News roundup: A beheading at a noodle shop

Dear reader,

Today’s newsletter is brief: We’re celebrating Presidents’ Day here in the U.S. Two stories caught our eyes today:

Customer beheads noodle shop owner

A 22-year-old man who ate three bowls of noodles at a restaurant in Wuhan, Hubei Province, got into a dispute with the owner after accusing him of overcharging by three yuan ($0.44). The customer then severed the proprietor’s head and deposited it in a trash can outside the restaurant. The man was arrested shortly thereafter. According to iFeng.com (in Chinese), police asked internet users not to post grisly images of the crime that were spread online over the weekend. The South China Morning Post says the incident has highlighted a “crisis in psychiatric care” in China — the man had previously spent six months in a psychiatric hospital.

State-owned energy company reports massive loss

Sinopec Oilfield Service Corp, a Shanghai-listed unit of state-owned energy giant Sinopec, reported a loss in 2016 of 16 billion yuan ($2.3 billion), which the South China Morning Post reports is “very close to the record high 16.3 billion yuan loss registered by Chalco, the listed unit of China’s second-largest aluminum producer Chinalco, in 2014.” The huge loss is yet another sign that Xi Jinping’s much-touted promise to give “a decisive role to the market economy” is not being implemented.

—Jeremy Goldkorn, Editor in Chief

This issue of the The China Project newsletter was produced by Jeremy Goldkorn and Lucas Niewenhuis. More China stories worth your time are curated below, with the most important ones at the top of each section.

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Didi tests English interface, foreign credit cards as it prepares to expand overseas / SCMP
• China wins big with stakes in $22 billion Abu Dhabi oil deal / Bloomberg

• Chengdu to run 1,000 cargo trains to Europe in 2017 / China Daily
• United States to introduce social media vetting of Chinese tourists / Jing Daily
• The burning problem of China’s garbage – no sorting into waste streams and no slowing down with incineration / NPR
• China’s millennials are hustling for part-time gigs instead of traditional jobs / Bloomberg
• China’s priciest airline stocks could soar even higher / Bloomberg

POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS:

• China puts heat on U.S. with North Korea coal crackdown / WSJ (paywall)

• Chinese news agency warns South Korea’s Lotte over THAAD / Reuters
• South China Sea: U.S. carrier group begins ‘routine’ patrols / BBC
• China boosts arms exports by 74pc, while cutting reliance on outside providers, report finds / SCMP
• Former Beijing deputy Party chief sentenced to 13 years in prison / China Daily
• Why China is building islands in the South China Sea – one of the better videos on the topic / Vox
• Vietnam seeks stronger China ties despite new buildup on disputed islands / Voice of America

SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

• Another story by Chinese sci-fi writer Liu Cixin to hit screens / China Film Insider

• How climate activist Ma Jun went from China’s enemy to ally / CNN
• Bao Bao, panda cub born at National Zoo, bound for China / Chicago Tribune