Highlighted Links for Thursday, Dec 8, 2022

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Jack Ma steps down as chief of top business group
  Jack Ma resigns as president of General Association of Zhejiang Entrepreneurs / Caixin (paywall)
  “Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma [马云 Mǎ Yún] resigned as president of the General Association of Zhejiang Entrepreneurs, a position he held since 2015.”

• Alibaba’s influencer army
  Alibaba builds an army of 200,000 new influencers to sell to its shoppers / SCMP (paywall)
  “Alibaba Group Holding, the Hangzhou-based Chinese ecommerce giant, wants to cultivate 200,000 new influencers to boost its live-streaming business amid fierce industry competition and a cooling economy.”

• Tesla continues to slim down at Shanghai plant
  Tesla to shorten Shanghai factory shifts, delay new hires / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “Tesla Inc. will shorten production shifts at its Shanghai factory as soon as Monday and has delayed the on-boarding of some new hires, people familiar with the situation said — adding to signs demand for the company’s electric cars in China isn’t meeting expectations.”

• U.S. and Taiwan tighten reins on TikTok
  U.S. state of Indiana sues TikTok, alleging Chinese access to user data / SCMP (paywall)
  Indiana sues TikTok for security and child safety violations / NYT (paywall)
  Taiwan joins U.S. states in limiting TikTok as China’s hit video app faces backlash / SCMP (paywall)
  Taiwan bans state-owned devices from running Chinese platform TikTok / Register
  Texas bans TikTok on government devices amid China data-sharing fears / Guardian

• Netherlands plans U.S.-style chip curbs to China
  Netherlands plans curbs on China tech exports in deal with U.S. / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “Dutch officials are planning new controls on exports of chipmaking equipment to China, according to people familiar with the matter, potentially aligning their trade rules with U.S. efforts to restrict Beijing’s access to high-end technology.”
  U.S. lawmakers ease planned curbs on Chinese chips amid corporate pushback / Reuters
  “U.S. senators scaled back a proposal that placed new curbs on the use of Chinese-made chips by the U.S. government and its contractors, according to a final version of the measure published Tuesday, amid pushback from trade groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.”

• BYD to roll out in Malaysia as it expands across the globe
  China electric car giant BYD enters Malaysia in Sime Darby deal / Caixin (paywall)
  “China’s BYD Co. will sell its electric vehicles in Malaysia in a 500 million ringgit ($113 million) tie-up with Sime Darby Motors Sdn Bhd.”
  • The China Project reported last month: Can BYD beat Tesla?

• Young Chinese resort to renting amid property troubles
  ‘What’s the point of buying?’ China’s property woes push young to rent / FT (paywall)
  More and more young Chinese, the main buyers of urban homes, are opting to rent homes instead of purchasing property.

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

• China’s space ambitions
  China is considering expanding its Tiangong space station / SpaceNews
  “China is already considering adding modules to its recently completed Tiangong space station complex, according to a senior space official.”
  Private Chinese rocket reaches orbit 2 years after test-flight failure (video) / Space
  “A private Chinese solid rocket has conducted its first successful launch, two years after failing its first test flight.”

• Chinese scientists win prestigious physics award
  Chinese scientists’ quantum study hailed as a ‘breakthrough of the year’ / SCMP (paywall)
  “Physics World puts creation of the world’s first ultracold three-atom molecules in top 10 scientific achievements of the year.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

• State media spins COVID-zero frustrations away as China rolls back restrictions
  ‘Zero COVID,’ once ubiquitous, vanishes in China’s messy pivot / NYT (paywall)
  “As China casts aside many COVID rules, it is also playing down the threat of the virus. The move could help ease the burden on hospitals but comes with its own risks.”
  China pushes triumphant storyline on COVID zero pivot / Bloomberg (paywall)
  “Chinese state media struck a triumphant chord over the country’s efforts to contain COVID-19, reflecting the government’s efforts to dilute perceptions that its shift away from the stringent approach was forced by public discontent.”

• China is buying up more Russian gas
  Russia’s Gazprom says it is increasing gas flows to China / Reuters
  “Russia’s Gazprom said on Thursday it was increasing gas supplies to China in December in response to a request from Beijing.”
  China turns on tap to Russian gas in Yangtze River Delta with pipeline extension / SCMP (paywall)
  “The 750 kilometer stretch of natural gas pipeline will help ease gas-supply bottlenecks in one of China’s most important economic powerhouses, and it comes as energy trade with Russia has reached record highs.”

• Over one-fourth of protesters arrested in Hong Kong were under 21 years old
  More than 1,300 people sent to correctional institutions so far over 2019 Hong Kong protests / HKFP
  The city’s security chief “said 345 of the 1,315 sent to correctional institutions over the protests were aged 21 or under.”

• Can private pensions help float China’s costly demographic crisis?
  China looks to private pensions to solve aging workforce puzzle / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
  “Retirement scheme could meet funding shortfalls in country’s public system.”

• Ex-police chief turns himself in under Xi’s anti-graft campaign
  Former Guangdong police chief under investigation for corruption / SCMP (paywall)

• Chongqing’s new Party chief — another rocket scientist
  Rocket scientist named Communist Party chief for Chongqing megalopolis / SCMP (paywall)
  “Chinese rocket scientist [Yuán Jiājūn 袁家军], newly named to the Communist Party’s 24-member Politburo, has been appointed to take the helm of the southwestern mega city Chongqing as party secretary.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Archaeological treasure trove now available online
  Collections from China’s famed grottoes move to blockchain database / Sixth Tone
  “China’s top archeology research institute launched a blockchain-based cultural heritage database Tuesday, claiming it to be a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country.”

• Inequalities in rural education
  Why China’s rural students can’t go home / Sixth Tone
  “For the most successful of China’s rural students, education is all too often a one-way street.”

• Chinese social media pays tribute to COVID whistleblower
  Li Wenliang: Chinese pour hearts out on COVID martyr’s page / BBC
  “After Wednesday’s announcement that many of the most coercive parts of China’s policy were being scrapped, Dr Li’s page became a ‘wailing wall’ for exhausted, burnt-out people to reflect.”
  Tributes pour in for whistleblower doctor after China’s zero-COVID U-turn / AFP via HKFP
  Cheers, fears and tributes to Wuhan hero Li Wenliang as China marks COVID shift / SCMP (paywall)