Highlighted links for May 17, 2023

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

Electric vehicles
How smart cars Are upending the auto supply chain / Caixin (paywall)
“China’s auto industry supply chain faces profound changes as the electric and smart-car transition accelerates, breaking up the old supply system and bringing in new competitors.”
VW talks to Huawei to boost flagging EV presence in China / FT (paywall)
“Turmoil at German carmaker’s in-house software arm threatens to affect market share.”

Tech startups
Chinese tech entrepreneurs go on global offensive / FT (paywall)
“Success of TikTok and Shein inspires start-ups to look abroad for growth.”

AI
China’s Zhongguancun Forum to focus on AI development and renewed international cooperation amid ChatGPT frenzy / SCMP (paywall)
“The Zhongguancun Forum, a state-backed annual tech event held in Beijing’s answer to Silicon Valley, will focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and international cooperation, government officials said on Monday.”
Baidu to ensure AI won’t ‘hallucinate’ on sensitive topics: CEO / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Though the large language models underpinning viral chatbots such as ChatGPT are more or less probabilistic, providing ‘appropriate’ online content that complies with Chinese regulations is ‘not a trivial task,’ Baidu CEO and founder Robin Li (李彦宏 Lǐ Yànhóng) says.”

Banking
Wall Street’s biggest banks face a harsh reality check in China / Bloomberg (paywall)
“More than three years after China’s grand financial opening, it’s becoming clear to Wall Street giants that their dreams of windfall profits from the $60 trillion market are more elusive than ever.”

U.S.-China tech war
U.S. charges ex-Apple engineer for trying to steal tech for China / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday it has charged a former Apple engineer with attempting to steal the firm’s technology related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars, and then fleeing to China.”
US accuses ex-Apple engineer of stealing trade secrets and fleeing to China / FT (paywall)

Development and real estate
China’s home prices rise at slower pace as demand ebbs / Reuters
“China’s new home prices rose for the fourth straight month in April but at a slower pace, heightening fears that pent-up demand after the country’s economic reopening is fading.”

Data crackdown and capital outflows
Two online brokerages to remove China apps as Beijing data crackdown widens / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Online brokerages Futu Holdings and UP Fintech Holding will remove apps in mainland China amid Beijing’s sharpened focus on data security and capital outflows, triggering a heavy selloff in their New York-listed shares.”
Two brokerage apps allowing overseas trading pulled from app stores / Sixth Tone
“The significance of the move remains to be seen as existing users can still trade, while others say that the apps can still be downloaded using other methods.”

Baidu
Baidu’s revenue beats expectations after China recovery fuels ad sales / Caixin (paywall)
“Baidu Inc.’s revenue rose a stronger-than-expected 10% after its advertising and cloud businesses benefited from China’s post-pandemic reopening.”

Tencent
Tencent slashes cloud service prices by up to 40% as price war intensifies / Reuters
“Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings is cutting prices for cloud services by up to 40% from June amid similar moves from rivals that have plunged the sector into a price war.”
Tencent posts strong quarterly result on China’s COVID reopening / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“​​Tencent Holdings’ first quarter revenue outperformed expectations, growing 11% on the year to 150 billion yuan ($21 billion) as the Chinese tech giant saw robust growth in most of its key sectors.”
Tencent Cloud plans price cuts as battle of industry giants intensifies / Caixin (paywall)
“Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s cloud business has unveiled plans to slash prices for some of its core services from June 1, following a similar move by bigger rival Alibaba Cloud in April.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Renewable energy
China dominates the solar power industry. The EU wants to change that / NPR
“Without government support, German solar panels were quickly replaced by ones made in China, which, since 2011, invested 10 times more in the industry than Europe did.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

Censorship and media control
China shuts 100,000 fake news social media accounts, ramps up content cleanup / Reuters
“China has intensified efforts to clean up the internet from false news and rumors, closing more than 100,000 online accounts over the past month that misrepresented news anchors and media agencies, its cyberspace regulator said.”

Military
Chinese-made military drones have hidden tech to stop them being used to attack China, source claims / SCMP (paywall)
“Chinese drones are leading the global market, but hidden ‘watchdog’ technology is in place to limit their use in attacks on China.”

Comedy crackdown
Chinese authorities slap comedy firm with $2 mln fine after military joke / Reuters
“China on Wednesday slapped one of the country’s best-known comedy companies with a 14.7 million yuan ($2.13 million) penalty, accusing it of ‘harming society’ after a military joke made by one of its comedians drew strong public criticism.”
China fines talk show firm $2 million after comic teases PLA / Bloomberg (paywall)
No joke: China fines a comedy firm $2 million for ‘insulting’ the military / NYT (paywall)
Slogan not funny (not a bit), state media say / China Media Project

G7
It’s the G-7 versus China and Russia in the struggle for global influence / Bloomberg (paywall)
“The tussle for global influence is about to intensify, as China, Russia, the US and its allies step up efforts to win over governments in a deepening competition for hearts and minds in strategic third countries.”

Hong Kong
What can Hong Kong do to break poverty cycle? Short-term help just ‘a drop in the bucket’ for poor children, critics say / SCMP (paywall)
“​​For poor children in Hong Kong, the chances of breaking out of the loop of intergenerational poverty appeared slim, no matter how hard they worked.”
Hong Kong’s aging population time bomb to leave a shortage of 60,000 residences for the elderly by 2032: JLL / SCMP (paywall)
“Hong Kong will face a shortage of over 60,000 residences for the elderly by 2032 as the city’s population rapidly ages, before eventually becoming the world’s oldest society by 2050, according to JLL.”
Hong Kong targets young talent, tech sector in post-COVID push / Caixin (paywall)
“In the wake of Covid isolation, Hong Kong is taking a targeted approach to reviving its position as a global business hub — an image that waned during the pandemic as expats left in droves amid tough restrictions.”

Taiwan
Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss warns of China threats during Taiwan visit / AP
“Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss warned of the economic and political threats to the West posed by China during a visit Wednesday to Beijing’s democratic rival Taiwan.”
China says ready to ‘smash’ Taiwan self-rule as US prepares major arms package, sends advisers / AP
“China’ is prepared to ‘resolutely smash any form of Taiwan independence,’ its military said Tuesday, as the U.S. reportedly prepares to accelerate the sale of defensive weapons and other military assistance to the self-governing island democracy.”
Taiwan’s KMT opposition party picks New Taipei mayor Hou Yu-ih as presidential candidate / SCMP (paywall)
“Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang has picked New Taipei mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜 Hóu Yǒuyí) as its presidential candidate to run in January’s presidential election, which is seen as a referendum on the island’s future.”
Taiwan opposition picks cop-turned-mayor as presidential candidate / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
Taiwan opposition taps popular former cop in election that is pivotal for U.S., China / WSJ (paywall)
As China looms over Taiwan’s presidential race, the opposition picks a moderate / NYT (paywall)
Taiwan opposition picks mayor with cautious China stance for presidential race / FT (paywall)
Latest PLA threats in focus as Taiwan kicks off annual Han Kuang war games with computerized simulations / SCMP (paywall)
“Taiwan has kicked off five days of computerized war games aimed at potential attacks by Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army, with US military personnel expected to be acting as observers.”

U.S.-China competition and tensions
China not ‘solely a military threat,’ U.S. senator warns / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Beijing’s attempts at economic coercion will be among the topics covered in legislation proposed to boost U.S. competitiveness against China, prominent Republican Sen. Todd Young told Nikkei, predicting that the Group of Seven wealthy nations will also agree to address the issue at a leaders summit that begins Friday in Japan.”
U.S. tech espionage team unveils first cases involving China and Russia / NYT (paywall)
“A new division set up by the government to pursue sanctions evasion and technology espionage announced arrests of individuals with ties to foreign governments.”
US angst over Chinese land ownership exposes a deepening rift / FT (paywall)
“Washington may stop foreigners buying land near military bases, but some states want to go much further.”

Fishing boat capsizes in Indian Ocean
Chinese ship capsizes in Indian Ocean with 39 on board, Xi Jinping orders search and rescue / SCMP (paywall)
“Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 has ordered an all-out search and rescue operation after a Chinese fishing boat with 39 crew members on board capsized in the Indian Ocean south of the Maldives.”
39 missing after Chinese fishing vessel capsizes in Indian Ocean / Caixin (paywall)
Xi orders all-out rescue as 39 missing after boat capsizes / Bloomberg (paywall)

Philippines
Philippines’ Marcos backs probe on China-owned power grid company / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has backed a probe to determine whether the government should take over the country’s sole power grid operator, which is partly owned by China.”

Singapore
Singapore’s No 2 leader Lawrence Wong cements ties with China’s emerging leaders in ‘timely’ visit / SCMP (paywall)
“Singapore’s No. 2 leader Lawrence Wong’s five-day visit to China offered airtime between emerging leaders and allowed Beijing to deepen ties with the city state amid growing wariness from the West, analysts said.”

Central Asia
China looks to strengthen ties in Russia’s Central Asian backyard / Reuters
“China will for the first time host an in-person summit of central Asian leaders this week, seeking to cement ties in a region seen as Russia’s backyard as its relations with the West sour.”

Japan
​​China, Japan defense chiefs hold first call on military hotline / Caixin (paywall)
“China and Japan’s top defense officials held their inaugural phone call using a direct hotline set up under a communication channel known as the maritime and air liaison mechanism, as the two sides seek to maintain regional stability.”

Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe
Missions in China warned over ‘propaganda’ displays after Ukraine flags raised / Reuters
“China has notified foreign embassies and international organizations not to exhibit ‘politicized propaganda’ on their buildings, an instruction diplomats say is aimed at missions that have displayed Ukrainian flags since Russia’s invasion.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Panda craze
In China, panda superfans want more than just bear necessities / Sixth Tone
“Panda fans have grown beyond sharing adorable videos. Their intense passion and online influence can even impact park management and policy.”

• Recently on The China Project: The Memphis Zoo pandas touched a nerve on Chinese social media and After a half-century, does panda diplomacy still work?