Highlighted links for July 3, 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
Mazda to consolidate China dealer networks in EV push / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Mazda is merging its Chinese sales arms into one, to concentrate its resources and cut costs, as the Chinese electric vehicle market becomes more competitive and the Japanese carmaker’s sales struggle to keep up with Chinese and American rivals including Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD and Tesla of the U.S.”
China set to boost state cobalt reserves after tumble in prices / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China is taking advantage of tumbling cobalt prices to build up its inventories of the metal used in electric-vehicle batteries and aerospace alloys.”

Regional wealth gap
China’s east-west economic gap refuses to narrow / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Despite a push for more balanced development, the economic gap between China’s better-off eastern coastal regions and its less-developed western inland regions remains wide, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).”

Economic gloom
China’s factory activity expansion loses momentum, Caixin PMI shows / Caixin (paywall)
“The recovery in China’s manufacturing sector lost a step in June, a Caixin-sponsored survey showed Monday, despite government efforts to prop up the economy.”
Opinion: Don’t count on China’s consumers to drive revival of growth / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
Diana Choyleva writes: “Investors have been surprised by the weakness of China’s economic rebound since Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 suddenly ended sweeping COVID restrictions in December. Some have pointed to U.S. curbs on semiconductor sales and disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In fact, the main culprit lies much closer to home and China knows it.”

• Choyleva on the Sinica Podcast in December 2022: China’s push for RMB internationalization

Leading aluminum product maker falls into bankruptcy
Metal magnate’s fall from China’s rich list to bankruptcy / Caixin (paywall)
“Liú Zhōngtián 劉忠田, who founded Zhongwang Group and built it into Asia’s biggest maker of aluminum extrusion products while launching himself onto the Forbes list of China’s richest billionaires, now finds himself under legal restraint with his company in bankruptcy and much of his wealth evaporated. What went wrong?”

AI, semiconductors, and U.S.-China tech war
China designer of AI-based self-driving chips files for Hong Kong IPO / Caixin (paywall)
“Black Sesame International Holding Ltd., a Xiaomi-backed designer of artificial intelligence-based self-driving computing chips, has filed for a Hong Kong IPO in pursuit of new funding as the global auto industry accelerates its transition toward electrification and automated driving.”
Tech war: chairman of YMTC, China’s top memory chip maker, warns of ‘turbulence and disorder’ in semiconductor sector amid geopolitical tensions / SCMP (paywall)
“The global semiconductor industry is facing turbulence because of rising geopolitical tensions and the national security concerns of some countries, threatening the sector’s future growth, according to the head of Chinese chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC).”
China to restrict exports of metals critical to chip production / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China imposed restrictions on exporting two metals used to make semiconductors and other electronics, a move that’s likely to raise costs for hardware manufacturers and worsen geopolitical tensions over the race to develop advanced computing technology.”

Free trade zones
China tests measures to lure foreign businesses to free-trade zones / Caixin (paywall)
“China rolled out a number of measures to open up its free-trade zones as state leaders go on a charm offensive to woo foreign investors.”

Insurance
Chinese insurance giant PICC to get new president, sources say / Caixin (paywall)
“State-owned insurance major The People’s Insurance Co. (Group) of China Ltd. (PICC) is expected to appoint finance veteran Zhào Péng 赵鹏 as president, sources with knowledge of the issue told Caixin.”

Cryptocurrencies
Crypto’s dream of an embrace by China gets a reality check / Bloomberg (paywall)
“A shakeup at China’s central bank has poured cold water on speculation that the nation may be about to loosen a ban on digital-asset trading.”

Shipping
China urges developing countries to oppose ‘unrealistic’ shipping levy / FT (paywall)
“China has urged poorer countries to oppose a levy on shipping emissions and stronger targets for decarbonising one of the world’s most polluting industries, criticizing wealthy nations for setting ‘unrealistic’ goals with ‘significant’ financial costs.”

Hong Kong real estate
Hong Kong government to sell only 2 plots of residential land in second quarter of financial year amid weak market sentiment / SCMP (paywall)
“Hong Kong’s government has defied market expectations by announcing it will sell only two plots of residential land in the second quarter of the financial year — about half the number forecast by some analysts.”

Trade with Africa
Deals down, but Hunan’s China-Africa trade expo reaps $10 billion / SCMP (paywall)
“A total of 120 deals worth $10.3 billion were signed during the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Changsha, capital of the central Chinese province of Hunan — significantly lower than previous events.”

Dali Foods
Chinese cookie tycoon gains $1.2 billion in taking firm private / Bloomberg (paywall)
“The founder of a Chinese cookie maker has gotten richer with a proposal to take the Hong Kong-listed firm private.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Space research
China’s Tiangong space station begins hosting global experiments / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Scientific experiments from researchers around the world have started on China’s Tiangong space station, part of Beijing’s bid to appeal to the global scientific community.”

Crude oil
China takes aim at energy crisis with world’s biggest crude-oil processor / SCMP (paywall)
“China undocked the world’s largest crude-oil-processing vessel by tonnage and storage at the weekend, as energy security has taking center stage in policymakers’ risk-preventing playbook.”

End of life care
What is your perfect death? Hong Kong to give terminally ill patients more say over how and where they die / SCMP (paywall)
“The Hong Kong government is planning to change the city’s laws to improve end-of-life care and give people more legal power to decide the medical treatments they receive when terminally ill, and more choices of where to die.”

Agriculture
China’s seeds, in an agricultural choke hold, must see breeding advancements / SCMP (paywall)
“Looking to reduce its reliance on foreign suppliers for critical foodstuffs, China is growing more innovative and bold.”

Extreme weather
China’s deadly weather from heat to hailstorms take a toll / Reuters
“Torrential rain triggered flash floods in northern China killing one person and sweeping away two, state media reported on Monday, the latest victims of weeks of extreme weather that has brought misery to many and shows no sign of ending.”
How a week of extreme weather sowed chaos in Central China. Again. / Sixth Tone
“A sudden deluge in Henan province destroyed crops and sparked a frenzied rescue mission. It also exposed how unprepared China remains for an era of rapid climate change.”

Population decline
Chinese tech group joins the battle on falling birth rate / FT (paywall)
“Chinese online travel agency Trip.com is preparing 1 billion yuan ($140 million) in cash subsidies to encourage employees to have more babies, in one of the first instances of a local tech company working to turn around the country’s falling birth rate.”
Trip.com offers employees 50,000 yuan subsidy for each child born / Sixth Tone

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

China’s central bank names new Party leader
China foreign-exchange regulator Pan Gongsheng named central-bank party boss / Reuters
“China’s ruling Communist Party appointed central bank Deputy Governor Pān Gōngshèng 潘功勝 as the bank’s party secretary on Saturday, a move the Wall Street Journal said would be a prelude to becoming governor.”
China central bank deputy governor Pan Gongsheng named as party chief / Caixin (paywall)
Western-trained banker in line to lead China’s central bank / FT (paywall)
China’s central bank appoints new top Communist Party official / WSJ (paywall)

Human trafficking
As China reopens borders, trafficking of women and girls resumes / WSJ (paywall)
“COVID-19 and a daunting wall China erected along its southern border forced a virtual halt to the trafficking of Vietnamese girls and women into China, many of them for forced marriages with Chinese men. Now, signs are emerging that such trafficking has resumed.”

Mine safety
After exposé, Chinese firm under lens for hiding mining deaths / Sixth Tone
“State-owned outlet China Newsweek reported that a mining company in Shanxi concealed the deaths of at least 17 workers over 15 years. The local government has ordered an investigation.”

Panda diplomacy
How China’s panda diplomacy opened hearts, minds, and borders / Foreign Policy (paywall)
“It can be hard to win friends and influence people in geopolitics, so China has turned to uniquely charming foreign-policy envoys: pandas. For decades, Beijing has dispatched as many as 70 jumbo bears to zoos around the world, part of a unique soft-power strategy that the world now knows as panda diplomacy.”

CCP Tiananmen Square negotiator dies
Yan Mingfu, Chinese Communist Party negotiator with Tiananmen Square protesters in 1989, dies aged 91 / SCMP (paywall)
“Yán Míngfù 阎明复, a former political heavyweight of China’s ruling Communist Party best remembered for mediating between Beijing and student protesters before the bloody crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989, has died aged 91.”

Hong Kong censorship, media controls, and national security law
Hong Kong police issue arrest warrants for eight overseas activists / Reuters
“Hong Kong police on Monday accused eight overseas-based activists of serious national security offenses including foreign collusion and incitement to secession and offered rewards for information leading to any arrest.”
Hong Kong national security law: police offer HK$1 million rewards for arrest of 8 people, including 3 ex-lawmakers / SCMP (paywall)
Hong Kong police offer HK$1 million reward for 8 wanted democracy activists / Bloomberg (paywall)
Hong Kong issues arrest warrants for 8 activists abroad / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
Japanese journalist barred from entering Hong Kong without clear reason, newspaper says / AP
“A Japanese journalist was barred from entering Hong Kong without a clear reason and was sent back to his country, a Japanese newspaper said, raising concerns over the city’s shrinking press freedoms.”
Unlicensed Hong Kong radio station that hosted pro-democracy guests goes off the air after 18 years / AP
“An unlicensed pro-democracy radio station in Hong Kong shut down Friday after 18 years on the air. The closure of Citizens’ Radio came on the eve of the 26th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China’s rule.”
Hong Kong inks cross-border data transfer deal for Greater Bay Area with China’s internet regulator following crackdown / SCMP (paywall)
“Hong Kong and China’s central government have signed a memorandum making cross-border data transfers easier within the Greater Bay Area, in a deal that could give the southern semi-autonomous city a special role in handling data from China.”

Taiwan
Taiwan military holds live fire drills on strategic southern coast / Reuters
“Taiwan’s military carried out live fire drills on its strategically-located southern coast on Monday, firing missiles from highly mobile armored cars to destroy targets close to shore in a simulation of repelling invading forces.”
Xi Jinping has yet to decide whether to order Taiwan unification by 2027: top U.S. military adviser / SCMP (paywall)
“Chinese President Xi Jinpinghas yet to decide whether to order a military unification with Taiwan by 2027, according to the U.S. government’s top military adviser, who called for an accelerated modernisation of America’s armed forces to prevent such a move.”
Don’t ‘act blindly’ on Taiwan: Beijing should resist U.S. pressure and stay own course, policy influencer says / SCMP (paywall)
“Beijing should avoid acting blindly on Taiwan in the face of increasing pressure from the U.S., according to Sūn Yàfū 孙亚夫, a former mainland official and influential figure for Beijing’s Taiwan policy.”

U.S.-China competition and tensions
Treasury’s Yellen to visit China this week to expand communications / Reuters
“U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to Beijing from July 6-9 for meetings with senior Chinese officials on a broad range of issues, including U.S. concerns about a new Chinese counterespionage law, a senior Treasury official said on Sunday.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is making a long-awaited trip to China this week / AP
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to visit China from Thursday for talks ‘to address global challenges’ / SCMP (paywall)
Janet Yellen to visit China in new U.S. push to ease tensions / FT (paywall)
Yellen to visit China on Thursday in bid to improve dialogue / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
U.S. Treasury Secretary to visit Beijing / Caixin (paywall)
U.S., China start talking again, with global economic order at stake / WSJ (paywall)
Yellen heads to China this week advancing U.S. bid to fix ties / Bloomberg (paywall)
U.S. pension funds, universities face pressure over China investments / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“U.S. public pension plans and universities are facing pressure to divest their portfolios from China amid tensions between Washington and Beijing, with billions of dollars at stake.”
Can China’s charm offensive with business ease U.S. tensions? / FT (paywall)
“Beijing blames part of the geopolitical tensions on Washington after it imposed controls on high-technology exports to China and shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon early this year.”

France
China complains to France after Chinese tourists hurt in riots / Reuters
“China’s Consulate General in Marseille complained to France after a bus carrying a Chinese tour group in the southern city had its windows smashed leading to minor injuries, China’s Consular Affairs Office said in a statement on Sunday.”

Japan
Beijing stokes opposition to US bases in Japan’s Okinawa as it seeks to ‘win hearts and minds’ amid Taiwan tensions / SCMP (paywall)
“China’s recent remarks about the country’s close ties with a chain of southern Japanese islands are yet another attempt by Beijing to ‘molest public opinion,’ analysts say, while it also stokes opposition to U.S. military bases in the region to add to pressure on Japan in the event of conflict breaking out in the Taiwan Strait.”

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s big-spending league seeks to avoid China’s failed gamble / The Guardian
“Saudi Arabia is the new China. ‘The system of buying the players that almost ended their career is not the system that develops football,’ said Uefa’s chief executive Aleksander Ceferin recently.”

India
How US deals with ‘natural partner’ India could boost defense, tech cooperation amid China tensions / SCMP (paywall)
“India’s defense capabilities are set for a boost following a series of deals signed with the United States, in what experts say is also an indication of Washington’s desire to draw New Delhi closer to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Russia
China’s defense minister meets Russian navy head in Beijing – defense ministry / Reuters
“China’s defense minister Lǐ Shàngfú 李尚福 met with the head of the Russian navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, in Beijing, the Chinese defense ministry said on Monday.”
Wagner uprising highlights China’s risks with Russia / NYT (paywall)
“Xi Jinping needs Vladimir Putin to remain in power, and Russia to maintain stability, to help uphold the countries’ shared interests and to keep challenging the United States.”
How China’s overseas security forces differ from Wagner / WSJ (paywall)
“The ascendancy of the Russian mercenary group Wagner is putting a spotlight on the role played by private security companies in developing countries. ​Among them are ​Chinese​​​ ​contractors that have fanned out across Africa and Asia.”
Is Russia losing its grip on Central Asia? / Foreign Affairs (paywall)
“Chinese and Russian power plays in Central Asia are complex and subtle. China’s clout is growing, but Beijing is nowhere near usurping Moscow as Central Asia’s true hegemon.”

Vietnam
Vietnam bans Barbie movie for showing Beijing’s South China Sea claims / SCMP (paywall)
“Vietnam has banned Warner Bros’ highly-anticipated film Barbie from domestic distribution over a scene featuring a map that shows China’s unilaterally claimed territory in the South China Sea, state media reported on Monday.”

Nigeria
Chinese navy makes rare foray into West Africa with Nigeria visit / Reuters
“A naval fleet of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) led by the destroyer Nanning arrived in Nigeria on Sunday for a rare visit by the Chinese military to Africa’s Atlantic coast, where Beijing has long made efforts to grow its influence.”

Pacific islands
Chinese hospital ship to visit Pacific to boost ‘responsible’ image / Reuters
“China is sending a military-run hospital ship to the Pacific to where it will call in at Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and East Timor at a time of growing competition with the United States and its allies for influence in the region.”
Chinese navy hospital ship heads to Pacific to show military’s ‘peaceful development’ / SCMP (paywall)

Europe
Chinese military delegation visited UK, France / Reuters
“A Chinese military delegation visited Britain and France from June 24 to Saturday to discuss the development of bilateral defense relations, China’s Ministry of Defence said on Saturday.”

East Asia
China’s top diplomat urges greater cooperation with Japan, South Korea / Reuters
“China, Japan and South Korea need to send a clear signal of regrouping towards co-operation, and resist ‘the coercion of bullying and domination,’ China’s top diplomat, Wáng Yì 王毅, said on Monday, in an apparent swipe at the United States.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Sports
Regional slam dunk for China women’s basketball / Caixin (paywall)
“The Chinese national team foiled Japan’s bid for a sixth straight FIBA Asia Cup title in Sydney with a nail-biting 73-71 win.”

Appearance rating platform leads to arrest
Tencent programmer arrested for operating controversial student appearance rating platform / Sixth Tone
“The 25-year-old Renmin University graduate is accused of hacking the student database of his alma mater and using it to launch the appearance rating platform.”

Marketing
A Chinese coconut drink company bets big on female desire / Sixth Tone
“Long known for its racy ads featuring large-breasted women, Coconut Palm now wants to use the same tactics to win over female consumers. Will it work?”