Highlighted links for June 1, 2023

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

Aerospace industry
Boeing CEO ‘not overly anxious’ about Chinese narrowbody jet / Reuters
“Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun downplayed speculation that China’s maiden commercial flight of its domestically produced C919 narrowbody jet could foreshadow the end of the duopoly currently held by the U.S. planemaker and its European rival Airbus SE.”

Cryptocurrencies
Hong Kong’s crypto ambitions get a guarded reception / Caixin (paywall)
“Hong Kong kicked off a new crypto regulatory regime in a bid to nurture a digital-asset hub, a pivot that’s stirred interest but has yet to win big investment pledges from an industry chastened by a market rout last year.”

Semiconductors
Beijing calls on Arm to intensify chip cooperation with Chinese companies / FT (paywall)
“Beijing has urged chip designer Arm to work more closely with Chinese companies in an indication of the crucial role the SoftBank-owned group plays in a semiconductor industry under intense pressure from US export restrictions.”

Youth unemployment
China’s Henan plans ‘zero-dynamic’ end to youth unemployment / Reuters
“China’s Henan province has unveiled a 100-day plan to ‘dynamically clear’ youth unemployment as concern grows over record levels of joblessness among young adults, with millions more students due to graduate this year.”
Chinese graduates lower their ambitions in moribund jobs market / Reuters
“Youth unemployment hit a record 20.4% in April, and a new high of 11.58 million university students are due to graduate this summer. All are competing for jobs in what remains one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, but whose manufacturing-heavy structure is increasingly out of step with the aspirations of its younger generations.”

Chinese companies
Five globally successful Chinese companies you’ve never heard of / Rest of World
TikTok and Shein are household names, but ShareIt and Yalla aren’t far behind.

Economic recovery
Surging temple and lottery stocks mirror China’s weak recovery / Reuters
“Shares in some Chinese temple operators and lottery sellers surged for a second day on Thursday amid a weak post-COVID recovery, as despondent young people rush to pray or gamble amid greater economic uncertainty.”
China’s faltering outlook for growth / FT (paywall)
“China’s economic rebound is faltering and Jamie Dimon, the JPMorgan chair, is not the only one concerned. Dimon, who spoke at a Shanghai banking conference on Wednesday, called youth unemployment rates in China ‘scary.’ He added that economic uncertainty had been “somewhat caused” by the Chinese government.”

Electric vehicles
China’s EV giant BYD is picking up speed in Jordan / Rest of World
How Jordan became a battleground for Chinese EVs.
Chinese EV battery maker Gotion mulls factory in Morocco / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Morocco’s government and China-based battery maker Gotion High Tech have agreed to look into setting up an electric vehicle battery plant in the kingdom with up to $6.3 billion in eventual investment, Morocco’s investment agency said.”

Factory production
Asia’s factories signal more pain as China recovery falters / Caixin (paywall)
“Asia’s factories saw further easing in demand in May as the Chinese mainland’s faltering recovery weighed on a region already smarting from a global trade downturn.”

Bearish investors
Foreigners pull more money out of China in May / Reuters
“Foreign investors’ selling of Chinese shares gained some momentum in May, as flagging domestic demand and expectations for weak corporate earnings led to steep falls on mainland and Hong Kong stock markets.”
China’s weak recovery is turning off foreign investors / FT (paywall)
Global investors scale back bets on China’s state-owned companies / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“As the Chinese economic recovery faltered this year, foreign investors gravitated to the shares of state-owned enterprises, reckoning that the Beijing-controlled companies were their best hope during the uncertain period that followed the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions.”
These Asian markets are becoming investor darlings as China stocks sink / Bloomberg (paywall)
“As frustration over China’s equity performance increases, some of Asia’s other major markets are emerging as more attractive alternatives for global investors.”

Private funds
China’s proposed new curbs on private securities funds spark controversy / Caixin (paywall)
“Proposed new rules to contain risks in China’s $2.9 trillion private fund sector have triggered concern that regulators are interfering too much in how funds are run and hampering managers’ ability to execute their investment strategies.”

AI
Chinese ChatGPT rival Mobvoi files for Hong Kong IPO / Caixin (paywall)
“Google-backed Chinese artificial intelligence company Mobvoi Information Technology Co. Ltd. filed Tuesday for an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.”

Development and real estate
China new home prices, sales fall on soft demand in May / Reuters
“China’s new home prices fell for the first time in four months in May and home sales slumped, according to a private survey, adding to pressure on a property market which is struggling to stabilize from a sharp slump.”
China’s housing sales by top developers slow as rebound falters / Caixin (paywall)

Elon Musk
Elon Musk met with Chinese Vice Premier Ding in Beijing / Reuters
“Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk met with Chinese Vice Premier Dīng Xuēxiáng 丁薛祥 on Wednesday afternoon in Beijing, a source familiar with the matter said.”
Elon Musk in China: Tesla CEO leaves for Texas after meeting Shanghai Communist Party boss as visit yields nothing concrete / SCMP (paywall)
“Tesla chief executive Elon Musk left Shanghai for Texas on Thursday morning after meeting Shanghai Communist Party boss Chén Jíníng 陈吉宁, wrapping up a three-day visit to China amid souring relations between Beijing and the West.”
Musk asked to boost investment in Shanghai by top party official / Bloomberg (paywall)
“The top Communist Party official in Shanghai encouraged Elon Musk to boost investment in the financial hub when they met on Thursday.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Nuclear energy
China eyes trillion-yuan output in civilian nuclear sector by 2025, with big industrial and economic gains / SCMP (paywall)
“China is looking to carve out a trillion-yuan market for nuclear technologies with civilian-focused purposes in the next couple of years, according to a recent report by the China Nuclear Energy Association (CNEA).”

Agriculture
For Xi, China’s diet is too dependent on U.S., Ukraine / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“‘Returning forest to farmland’ is a slogan trending on China’s internet these days. Video clips of parks and forests being turned into farmland are going viral. To those who know China’s recent past, it’s an upside-down reality. The basic government policy for the last two decades has been the exact opposite: ‘Returning farmland to forest.’”

Extreme weather
Southern China faces tight power supply amid hot weather / Caixin (paywall)
“Southern China’s Guangdong is experiencing a surge of power demand as heatwaves hit the nation’s most populous province. Meanwhile, the supply of electricity is tightening as hydropower plants dry up in Yunnan, Guangdong’s major power source.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

The Communist Party, elite politics, and government
China names new head of Communist Youth League as twice-a-decade meeting looms / Caixin (paywall)
“The Communist Party of China has appointed a new chief of the Communist Youth League (CYL), ahead of the league’s twice-a-decade national congress. Ā Dōng 阿 东, former vice governor and publicity department director of Jilin province in Northeast China, is the new first secretary of the Secretariat of the CYL Central Committee.”

Police attack reporter in China
Chinese authorities sack, detain 3 police officers after reporter beating / SCMP (paywall)
“Three police officers in the southwestern province of Guizhou have been removed from duty and detained after being accused of beating up a reporter who had been investigating a deadly accident, local authorities said on Thursday.”
Chinese journalist beaten while investigating teachers’ deaths, 3 police detained / Sixth Tone
Law enforcement personnel in Southwest China detained for assaulting journalist / Caixin (paywall)

Belt and Road
Along China’s Belt and Road, lenders’ problem debt mounts / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Chinese overseas loans went sour at a far worse rate in recent years as the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation took a toll on emerging economies involved in Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.”
Middle East offers new opportunities for China’s Belt and Road investors, analyst says / Caixin (paywall)
“The Middle East is likely to become the next hot spot along the Belt and Road, as countries in the region offer a wealth of infrastructure investment opportunities for Chinese companies, a senior analyst said.”

Data leaks and smuggling in Hong Kong
Hong Kong privacy watchdog warns data management firm over possible exposure of credit histories of 180,000 people / SCMP (paywall)
“Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog has threatened to take legal action against a data management firm for failing to protect the credit histories of about 180,000 people from unauthorized access.”
Hong Kong customs officers seize 40 tonnes of frozen offal, arrest 9 on 3 vessels during operation against cross-border smuggling / SCMP (paywall)
“Hong Kong customs officers have arrested nine men and confiscated nearly 40 tonnes of frozen offal worth HK$4 million after intercepting three vessels near the sea boundary with mainland China in an operation against cross-border smuggling.”

Taiwan
China criticizes U.S. plan for trade deal with Taiwan / AP
“China’s government criticized the United States’ plans to sign a trade treaty with Taiwan and called on Washington on Thursday to stop official contact with the self-ruled island democracy claimed by Beijing as part of its territory.”
China urges U.S. to stop official exchanges with Taiwan under guise of trade / Reuters

U.S.-China competition and tensions
China accuses U.S. of interfering in training exercise before aerial confrontation / AP
“China’s Defense Ministry accused the U.S. of ‘interference and surveillance’ of a naval exercise in the South China Sea ahead of an incident in which a Chinese fighter pilot flew at high speed in front of a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane, underscoring the rupture in contacts between their militaries.”
U.S. defense chief calls China’s refusal to meet unfortunate during visit to Tokyo for talks / AP
“U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed the importance of communication during a stopover Thursday in Tokyo, calling it unfortunate that his Chinese counterpart is refusing to meet him at an upcoming annual security conference in Singapore, which both men are attending.”
U.S. defense chief warns incidents with China’s military could ‘spiral out of control’ / FT (paywall)
Chinese defense minister’s snub of U.S. ‘unfortunate’: Austin / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
U.S.-China tensions expected to dominate Asia security meeting / Reuters
“Tensions between the United States and China are expected to loom over Asia’s top security meeting this week, as China has declined a bilateral meeting between the superpowers’ defense chiefs.”
China investing in open-source intelligence collection on the U.S. / NYT (paywall)
“A new report outlines Chinese efforts to mine public information from the Pentagon, think tanks and private companies to gain insight on the American military.”

Germany
Wang Yi boosts China, Germany friendship paving way for Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s Berlin visit / SCMP (paywall)
“China’s top diplomat Wáng Yì 王毅 has signaled Beijing’s willingness to join hands with Berlin in the face of global uncertainties, in a meeting on Wednesday aimed at preparing the way for a widely expected visit to Germany by Premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强.”
Opinion: Germany can ignore anxious CEOs while setting China policy / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Debate in Germany over formulating a new coherent and robust strategy toward China has been hampered by an inflated perception of how economically dependent Berlin is on its Asian trade partner and outdated perspectives about the demand for German products and services in China.”

Australia
​Australia ‘hopeful’ barley exports to China will resume soon as talks go ‘in right direction’ amid warming ties / SCMP (paywall)
“China’s expedited review of its anti-dumping duties on Australian barley exports is close to completion and the outcome appears to be positive, Australia’s trade minister said on Thursday.”

Singapore and the Shangri-La Dialogue
China and key U.S. partner Singapore agree to top-level defense hotline / AP
“China and Singapore laid the groundwork Thursday for a hotline between the two countries that would establish a high-level communications link between Beijing and a close American partner in Asia at a time when Chinese tensions with Washington are high and dialogue has stalled.”
China, Singapore agree to work on secure phone link for ‘high-level’ military communications / SCMP (paywall)
Singapore, China agree to set up high-level defense hotline / Bloomberg (paywall)

Shangri-La Dialogue: why the U.S. and Chinese defense ministers should meet – and what stands in their way / SCMP (paywall)
“When the Shangri-La Dialogue gets under way in Singapore on Friday it will bring a much needed opportunity for the military top brass of both China and the US to shake hands and add some personal warmth to their frosty relations.”

Sri Lanka
China pledges support for Sri Lanka through ‘difficult times’, renews promise to develop ports through belt and road / SCMP (paywall)
“China pledged to support Sri Lanka through ‘difficult times’ while renewing its commitment to developing the island country’s largest trading ports through the Belt and Road Initiative as Colombo continues to battle a crippling economic crisis.”

Russia
Despite ‘no limits’ ties, China has moved carefully on Russian energy since Ukraine invasion / SCMP (paywall)
“China has only moderately expanded its energy ties with Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, in a cautious approach that jars with the “no limits” partnership proclaimed by Presidents Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 and Vladimir Putin before the war began, according to a new analysis.”

Europe
China says it will monitor EU talks on Russia sanctions, defend Chinese firms / Reuters
“China will closely follow the progress of European Union discussions on an 11th tranche of sanctions against Russia that could result in trade restrictions with China, Shù Juétíng 束珏婷, a commerce ministry spokesperson, said on Thursday.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Stand-up comedy
The joke can be on Hong Kong comedians if they cross the line / FT (paywall)
“How do you survive as a comedian in Hong Kong, the Chinese territory that has slowly seen freedoms eroded since pro-democracy protests in 2019?”

Peking University student receives death penalty
PKU student who killed mother has death sentence upheld / Sixth Tone
“Lawyers defending the former student convicted of murdering his mother said that he was mentally ill at the time. The court dismissed the appeal.”