Links for Thursday, September 8, 2022

Another delegation lands in Taiwan
U.S. lawmaker visits to Taiwan hit decade high, irking China / Bloomberg (paywall)

EVs: Tesla and Chinese automakers did well in August
Chinese automakers extend lead over global counterparts in EV sales: industry group / TechNode
“Retail sales of passenger electric vehicles in China rose 111.2% annually to 529,000 units in August, of which Chinese auto majors accounted for 70% of the month’s total — up 4.2% from last year, according to figures published Thursday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).”
Tesla triples deliveries of China-made cars after upgrade in Shanghai plant / Reuters
Tesla delivers near-record china-made cars in August / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Elon Musk’s electric-car maker delivered 76,965 Chinese-made vehicles in August, just shy of June’s record 77,938 and a sharp rebound from 28,217 in July, when assembly lines at Tesla’s plant in Shanghai were suspended for upgrades to double annual capacity to about 1 million units.”

SHEIN’s billion-dollar business model
How China’s fast-fashion app Shein beat Uniqlo’s market value / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Shein’s unconventional approach has propelled the Chinese fast-fashion app to a market value far surpassing that of its closest competitors Uniqlo and Zara.”

COVID zero and the glass ceiling
Zero-COVID is making it tougher for Chinese strivers to get ahead / Economist (paywall)
“Paths to the middle class are narrowing.”

U.S. Pentagon halts F-35 fighter jets over China supply fears
Pentagon suspends F-35 deliveries after discovering materials from China / Politico
“The Pentagon has temporarily halted delivery of F-35 fighter jets to the military branches and international customers after Lockheed Martin discovered a metal component used in the jet’s engine had come from China, according to the Pentagon.”
Pentagon stops accepting F-35 jets to check for Chinese content / Reuters
Military analysts blame US cold war sentiment for halted delivery of F-35 fighters containing Chinese alloy / SCMP (paywall)

China and India are cushioning the blow from Russian sanctions
India and China undercut Russia’s oil sanctions pain / FT (paywall)
“Indian and Chinese oil buying has offset most of the fall in Russian shipments to Europe, raising questions about the impact of sanctions on Moscow that have led to soaring energy bills for European consumers.”
China snaps up half-price Russian LNG as Europe shuns supplies / Bloomberg (paywall)

U.S. begins talks on Indo-Pacific plan
U.S. to start economic talks with 13 nations to counter China / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Thirteen countries are expected to send representatives to the two-day kickoff event starting Thursday in Los Angeles for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, or IPEF, which covers about 40% of global gross domestic product.”

Censoring China’s #MeToo
The censorship machine erasing China’s feminist movement / New Yorker
“This summer, a viral video of a group of women being viciously attacked in a restaurant sparked national outrage. The response has been quashed.”