Highlighted links for June 8, 2023

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

Persuading reluctant foreign investors to come back to China
Chinese regulators try to assure skeptical foreign financiers / Reuters
“China is open for investment, the country’s top financial regulators told foreign financiers at a high-profile forum in Shanghai on Thursday, as concerns mount among foreign firms that they may no longer be welcome.”

Banks cut interest rates to stimulate economy
China’s biggest state banks cut deposit rates / Reuters
“China’s biggest banks on Thursday said they have lowered interest rates on yuan deposits, in actions that could ease pressure on profit margins and reduce lending costs, providing some relief for the financial sector and wider economy.”
Chinese banks slash deposit rates in bid to boost sluggish growth / FT (paywall)
Chinese banks mull further deposit rate cuts to ease margin pressures / Caixin (paywall)
“China’s biggest lenders are considering cutting interest rates paid on deposits for the second time in less than a year to bolster the economy while easing pressure on profits, Caixin learned from industry sources.”
China’s state banks cut deposit rates to bolster economy / Bloomberg (paywall)

Automobile industry
China passenger car sales rise in May on incentives, new models / Reuters
“Passenger vehicle sales in China rose 7.3% in May from a month earlier, industry data showed on Thursday, as the government extended tax incentives to shore up demand amid a flagging economic recovery.”

Electric vehicles and batteries
U.S. luxury EV maker Lucid set to enter China market / Reuters
“U.S. luxury electric vehicle (EV) maker Lucid Group is preparing to enter the world’s largest auto market, its head of China operations…said on Thursday.”
Chinese energy storage, battery firms consider big investments in Vietnam / Reuters
“Two Chinese makers of energy storage systems and batteries are weighing investments worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Vietnam, industry and government sources said.”
Nearly ‘impossible’ to manufacture batteries without China / FT (paywall)
“The U.S. will not manufacture enough battery parts to meet demand by the end of the decade despite subsidies in its landmark climate bill.”

Semiconductors
South Korea vows support for its chip sector amid China-U.S. tension / Reuters
“South Korea pledged support for its chip sector on Thursday, with President Yoon Suk Yeol describing competition in the industry as an ‘all-out war’ amid heightened Sino-U.S. tension.”

Robots
The march of Chinese robots into domestic factories / Caixin (paywall)
“Chinese industrial robot manufacturers are gearing up to challenge the long-established dominance of global giants by taking advantage of expanding demand from China’s booming domestic electronics industry and the need to upgrade manufacturing.”

Apple vs. the security state
Apple’s AirDrop in the crosshairs of China’s national-security crackdown / WSJ (paywall)
“Apple’s AirDrop and similar file-sharing programs that were used by protesters in China and Hong Kong in recent years face tighter controls under rules proposed by Beijing, the latest communications technology to fall foul of a broadening national-security clampdown.”

Cheap coal
It’s terribly hot in China, but coal prices still have room to fall / Caixin (paywall)
“Despite scorching heat boosting power demand as fans and air conditioners get switched on, Chinese coal hasn’t been this cheap in over two years — and it could get even cheaper.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

New COVID-19 wave
China’s new COVID wave expected to peak in June at 11 million cases a week / SCMP (paywall)
“China’s latest COVID-19 wave is likely to peak this month at 11 million cases a week, according to UK-based health data firm Airfinity.”

Wild monkeys in labs
China wakes up to danger from illegal lab monkey trade / Sixth Tone
“In China, thousands of wild-caught monkeys are being illegally certified as captive-bred and used in clinical trials for new drugs and vaccines. The practice poses a severe public health risk, experts warn.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

The Communist Party, elite politics, and government
Chinese general signals new strategy with Senkaku remarks / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“When China’s military leaders speak at diplomatic events, they usually take a hard line. They typically do not signal a new trend in Beijing’s foreign policy. Yet in the context of China-Japan relations, military diplomacy has suddenly grabbed the spotlight.”
China’s No. 5 official gains favor within Xi’s inner circle / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“As the fifth-ranked figure in the Chinese Communist Party, Cài Qí 蔡奇 has amassed an extensive set of duties that observers say attests to the favor he enjoys from China’s President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平.”

Anti-fraud campaign
Block all overseas calls: police in multiple Chinese cities issue ‘urgent reminder’ as anti-fraud drive scaled up / SCMP (paywall)
“Police in at least three provinces in China have called on residents to block all incoming overseas calls if they did not have regular contacts outside the mainland, saying this will protect them from telecoms fraud.”

Sinicizing Islam
Behind a rare clash, a fight over faith in China / NYT (paywall)
“China is destroying Arab-style architectural features of mosques, such as domes and minarets. The tightened control on religion has been met with rare resistance.”

• Earlier on The China Project: Chinese Muslims and police clash over partial demolition of historic mosque

Taiwan tensions
Taiwan activates air defense as China aircraft enter zone / Reuters
“Taiwan activated its defense systems on Thursday after reporting 37 Chinese military aircraft flying into the island’s air defense zone, some of which then flew into the western Pacific, in Beijing’s latest mass air incursion.”
Taiwan question is ‘biggest risk’ to U.S.-China relations, must be brought ‘under control’, Beijing’s top envoy to U.S. says / SCMP (paywall)
“The ‘biggest risk’ in preventing China-US relations from sliding into a conflict is the ‘pressing’ task of bringing the Taiwan issue under control, Beijing’s top envoy to Washington said on Wednesday.”
Xi’s rule in China won’t last forever: Taiwan presidential candidate / SCMP (paywall)
“Xí Jìnpíng’s 习近平 rule over China will not last forever, and there should be hopes that universal values and soft power will eventually bring China into the world of democracy, a Taiwanese presidential candidate said Thursday during a visit to Tokyo.”
U.S. to link up with Taiwan and Japan drone fleets to share real-time data / FT (paywall)
“The U.S., Taiwan and Japan are to share real-time data from naval reconnaissance drones, according to four people familiar with the project, demonstrating Washington’s push to strengthen coordination in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan.”

Cuban spy crisis in the making?
Cuba to host secret Chinese spy base focusing on U.S. / WSJ (paywall)
“China and Cuba have reached a secret agreement for China to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island, in a brash new geopolitical challenge by Beijing to the U.S., according to U.S. officials familiar with highly classified intelligence.”

Japan
Japan protests Chinese navy ship entering Japanese waters / Reuters
“Japan has conveyed ‘strong concern’ and lodged a protest against China after the Chinese Navy entered Japan’s waters near Yakushima Island on Thursday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said.”

India
China, India must step back from Himalayan border confrontation — Indian minister / Reuters
“India and China must find a way to step back from potential confrontation in the western Himalayas, India’s foreign minister said on Thursday, fearing that the militarized, disputed border could lead to conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors.”
The road to Modi’s ambitious made-in-India goal hits China wall / Caixin (paywall)
“The more India tries to ramp up production in competition with China, the more dependent they become on their northern neighbor for components and raw materials.”

Counterterrorism in Pakistan and Iran
China, Pakistan and Iran hold first trilateral counterterrorism meeting / Caixin (paywall)
“China, Pakistan and Iran held their first trilateral meeting on counterterrorism in Beijing on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Fashion trend inspired by official’s mistress
State-owned company official dismissed after viral video catches him with mistress / Sixth Tone
“The scandal has captivated Chinese netizens, with internet sleuths digging into the lives of the two colleagues and even seeking out the woman’s dress on Taobao.”

Retirement in Hong Kong
Retirement: some Hong Kong employees dream of it, others dread it. Will introducing a statutory age make a difference? / SCMP (paywall)
“In the second of a two-part series on the work scene in Hong Kong, the Post examines the long-running debate over whether a statutory retirement age would bring more benefits than disadvantages by easing the labor shortage and helping to defuse social time bombs.”

LGBTQ
Fare thee well Beijing LGBT Centre / Made in China Journal
“The closure of the Beijing LGBT Centre (北京同志中心) on May 15, 2023, only three months after its fifteenth anniversary, caused shock and heartbreak among the Chinese queer community both within China and abroad.”

• Earlier on The China Project: Beijing LGBT Center shutters after 15 years, citing uncontrollable factors

Movies and racism
China’s backlash against Little Mermaid exposes Hollywood bind / Al Jazeera
“Disney’s latest live-action feature is facing racially charged blowback from Chinese state media and social media users.”