around 486,000 units (26.7% of the new auto market), a year-on-year increase of 117.3%.

No driver, no architect: The cities of Chongqing and Wuhan have started a pilot program of autonomous taxis with no overseer in the vehicle, and China approved its first construction plans — for an apartment complex — that were made entirely by AI. Click here for today’s business briefs from Chinese media and government sources.

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