Highlighted Links for Wednesday, September 21, 2022

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Heat waves put air-conditioning workers at greater risk
  More air conditioning workers died this summer: Media report / Sixth Tone
  “One Chinese insurance company estimates at least 100 technicians died on worksites, as demand soared due to heat waves.”

• U.S. adds more China telecom firms to watch list
  U.S. agency adds China Unicom, Pacific Networks to national security threat list / Reuters
  “The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) named Chinese telecom companies Pacific Networks Corp, its wholly-owned subsidiary ComNet (USA) LLC and China Unicom (Americas) as threats to U.S. national security, the regulator said Tuesday.”

• Europe is still buying Xinjiang goods
  Xinjiang exports to EU more than double despite forced labour concerns / SCMP (paywall)
  “Exports from Xinjiang to the European Union more than doubled last month, despite widespread concerns over forced labor in the Chinese region.”

• COVID-zero China pushes away Western businesses
  European business group warns of loss of confidence in China / Reuters
  The European Chamber of Commerce “warned on Wednesday that firms were losing confidence in China and that its standing as an investment destination was being eroded, citing its ‘inflexible and inconsistently implemented’ COVID policy as a key factor.”
  China losing appeal as European firms rethink future investments / Bloomberg (paywall)
  Zero-COVID harming 75% of European firms in China: Business group / CNA
  European businesses forced to ‘reduce, localise and silo’ in China / FT (paywall)
  European businesses are rethinking their plans for a ‘closed’ China / CNBC
  Expats shun China over COVID policies, forcing foreign firms to scale back / WSJ (paywall)
  “China has long been a coveted assignment for business executives and diplomats, a prestigious posting in a rising power and a valuable addition to one’s résumé. Now, it is an assignment that few are eager to take on, as China’s zero-COVID isolation deepens and concerns about geopolitical tensions and economic delinking rise.”

• Tencent’s gaming problem
  Tencent chooses health over wealth in gaming return / FT (paywall)
  “China’s most valuable company is struggling with video game restrictions in its home market.”

• China moves toward the metaverse with advanced operating system
  Institute in Shanghai unveils self-developed Web3 operating system / Pandaily
  “On September 21, the Shanghai Tree-Graph Blockchain Research Institute released Conflux OS, a new self-developed operating system that provides underlying code support for the cultivation of a Web3 application ecology and the development of China’s metaverse industry.”

• Green hydrogen material is much cheaper to produce in China
  China leading race to make technology vital for green hydrogen / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “Chinese factories can produce electrolyzers at a fraction of the cost of U.S. and European competitors, giving them an edge in the race to manufacture the key technology for unlocking green hydrogen.”

• Chinese shipping giant buys up more container ships
  Cosco shipping to order 15 more containerships / Caixin (paywall)
  “Chinese state-owned giant Cosco plans to order 15 container ships at a cost of $2.9 billion from an affiliated shipyard, Caixin learned from [the company].”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

• Cloning Arctic wolves
  Chinese researchers clone an Arctic wolf in ‘landmark’ conservation project / CNN
  “Researchers in China have cloned a wild Arctic wolf — and they’re hoping the controversial genetic technology can now be used to help save other species under threat as the world edges toward an extinction crisis.”

• Lifesaving heart surgeries at risk from supply chain woes
  On the operating table, supply chain issues can be life or death / Sixth Tone
  “For months, heart surgeons have been warning that China faces a shortage of aortic grafts, an imported product needed to treat life-threatening vascular disease.”

• Alzheimer’s in China
  Stigma against Alzheimer’s delays early diagnosis in China / Sixth Tone
  “Despite the growing awareness of Alzheimer’s in China, only a few people would seek medical attention or a diagnosis during the early stages of the disease that affects an individual’s memory and cognitive functions, according to a new survey.”

• China and UAE on the Moon
  China and United Arab Emirates agree on joint lunar mission / SCMP (paywall)
  “China has agreed to partner with the United Arab Emirates in an unmanned landing mission to the moon, with the two countries’ space agencies signing a pact in Dubai last week.”

• Massive quarantine center in Sichuan
  China’s vast 14,000-bed COVID isolation center revealed in drone footage / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “China has built a massive COVID-19 isolation center made up of row upon row of temporary buildings over a vast expanse in the country’s south, as officials continue to treat the virus as a threat that needs to be stamped out.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

• China reiterates “peaceful unification” while U.S., Canada sail through Taiwan Strait
  China willing to make effort for peaceful ‘reunification’ with Taiwan / Reuters
  “China is willing to make the utmost effort to strive for a peaceful ‘reunification’ with Taiwan, a Chinese government spokesperson said on Wednesday, following weeks of military maneuvers and war games by Beijing near the island.”
  China says will do all it can for peaceful Taiwan ‘reunification’ / Al Jazeera
  China says it has patience needed to bring Taiwan under control / Bloomberg (paywall)
  3 allies speak up on Taiwan’s behalf at U.N. General Assembly / Focus Taiwan
  China calls U.S.-Canada Taiwan Strait transit ‘provocative’ / RFA
  Canadian warship makes rater Taiwan Strait transit / Focus Taiwan
  China dials down Taiwan rhetoric; US, Canada transit strait / AP

• Businessmen and the Henan bank fraud
  The shadowy businessman behind the Henan bank swindle / Caixin (paywall)
  “Behind the multibillion-dollar swindle of hundreds of thousands of bank depositors across China that sent shockwaves through the nation’s banking system and resulted in the arrest of 234 people is a single shadowy businessman known as Lü Yi.”

• Chinese people are still shaken up over the deadly quarantine-bound bus crash
  ‘We’re on that bus, too’: In China, a deadly crash triggers COVID trauma / NYT (paywall)
  “A bus heading to a quarantine facility crashed, killing 27. The Chinese public saw themselves in the victims: a country being held hostage by the government’s harsh policy.”

• Will climate talks resume post-Pelosi?
  John Kerry sees frozen U.S.-China climate talks possibly resuming / Bloomberg (paywall)

• China wedged between Russia and the West
  China urges dialogue, consultation after Putin’s warning to West / Reuters
  “China’s foreign ministry urged all parties to engage in dialogue and consultation and find a way to address the security concerns of all parties after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West over what he described as ‘nuclear blackmail’.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Did a man on TikTok find rare photos from the Nanjing Massacre?
  On TikTok, an album containing old wartime photos causes havoc / New Yorker
  “An antique dealer in Minnesota believed that he had found rare photographic evidence documenting the Nanjing Massacre.”

• Foreign students struggle to return to China
  China’s zero-COVID policy still creating headaches for overseas students, even as some near return after 3 years / SCMP (paywall)
  “Overseas students enrolled at universities in China have been forced to study online for the best part of three years due to the coronavirus…As China slowly eases some travel restrictions, students now face complicated and expensive journeys to resume their studies.”

• Artifacts and ancient masks
  Rare 3,000-year-old gold mask found in Chinese royal tombs / Artnews
  “An estimated 3,000-year-old gold mask has been unearthed by archaeologists in central China. It is the first of its kind to be identified dating back to the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 B.C.E.).”
  Showcasing a Zhejiang culture dating back thousands of years / Shanghai Daily
  “An exhibition that displays Yue culture is underway at the Wulin Pavilion of Zhejiang Museum, giving visitors a chance to appreciate these rare artifacts.”

• Nostalgic photos of old Shanghai
  A retrospective of turn-of-the-century Shanghai / Shanghai Daily
  A new exhibition “casts a vivid, wistful glance backward at the city’s urban changes and social development around 20 years ago with 175 photos and a video.”