Highlighted links for Monday, October 17, 2022

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

The private sector must learn to live with Xi Jinping
In Xi’s China, the business of business is state-controlled / NYT (paywall)
“The Chinese leader has increasingly demanded that businesses conform to the aims of the Communist Party, an agenda he doubled down on this week at an important political gathering.”
China’s new growth goals require a change for attracting foreign investors, official says / CNBC
China will ‘unwaveringly’ back private sector but scrutiny to stay, Communist Party congress spokesman says / SCMP (paywall)
Xi agenda defines a decade, and era, for China’s capital markets / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
China tech firms seek clarity from Xi at Party Congress / Bloomberg (paywall)

Stocks slump as China commits to COVID zero
China stocks edge lower as Xi disappoints on COVID zero policy / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Chinese stocks resumed their decline as President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 offered little sign of a shift away from COVID-zero in his key speech, disappointing investors who had been hoping for some loosening of restrictions to shore up the market.”

Alipay and WeChat link up via money transfers
Ant’s Alipay opens money transfers to users of Tencent’s WeChat / Pandaily
“Chinese smartphone users have recently discovered a new function within Alipay, Ant Financial’s payment platform, allowing them to transfer funds to contacts on Tencent’s WeChat app.”

Beijing and the economy
Big Chinese banks pledge enhanced support for economy as Xi sounds call for growth / Reuters
“China’s six largest state-owned banks vowed they will enhance support to the slowing economy, in response to President Xí Jìnpíng’s 习近平 call for a high-quality economic growth at the opening of a critical Communist Party Congress.”
China’s top 6 lenders boost loans to support slowing economy / FT (paywall)
China ramps up economic support due to slump from COVID zero, U.S. tensions / Bloomberg (paywall)
China’s economy needs to double in size to meet Xi’s ambitious plans / Bloomberg (paywall)
China’s Communist Party faces up to slower-growth years ahead / WSJ (paywall)
Communist Party Congress overshadowed by ‘rockiest China’s economy in decades’ / Bloomberg (paywall)
China’s GDP ‘rebounded significantly’ in third quarter, state planning body says / SCMP (paywall)
China wants to be part of global economy despite domestic focus / Bloomberg (paywall)
China showed ‘significant’ Q3 rebound, state planner says / Nikkei Asia (paywall)

Beijing tries to prop up faltering yuan
China state banks step up dollar sales to support renminbi / FT (paywall)
“China’s state banks stepped up selling of the dollar on Monday, supporting the renminbi against the surging U.S. currency as the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Congress got under way in Beijing.”
Surging dollar tests China’s capital controls as cash flees / Reuters

China pauses LNG resells to secure supplies for the winter
China halts LNG sales to foreign buyers to ensure own supply / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China told its state-owned gas importers to stop reselling LNG to energy-starved buyers in Europe and Asia in order to ensure its own supply for the winter heating season.”

Wrenches in Kenya’s China-funded railway
Can Kenya keep importers happy and repay loans on China-funded railway? / SCMP (paywall)
“Kenya’s China-built railway is facing a new challenge in the struggle to pay its way, after its $4.7 billion price tag became a political issue in the East African country’s elections.”

Empty office spaces in Shenzhen
Shenzhen’s leased office space contracts in Q3, driving up vacancy rate / Caixin (paywall)
“The net rental growth of Shenzhen’s prime office buildings slipped into negative in the third quarter of the year, pushing up the vacancy rate to 22.7%, data from global real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield shows.”

Hong Kong wants to be the hub for NFTs and cryptocurrencies
Hong Kong to outline ambition to become top virtual asset hub / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Hong Kong wants to become an international center for virtual assets as the city seeks to bolster its status as a global financial hub following the disruptions caused by the pandemic.”

Inflation rises in China
China’s inflation rises at fastest pace in two years / WSJ (paywall)
“Annual inflation hit 2.8% in September, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said Friday, driven by a sharp rise in prices of food, especially pork. That compared with a 2.5% annual rise in consumer prices in August, and marked the fastest rate of inflation since April 2020.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

iPhone-making hub Zhengzhou goes under lockdown
China locks down 1 million people in Zhengzhou on COVID cases / Bloomberg (paywall)
“The iPhone manufacturing hub of Zhengzhou locked down one of its most-populated districts to tame a virus flareup, with creeping restrictions throughout China underscoring the constant threat of disruption companies face while the country sticks to COVID-zero.”

Rural Chinese boys are getting beefier
Taller and fatter: study shows boys in rural China are 7.5cm taller and 6.6kg heavier than a decade ago thanks to better nutrition / SCMP (paywall)
“Rural Chinese children, particularly teenage boys, are now taller and heavier than a decade ago, thanks to improved nutrition, China’s Ministry of Education has revealed in a new study.”

China wants to make, but not vape, e-cigarettes
China bans fruity vapes – but not their export to the U.K. / Guardian
“China has banned the sale of flavored e-cigarettes as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on the industry…But they can still be manufactured in China to be shipped around the world, including to the U.K., where Chinese-made brands such as Elfbar, known for its range of flavored disposable vapes, are popular.”

China turns to coal and renewables to secure power resources
Official: China mining more coal but increasing wind, solar / AP
“China plans to boost coal production through 2025 to avoid a repeat of last year’s power shortages, an official said Monday, adding to setbacks in efforts to cut climate-changing carbon emissions from the biggest global source.”

Palm oil production
Will China produce its own palm oil? / Sixth Tone
“China wants to increase its supply of edible oils, but as producing palm oil would be hugely expensive, developing production overseas may be the alternative.”

National parks boom
Conservation success prompts China to build more national parks / Sixth Tone
“China plans to build more national parks in an attempt to become a global conservation leader, as the country celebrates its success in preserving wildlife species and their habitats in the five protected areas designated last year.”

China eyes Global South in climate change fight
China releases climate plan focusing heavily on Global South / China-Global South Project (paywall)
“China has released a new concept note on climate cooperation in the runup to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (known as COP27) taking place in Egypt in November.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

EU, NATO toughen up on China
EU ministers recommended to take a tougher stance on China / FT (paywall)
“The EU must toughen up its attitude towards China and see the country as an all-out competitor with limited areas of potential engagement, the bloc’s ministers have been advised ahead of talks on recalibrating Brussels’ strategy towards Beijing.”
EU is leaving “naivety” behind with China, Dutch foreign minister says / Reuters
NATO-China tension over Ukraine flares at conference in Iceland / Bloomberg (paywall)
“A senior NATO official confronted a Chinese diplomat over China’s failure to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, injecting tension over the war into an international conference about the Arctic.”
Last week on The China Project: China’s slow but steady moves in the Arctic.

Senior official tainted but not destroyed by #MeToo scandal returns to public eye at the Party Congress
Ex-China official in tennis #MeToo scandal appears at Xi speech / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Former Chinese Vice Premier [Zhāng Gāolì 张高丽] appeared in public for the first time since tennis star [Péng Shuài 彭帅] last year alleged they’d had an affair, in one of China’s most high-profile #MeToo scandals.”

Chip wars
Chinese semiconductor firms bear heavy fallout of U.S. chip sanction / TechNode
“At least 13 China-listed semiconductor firms saw market value decline more than 10% since Monday, and five saw a more than 20% decline.”
Ban on U.S. persons at China chip firms thwarts Xi’s key ambition / Bloomberg (paywall)
The sweeping impact of new U.S. semiconductor restrictions / Caixin (paywall)
China’s Xi vows victory in tech battle after U.S. chip curbs / Bloomberg (paywall)
American executives in limbo at Chinese chip companies after U.S. ban / WSJ (paywall)
“At least 43 senior executives working with 16 publicly listed Chinese semiconductor companies are American citizens, according to an examination of company filings and official websites by The Wall Street Journal. Many of them hold C-suite titles, from chief executive to vice president and chairman.”

U.S. tech still finds its way to China, despite Biden’s export curbs
American technology boosts China’s hypersonic missile program / Washington Post (paywall)
“Military research groups at the leading edge of China’s hypersonics and missile programs — many on a U.S. export blacklist — are purchasing a range of specialized American technology, including products developed by firms that have received millions of dollars in grants and contracts from the Pentagon, a Washington Post investigation has found.”

On Xi’s China
‘Moving backward’: In Xi’s China, some see an era of total control / NYT (paywall)
“A decade ago, many prominent Chinese hoped that Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 would usher in openness and reform. Today, some of them believe he’s created a totalitarian state.”
‘Walled-in’ China under Xi Jinping poses long-term global challenges / CNN
All the Emperor’s men: How Xi Jinping became China’s unrivaled leader / FT (paywall)

Doubts over China’s ambitions in shared waters
Can China build a “community” for shared oceans? / Interpreter
“Amiable talk about safeguarding partners and protecting marine environment hasn’t allayed suspicions.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Ancient tombs are everywhere in Xi’an
Xi’an confronts an unusual challenge: A surfeit of ancient tombs / Sixth Tone
“China wants to protect its historical relics from new urban development projects. But that’s no simple task in Xi’an — a city where imperial tombs are seemingly everywhere.”

Party Congress talk on Chinese social media
Song Ping, the 105-year-old delegate at the 20th CPC National Congress / What’s on Weibo
20th Party Congress: Xi Jinping’s speech in five trending hashtags / What’s on Weibo

China’s booming taste for truffles
In southwest China, truffles smell a lot like money / Sixth Tone
“A complex network of intermediaries has helped turn the fungus from afterthought into a sought-after luxury good.”

A decade of murders and the difficulties of rural life
The rural hardship behind the mine murders that shocked China / Caixin (paywall)
“Caixin reporter Wang Heyan shares her account of interviewing victims’ families and learning of the hardscrabble reality of rural life in China’s northwest.”