Highlighted links for Monday, August 15, 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:

The story behind the world’s largest drone maker ceasing sales to Russia and Ukraine
DJI distances itself from Russia on Weibo / Pekingnology
A Russian general called Chinese drone maker DJI’s Mavic quadcopter “a true symbol of modern warfare,” and other tales from DJI’s attempt to avoid fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The ongoing flood of Chinese companies to Hong Kong exchanges amid U.S. crackdown
Homecoming listings heat up in Hong Kong / Caixin (paywall)
“The once-booming trend of “homecoming” listings in Hong Kong is picking up speed as an ongoing regulatory dispute between Washington and Beijing is putting more U.S.-listed Chinese companies at risk of forced delisting.”
Three Chinese corporate giants leaving NY stock exchange / AP
China state-owned giants to delist from U.S. amid audit spat / Bloomberg (paywall)
China’s airlines could join the multibillion-dollar exit from US stock markets / Bloomberg (paywall)

Tencent, Alibaba, ByteDance hand over algorithm secrets to government
Alibaba, ByteDance share details of prized algorithms with Beijing for first time / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China’s internet giants from Tencent to ByteDance have shared details of their prized algorithms with Beijing for the first time, an unprecedented move aimed at curbing data abuse that may end up compromising closely guarded corporate secrets.”
Related: Behind the facade of China’s cyber super-regulator / DigiChina

Huge hack of Shanghai COVID mobile app
Hacker offers to sell data of 48.5 million users of Shanghai’s COVID app / Reuters
“A hacker has claimed to have obtained the personal information of 48.5 million users of a COVID health code mobile app run by the city of Shanghai, the second claim of a breach of the Chinese financial hub’s data in just over a month.”

CATL to build EV battery factory in Hungary
CATL to build second European EV battery plant in Hungary / TechNode
“Chinese battery maker CATL announced Friday that it will build a new 100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) battery pack factory for €7.3 billion ($7.6 billion) in Hungary, as it eyes growing demand among global automakers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Extreme temperatures across China
China’s Yangtze river shrinks as heat wave, drought threaten crops / Reuters
“Regions that rely on the Yangtze, China’s longest river, are having to deploy pumps and cloud-seeding rockets as a long drought depletes water levels and threatens crops, and a heatwave is set to last another two weeks.”
Yangtze River, lakes at record low levels as heat waves, drought hit southern China / SCMP (paywall)
Broad swathe of China swelters in high temperatures / Reuters
Heat death at a freight depot / Sixth Tone

Flash flood in southwestern China kills seven
River torrent kills 7 in China amid widespread heavy rains / AP
“Seven people were killed by a torrent of water that came rushing down a river in a popular recreational spot following mountain rains in southwestern China, authorities said Sunday.”
Ignoring warning signs – online discussions on the Pengzhou Mountain flash flood / What’s on Weibo

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

China-India tensions fester
India sticks to ‘one-China’ policy stance but seeks restraint on Taiwan / Reuters
“India said on Friday it opposed any unilateral change to the status quo over Taiwan but that its stance on the ‘one-China’ policy remained consistent, days after Beijing said it hoped New Delhi would continue to recognise its claim to self-governing Taiwan.”
India criticizes China for blocking UN sanctions on militant / AP
Beijing asks New Delhi to reiterate ‘One China’ principle / Bloomberg (paywall)

Despite security concerns, Sri Lanka allows China ship to dock
Sri Lanka says China survey ship can dock in its port / Reuters
“Sri Lanka said on Saturday it has agreed that the Chinese survey vessel Yuan Wang 5 can dock at its southernmost port, the Chinese-run Hambantota on August 16, despite security concerns raised by neighbouring India and the United States.”
Sri Lanka permits Chinese ship to dock after postponement / AP

China refusal to condemn war in Ukraine hinders relationship with Eastern Europe
Russian war in Ukraine bruises Baltics’ relations with China / Bloomberg (paywall)
Latvia, Estonia leave China-backed East Europe forum / AP
“China’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine played a role in Estonia’s decision to quit an Eastern European initiative that aimed to enhance relations with Beijing, the Baltic nation’s top diplomat said.”

China is a hot topic in elections around the world
‘China threat’ emerges in elections from UK to Australia / AP
It’s not just the economy. While inflation and recession fears weigh heavily on the minds of voters, another issue is popping up in political campaigns from the U.K. and Australia to the U.S. and beyond: the “China threat.”

Cartographic censorship
Chinese customs seize thousands of maps over missing South China Sea ‘nine-dash line’ / SCMP (paywall)
“Customs officials in China’s eastern Zhejiang province have seized thousands of maps intended for export because the national borders represented did not conform to Chinese territorial claims in the South China and East China seas.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Men doing “women’s work”
I’m a male nanny / Gushi
Translation of a Chinese essay originally titled “swallowing male pride and thriving as a domestic helper.”

How China has strayed from classic ghost story literature
The strange tale of how China lost its ghost stories / Sixth Tone
“Although ghost stories were among the most popular genres of Chinese literature for nearly two millennia, contemporary Chinese are almost wholly estranged from this literary tradition.”

Lockdown panic attacks
Ikea shoppers panic after security locks down store on COVID risk / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Scenes of mayhem unfolded in an Ikea in Shanghai as health authorities tried to lock down the store on Saturday and quarantine those on site after learning someone who had been in contact with a COVID-19 patient had visited.”
“Like a zombie apocalypse” – chaotic scenes in Shanghai as people flee building after abnormal test result / What’s on Weibo