Highlighted Links for Monday, November 21, 2022

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Staff shortage at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory
  An iPhone factory needs workers. The Chinese government wants to help. / NYT (paywall)
  “The government has sought out military veterans and Communist Party members to try to help an Apple supplier address a labor shortage at a major factory.”
  China recruits villagers to restore Foxconn’s iPhone production after staff exodus / FT (paywall)

• China’s real-estate crisis
  China calls on banks to stabilize lending to property sector / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “China’s financial regulators have asked banks to stabilize lending to property developers and construction firms, the latest effort by policymakers to turn around the real-estate crisis and bolster economic growth.”
  Chinese real estate stocks surged this month. But analyst warns of ‘weak reality’ vs. high expectations / CNBC
  “Chinese real estate stocks surged after getting an injection of confidence that investors were waiting for, but analysts warn it may be too soon to celebrate.”

• Government-approved data trading
  State-run Shenzhen Data Exchange starts official trading after 1-year trial / SCMP (paywall)
  “China is trying to apply commercial rules to create a market for data, which is regarded by Beijing as a new production factor.”

• Is TikTok a Chinese surveillance threat?
  TikTok draws bipartisan fire in US on China surveillance concern / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “Two US senators called TikTok a Chinese surveillance tool, issuing a bipartisan warning as the Biden administration weighs a deal that could let the video-sharing app keep operating in the US.”

• Taiwanese chip giant opens plant in the U.S.
  Taiwan’s TSMC to bring its most advanced chip manufacturing to Arizona / CNN
  “Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plans to bring its most advanced technology to Arizona, the founder of the chip giant said Monday.”

• Alibaba delays Hong Kong listing, blames COVID-induced delivery troubles for lackluster sales
  Alibaba delays Hong Kong listing conversion as revenue misses expectations / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “Plans to make Hong Kong the main market for Alibaba Group Holding stock will not be completed by the end of the year as expected, the Chinese e-commerce leader said Thursday, indicating it needs more time to watch conditions.”
  Alibaba says 15% of China delivery areas were disrupted during Singles Day shopping festival / CNBC
  “China’s Covid controls disrupted Alibaba ’s ability to deliver packages, the company said, dragging down the e-commerce giant’s sales in a competitive market.”

• U.S. credit rating firm exits China
  Moody’s closing consulting business in China, cutting staff / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “Moody’s is shutting its China consulting business and is laying off people associated with the unit in multiple locations across the country, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Friday.”

• The ethics of investing in Xinjiang
  MSCI investors at risk of exposure to Xinjiang allegations, report says / FT (paywall)
  “The world’s biggest asset management, state pension and sovereign wealth funds are passively invested in companies which have allegedly been involved in the repression of Uyghur Muslims in northwest China’s Xinjiang region, a new report says.”

• A China-Qatar fuel deal
  Sinopec secures one of biggest-ever LNG deals with Qatar / FT (paywall)
  “China’s Sinopec has secured one of the biggest-ever liquefied natural gas deals, signing a 27-year agreement to purchase 4mn tonnes a year of the fuel from QatarEnergy.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

• Translating brain activity into messages
  Chinese researchers launch brain-computer interface platform compatible with dozens of available technologies / SCMP (paywall)
  “Chinese researchers say their new platform is able to ‘standardize the BCI data structure and processing process and develop a common decoding algorithm framework,’ which ‘provides a solution for the entire process as a BCI software.’”

• COP27 climate summit
  Resurrection of U.S.-China ties boosts COP27 climate talks / WSJ (paywall)
  “The revival of formal dialogue between the U.S. and China at United Nations climate talks in Egypt has thrown a diplomatic lifeline to negotiations that delegates say are rife with division.”
  China and U.S. renew commitment to tackling climate crisis but differences remain / Guardian
  China should pay up for climate damage — German minister / Reuters
  COP27: China’s climate envoy says expects cooperation with U.S. to continue / Reuters

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

• The aftermath of a daring bridge protest in Beijing
  Anti-Xi protest spreads in China and worldwide as Chinese leader begins third term / CNN
  “Over the past week, as party elites gathered in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People to extoll Xi and his policies at the 20th Party Congress, anti-Xi slogans echoing the Sitong Bridge banners have popped up in a growing number of Chinese cities and hundreds of universities worldwide.”

• Are U.S.-China relations thawing?
  China open to defense minister meeting with U.S. as tension eases / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “China says it’s open to a defense minister meeting with the US at a summit in Cambodia later this month, in another sign of thawing ties between the two nations.”
  Top U.S. House Republican McCarthy plans special committee on China / Reuters
  “Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, said on Sunday he would form a select committee on China if he is elected speaker of the chamber, accusing the Biden administration of not standing up to Beijing.”
  U.S. kept quiet on warship transit of Taiwan Strait before Biden met Xi / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “A U.S. Navy warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Nov. 5, a Pacific Fleet spokesperson told Nikkei on Saturday, but the transit was not disclosed at that time in a likely attempt to avoid provoking China ahead of a bilateral summit.”

• South Korea wants China’s support in keeping North Korea in check
  South Korea seeks cooperation from China, Russia as U.N. meets on North Korea / Reuters
  “South Korea on Monday asked for the ‘active cooperation’ of China and Russia to prevent North Korea from conducting further missile tests, hours ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting on the North’s test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.”

• Rock debris dispute in the South China Sea
  China accused of seizing rocket debris from Philippines navy in South China Sea dispute / Guardian
  “China’s coast guard forcibly seized the suspected debris of a Chinese rocket that the Philippine navy was towing to its island in the South China Sea, Philippines military officials have said, in the latest confrontation in the disputed sea.”

• Chinese police stations in the U.S.?
  China hits back at FBI claim of unauthorized ‘police stations’ in US / Guardian
  “China has contested claims it was operating unauthorized ‘police stations’ on US soil, calling the sites volunteer-run, after the FBI director said he was ‘very concerned’ about unauthorized stations that have been linked to Beijing’s influence operations.”

• U.S. ambassador calls for caution in working with China
  China trying to ‘air brush’ over wolf warrior damage, US Ambassador Emanuel says / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “Chinese President Xi Jinping’s summits with the US and its partners were likely an attempt to paper over the harm it has caused with numerous countries in recent years, a top US envoy said.”

• Keeping up with Xi Jinping
  China’s Xi stacks government with science and tech experts amid rivalry with U.S. / WSJ (paywall)
  China’s Xi attempts to claim diplomatic victory in battle for global influence after summit whirlwind / CNN

• Europe avoids confrontation with Beijing
  Europe reasserts middle path on China, pushing back on Biden / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “President Xi Jinping started his week overseas mending ties with the US, and ended it with European leaders making the case for resisting the Biden administration’s sweeping chip curbs on China.”
  Dutch minister says US can’t dictate approach to China exports / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “The US shouldn’t expect the Netherlands to unquestionably adopt its approach to China export restrictions, a senior Dutch official warned, signaling a potential obstacle to the Biden administration’s trade fight.”

• China’s Belt and Road Forum to make a comeback in 2023?
  Xi says China to consider holding Belt & Road Forum in 2023 / Reuters
  “Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday that China would consider hosting the third Belt & Road Forum for International Cooperation next year, which would be the first staging of the event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

• China-Japan relations
  China, Japan to move quickly on maritime and air security hotline / Caixin (paywall)
  “China and Japan will move quickly to open a direct phone line under the maritime and air liaison mechanism, as part of a five-point consensus reached by both countries in developing more stable bilateral ties, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

• NATO chief warns about dependencies on China
  China boosts efforts to control Western infrastructure, key industries – NATO / Reuters
  “Western countries must be careful not to create new dependencies on China as they are weaning themselves off Russian energy supplies amid Moscow’s war on Kyiv, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned on Monday.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Not enough inbound flights
  Flights to China still lag demand despite easing of some Covid restrictions, sources say / Caixin (paywall)
  “Despite the easing of some inbound travel restrictions, flights to the Chinese mainland from various key global hubs still can’t meet demand, as the resumption of international flights hinges on Covid outbreaks and policies at the local level on the mainland, sources told Caixin.”

• Factory work loses appeal for young Chinese
  Younger Chinese are spurning factory jobs that power the economy / Reuters
  “The competitiveness of China’s export-oriented manufacturing sector has been built over several decades on state-subsidized investment in production capacity and low labor costs. The preservation of that status quo is now clashing with the aspirations of a generation of better-educated Chinese for a more comfortable life than the sleep-work-sleep daily grind for tomorrow’s meal their parents endured.”

• Giant panda Tuan Tuan dies in Taiwan after seizures
  Beloved giant panda given to Taiwan by China dies aged 18 after seizures / Guardian
  “Tuan Tuan and his breeding mate Yuan Yuan were given to Taiwan by Beijing in late 2008, at a time when relations between the two were more cordial.”
  Chinese panda, gifted to Taiwan as a symbol of friendship, dies / Washington Post (paywall)

• China’s population crisis
  China births: Which 13 provincial-level populations officially shrank in 2021? / SCMP (paywall)
  “China’s population grew by just 480,000 to 1.4126 billion last year, and demographers say a national decline appears inevitable as birth rate falls and people live longer.”

• How Beijing’s censorship affects Hong Kong films
  Hong Kong’s once-vibrant movie industry now walks a fine China line / Washington Post (paywall)
  “As censorship increases at home, independent Hong Kong filmmakers are increasingly looking overseas to fund and show their work.”

• World Cup fever in China
  Chinese soccer fans book hotel rooms to watch the World Cup / Sixth Tone
  “Unable to travel, many sports fans are instead finding new and luxurious ways to elevate their watching experience.”