Highlighted Links for Thursday, September 1, 2022

Below are links to other noteworthy reports published in the last 24 hours from and about China.

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BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Baidu is big and bullish on self-driving cars
  Baidu CEO: highly autonomous cars could become common “sooner than expected” / TechNode
  The article also looks at legal / ethical questions: “Level 4 vehicles, however, make it clear that the manufacturer or the owner, rather than the driver, is responsible in a crash, Li added.”

• Tech layoffs
  From Apps to Dumplings: China’s Tech Workers Switch Careers, Countries As Layoffs Mount / The Information (paywall)
  “Shanghai’s draconian lockdown, triggered by a surge in new COVID-19 cases, crippled China’s commercial hub. Tencent, Alibaba and other tech companies slashed jobs to cope with what some executives who spoke to The Information described as the worst business environment of their lifetimes.”

• East Asian gaming industry moves
  Tencent and Sony take stakes in Elden Ring developer FromSoftware / TechNode
  “Sony and Tencent have invested to take minority stakes in Japanese gaming company FromSoftware, it was announced on Wednesday. The two new shareholders will take 16.25% and 14.09% of the firm, respectively.”
  The Pokémon Company sues Chinese mobile game operators for intellectual property violation / SCMP
• Luxshare in the crosshairs
  China iPhone assembler accused of secretly acquiring Taiwan Tech / Bloomberg
  “Taiwanese prosecutors have indicted the head of Luxshare Precision Industry Co. for using a shell company to surreptitiously take over a key local company.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

• Carbon emissions fall — the upside of a lousy economy
  China’s carbon emissions fall 8% as economic growth slows / FT
  “China’s carbon emissions fell almost 8 percent in the April-to-June quarter compared with the same period last year.” The trend “​​reflects a dramatic slowing in Chinese economic growth caused by large-scale coronavirus lockdowns and a crisis in the heavily indebted property sector.”

• HPV vaccine supply strain
  China expands HPV vaccines age, but supply concerns remain / Sixth Tone
  “Many women have complained of a lack of access to the shots targeting nine virus strains due to limited stock and a high demand.”
  • Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is closely associated with cervical cancer.

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

• A “rare public disagreement” with COVID-zero policy
  Chinese think tank: Virus curbs must change to help economy / AP
  “The Anbound Research Center gave no details of possible changes” but said the Chinese government “needs to focus on shoring up sinking growth,” and “noted the United States, Europe and Japan are recovering economically after easing anti-disease curbs.”

• Zambia debt deal
  Zambia’s $1.3bn IMF bailout to test how China handles defaults / FT
  “Zambia has secured a $1.3bn IMF bailout package…The bailout was unlocked after Beijing agreed in principle in July to restructure loans under a G20 framework to co-ordinate debt relief.”

• Doors creaking open for foreign students?
  China will again welcome international students / Inside Higher Ed
  “By the end of August, roughly two dozen countries — including the recent additions of India, Malaysia and Thailand — had received permission for their students to apply for a Chinese X1 study visa, according to the higher education consultancy China Admissions.”

• New top diplomat for African affairs
  China appoints veteran diplomat to senior Africa role / The China Global South Project
  Chinese diplomat Liú Yùxī 刘豫锡 will become Beijing’s new Special Representative on African Affairs. Liu “assumes the role with more than 30 years of experience in the Foreign Ministry including two tours as an ambassador in Africa, first in Togo and later at the African Union.”

• Analyzing how Beijing talks about human rights
  China’s civil society front on human rights / China Media Project
  A “look at how China has been talking about human rights in recent weeks and months, and what this reveals about how China engages on human rights issues through international institutions like the UN.”

• Guatemalan foreign minister visits Taiwan
  Guatemala, Taiwan agree to boost diplomatic cooperation, training / Reuters

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Marriage rate hits new low
  China marriages dive to record low as population pressures mount / Bloomberg
  “Some 7.6 million marriages were registered in 2021, according to figures recently released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. That is the lowest dating back to 1985, the earliest year for which the National Bureau of Statistics has published records.”

• “Backyard breeding centers” for pets
  China’s pet industry is booming. so are its horrific breeding mills. / Sixth Tone
  “Backyard breeding centers are thriving amid China’s boom in pet ownership, allowed to boost profits by keeping animals in horrifying — and often dangerously unsanitary — conditions due to a lack of regulation and public scrutiny.”