Highlighted links for Wednesday, December 7, 2022

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

Lactose is large and in charge
China dairy giant Yili on aggressive overseas shopping spree / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Yili Group, China’s largest dairy company, has been aggressively expanding abroad and at home as economic growth boosts global demand for dairy products.”

TuSimple and Navistar scrap deal to make self-driving trucks
TuSimple and Navistar end deal to co-develop autonomous trucks / TechCrunch
“Autonomous trucking technology company TuSimple and truck manufacturer Navistar have scrapped their deal to co-develop self-driving trucks, the companies said Monday.”

Will China’s new AirDrop rules stifle popular ways to protest?
Apple’s new AirDrop rules will limit viral protest memes in China / Rest of World
“Users can only enable public AirDrop for 10 minutes at a time, curbing a rare method of anonymous communication.”

World’s auto industry is steeped in Xinjiang labor, report says
Global car supply chains entangled with abuses in Xinjiang, report says / NYT (paywall)
“A new report on the auto industry cites extensive links to Xinjiang, where the U.S. government now presumes goods are made with forced labor.”
UAW calls on automakers to move supply chain out of Xinjiang region / Reuters
“The United Auto Workers (UAW) union called on automakers to shift their entire supply chain out of China’s Xinjiang region after a new report on Tuesday suggests that nearly every major automaker has significant exposure to products made with forced labor.”

Tesla turns to discounts to woo Chinese buyers
Tesla offers additional discount to Chinese buyers on some models / Reuters
“Tesla is offering a limited time discount of 6,000 yuan ($859.20) to Chinese buyers on some models from Wednesday through to the end of 2022, a company representative said on Wednesday.”
Tesla offers China buyers further subsidies to boost sales / Bloomberg (paywall)
Tesla offers $859 discount to Chinese buyers to drum up sales amid a slowing economy / SCMP (paywall)

Sinopharm eyes TCM
Sinopharm is said to weigh $4 billion China TCM take-private bid / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China National Pharmaceutical Group Co. is considering a revived bid for China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings Co. that could value the Hong Kong-listed drugmaker at around $4 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.”

Lithium plants suspended over water quality
Chinese lithium plants halt production amid river water quality investigation / SCMP (paywall)
“Some leading producers in China’s Yichun city, ‘Asia’s lithium capital,’ have halted production amid an investigation by the local government into the abnormal water quality of Jin River, the main source of the city’s residential water supply, prompting concerns about the underbelly of lithium production.”

China complies with U.S. export control checks
Beijing allows U.S. export-control checks on Chinese tech companies / FT (paywall)
“Biden administration says China’s commerce ministry has allowed inspections ahead of [the] trade blacklisting deadline.”

Slow and sullen economic growth
China considers GDP target of about 5% in pro-growth shift / Bloomberg (paywall)
IMF to cut China’s medium-term growth estimate, top official says / WSJ (paywall)
China’s Politburo shifts focus to boosting economic recovery / Bloomberg (paywall)

Vivo smartphones held up at the Indian border
India holds up export of 27,000 Vivo phones in clash with China / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Indian authorities have prevented Vivo from exporting some 27,000 smartphones for more than a week in a setback to the Chinese company’s plan to ship devices from India to neighboring markets.”

ByteDance shutters smart reading app
ByteDance to close reading app Shiqu after eight months / TechNode
“Shiqu, a news aggregation social app owned by ByteDance, will stop operation on December 12, according to an official announcement.”

Bubble tea chain buys up rival after ditching Japanese branding
Nayuki becomes rival Lelecha’s largest shareholder via RMB 525 million investment / TechNode
“Chinese bubble tea chain Naixue (formerly known as Nayuki) has acquired a 43.64% stake in rival Lelecha for 525 million yuan ($75 million), becoming the largest shareholder in the company, Shenzhen-based Naixue announced on Monday.”

• Last week on The China Project: Nayuki becomes Naixue as Japanese branding loses its appeal in China.

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

China braces for more deaths as it emerges from COVID zero
China risks 1mn COVID deaths in ‘winter wave,’ modeling shows / FT (paywall)
“One million Chinese people are at risk of dying from COVID-19 during the coming winter months if President [Xí Jìnpíng 习近平] pursues his pivot to remove strict pandemic controls, new modeling shows.”

Is cough medicine the next gateway drug for stressed-out youths?
Young Chinese are overdosing on cough medication to combat stress / Sixth Tone
“Many youngsters browsing social media platforms are finding hundreds of posts peddling the use of dextromethorphan as a gateway drug.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

China-built hydropower project connects Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania
Chinese-built cross-frontier hydro system inaugurated in Mali / China-Global South Project (paywall)
“This weekend saw the inauguration of the Gouina Hydroelectric dam and Malinguina hydropower station in Mali. Funded by the China Exim Bank and built by PowerChina, the facilities form part of a transfrontier hydroelectric system linking Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania.”

Xi doubles down on corruption crackdown
China’s Xi Jinping signals he’ll press on with fight against corruption / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Chinese President [Xí Jìnpíng 习近平] indicated that an anti-graft campaign that has already ensnared 4.7 million officials will continue well into his third term, focusing over the coming year on areas where power, money and resources are concentrated.”

Beijing names new Party province chiefs
China appoints Communist Party chiefs for three provinces / Reuters
“China’s Communist Party has appointed Yì Liànhóng 易炼红 as party secretary of eastern Zhejiang Province, and Yǐn Hóng 尹弘 as party secretary of eastern Jiangxi Province, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.”

Will more protests bubble up in China?
China could yet see ‘rebound in unrest,’ protest watcher says / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Dissatisfaction runs deep in China and could still spill over into further protests, according to a Chinese Twitter user who has emerged as a key conduit for activists to get their messages past strict internet controls.”

Jimmy Lai trial stokes coals on Hong Kong national security fears
Hong Kong threat to move Jimmy Lai case to China revives fears / Bloomberg (paywall)
“A legal battle over Hong Kong’s effort to prosecute media tycoon Jimmy Lai on national security charges has made the once-unthinkable an imminent threat: moving sensitive cases to mainland Chinese courts.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Peter Hessler on popular opinion in China about COVID policies
What Chinese people think of their government’s “zero COVID” policy / New Yorker
Peter Hessler writes: “Many citizens don’t know anyone who’s had the disease, yet their faith in the country’s restrictive rules is waning.”

Obituary for former Caixin editor-in-chief
Former Caixin deputy editor-in-chief Zhang Jin dies at 56 / Caixin (paywall)
“After a 30-year career in journalism, the beloved editor devoted his time to helping sufferers of depression.”

China’s FOMO from FIFA
World Cup has China lamenting dismal state of its football dream / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China’s absence from the World Cup has spurred a call for the total overhaul of its football program, underscoring the frustration fans in the world’s most populous nation feel at being left out of the sport’s top event.”

Chinese teens are getting sporty without help from the state
The teenagers revitalizing China’s sports prospects / Sixth Tone
“For decades, China’s sporting prowess has been built on a state-driven system that excels at drilling athletes in traditional Olympic disciplines. But a new generation of young stars is determined to break the mold.”

Gen Z doom and gloom
After 3 years of COVID, China’s Gen-Z are mourning their lost Future / Sixth Tone
“For young Chinese, the pandemic hasn’t just brought years of lockdowns; it has fundamentally altered their expectations for the future — and their understanding of their place in society.”

Sexism behind the big screen
Chinese cinema has a misogyny problem / Sixth Tone
“Women have made some of China’s best films. So why do they keep being pushed out of the director’s chair — or siloed into genre fare?”