Taobao bans sales of foreign publications
Business & Technology
Top business and technology news for March 10. Part of the daily The China Projectย news roundup "A Manhattan mansion for a jailed Chinese tycoon."
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Taobao is banning merchants from selling foreign media in China โ even media approved by censorsย / Quartz
Taobao, the online shopping platform owned by Alibaba, announced a new rule today that will prohibit vendors from selling foreign publications, including those already approved by the authorities. In the announcementย (in Chinese), the company said the rule was put in place to โmanage market orderโ and โprovide a safe online shopping environment.โ Taobao said the regulation not only applies to freelance overseas agents (ไปฃ่ดญ dร igรฒu)ย who buy products on peopleโs behalf and evade import duties by carrying or shipping small quantities of goods into China, but also to state-owned publishers, the main distributors of foreign media. On Weibo, a popular social network platform, many internet users see the ban as a setback for the society. One commenter askedย (in Chinese), โWhatโs the reason for doing this? Is this a form of locking the country up? Thereโs no ban on cosmetics or foods but publications. You might as well limit the population studying overseas and cut down on international exchanges. Itโs even safer to lock yourself up!โ -
Paramountโs Chinese partners havenโt paid a penny of promised $1 billionย / Hollywood Reporter
Sources told the Hollywood Reporterย that Paramount Pictures has not yet received the expected first payment of $140 million from its financing deal with its Chinese partners, Shanghai Film Group and Huahua Media. The Chinese partners are said to have told Paramountโs parent company, Viacom, that they will not pay any money until they meet with Viacom CEO Bob Bakish and whoever is appointed to run the studio to โget an explanation of the slate strategy going forward.โ Before they left Paramount, Brad Grey, former studio chairman, and Rob Moore, former vice chairman, had established good business ties with China. A source with knowledge of the matter said that their departure has probably caused the Chinese partners to be anxious. Under the terms of the deal, which was announced in January, Shanghai Film Group and Huahua Media agreed to finance at least 25 percent of each film on Paramountโs slate for three years with an option for a fourth year.
- Country Garden halts Malaysian housing sales to stem capital flightย / SCMP
- China stock bulls turn waryย / Bloomberg
- Chicago wants to be a hub for China stock tradingย / Bloomberg
- Economists argue about the impact of Chinese imports on Americaย / The Economist (paywall)
- China defends its Trump trademark approvals as in line with lawย / Reuters
- The Rise of State-Owned Enterprise Executives in Chinaโs Provincial Leadershipย / China-U.S. Focus
