Highlighted links for May 10, 2023

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

U.S.-China trade: chilling or thawing?
Automation giant faces U.S. government probe over China operations / WSJ (paywall)
“Investigation of Rockwell looks at whether its software might allow access to critical U.S. government and industrial infrastructure.”
U.S. trade chief to meet China minister in sign of warmer ties / Bloomberg (paywall)
“U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai plans to meet [Wáng Wéntāo 王文涛] China’s commerce minister in Detroit later this month, people familiar with the matter said.”

Automobile industry
Chinese competition, Xinjiang plant loom large for Volkswagen investors at AGM / Reuters
“Volkswagen investors will demand answers from the carmakers’ executives at its annual general meeting on Wednesday on its competitiveness in China and its contested plant in Xinjiang, advance copies of their speeches showed.”

Backdoor investing in China
Investors’ route to post-COVID China is via Europe / Reuters
“Investors are getting more bang for their buck this year by buying European companies with a focus on China than buying Chinese companies themselves, a sign of the unevenness of China’s pandemic recovery and geopolitical concerns.”

Real estate
Jiangsu city punishes property developers — for selling too cheaply / Sixth Tone
“Favorable discounts have been offered by developers in smaller Chinese cities where there is relatively more pressure to sell new apartments.”

Capvision raid
CICC Capital bans consulting firm Capvision after China crackdown / Reuters
“CICC Capital, a unit of leading Chinese investment bank CICC, has stopped using Capvision Partners’ services, three sources said, following an investigation into the ‘expert network’ as part of Beijing’s crackdown on national security.”

AI
China’s AI charge part 4: Striking a balance between ethics and innovation / Caixin (paywall)
“With great power comes great risks. While the fear that AI could take over human jobs is the foremost concern for many, organizations are already facing a host of challenges.”
ChatGPT is causing a stock-market ruckus / Caixin (paywall)
“The rise of artificial intelligence is taking the tech world by storm. The technology is also making waves on Wall Street.”
China’s AI charge: A bumpy road ahead / Caixin (paywall)
“There’s no denying China’s ambitions to become an AI superpower. In 2015, AI-backed technologies, among many others, were identified as a new engine of future growth in the ‘Made in China 2025’ plan, drawing in companies, talent, researchers and investors that had the foresight to capitalize on the emerging technology. And now, with the success of OpenAI, a new gold rush has emerged.”
China’s AI frenzy spurs 200% rally for obscure book publisher / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China’s craze for artificial-intelligence companies is supercharging the shares of some of the nation’s little-known publishers.“

Financial regulation
Banking veteran to lead China’s new financial regulator / Caixin (paywall)
“China has appointed Lǐ Yúnzé 李云泽, a seasoned banker and current vice governor of Sichuan province, to lead its newly established national financial regulator, according to an official announcement Wednesday.”
China names Li top financial regulator in surprise move / Bloomberg (paywall)

Airplane industry
Boeing’s CEO is confident 737 deliveries in China to resume soon / Caixin (paywall)
“Boeing Co. is optimistic it will soon restart long-stalled exports of its 737 Max jets to China, especially with President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 slated to visit the U.S. later this year, the plane-maker’s top executive said Tuesday.”
U.S. airlines are sitting out China’s reopening / Bloomberg (paywall)
“United, Delta and American are pressing Washington to ban Chinese planes headed to or from the U.S. from flying over Russia.”

Employment for graduates
More Chinese cities offer free accommodations to lure jobseekers, ease their financial burden / SCMP (paywall)
“‘Competition is fierce’ for jobs across China as the job pool faces another record batch of university graduates, and many are already moving to new cities to get a leg up.”

Stock market
Shanghai-listed developer language faces likely delisting / Caixin (paywall)
“A distressed Chinese property developer is likely to delist from the country’s stock exchange, sending a fresh reminder the nation’s weaker builders are still struggling to survive.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Climate change
The linked ecological futures of America and China / NOEMA
“In both China and the United States, ecological myths have played a key role in shaping national identity. Whether it be the American frontier and the veneration of national resources or China’s geological transformations and the quest to control tumultuous nature, these myths have evolved into a vital source of political legitimacy.”

Fertility — egg freezing
Chinese woman appeals in fight for right to freeze her eggs / AP
“An unmarried Chinese woman on Tuesday began her final appeal of a hospital’s denial of access to freeze her eggs five years ago in a landmark case of female reproductive rights in the country.”

Decoupling
Strict ban on China will cost us dearly in science / Clingendael
“Scientific decoupling of China will come at a cost, says Ingrid D’Hooghe, coordinator and senior researcher at the Clingendael China Centre. There are security risks, but China leads the field in many areas.”

Space
China builds simulated moon chamber to prep for crewed lunar landings / Space.com
“Chinese scientists have built a chamber to simulate the conditions on the surface of the moon to help prepare the country for future lunar exploration.”

Renewable energy
China’s first deep-sea floating wind platform is complete / Electrek
“The construction of China’s first deep-sea floating wind power platform is ready to come online. This floating wind platform is known as Haiyou Guanlan, and Chinese oil giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) announced on Saturday that it has completed installation of its 5,000-meter (16,404-foot) undersea cable.”

Farmland
How China’s farmland-reclamation campaign is driving aggressive crop expansions and land-use crackdowns / SCMP (paywall)
“Increasing the acreage of major foodstuffs has become a central priority for Chinese leadership in ensuring that enough food is available in the face of worrisome threats. But an aggressive acreage expansion is raising questions over soil sustainability and the earnings of farmers forced to grow essential crops instead of lucrative ones.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

China’s loans to Sudan
Sudan conflict delivers fresh blow to China’s African lending strategy / FT (paywall)
“The conflict in Sudan has dealt a fresh blow to China’s strategy of financial engagement with Africa, putting at further risk loans from Beijing worth at least $5 billion. Sudan has been a significant recipient of Chinese financing on the African continent, where Beijing ranks as the largest bilateral lender.”

Censorship
Chinese journalist Shangguan Yunkai detained over corruption coverage / CPJ
On April 20, police in the central city of Ezhou, Hubei Province, arrested Shàngguān Yúnkāi 上官云开, apparently in “retaliation for Shangguan’s reporting. The day before his arrest, he published an article about police in an Ezhou courtroom beating a plaintiff in 2021.”

The Communist Party, elite politics, and government
Opinion: China is pushing for a better, more representative form of multilateralism, not seeking to replace it / SCMP (paywall)
“China is now forging a better path with new banks and initiatives that secure the voices of the majority.”

Military
China says PLA Rocket Force joined Shandong carrier group in drills near US base in western Pacific / SCMP (paywall)
“State media disclosure of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force joining the Shandong carrier group for drills near the US naval base of Guam is a show of force by the Chinese military, according to analysts.”

Hong Kong
Hong Kong security chief criticises WSJ opinion piece on ‘Subversive’ art / Reuters
“Hong Kong’s Security Chief Chris Tang [鄧炳強 Dèng Bǐngqiáng] criticized an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on a seizure by authorities of a statue commemorating Beijing’s Tiananmen Square crackdown on democracy protesters in 1989.”
Hong Kong seeks to extend law to ban online desecration of city’s flag and emblem / SCMP (paywall)
“Desecration of Hong Kong’s emblem or flag online will be illegal, while participants at public events will no longer be allowed to discard the city’s symbols randomly, according to a legislative amendment proposal submitted to the legislature.”

U.S.-China competition and tensions
To counter China, the U.S. Is expanding its footprint in the Pacific / WSJ (paywall)
“The U.S. strategy is part of a broader effort to strengthen its arc of alliances in the region.”
U.S. eyes Mideast-India transport network to counter China / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“The U.S. is in talks with Saudi Arabia, India and the United Arab Emirates about a massive transport infrastructure project as Washington steps up engagement with the Middle East to counter China’s influence.”

G7
China and US debt woes may dominate G7 finance chiefs’ talks / Reuters
“China will be the elephant in the room at this week’s meeting of Group of Seven (G7) finance leaders, who will seek to diversify supply chains away from the country — but also try to get Beijing’s cooperation in solving global debt problems.”

India
A tale of two giants: How India’s and China’s demographics differ / Sixth Tone
“As India’s population inches past China, we take a closer look at the two countries’ key demographic differences and trends in population distribution and urbanization.”

Australia
Australia exports first copper to China since 2020, industry hopes end to ban near / Reuters
“Australia exported roughly $40 million worth of copper ore and concentrate to China early this year, Australian customs data shows, a sign of industry hope that trade in the red metal will resume as diplomatic relations improve.”

Canada
Canada will not be intimidated by China retaliation, PM Trudeau says / Reuters
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said Canada will not be intimidated by China following tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions by Ottawa and Beijing.”
China targets a Canadian lawmaker / WSJ (paywall)
“The Communist Party in the era of Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 has increasingly sought to extend its political coercion far beyond China’s shores. The latest example comes from Canada, which on Monday expelled a Chinese diplomat allegedly involved in a scheme to target a lawmaker and his family.”

Brazil
Lula’s China embrace promises environmental—and moral—pollution / Newsweek
“For Brazilians, China’s disrespect for environmental protection is more than an abstract global problem — it’s degrading their air, water, and forests.”

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s creditors hold first meeting, with China observing / Caixin (paywall)
“Sri Lanka’s creditor nations held their first meeting Tuesday to discuss restructuring the country’s debt. But the largest creditor, China, stood by as an observer, raising doubts over the success of the process.”

Iran
China and Russia encourage Iran to go nuclear / WSJ (paywall)
“An aloof U.S. leaves a regional vacuum that the Islamic Republic is exploiting brilliantly.”

Africa
China gets first corn shipment from South Africa, bolstering push to diversify away from U.S. / SCMP (paywall)
“With China increasingly looking to friendly nations to help lower its grain reliance on the United States and war-torn Ukraine, the first shipload of South African feed corn was offloaded last week.”

Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe
China says it’s in touch with all parties in seeking Ukraine ceasefire / Reuters
“Chinese Foreign Minister Qín Gāng 秦刚 said on Tuesday that Beijing would maintain lines of communication with all parties to the war in Ukraine, including Germany, in seeking a ceasefire.”
China in touch with all parties in seeking Ukraine cease-fire: foreign minister / Nikkei Asia (paywall)

Europe
China is not the real risk for Europe, Qin Gang warns Berlin hosts / SCMP (paywall)
“Chinese Foreign Minister Qín Gāng 秦刚 has warned that the real ‘risk’ Europe faces comes from ‘a certain country’ that is waging a ‘new cold war,’ imposing unilateral sanctions and exporting its own financial problems to others.”
China woos European leaders on trip overshadowed by Kremlin ties / NYT (paywall)
“A three-stop tour by China’s foreign minister this week has everyone trying to balance economic and security interests when it comes to Russia and Ukraine.”
China warns of ‘strong’ reaction if EU sanctions its companies / Caixin (paywall)

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Feminism
New #Metoo causes showcase enduring tenacity of Chinese feminist movement / China Digital Times
“At least 12 women have accused famed screenwriter Shǐ Háng 史航 of sexual harassment. The accusations are the latest major #MeToo case to roil the Chinese intelligentsia.”