News briefing for Monday, August 15, 2022

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

Nationalist commentators clash online: Hú Xījìn 胡锡进, the political commentator known by some of his critics as “Frisbee Hu” (飞盘胡 Fēipán Hú) because they say he is like a dog who catches every Frisbee the Party throws to him, has been an active and influential online voice on Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. But his comments have incurred harsh words from popular Chinese blogger Chairman Rabbit (兔主席 tù zhǔxí), who claims Hu misled public opinion at a time “when his statements should have matched the official stance.” Chairman Rabbit’s words carry some weight: His real name is Rèn Yì 任意, and he is the Harvard-educated grandson of noted Communist Party reformer Rèn Zhòngyí 任仲夷, widely assumed to have excellent connections in Beijing.

Box office bomb: According to the China Film Administration, as of August 14, China’s box office in 2022 reached 22.84 billion yuan ($3.38 billion), a year-on-year decrease of 28%.

Jump in excavator exports: According to the China Construction Machinery Association, 26 domestic excavator manufacturers sold 17,939 excavators in July, a year-on-year increase of 3.42%, of which a record-high 48% were exported. The proportion of exports in China’s total excavator sales has increased by 40% since 2017.

Solar power hardware is piling up at the U.S. border, which Bloomberg says is “an indication the passage of a law targeting forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region is having a major impact on trade flows.”

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