Highlighted Links for Tuesday, August 23, 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:

• Is Apple pivoting production to India?
  Apple to cut new iPhone 14 production lag between India and China / WSJ (paywall)
  “Apple is preparing to manufacture its new iPhone in India months earlier than it did previous models, a sign the company is boosting production outside its traditional base of China where COVID-related shutdowns and geopolitical tensions have raised risks for foreign businesses.”

• Big-swinging BYD
  BYD, Tesla’s Chinese rival, is coming into its own / WSJ (paywall)
  Long blurbed as “Warren Buffett–backed,” BYD is China’s most established and biggest electric-vehicle maker, and “has emerged as a formidable force — one that could soon be felt globally.”

• Adidas chief to step down over China woes
  Adidas CEO to leave amid struggles in China / WSJ (paywall)
  “Adidas said Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted will step down next year in an unexpected development for a company that has struggled in its key China market recently.”

• Gome failed at ecommerce, so now it’s back to physical stores
  Retailer Gome doubles down on brick-and-mortar business / Caixin (paywall)
  “Gome, one of China’s largest bricks-and-mortar electronics retailers, plans to acquire real estate to develop into shopping malls and a customer experience center, a sign it is refocusing on its offline business and paring back a loss-making ecommerce venture.”
  Earlier this month on The China Project: Offline electronic appliances retailer Gome can’t compete with the ecommerce companies and is facing ruin.

• The engineer who stole from Apple to give to Xpeng
  China-bound ex-Apple engineer admits to trade secrets theft / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “A former Apple Inc. engineer pleaded guilty to criminal charges that he stole proprietary information from the company while preparing to go work for [XPeng,] a Chinese startup that makes electric cars with autonomous driving features.”
  Former Apple car engineer pleads guilty to trade secret theft / Al Jazeera

• No country for young tech founders to remain CEOs
  MIT-educated Philip Kuai, founder of delivery firm Dada Nexus, is the latest young Chinese tech entrepreneur to retire / SCMP (paywall)
  Philip Kuǎi Jiāqí 蒯佳祺, “the 39-year-old founder of JD.com delivery affiliate Dada Nexus, has resigned from his chairman and CEO positions, becoming the latest young Chinese tech entrepreneur to retreat from the executive office.”

• The future of tech business in China
  Panel discussion on China tech companies after Tencent’s earnings report / Pekingnology
  A transcript of an August 18 panel on the New Business and Valuation Model for China Tech:

  There appears to be a consensus that China’s domestic regulatory environment has improved. But as Guus Keder and Paul Triolo point out, the geopolitical climate is tough, and the EU and the U.S. are generally not friendly with Big Tech these days.

  The speakers include:

• Rui Ma, veteran investor and analyst and creator of Tech Buzz China. Read her Invited to Tea interview with The China Project here.
• Paul Triolo, SVP for China & Technology Policy Lead, Albright Stonebridge Group. Read his article on semiconductors last week for The China Project here, or listen to a Sinica interview with him here.

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

• Chinese people don’t want more babies, no matter what the government does
  China says COVID has exacerbated decline in births, marriages / Al Jazeera
  “China’s National Health Commission says COVID-19 has contributed to the decline in the country’s marriage and birth rates that has accelerated in recent years due to the high costs of education and child rearing.”
  Amid pro-birth blitz, China pledges benefits for single moms / Sixth Tone
  “Single women have complained for years about local policies requiring they show proof of marriage before they can access maternity benefits.”

• Dialysis is hard to get in COVID-zero China
  On dialysis in China? Pray there isn’t a lockdown. / Sixth Tone
  “Across China, kidney disease patients still routinely have to travel long distances to access hemodialysis. For many, the lack of treatment options can be fatal — especially during an era of sudden lockdowns.”

• Doctors censored online over challenges to TCM
  China censored a top health platform after it challenged traditional medicine / Rest of World
  “Doctors cleared up medical myths on social media. Now they’re being silenced.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

• No fanfare for high-level China-Japan meeting
  No handshakes: China plays down meeting with Japan security adviser / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “From the absence of flags to a delayed statement, the unconventional meeting between two top-level Japanese and Chinese officials last week highlighted the challenge both countries face in trying to deepen bilateral ties without inflaming public opinion.”

• Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai will plead not guilty
  Jimmy Lai to plead not guilty in national security case as Hong Kong security chief allows Apple Daily access to funds / HKFP
  “Media tycoon Jimmy Lai [黎智英 Lí Zhìyīng] is set to plead not guilty and stand trial in a national security case, as Hong Kong’s security chief granted three companies linked to the defunct pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily access to their frozen funds to hire legal representatives.”
  11 Hong Kong protesters convicted of rioting outside gov’t headquarters in 2019 / HKFP

• China is beefing up its navy
  Destroyer photos offer clues about Chinese navy’s growing fleet / SCMP (paywall)
  “The Chinese navy appears to be continuing its shipbuilding spree amid military tensions in the region, according to photos of new destroyers circulating on social media.”
  On The China Project in June: China’s third aircraft carrier is its most advanced yet.

• Asian countries have a tricky balancing act when it comes to China and Taiwan
  After Pelosi’s visit, most of the Indo-Pacific sides with Beijing / Foreign Policy
  Derek Grossman, senior defense analyst at the Rand Corp, writes: “Almost the entire region backs China — but the regime’s behavior has also crystallized support for Taiwan.”

• Chinese spy ship no longer at Sri Lanka port
  Chinese military ship leaves Sri Lanka after controversial visit / Reuters
  “A Chinese military survey ship that docked at Sri Lanka’s Chinese-built port of Hambantota despite opposition from neighboring India left on Monday after a week-long stay, the port company told Reuters.”

• Beijing probes another official in Henan linked to rural banking scandal
  Another Henan official probed for links to rural banking scandal / Caixin (paywall)
  “A senior official who once oversaw the rural credit system in central China’s Henan Province was placed under investigation in an apparent link with a businessman behind a multibillion-dollar banking scam, Caixin learned.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Brawls over bubble tea
  Bubble tea madness: ‘Modern China tea shop’ opening creates chaos in Nanjing / What’s on Weibo
  “This bubble tea shop’s Nanjing opening got so crazy that police had to intervene and scalpers were reselling tea for 200 yuan ($30) per cup.”

• Young Chinese are pessimistic about their future
  Why young Chinese are learning to live in the now / Sixth Tone
  “Trapped between COVID-19 lockdowns and a slowing economy, many Chinese are questioning the purpose of preparing for a future that — for potentially the first time in their lives — feels less bright than the present.”