Highlighted Links for Thursday, October 20, 2022

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Fosun wrestles with debt, and other property problems
  Fosun divestments near $5bn as debt pressure mounts / FT (paywall)
  China’s Fosun International to sell 60% stake in Nanjing Nangang Iron & Steel United / Reuters
  Fosun to sell China steelmaker stake for up to $2.2 billion / Bloomberg (paywall)
  In China’s property sector, there is nowhere to hide / WSJ (paywall)
  Upgrading demand will be key driver for housing market: experts / Sixth Tone

• Tencent’s price plunge as investors sour on China stocks
  Tencent hits lowest price in five years on China economy concern / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “Tencent Holdings Ltd. is on track to close at its lowest point in five years as investor sentiment turned negative following concerns over China’s macro outlook.”
  Tencent steps up buybacks as share price sinks / FT (paywall)
  Chinese stocks tumble to multi-year lows in New York and Hong Kong amid Party Congress / CNN
  Hong Kong stocks hit 13-year low as Chinese growth slows / FT (paywall)

• Tax the rich?
  China may impose taxes on the wealthy in pursuit of Xi’s common prosperity goal / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “Several government-linked economists this week highlighted the possibility of major tax reform, responding to Xi’s comments in his Sunday speech to the Communist Party congress saying China should ensure a ‘well regulated’ system of wealth accumulation.”

• Money can only get you so far in Xi’s China
  Corporate China shut out of Xi’s Party Congress / FT (paywall)
  “Private sector attendance at China’s Communist party congress has fallen almost 50% since Xi Jinping assumed power, reflecting what analysts say is the waning status of tycoons.”

• Chinese people love expensive Birkins and cheap bubble tea
  Affluent splash out on pricey Birkin bags but clouds loom / Reuters
  “Brushing off higher prices, affluent spenders continue to splash out on luxuries including $10,000 handbags and premium drinks, updates from Birkin bag maker Hermes and spirits company Pernod Ricard showed on Thursday.”
  Hermes sales soar as Chinese consumers’ appetite rebounds / Bloomberg (paywall)
  $1 bubble teas fuel Chinese drink chain Mixue’s rise to the top / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “For all of coffee’s inroads into China, tea remains a far bigger and more crowded market. And one Chinese chain is outgrowing them all. Mixue Bingcheng, whose snowman-logo shops sell ice cream and a variety of drinks, has over 21,000 locations in China — three times as many as the next-largest rival.”

• Crypto isn’t dead in the water yet
  Chinese crypto activity slows but not dead despite ban / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “Following the government crackdown on the industry last year, mainland China recorded a 31% fall in the volume of digital token transactions between July 2021 and June 2022, according to blockchain consultancy group Chainalysis’s latest report on East Asia.”

• Zeiss eyes China production
  Zeiss builds first factory in China with $25m investment / Pandaily
  “Zeiss, a leading enterprise in the fields of optics and optoelectronics, on October 18 started construction of a new R&D and production base in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.”

• Big savings for battery-swapping NEVs in Sanya
  Sanya to offer up to 10k yuan subsidies for battery-swapping NEVs / Pandaily
  “According to a report by Hainan Daily on October 20, from now until March 31 next year, the city of Sanya will provide a gradient subsidy for the promotion of new energy vehicles supporting battery swapping, with up to 10,000 yuan ($1,381) for a single vehicle.”

• Dutch chipmaker ASML lightly bruised by Biden chip curbs to China
  About 5% of ASML’s undelivered orders to China to be affected by U.S. export control / TechNode
  “Major chipmaking equipment provider ASML said at a Wednesday earnings call that 5% of ASML’s yet-to-be-delivered orders to China would be affected by the new export controls from U.S. officials.”

• Mighty, magical, money-making graphene
  BEYOND Expo | How can graphene change the world / TechNode
  “Jiaxing Huang, chair professor of materials at Westlake University, shared his views on graphene and talked about why the material is important for modern industry.”

• Taiwan export orders slump over China woes
  Taiwan’s export orders fall in September as economic distress in mainland China intensifies / SCMP (paywall)
  “Taiwan’s export orders totaled $60.93 billion in September, down by 3.1% year on year, amid declining demand from the island’s biggest buyer, mainland China.”
  Taiwan export orders fall in september on weak China demand / Bloomberg (paywall)

• PBoC names new deputy governor
  China’s central bank gets new deputy governor / Caixin (paywall)
  “Xuan Changneng, a finance veteran who spent roughly a decade studying and working in the U.S., has been appointed a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), according to an update on the central bank’s webpage for its management team.”

• Sustainable fashion the next big thing in China?
  Sustainable fashion in China: An emerging trend in the apparel industry / China Briefing
  “The sustainable fashion trend is also beginning to take root in China, driven by young, urban, and increasingly environmentally conscious consumers.”

• Property giant launches solar project in Shanghai
  China’s largest developer pushes into clean energy with Shanghai solar project / Caixin (paywall)
  “China’s largest property developer by sales, Country Garden Holdings Co. Ltd. has made further inroads into the clean energy sector with the launch of a photovoltaic cell and power storage project located in Shanghai.”
  The China Project reported in August: China’s photovoltaic boom is just getting started, but there may be dark clouds ahead.

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

• Fancy space gas
  China’s FAST telescope discovers largest known atomic gas structure / Pandaily
  “FAST’s latest discovery reveals the existence of a large-scale low-density atomic gas structure in outer space far from the center of the galaxy cluster.”

• Will reducing air pollution help China secure energy resources?
  China’s ‘blue sky’ efforts may ease energy crunch and coal rally / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “Efforts by China to control air pollution by reining in industrial output could help ease an energy crunch and tame a bull run in thermal coal, according to the China Coal Transport and Distribution Association.”

• Lakes in Xinjiang desert raise climate concern
  Flood water forms rare lakes in China’s largest desert / Sixth Tone
  “In a rare occurrence, China’s largest desert in the northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has seen multiple lake formations this year, which an environmental expert described as a warning about climate change.”

• Beijing ramps up COVID curbs amid surge in cases…
  Chinese capital steps up COVID measures as cases quadruple / Reuters
  China sticks with zero-COVID as quarantine video causes outrage / Al Jazeera
  China anger over death of girl, 14, sent to COVID quarantine / BBC

• …but will travel curbs to China ease up?
  China is debating a reduction to COVID quarantine for inbound travelers / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “Chinese officials are debating whether to reduce the amount of time people coming into the country must spend in mandatory quarantine, according to people familiar with the discussions, as the country’s COVID-zero policy leaves it increasingly isolated from the rest of the world.”

• China’s monkeypox vaccine
  China’s monkeypox shot will target the actual virus / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “China has started work on a monkeypox vaccine using virus taken directly from a patient, marking a departure from the western approach of repurposing an existing shot as it seeks to counter incursions from elsewhere in the world.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

• India still leans on China-made goods
  India is now ever more dependent on Chinese imports despite seeking self-reliance / Quartz
  India has been spending billions of rupees to build up its self-reliance and reduce the trade deficit with China, but “China’s trade surplus with India has only exceeded $1 trillion, The Hindu reported yesterday (Oct. 20).”

• Taiwan strengthens global ties as tensions grow with mainland China
  How Taiwan’s ‘adorable’ and ambitious diplomacy aims to keep the island safe / NYT (paywall)
  “Even as China’s threats on reunification grow more pointed, most recently at the Communist Party congress, Taiwan is working creatively to bolster its alliances.”

• Ex-CCTV journalist talks on the decline of press freedom in China
  Fleeing Xi’s China, journalist makes fresh start abroad / AP
  “Investigative journalist Wang Zhi’an once exposed corruption, land seizures, and medical malpractice in China, with millions of viewers and a powerful platform: state broadcaster CCTV.”

• Beijing’s security state
  China’s surveillance state pushes deeper into citizens’ lives / WSJ (paywall)
  Under Xi Jinping, zero-COVID is accelerating China’s surveillance state / CNN
  In China, five more years of Xi means security above all else / Bloomberg (paywall)
  No, capitalism and the internet will not free China’s people / NYT (paywall)
  Chinese dissident artist Ài Wèiwèi 艾未未 writes: “The Communist Party’s war on independent thought continues.”

• China becomes Zimbabwe’s largest creditor
  China is now Zimbabwe’s biggest investor / China-Global South Project
  “Over the past three years, China invested over $2 billion in Zimbabwe and is now the Southern African country’s largest foreign investor.”

• Anti-Chinese crime rises in Africa
  Chinese embassy calls for retreat from Nigeria’s Kaduna state / China-Global South Project
  “The Chinese embassy in Nigeria called for Chinese citizens to leave Kaduna state due to ongoing criminal attacks and kidnappings.”

• Russian yacht leaves Hong Kong
  Russian oligarch’s luxury yacht departs Hong Kong port / Reuters
  “A luxury yacht belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarch Alexey Mordashov departed Hong Kong waters on Thursday”
  Yacht linked to sanctioned Russian tycoon leaves Hong Kong / AP

• What’s black and white and round all over? Pandas and soccer balls.
  China brings ‘panda diplomacy’ to Qatar with World Cup gift / NBC
  “A pair of giant pandas arrived in Qatar on Wednesday as a gift ahead of the World Cup, marking the first time China has extended its ‘panda diplomacy’ to the Middle East.”
  Pandas sent by China arrive in Qatar ahead of World Cup / AP

• Influencers and Chinese propaganda
  China using influencers to whitewash human rights abuses, report finds / Guardian
  “The Chinese Communist party is using social media influencers from troubled regions like Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia to whitewash human rights abuses through an increasingly sophisticated propaganda campaign, a report has claimed.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Is Shanghai’s push for more parks favoring quantity over quality?
  How many parks make a city? / Sixth Tone
  “Shanghai is in the midst of an ambitious plan to more than double its number of city parks by 2025, but accessibility remains an issue.”

• More style than substance in China’s stage shows
  Dance, dance, revolution? China’s stage shows get a makeover / Sixth Tone
  “Skin-deep portrayals of traditional aesthetics have helped producers to balance commercial success and political messaging, but there are signs the act is wearing thin.”