Highlighted links for Monday, August 29, 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:

Debt and real estate woes
China’s bad debt managers see profits tank on property losses / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China Huarong Asset Management Co. and China Cinda Asset Management Co., the nation’s two largest state-owned distressed debt funds, reported a slump in first-half profits as credit impairments surged on a deepening property crisis.”
Two rural lenders in northeastern China set to enter bankruptcy / Caixin (paywall)
Hong Kong tycoon calls bottom of China’s property slump / FT (paywall)
“Hong Kong real estate tycoon Adrian Cheng has called the bottom of mainland China’s property market crash, saying his New World Development group plans to invest 10 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) in land over the next year.”

Chip wars: China’s SMIC plans to invest billions in new plant, and more
Top China chipmaker SMIC to invest $7.5 billion to build new plant / Caixin (paywall)
“Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) announced plans to build a 12-inch wafer production line in Tianjin municipality with an investment of $7.5 billion, according to a Friday exchange filing.”
Chinese chip foundry SMIC to invest $7.5 billion in new fab in Tianjin / Reuters
SMIC to invest $7.5 billion in building new 12-inch wafer factory in Tianjin / TechNode
Xi Jinping’s vision for tech self-reliance in China runs into reality / NYT (paywall)
“After heavy national investment in semiconductors to break a dependence on global chips, Mr. Xi seems unhappy with the results.”
‘The eye of the storm’: Taiwan is caught in a great game over microchips / NYT (paywall)
“Worried about the Chinese threat to Taiwan, the U.S. and others have tried to expand their piece of the island’s semiconductor production.”
On The China Project on August 1: Mayhem in China’s semiconductor industry as ‘chips madmen’ are arrested.

Gome’s spectacular decline
Retailer Gome struggles to survive China’s online revolution / FT (paywall)
“[The] chain’s owner, once China’s richest man, has seen his electronics empire crumble in a cruel economic climate.”
On The China Project on August 4: Offline electronic appliances retailer Gome can’t compete with the ecommerce companies and is facing ruin.

The lovechild of Microsoft Word and TikTok — what could go wrong?
Microsoft and ByteDance are collaborating on a big AI project, even as U.S.-China rivalry heats up / CNBC
The Microsoft-ByteDance collaboration on a project called KubeRay “is notable because of the brewing rivalry between the U.S. and China with respect to AI and intellectual property, and concerns over how technological advancements could be used for surveillance and privacy intrusion.”

COVID fortunes
A new COVID billionaire is minted in China / Bloomberg (paywall)
The founder of Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co.’s fortune “shot up to $5 billion overnight last week, after shares of his medical imaging and radiotherapy equipment business surged 65% on its first day of trading.”

A million bottles of Scotch whiskey bound for China
First direct China-Scotland shipping route begins / BBC
“More than a million bottles of whisky will leave the west coast of Scotland later in the country’s first direct shipping container service to China.”

Good news for NIO and China EV makers
NIO is winning EV drivers’ hearts as competition in China spikes / Bloomberg (paywall)
A look at Chinese carmaker NIO’s business model, which “relies on creating a sense of allegiance among customers, who then persuade family and friends to spread the word about its cars,” ahead of the company’s upcoming 2022 annual customer day.
Chinese premier Li Keqiang praises new energy vehicle sector at industry event / Reuters
“Chinese premier Lǐ Kèqiáng 李克强 praised the country’s domestic new energy vehicle (NEV) industry on Saturday, stating that the sector ‘will continue to deepen international cooperation’ in a letter shared with attendees at the World New Energy Vehicle Congress in Beijing.”
Gotion’s overseas sales grow more than three times in first half of 2022 / TechNode
“Gotion High-Tech, a Chinese electric vehicle battery supplier backed by Volkswagen, reported 8.6 billion yuan ($1.24 billion) in revenue for the first half of this year on Aug. 26, a 143.2% increase from a year ago.”
China needs to review EV battery emissions, CATL founder says / Bloomberg (paywall)
China’s CATL to develop new battery materials to improve energy density -chairman / Reuters

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Repercussions of heat waves in China
Sichuan restores most industrial power after two-week crisis / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China’s southwestern province of Sichuan eased emergency energy measures, paving the way for companies including Toyota Motor Corp. to start resuming normal operations after two weeks of power cuts.”
Heat-weary Chongqing, Sichuan now on flood alert amid torrential rain / Reuters
“A southwestern part of China that has suffered scorching temperatures this month is now on alert for flooding amid days of torrential rain.”
China’s drought-hit areas get rain, bringing flood risks / AP
Chinese drillers work 15-hour days building wells in drought-hit Jiangxi / Reuters
China’s scorching heat and hydropower missteps test nation’s power grid / WSJ (paywall)

Chinese oil and gas company Sinopec focuses on emissions reduction
China’s Sinopec starts first carbon capture, storage facility, plans another two by 2025 / Reuters
“China’s Sinopec Corp said on Monday it has put into operation the country’s largest carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) facility in east China, and plans to build two more plants of similar size by 2025.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

China and India exchange harsh words over ship in Sri Lanka
China, India spar over controversial ship’s call in Sri Lanka / Bloomberg (paywall)
“India and China traded insults over their diverging interests in Sri Lanka, after a controversial Chinese scientific research ship called at the island nation despite New Delhi’s security concerns.”
In a first, India refers to ‘militarization’ of Taiwan Strait by China / The Hindu

India has for the first time referred to what it called “the militarization of the Taiwan Strait,” marking a rare instance of New Delhi appearing to comment on China’s actions toward Taiwan…

The latest reference to Taiwan came amid a spat with China over the visit this month of the Chinese military tracking vessel Yuan Wang 5 to Hambantota in Sri Lanka.

28 arrested — corruption and misogynistic violence in Tangshan
China charges 28, probes corruption after attack on women / AP
“Chinese authorities said Monday that 28 people have been charged and 15 officials including police are being investigated for corruption two months after a brutal attack on several women in the northern city of Tangshan that sparked outrage and safety concerns.”
Eight Tangshan police officers detained in women’s assault case / Caixin (paywall)
Chinese prosecutors charge 7 over brutal attack on women in Tangshan / SCMP (paywall)

Is the Arctic the next battlefield between U.S.-China-Russia?
U.S. to name Arctic ambassador eying Russia and China / Al Jazeera
“‘Critical strategic importance’ says the U.S. as Russia reopens hundreds of Soviet-era military sites in the region and China describes itself as a ‘near-Arctic’ state.”
NATO head warns about Russian, Chinese interest in Arctic / AP
“NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Friday about Russia’s military buildup in the Arctic and China’s increasing interest in that part of the world.”

New Zealand taxpayers could pay a hefty fee to repatriate suspects to China
Sending suspect to China could cost New Zealand millions / AP
“Sending a murder suspect to face trial in China could end up costing New Zealand taxpayers millions of dollars because officials would need to post an extra diplomat to Shanghai to monitor his treatment, documents exclusively obtained by The Associated Press show.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Life with no gas, water, or electricity
Life in one of China’s unfinished apartment complexes / Sixth Tone
“Construction on the Jinling Apartment building ground to a halt when the developer ran out of funds. Residents moved in anyway.”

Hong Kong sawmill will lumber on no longer
‘Wood is life’: A Hong Kong sawmill’s last days / NYT (paywall)
“Chi Kee Sawmill and Timber, in business since the 1940s, will soon make way for a vast development project. But it is still bringing new life to old wood.”

Heroic volunteers help fight wildfires in Chongqing
“True heroes of the city”: Sparks of patriotism as firefighters contain Chongqing wildfire / What’s on Weibo
Volunteers band together to help battle wildfires in Chongqing / Sixth Tone

Chinese fighters are stepping into the ring
How China is nurturing a new generation of future UFC stars / Sixth Tone
“For years, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been working to tap into China’s vast pool of fighting talent. Now, those efforts are starting to pay off with a vengeance.”