Links for Thursday, July 2, 2020

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Fallout from India’s ban on Chinese apps
  TikTok owner predicts over $6 billion in losses from India apps ban, sources say / Caixin (paywall)
  “That amount is most likely more than the combined losses for all the other Chinese companies behind the other 58 apps banned in India, the sources said.”
  Apple supplier Foxconn, others hit as India holds up imports from China: sources / Reuters
  “India’s additional scrutiny of imports from China has disrupted operations at plants owned by Apple supplier Foxconn in southern India, three sources told Reuters, and other foreign firms are also facing delays as tensions between the two countries build.”
  Indian gamers are relieved that PUBG Mobile isn’t one of India’s 59 banned Chinese apps / SCMP
  “The fact that the hugely popular game from China’s Tencent was spared came as a relief to many gamers in India. Not all Tencent apps were so lucky.”
• Hong Kong’s security law could be bad for business
  Businesses in Hong Kong fear collateral damage from security law / FT (paywall)

The ability under the law for security agencies to arrest foreign nationals, including businesspeople, and send them to the mainland for trial as well as other uncertainties could raise risk premiums in the city…

But others argued the law could bring greater stability after a year of pro-democracy street protests in the Asian financial hub by reducing confrontations between police and demonstrators in Hong Kong.

• Monetary easing slowdown
  China’s central bank Is signaling a slower pace of easing / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “China’s central bank is slowing down the pace of monetary easing amid signs of economic recovery, handing disappointment to investors who have worried about tightening liquidity and rising bond yields.”
• Will India target Huawei next?
  India seeks to dissuade wireless firms from buying Chinese gear / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  India may advise local telecom operators to shun equipment made by China’s Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp., people with knowledge of the matter said, as relations between the neighbors deteriorated amid a border dispute.
• The hack that brought down Nortel
  Did China steal Canada’s edge in 5G from Nortel? / Bloomberg (porous paywall)

By 2004 the hackers had breached Nortel’s uppermost ranks. The person who sent the roughly 800 documents to China appeared to be none other than Frank Dunn, Nortel’s embattled chief executive officer. Four days before Dunn was fired — fallout from an accounting scandal on his watch that forced the company to restate its financial results — someone using his login had relayed the PowerPoints and other sensitive files to an IP address registered to Shanghai Faxian Corp.

• Consolidating investment banks
  China inches closer to merging top brokers in industry shakeup / Bloomberg (porous paywall)
  “China is speeding up the process of potentially merging its two biggest investment banks, in a move that would create a $82 billion powerhouse and may spark a wave of consolidation among the country’s more than 130 brokers.”
• Small bank stimulus
  China greenlights use of local government bonds to recapitalize small banks / Caixin (paywall)
  “China’s local governments have been given the go-ahead to recapitalize some small and midsize banks by using the money raised from the sale of special-purpose bonds (SPBs), underscoring policymakers’ concern about the financial health of dozens of lenders and the need to boost credit to businesses amid the economic slowdown.”
• Tencent’s makes the most of Lao Gan Ma mess-up
  If you can’t beat them, join them — why Tencent is laughing at itself / Caixin (paywall)
  “Tencent’s PR team has turned to self-mockery following the realization that they were swindled by impersonators. The company’s official account on Sina Weibo, China’s biggest social media site, jokingly encouraged netizens to message the account with tips and clues if they suspect a similar fraud in the future.”
  Read on The China Project: China’s favorite spicy sauce brand did not actually cheat Tencent
• Cashing in on health product demand
  Chinese health product exports on the rise as coronavirus pandemic persists / CNBC
  “As the global economy continues to falter, the interest in Chinese medical supplies is an encouraging sign for the country’s exports — which support a critical part of its economy, as well as millions of jobs. Economists point out that demand for coronavirus-related products, such as face masks, has helped China sell more overseas than expected.”
• Luckin’s revenue fraud confirmed
  After grinding investigation, Luckin Coffee confirms $300 million revenue fraud / TechCrunch
  “In a new SEC filing this morning, the company’s Special Committee, which was tasked with investigating claims that the one-time China-based coffee darling overstated its revenues by hundreds of millions of dollars, has returned with its verdict: The company did indeed inflate revenues by nearly $300 million.”
• Beijing’s blockchain ambitions
  Beijing wants to become a blockchain hub by 2022 / Sixth Tone
  “Beijing on Tuesday released a two-year plan for incorporating blockchain technology in various sectors throughout the city.”
• Pinduoduo founder hands off daily operations
  Pinduoduo founder steps down as CEO, but not away / TechNode
  Huáng Zhēng 黄峥, the founder, “will remain chairman of the board, one of two members of an administrative super committee called the Pinduoduo Partnership, and retains a significant majority in company voting rights.”
• JD.com kicks off plan to go public
  JD.com fintech unit is planning a STAR Market IPO / TechNode
  “The move is part of JD.com’s broader plan to take its affiliates public over the next two years. TechNode reported in May that the e-commerce giant will focus on floating shares of JD Digits and JD Logistics, the company’s courier business, after JD.com’s own secondary listing in Hong Kong in June.”
• Chinese electric buses in Latin America
  Chinese electric buses roll out across Latin America / Dialogo Chino
  “In total, Latin America has 1229 electric buses in operation in 10 countries, including 563 ordinary buses, 624 trolleybuses and 41 midi e-buses, according to the new E-Bus Radar project led by the Sustainable Mobility Laboratory at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.”

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• COVID testing capacity ramp-up
  China urges coronavirus testing capacity ramp-up in preparation for potential outbreaks / Reuters
• Complete ban on foreign garbage
  China to end all imports of solid waste from next year / Caixin (paywall)
  “China will end all imports of solid waste from next year, the environment ministry said Tuesday. The ban rounds off years of tightening curbs on imported trash after spending decades as the world’s largest processor of recyclables.”
• Making healthcare more caring
  From curing to caring: Why China needs a new approach to pain / Sixth Tone
  “Faced with a rapidly aging population, the country’s medical establishment must move away from ‘body-centered’ care models and adopt a more ‘person-centered’ approach.”

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• Chinese-Indian border dispute
  India’s Pangong pickle: New Delhi’s options after its clash with China / War on the Rocks
  “If a fait accompli is not quickly resisted or reversed, it becomes more difficult to do so over time as the aggressor consolidates and fortifies its position, establishing a new normal.”
  Chinese netizens tell Indian Prime Minister Modi to ‘shut the door on the way out’ as he quits Weibo / Caixin (paywall)
  China and India to move troops ‘in batches’ from disputed border / SCMP
• Marco Rubio’s new capital market controls
  U.S. lawmaker seeks to ban Chinese firms from U.S. capital markets / Reuters
  Marco Rubio “is preparing a bill to ban Chinese companies from U.S. capital markets if they engage in spying, human rights abuse or support China’s military.”
• South China Sea military drills
  Vietnam protests Chinese military drills in South China Sea / Reuters
  “Vietnam and the Philippines on Thursday criticised China’s holding of military drills in a disputed part of the South China, warning it could create tension in the region and impact Beijing’s relationship with its neighbors.”
• One of Trump’s few China moderates resigns
  U.S. Commerce official resigns, viewed as moderating voice on China export issues / Reuters
  Richard Ashooh, U.S. assistant secretary for export administration, “has resigned, a spokesman said on Wednesday, marking the departure of a moderating voice in the Trump administration about export restrictions on Huawei and other Chinese companies.”
• Australia can’t afford to turn away international students
  Australia to open borders for one group: international students / Caixin (paywall)
  “It’s a sign of just how reliant Australia’s higher education sector has become on overseas students, who make up roughly a quarter of all enrollments — the second-highest ratio in the world after Luxembourg — and 40% of student revenues due to the higher fees they are charged.”
• U.S. delays diplomats’ return to China
  U.S. delays American diplomats’ return to China amid concerns over coronavirus testing, quarantine / Reuters
• College identity theft
  China considers criminalizing college admission identity theft / Caixin (paywall)
  “Chinese lawmakers have been urged to criminalize identity theft for college admissions after hundreds of impostor cases were exposed in East China’s Shandong Province.”
  Context on The China Project: China faces college admissions scandal after identity theft cases reported in Shandong.
• China lashes out at Russia over stolen land
  Why Russia’s Vladivostok celebration prompted a nationalist backlash in China / SCMP
  “The Russian embassy in China has been pilloried on social media by Chinese diplomats, journalists, and internet users after it held a celebration of the founding of Vladivostok — because it is on land that used to be part of China.”

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• The college entrance exam
  The stress test: Waiting for ‘gaokao’ / Sixth Tone
  “With China’s dreaded, make-or-break annual examination around the corner, new COVID-19 cases and stringent containment measures have high school seniors, and their nervous parents, on the brink.”
• Representation of women on TV
  Sister act / The World of China

Distinguishing itself from other shows in the genre, Sisters expressly aims to help middle-aged female celebrities gain more exposure, as well as showcase the complexity of mature and powerful women when it comes to fighting societal expectations. But despite the noble aims, the show still struggles to avoid perpetuating female stereotypes and pandering to the male gaze.

• Art
  The seemingly irreverent appropriations of Chinese painter Cai Zebin / NeoCha
  “Chinese artist Cài Zébīn 蔡泽滨 deals in the fantastical. At times, it can be difficult to discern whether his work is mocking satire or fine art. Take, for example, the oversized hydrating face mask, proudly showcased on the lawn of Shanghai’s Capsule Gallery as part of his new exhibition A Revisit at 2 bis rue Perrel. Pinned to a simple clothesline, the thin mask drifts freely in the wind. This lack of context stimulates the curiosity, coaxing passersby into the gallery.”