Highlighted Links for Wednesday, October 26, 2022

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Will China open back up to expats?
  China signals easing of COVID-19 restrictions for foreign businesses / WSJ (paywall)
  “China signaled it could ease its rigid pandemic border restrictions for some foreign business executives and called for technological collaboration with multinationals, weeks after Beijing was struck by new U.S. export controls on chips.”

• China’s private sector is freezing over under Xi’s extended rule
  Two entrepreneurs lived through China’s tumultuous tech decade. Only one is staying. / WSJ (paywall)
  Xi Jinping provokes a spectacular sell-off in China’s markets / Economist (paywall)

• South Korea’s SK Hynix frets over China chip plant amid Biden’s tech curbs
  SK Hynix weighs future of China chip plant after U.S. tech curbs / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “SK Hynix said on Wednesday that it would consider selling its memory chip production facilities in China in a worst-case scenario if recently imposed U.S. export controls make it too difficult to continue operations there.”
  South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix worries about China future / AP

• Money laundering nearly half a billion dollars’ worth of precious metals
  Hong Kong arrests two in $446 million money laundering case / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “Hong Kong Customs has arrested two men involved in one of the city’s largest money-laundering cases ever.”

• CATL wants to dominate battery making all over the world
  The world’s No. 1 EV-battery maker juices up global expansion / Caixin (paywall)
  “The world’s largest producer of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) has long pursued a global expansion…But China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) has pushed that into overdrive this year, with a flurry of moves to expand its production across three continents.”

• Return of group tours boost Macau gaming stocks
  Macau casinos rally on report city issues rules for group tours / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “Macau’s casino stocks snapped a record run of losses after a local media outlet reported the city had issued guidelines to travel agencies that will allow group tours from parts of mainland China to resume.”

• Robotaxi operator WeRide links up with Hyundai for hydrogen-powered vehicles
  Hyundai and WeRide plan to fuel self-driving with hydrogen in China / TechCrunch
  “WeRide, one of the most funded robotaxi operators in China with investors including Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, said Tuesday it is joining hands with Hyundai to launch a ‘self-driving hydrogen-powered vehicle pilot zone’ in Guangzhou, the southern metropolis where it’s headquartered.”
  WeRide and Hyundai Motor to build demonstration zone for driverless hydrogen cars / Pandaily

• Affordable Chinese EVs seek to tap Japan market
  Under-$5,000 Chinese EV seeks route into Japan’s minicar kingdom / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “The Chinese maker of the Hong Guang MiniEV, one of the world’s most affordable electric vehicles, is looking for a niche in the Japanese market ahead of a possible rollout here next year.”

• iPhone maker Foxconn weathers COVID curbs
  Foxconn’s largest iPhone factory confirms COVID-19 impact after central China campus restricted worker movement / SCMP (paywall)
  “Apple’s largest supplier said production remains ‘relatively stable’ after a ‘small number of employees’ were affected by COVID.”

• It’s spooky season for China’s economy, too
  China’s economy slows in October as business confidence slumps / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “China’s economy slowed in October as car and real-estate sales weakened and global trade and small business confidence contracted, signaling last month’s pickup in activity wasn’t enough to change the country’s grim economic picture.”

• More flights to China
  China plans to increase international flights from this weekend / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “China plans to increase the number of international flights operated by domestic and foreign airlines to 840 a week from October 30 to March 25. That’s a jump of 106% from October 2021 to late March this year, but still way below pre-pandemic levels.”

• Record openings for public service jobs
  Civil service to recruit record numbers next year, including more graduates / Caixin (paywall)
  “China plans to recruit a record 37,100 civil servants next year for central government agencies and their subordinate bodies, most of whom will be placed in the tax system, according to official statements.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

• Inhale your COVID booster in Shanghai
  Shanghai to offer inhaled COVID vaccine as booster shot / Sixth Tone
  Shanghai will start offering inhaled COVID-19 vaccines as a booster, as the city became one of the first to adopt the new technology greenlit for emergency use last month. China has so far approved 10 domestically.
  Afraid of needles? China rolling out oral COVID-19 vaccine / AP

• China’s future wind farm could power Norway
  China is building the world’s largest wind farm and it could power 13m homes / Euro News
  “China is planning the world’s largest wind farm, a facility so huge it could power the whole of Norway.”

• Hydropower under threat from climate change
  Drought from China to U.S. hits hydro dams, slashing the top clean energy source / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “From California to Germany and China, climate change-fueled heatwaves and droughts have shrunk rivers that feed giant hydropower plants.”

• Health of Taiwan’s giant panda deteriorates
  Taipei Zoo giant panda ‘Tuan Tuan’ placed in palliative care / Channel News Asia
  “Tuan Tuan (團團), an 18-year-old male panda at the Taipei Zoo, has been moved into palliative care after further deterioration in the health issues he has suffered in recent months, zoo management said Wednesday.”
  People express wishes and concerns to panda Tuan Tuan gifted from Chinese mainland after falling ill / ECNS

• Beijing shuts amusement park due to COVID concerns
  Universal Resort shuts due to Beijing coronavirus cases / BBC
  “The Universal Resort theme park in Beijing has temporarily closed due to COVID-19 prevention measures.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

• Speculation over the mysterious exit of Hu Jintao
  The Hu Jintao drama reveals Beijing’s fundamental flaw / Foreign Policy
  The mystery of the Hu Jintao incident / Spectator
  Hu Jintao: Fresh China congress footage deepens mystery over exit / BBC
  Censors delete history journal article on Hu Jintao after exit from Party Congress / China Digital Times
  “In the aftermath of the incident, a few WeChat public accounts shared a 2016 profile of Hu’s life in retirement, originally published in the magazine Party History World (Dangshi Tiandi《党史天地》), which was run by the Party History Research Office of the Hubei Chinese Communist Party Provincial Committee at that time. Censors deleted the essay in at least four cases.”
  China envoy blasts U.S. for dividing Seoul and Beijing, defends Hu Jintao exit at Communist Party congress / SCMP (paywall)
  What Xi’s third term means for Africa / Foreign Policy (paywall)
  “Feeling secure with its influence on the continent, Beijing will take a more strategic approach in the years to come.”

• Xi’s new cabinet toughens up on Taiwan talk
  China says it’s historically ‘closer than ever’ to Taiwan unity / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “China said it had taken a historical step toward achieving unification with Taiwan, days after the ruling Communist Party concluded a congress that handed President Xi Jinping another five years in power.”
  China likely to ramp up diplomatic ‘attacks’ on Taiwan, island’s foreign minister says / Reuters

• More on China’s new ruling body after the Party Congress
  Politics will determine China’s economic future during Xi’s third term / Council on Foreign Relations
  Around the halls: The outcomes of China’s 20th Party Congress / Brookings Institution
  Xi Jinping’s historic bid at the Communist Party Congress / New Yorker

• Rule of law drops in Hong Kong, whie Beijing rebukes U.S. critics on Jimmy Lai conviction
  Hong Kong falls from top 20 in global rule of law Index / HKFP
  Hong Kong dropped three places in a global rule of law index, compiled by the World Justice Project.
  Beijing hits back at U.S. politicians in war of words over fraud conviction for Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai / SCMP (paywall)
  “​China’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong accuses U.S. senators of having ‘sinister intentions,’ calls bipartisan statement proof of American collusion with Jimmy Lai.”

• China’s universities are top notch in the world
  China tops U.S. for first time in this ranking of world’s ‘best’ universities / MarketWatch
  “China has surpassed the U.S. on a major ranking of the world’s best universities. Among the 2,000 schools from more than 90 countries ranked by U.S. News & World Report, 338 Chinese universities made the list, compared to 280 American universities.”

• U.S. and U.K. strengthen resolve on Russia, China
  Biden congratulates Sunak, discusses Ukraine and China in call / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “President Joe Biden congratulated the new U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday in a call in which they discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine and challenges arising from China, according to the White House.”

• Memorial ceremony for Chinese soldiers in the Korean War
  ‘Chinese martyrs remembered’: Beijing and Pyongyang officials mark 72nd anniversary of China entering Korean war / SCMP (paywall)
  “Chinese embassy representatives and North Korean officials in Pyongyang have attended a ceremony to mark the 72nd anniversary of Chinese soldiers entering the Korean war.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Rural hardship is too political for the big screen in China
  Hit film Return to Dust has vanished from China’s cinemas. Why? / FT (paywall)
  “Seemingly banned merely for spotlighting the hard lives of the rural poor, the sleeper hit appears a snapshot of an airless political climate — and a symbol of the vulnerability of art.”

• Chinese producers can’t seem to stop airing blackface on TV
  Here we go again… more blackface on Chinese television / China-Global South Project (paywall)
  “The Hong Kong-based television network TVB is facing criticism following this week’s broadcast of its popular drama series Come Home Love: Lo and Behold, which featured actors wearing blackface.”

• Pay gap threatens China’s goals for a good women’s soccer team
  China’s lofty goals for women’s soccer team misses pay details / Sixth Tone
  “China has set out ambitious goals for its women’s soccer players, promising more investment and talent to make them a leading team globally. But the plan fell short on details about the salaries for female players, even as fans demanded pay parity with their male counterparts after a historic win earlier this year.”

• China’s thriving ’80s
  The mixed legacies of China’s ‘cultural craze’ / Sixth Tone
  “Social anthropologist Xiang Biao and journalist Wu Qi discuss the elitist ideals that animated China’s ’80s generation.”