Highlighted links for August 31, 2023

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

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

Economic gloom or boom
China’s economy shows fresh weakness in factories, housing and consumer spending / WSJ (paywall)
“China’s economy limped through August. A prolonged slump in the real-estate market deepened. Factories were hit by sinking exports, and consumers kept a tight leash on spending.”

Foreign investors sell China shares at record pace in August / FT (paywall)
“Foreign investors sold a record $12 billion worth of Chinese stocks in August as piecemeal support measures from Beijing failed to assuage concerns over slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy and a worsening crisis in the country’s property sector.”

Why China’s efforts to juice stocks typically don’t last / Caixin (paywall)
“China’s new measures to energize its stock market likely won’t have long-lasting effects without additional policy help, as they are mostly designed to lift sentiment, analysts and market participants said.”

Airplanes and airlines
U.S.-China trade: market sees clouds clearing for Boeing after Raimondo visit elevates hope of an order frenzy / SCMP (paywall)
“A bridge-building effort between Beijing and Washington this week to curb mutual commercial concerns has raised market hopes that Chinese airlines might order more American-made Boeing aircraft after shying away amid bilateral tensions in recent years.”
Chinese airlines extend losses despite end of pandemic curbs / FT (paywall)
“China Eastern Airlines has extended its three-year lossmaking streak as international travel to and from the country remains depressed despite the removal of pandemic travel restrictions.”

Electric bicycyles and electric cars
Why China’s e-bike market is facing a wave of battery fires / Sixth Tone
“On August 20, a lithium-ion battery that a bus passenger was carrying caught fire, soon engulfing the whole vehicle in the eastern city of Nanjing. The blaze left two people, including a child, dead and five more injured.”

Chinese EV maker Hozon raises $960m in crossover financing / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Chinese electric vehicle maker Hozon New Energy Automobile said it has secured 7 billion yuan ($960.2 million) in crossover financing, a few months after the company denied media reports about its plan to move toward a public listing in Hong Kong.”

Automobile industry
China’s Great Wall Motor takes a bigger slice of Russian market / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China’s largest SUV maker Great Wall Motor is rapidly expanding its market position in Russia, which has become the company’s major profit generator amid weak growth at home, while Western and Japanese automakers continue to leave Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.”

Banking
China’s top banks report rising bad loans as property woes spread / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“China’s top lenders have reported an increase in bad loans during the first half of the year amid predictions that credit problems in the property sector will grow worse.”

Semiconductors
How China’s chipmakers can level the playing field / Caixin (paywall)
“China’s chip industry is being forced to evolve rapidly to meet the vast needs of the country’s cutting-edge tech developers that are now largely cut off from international supply chains. But Chinese chipmakers are going up against global leaders, namely Nvidia Corp.”

AI
China lets Baidu, others launch ChatGPT-like bots to public, tech shares jump / Reuters
“Five Chinese tech firms, including Baidu Inc and SenseTime Group, on Thursday launched their artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to the public after receiving government approval, as China’s government pushes to widen the use of such products amid competition with the United States.”
China’s Baidu makes AI chatbot Ernie Bot publicly available / AP
Baidu AI bot Ernie gets Chinese approval for rollout to public / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
China’s Baidu and ByteDance launch AI chatbots to public / FT (paywall)

Life insurance
Hong Kong’s life insurance sales to mainland Chinese visitors return to pre-Covid levels as weaker yuan, rate gap drive the search for yield / SCMP (paywall)
“Life insurance sales in Hong Kong to mainland Chinese visitors surged 59-fold in the first half, as they rushed to the city to buy policies in search of higher returns after the borders reopened, according to data from the Insurance Authority on Thursday.”

Manufacturing
China’s manufacturing activity shrinks in August / FT (paywall)
“Activity in China’s manufacturing sector contracted for a fifth straight month in August, according to an official survey, adding pressure on policymakers in the world’s second-largest economy to take action to shore up growth.”

Real estate and property development
How Evergrande’s downfall signaled China’s property crisis / Reuters
“Hitting up employees for funds, Reuters has found, was just one of a number of unusual practices employed by the company before it came to the brink of a messy collapse in 2021 under the weight of hundreds of billions of dollars of debt. This account of the rise and fall of Hui and Evergrande is based on interviews with more than 20 people who have worked with the tycoon or at his company. All spoke on condition of anonymity.”
China lowers down payment, mortgage rate in stimulus push / Bloomberg (paywall)
“China’s financial regulators cut the down-payment requirements for first- and second-time home buyers and lowered rates on existing mortgages, another major effort to halt a slump in the country’s residential property market.”

Lower pork prices and higher costs hit major major sellers
Hormel Foods cuts annual forecasts on weak China demand, adverse pork prices / Reuters
“Hormel Foods on Thursday cut its annual revenue and profit targets after missing quarterly results as the Skippy peanut butter maker wrestled with lower pork and turkey prices and sluggish demand in key market China.”

Huawei
Is the new Mate 60 Pro a 5G comeback for Huawei? / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Details on Huawei’s latest phone are trickling out after the Chinese company quietly released its flagship Mate 60 Pro domestically this week with little comment and no fanfare.”
China state media declares Huawei phone a victory in U.S. tech war / Bloomberg (paywall)

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:

Typhoon Saola
Super typhoon heads towards Hong Kong, China issues highest warning / Reuters
“China issued its highest typhoon warning on Thursday as Super Typhoon Saola, packing winds of more than 200 kph (125 mph), headed towards the southeastern coastline, threatening Hong Kong and other major manufacturing hubs in nearby Guangdong province.”
Super Typhoon Saola: highest warning as storm barrels towards southern China / SCMP (paywall)
Hong Kong to shut down city before super typhoon Saola hits / Bloomberg (paywall)

Climate cooperation
China, Europe and the U.S. have broad prospects for climate cooperation, top climate envoy says / Caixin (paywall)
“China, the U.S. and Europe complement each other in a lot of ways in terms of green technology and markets, so they have broad prospects for cooperation, Xie Zhenhua (解振华 Jiě Zhènhuá), China’s special envoy on climate change, said ahead of the UN climate summit later this year.”

Food security
China’s giant rice hybrid yields bumper harvest in what could be ‘game-changer’ for food security / SCMP (paywall)
“China’s ‘giant rice’ hybrid, which can grow twice as tall as conventional varieties, experienced a bumper harvest this month, and its high yields could make it an important tool in Beijing’s food security drive.”
China’s food security: Xinjiang develops seawater aquafarming in desert region amid agriculture focus / SCMP (paywall)
“China’s inland Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has started to develop seawater aquafarming, including freshwater fish, king prawn, abalone and lobsters, as part of efforts to seek technological breakthroughs in agriculture.”

Renewable energy
China updates standards for electricity market watchdogs, construction begins at Sichuan’s mega solar farm / Caixin (paywall)
“China’s top energy regulator, the National Energy Administration (NEA), has updated the operating standards for provincial electricity market management committees, in yet another step toward China’s electricity market reform.”

POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

Anti-espionage law
Spying in China: Chongqing megacity ready with expanded anti-espionage law in local government ‘first’ / SCMP (paywall)
“All overseas trips arranged by institutes in Chongqing will have to undergo security screening from Friday, when the southwestern megacity becomes the first to implement a local version of China’s newly expanded national anti-espionage law.”

Corruption in the military
China Defence Ministry: We will crack down on every corrupt official / Reuters
“China’s Defence Ministry on Thursday vowed to ‘crack down on every corrupt official,’ when asked about a reshuffle of senior rocket force commanders and the whereabouts of former Defence Minister Wèi Fènghé 魏凤和, who has not been seen for months.”

South China Sea
Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia reject China’s latest South China Sea map / Reuters
“The Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan have rejected as baseless a map released by China that denotes its claims to sovereignty including in the South China Sea, which Beijing on Thursday said should be viewed rationally and objectively.”
Malaysia, India and Taiwan reject China’s new territorial map / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
China says countries should see its national map in ‘objective’ way / Reuters
China hones anti-submarine capabilities amid South China Sea tensions / Reuters
“China’s military said it had recently held intensive anti-submarine exercises in the strategically important South China Sea as part of efforts to hone its capabilities amid rising maritime tensions with its neighbors and their allies.”
Opinion: ASEAN’s silence amid South China Sea confrontation is deafening / Nikkei Asia (paywall)

G20 summit

China’s Xi likely to skip G20 summit in India / Reuters
“Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 is likely to skip a summit of G20 leaders in India next week, sources familiar with the matter in India and China told Reuters.”
Xi Jinping to skip G20 summit in India, western officials say / FT (paywall)
Xi Jinping has yet to tell India if he’ll attend G-20 summit / Bloomberg (paywall)

U.S.-China competition and tensions
China decried U.S. tariffs, requested equal treatment for its firms in Raimondo meeting / Reuters
“China’s commerce minister urged Chinese companies investing in the U.S. to be given ‘equal treatment’ and called U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports ‘discriminatory,’ when he met U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo this week, his ministry said on Thursday.”
China defence ministry: Military communication has not stopped with U.S. / Reuters
“China’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday that military-to-military communication between Beijing and Washington has ‘not stopped,’ amid high tensions between the two superpowers over the South China Sea, Taiwan and other issues.”

U.S. military drills amidst tension with China
U.S., Indonesia and 5 other nations hold war drills amid China concerns / AP
“Soldiers from the U.S., Indonesia and five other nations began annual training exercises Thursday on Indonesia’s main island of Java while China’s increasing aggression is raising concern.”
Indonesia, U.S. begin expanded drills amid South China Sea tensions / Nikkei Asia (paywall)

Nicaragua
China, former Taiwan ally Nicaragua sign wide-ranging free trade deal / Reuters
“China and Nicaragua signed a free trade agreement (FTA) on Thursday, China’s commerce ministry said, in confirmation of deepening economic ties since the Central American country switched its allegiance to Beijing from Taiwan in 2021.”

Germany
German far right shows an unlikely affinity for Communist China / SCMP (paywall)
“Germany’s ‘most China-friendly party’ wants its government to stop meddling in Beijing’s ‘internal affairs’ on human rights.”

European Union
China-Europe ties: EU narrows search for new Asia chief to 3 candidates with front runners hinting at bloc’s Beijing priorities / SCMP (paywall)
“The European Union is looking for a new Asia chief to steer its changing China policy, with veteran official Gunnar Wiegand set to retire on Thursday.”

Japan
China’s Fukushima propaganda at odds with travel boom / Nikkei Asia (paywall)
“Among Chinese, demand for trips to Japan will likely come more from this brand of traveler than from tour groups — a trend that is likely to further contribute to that precious legacy of mutual understanding.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Tennis
China’s Zhang stuns Ruud for first top-five victory / Reuters
“Zhāng Zhīzhēn 张之臻 became the first Chinese man to beat a top-five opponent since the introduction of the ATP rankings in 1973 by stunning last year’s runner-up Casper Ruud 6-4 5-7 6-2 0-6 6-2 in the U.S. Open second round on Wednesday.”
Beaten Ruud says China’s Zhang can be a threat for years / Reuters

Basketball
FIBA Basketball World Cup: China must ‘release the dragon’ says coach as first win keeps slim Olympic hopes alive / SCMP (paywall)
“China head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic urged his players to ‘release the dragon’ after they hauled themselves back into Olympic qualifying contention with their first win at the Basketball World Cup on Thursday.”

Movies
How, during the Cultural Revolution, a Chinese ballet film wowed the West after premiering at Venice / SCMP (paywall)
“In 1971, during the Cultural Revolution, Beijing sent a Chinese ballet film to the glitzy Venice Film Festival, from where it became a hit with Western audiences.”

China brings retired teachers back to class
China wants its ‘silver’ haired teachers to get back to teaching / Sixth Tone
“With some of the lowest retirement ages in the world, China is launching its biggest recruitment drive yet for retired teachers to return to the classroom.”