Highlighted links for June 14, 2023

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

An urgent meeting and China’s slow economic recovery
China convenes urgent meetings on economy with business leaders / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Senior Chinese officials are soliciting advice from business leaders and economists on how to revitalize the economy in a flurry of meetings attendees have characterized as unusually urgent in their tone.”
China credit demand weakens in fresh sign of waning recovery / Caixin (paywall)
“China’s credit demand weakened in May as the economy’s recovery lost steam, adding to reasons for the central bank to expand stimulus to spur growth.”
China rate cut signals possible stimulus for faltering economy / FT (paywall)
“Central bank seeks to lower cost of short-term loans as credit growth weakens.”
China’s slowing economic recovery forces job cuts, investment delays as reopening boost wanes / SCMP (paywall)
“Disappointing manufacturing activity, exports data and youth unemployment have added to China’s sluggish post-coronavirus economic recovery.”
China readies for stimulus as economic recovery founders / FT (paywall)
“With a swath of tax breaks and hints at more loans for small businesses, Chinese state planners this week started to respond to a problem already felt by many consumers and investors: the country’s economic recovery is in trouble.”

Electric vehicles and green supply chains
Chinese automaker BYD reopens two Hong Kong showrooms after vandalism / Reuters
“Chinese automaker BYD Co Ltd has restarted operations at two showrooms and a service center in Hong Kong after they were vandalized earlier this week, BYD’s sole agent said in a notice on its website on Wednesday.”
U.S.-led minerals partnership shortlists projects for green energy shift / FT (paywall)
“China’s grip on critical elements prompts concern over ‘weaponization’ of supply chain.”
China’s BYD overtakes Tesla in the EV market / Washington Post (paywall)
“From Bangkok to Tel Aviv, BYD — which stands for ‘Build Your Dreams’ — has been pushing to make EVs mass-market.”

AI
ChatGPT unleashed an AI race, now regulators are struggling to hold on / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Artificial intelligence boom pits U.S.’s bottom-up approach against China’s top-down take on regulation.”

Aviation industry
China leading Asia’s air travel boom, Airbus says / SCMP (paywall)
“Airbus predicts aircraft manufacturers will deliver 40,850 new jets over the next two decades as customers, particularly in Asia, expand their fleets and replace older aircraft with more fuel-efficient models.”
U.S. targets China’s supercomputing, aviation industries in new blacklist / Caixin (paywall)
“The U.S. Commerce Department added 31 Chinese companies and entities to an export control list Monday, citing their alleged ties to the Chinese military and to human rights issues.”
Airbus to send Chinese-made A321 to Wizz in a first for Europe / Bloomberg (paywall)
“The A321neo jet, being built for Wizz Air Holdings Plc, took its first test flight on June 9.”

China’s companies are struggling to IPO in the U.S.
American investment banks give up some China IPO mandates / WSJ (paywall)
“International investors have soured so much on Chinese initial public offerings that investment banks are backing out of potential listings and even small deals have become a tough sell.”

Chinese companies head for the Middle East
Chinese firms ink $10 billion in investment deals at Arab-China conference / Caixin (paywall)
“​Chinese companies inked $10 billion in investment deals with businesses and government bodies in the Arab world during a two-day conference that ended Monday, as the Middle East emerges as a hot destination for Chinese investors.”
Chinese businesses look to new frontiers in Middle East / WSJ (paywall)
“Investors have streamed into Saudi Arabia since Xí Jìnpíng’s 习近平 visit in December.”

The investor’s dilemma
Investors face a stark choice: are they on the side of the U.S. or of China? / FT (paywall)
“The technological revolution epitomized by startling advances in artificial intelligence opens up rich opportunities for investors, but it also confronts them with a stark choice: are they on the side of the U.S. or of China?”

Are gaming companies getting their mojo back?
NetEase, Tencent regain momentum in gaming business / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China’s game market appears to be bottoming out. The approval process has resumed after being temporarily frozen, and the sales of major players such as Tencent have recovered. Yet regulations remain in place, and companies are looking overseas for other business channels.”

Semiconductors
Opinion: Watering down China chip restrictions sometimes makes sense / WSJ (paywall)
Jacky Wing writes: “There are good reasons for the U.S. to let top Asian chip makers keep producing in China — and it won’t help China all that much anyway.”
Why Taiwan has a lock on the world’s chip market / Foreign Policy (paywall)
Author “Chris Miller explains why it’s so difficult to make high-end semiconductors — and how a war over Taiwan could induce a global crisis.”

Apple supply chain
Apple taps Chinese contract manufacturer Luxshare, six other mainland suppliers in production of Vision Pro mixed-reality headset / SCMP (paywall)
“Electronics contract manufacturer Luxshare, a major supplier of AirPods for Apple that has also won iPhone 15 orders, emerged as the assembler of the U.S. tech giant’s Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, according to a bill of materials analysis.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Chinese scientists find possible solution for nonverbal patients
China study turns brain activity into Mandarin, breaks language barrier / SCMP (paywall)
“Chinese researchers say they have developed the first mind-reading machine capable of turning human thought into spoken Mandarin.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

Understanding Xí Jìnpíng 习近平
Opinion: Xi Jinping revered his father. So why isn’t he more like him? / Washington Post (paywall)
Eminent legal scholar Jerone A. Cohen writes: Xí Zhòngxūn’s 习仲勋 “wisdom and his admirable record are precisely what his son has refused to emulate.”

Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s judiciary urged to improve support for judges after chief justice criticises arbiter for copying in verdict / SCMP (paywall)
“Hong Kong’s judiciary has been urged to provide better support and guidance to judges after one was reprimanded by the city’s chief justice for copying almost the entirety of written submissions from the winning party in a civil case.”
Hong Kong to recruit 27,000 foreign workers amid shortage / Caixin (paywall)
“Hong Kong will ease entry rules to bring in 27,000 foreign workers to cover a manpower shortage in the financial hub.”
U.S. Treasury official visits Hong Kong as China tensions thaw / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“A senior U.S. Treasury official visited Hong Kong last week to meet with government officials ahead of a potential trip to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to people familiar with the matter.”
Hong Kong protest song unavailable on iTunes after government seeks ban / Bloomberg (paywall)
“A week after topping Apple Inc.’s iTunes chart, popular versions of a Hong Kong protest anthem are unsearchable on the platform, as the government tries to outlaw the song in the city’s courts.”

U.S.-China competition and tensions
China rebukes U.S. in phone call ahead of Blinken’s planned Beijing trip / Reuters (paywall)
“China’s foreign minister Qín Gāng 秦刚 urged the United States to stop meddling in its affairs and harming its security in a phone call with his U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, a tense preview to Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing expected in coming days.”
China’s foreign minister tells Blinken it’s up to the U.S. to ease tensions / WSJ (paywall)
Blinken to travel to China this week in push to repair ties / Bloomberg (paywall)
Qin Gang calls for U.S. to ‘show respect’, stop undermining China’s interests / SCMP (paywall)
China rebukes U.S. in call ahead of Blinken’s planned Beijing trip / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
Yellen says bid to decouple from China would be ‘disastrous’ / NYT (paywall)
“The Treasury secretary, speaking to a House committee, said trade and investment were crucial in U.S.-Chinese relations.”

The Philippines
Chinese navy ship pays port call to Philippines in goodwill tour of region / AP
“A Chinese navy training ship with hundreds of cadets made a port call in the Philippines on Wednesday, its final stop on a goodwill tour of four countries as Beijing looks to mend fences in the region.”

Singapore
China industry minister, Siemens CEO discuss digital manufacturing, development / Reuters
“China’s industry minister met Siemens’ chief executive on Wednesday and discussed intelligent manufacturing, digital economy development and the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises, the ministry said.”

Palestinian president in Beijing
China pledges support for peaceful resolution of Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid Abbas visit and ‘profound changes’ in Mideast / SCMP (paywall)
“Chinese Foreign Minister Qín Gāng 秦刚 reaffirmed China’s support for a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to his Palestinian Authority counterpart as Mahmoud Abbas visited Beijing and amid ‘profound changes in the Middle East.’”
While hosting Abbas, China plays up possible mediator role with Israel / NYT (paywall)
“In meeting with the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 is pushing Beijing as an alternative to the U.S. for diplomatic leadership.”

Russia and its invasion of Ukraine
China should reconsider Russia ties, ‘make friends with more countries’, scholar says / SCMP (paywall)
“China should reflect on its relationship with Russia when dealing with containment by the U.S.-led Western countries, a Chinese expert said as Beijing comes under pressure for its perceived support of Moscow in the Ukraine war.”
China ‘anxious and regretful’ over Ukraine war, PLA strategist says / SCMP (paywall)
Lieutenant General Hé Léi 何雷 “says Beijing was taken by surprise when Moscow invaded its neighbor and denies that it is pressuring Kyiv to give up territory.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Movies
New Hong Kong movies kick kung fu to the curb in favor of introspective dramas / WSJ (paywall)
“Wave of films based on local narratives subtly reflects recent traumas and delivers box-office surprises.”

Music
The forgotten story of China’s first orchestra / Sixth Tone
“In the mid-19th century, a French Jesuit formed modern China’s first Western orchestra. A recent book and museum exhibit tell his story.”

Weight loss camps
In China’s weight loss camps, a dangerous obsession with numbers / Sixth Tone
“Following the death of a young influencer, experts are raising serious concerns regarding the safety, effectiveness, and long-term impact of such camps.”