China Analysis Digest (March 10-17, 2021)

Hey everyone,

From this week, we will be adding 15 new sources to the scope of the digest, bringing us up to 67 sources. We will also be including a list of recommended readings.

If you have any ideas and/or suggestions, please get in touch.

-Adam

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Recommended:

1. The US Is Building Walls Around Science, and We’re All Poorer for It (Yangyang Cheng)

2. Lai Youxuan, “Delivery Drivers, Stuck in the System” (introduction and translation by Freya Ge and David Ownby)

3. America’s Indo-Pacific Folly (Van Jackson)

4. Demystifying Australia – China Trade Tensions (Weihuan Zhou and James Laurenceson)

5. The double lives of gay men in China’s Hainan province (James Cummings)

6. What Does Li Zhanshu’s report tell us? (David Bandurski)

7. Russians See Greater Reward than Risk in Closer Relations with China (Dina Smeltz, Brendan Helm, Denis Volkov and Stepan Goncharov)

8. Inside China’s Cult of the Cat (Zhou Runan)

9. Quad leaders’ pledge being undermined by vaccine nationalism (David Uren)

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China Analysis Digest

• Issue: 2021/03

• Date range: March 10-17, 2021

• Sources scanned: 67 sources

• Content: 206 publications from 49 sources

• Download raw data (.csv)

China Story:

• China’s Defiant Local Newspapers

Reading the China Dream:

• Lai Youxuan, “Delivery Drivers, Stuck in the System”

• Interview with Professor Yu Keping:  Solving the Riddle of China’s Governance

• Xie Tao, “2020:  Sino-American Relations and U.S. Politics in the Time of the Pandemic”

China Heritage:

• Other People’s Thoughts, XX

Project Syndicate:

• China’s Regulatory War on Ant

• Why Should Biden Ditch Trump’s China Tariffs?

MacroPolo:

• American Leadership on AI Requires a Partisan Cease Fire 

The Economist:

• Why the internet has not freed China

• A confident China seeks to insulate itself from the world

• To crush democracy, China is changing Hong Kong’s political rules

Monkey Cage:

• African countries are helping China go green. That may have a downside for Africans.

Center for Advanced China Research:

• Party Watch Weekly Report 4|17 3.6.2021-3.12.2021

China Media Project:

• Dropping Propaganda

• What Does Li Zhanshu’s Report Tell Us?

• Selling China’s Anti-Poverty Model

ChinaFile:

• Hong Kong’s Economic Future

China Digital Times:

• Details of Alibaba Penalties Emerge as Regulators Eye Other Giants in Tech Crackdown

• Translation: Developer Discontinues Support for Ideological App Automation Tool

• Translation: Recalling a Perilous Trip to Southern Xinjiang (2008)

• Translation: “Goodbye, Guangzhou!” by Lu Yuyu

• Translation: In Triumph and in Death, Nationalist Netizens Scrutinize Film Stars

• Independent Report Finds Beijing “Bears Responsibility for Ongoing Genocide” in Xinjiang

• On International Women’s Day, Students Reject “Girl’s Day” as Women Fight Sexism

Politico China Watcher:

• Beijing's visions of American decline

Politico China Direct:

• POLITICO China Direct: Moonshots — Arms race — Hong Kong/Xinjiang

Protocol | China:

• U.S. tech wants to work more with China

• Chinese companies make their own semiconductors

• How to trace a hack to China

The Wire China:

• China Breaks the Box Office, Kind Of

• Nicole Perlroth on the Target on America’s Back

• The Soul of Lu Xun

• Red Curaçao

• China’s Regulatory War on Ant

• Soul Cycle

Lausan 流傘:

• Challenges and possibilities: Reflections on coalition building and the Hong Kong movement

Sixth Tone:

• China Finds a Culprit for Runaway House Prices: Divorcing Couples

• Protecting China’s Agricultural Heritage, One Seed at a Time

• Why Divorcing an Abusive Spouse Remains an Uphill Struggle

• Can China’s New Criminal Law Deter the Next He Jiankui?

• Inside China’s Cult of the Cat

• Why China’s Produce Pandas Are More Than Just a ‘Big’ Deal

Foreign Affairs:

• Vaccine Diplomacy Is Paying Off for China

• How to Craft a Durable China Strategy

SupChina:

• A fight for women’s suffrage in the early days of the Chinese republic

• China approves fifth COVID-19 shot in push to vaccinate half a billion by end of June

• Valium and other meds for sale illegally as online pharmacies boom in China

• Tech companies hit hard in this year’s 315 Gala

• Beijing is going to restrain Ant, not kill it

• New surveys find Chinese women still struggle to achieve equality both at work and at home

• Qinghai by motorbike: Ghost cities, oil fields, and ‘Alien Ruins’

• An artist and her gun in 1989: Xiao Lu’s accidental revolt

• Chinese pharma’s history of counterfeits, fakes, and quality issues

• Beijing ‘deeply concerned’ for safety of Chinese in Myanmar after factories set ablaze

• Another on-demand murder at Didi: Driver crushes passenger to death over ride-related dispute

• Gu creates history again, triumphs at Freeski World Championships

• Orange skies in Beijing after worst sandstorm in a decade

• The last of New York’s ‘Chinese hand laundries’

• U.S., Japan, and Australia to help India compete with China’s vaccine diplomacy

• Ant issues self-disciplinary rules, CEO resigns

• Delivery-only ‘ghost’ restaurants spring up across China, prompting concerns about dirty kitchens

• Beijing Lights: ‘Nowhere is home, yet everywhere is home’

• Interrogating the present with artist Cao Fei

• ‘Dance of Delivery’: Chinese delivery drivers, oil on canvas

• Bike sharing’s not dead: Alibaba-backed firm files for U.S. IPO

• Beijing passes resolution to ensure only ‘patriots’ loyal to the Communist Party rule Hong Kong

• Chinese women are wearing children’s clothes to show how skinny they are

• In ‘Flow,’ the pipa and shakuhachi speak to our souls

• Xi emphasizes ‘ethnic unity,’ environmental protection, rural development, and military readiness at Two Sessions

• A new boom for Chinese companies that can generate electricity from roof tiles

• Unfair division of housework, postpartum depression, domestic violence and other women’s issues in the spotlight at Two Sessions 2021

• Ding Ling’s critique of the Chinese patriarchy

Congressional Research Service:

• Section 301: Tariff Exclusions on U.S. Imports from China

Asia Society:

• India and China Need More Than a Border Pullback to Mend Fences

Center for Strategic and International Studies:

• The Geopolitics of Critical Minerals Supply Chains

Chatham House:

• Restrictions on Online Freedom of Expression in China

• Three Pillars for a US Trade Strategy in Asia-Pacific

Chicago Council on Global Affairs:

• Russians See Greater Reward than Risk in Closer Relations with China

Lowy Interpreter:

• A new “concert” to govern the Indo-Pacific

• The Belt and Road, and the pandemic detour

• Economic diplomacy: The business of coups and China’s Quad response

Los Angeles Review of Books China Channel:

• Follow the Living Buddha

• Bad Elements

ChinaTalk:

• Rhodium's Dan Rosen on Hiring Me, 30 Years of China-Watching, Decoupling, Debt, Over/Underr…

• Adam Tooze and Matt Klein Return!

Pekingnology:

• Meeting on "Platform Economy" and new SAMR rule on e-commerce

• Select translations of 14th FYP draft -Third/Final Part

Brookings Institution:

• Taiwan’s continued success requires economic diversification of products and markets

• Taiwan’s continued success requires economic diversification of products and markets

Lawfare:

• Commission Criticizes Lack of Preparedness; U.S. Likely to Implement Sweeping Rule on Tech-Related Transactions

Foreign Policy:

• Why Washington Is Fed Up With Beijing

• U.S. Seeks to Counter China’s Full-Court Press in Asia

• Painting Xinjiang’s Brutal Camps in 3D

• Climate Offers a Glimmer of Hope for U.S.-China Cooperation

• Pineapple War Shows Taiwan Won’t Be Bullied by Beijing

• Uyghur Women Are China’s Victims—and Resistance

• Quad Summit’s Vaccine Deal Is Biden’s Bold First Move in Asia

• China’s New Five-Year Plan Is a Disappointment

• America Will Only Win When China’s Regime Fails

• Getting the Quad Right Is Biden’s Most Important Job

• The Shrinking Chinese State

The Diplomat:

• US Sanctions 24 China and Hong Kong Officials Ahead of Talks

• China Takes Aim at UK Ambassador Over Media Freedom Post

• Chinese State Media Hints at ‘More Drastic Action’ in Myanmar

• China’s Myanmar Mess

• Denied Benefits, Chinese Single Moms Press for Change

• The US Is Falling Behind China in the Race for Electric Vehicles

• What Do Chinese People Think of Developed Countries? 2021 Edition

• Middle East LNG Hedging in China’s Energy Diplomacy

• China’s Dangerous Step Toward Cyber Conflict

• The Polar Policies in China’s New Five-Year Plan

• China Remakes Hong Kong’s Electoral System

• 5 Reasons to Worry About the ‘Chinese Vaccine Diplomacy’ Narrative

• Will Japan’s Olympics Be Rescued by China’s Vaccine?

• Biden Administration Announces First China Meeting

• More Fintech Regulation on the Horizon in China

• China, Russia Agree to Cooperate on Permanent Moon Base

• China Is Buying Record Amounts of Iranian Oil

• Why the Chinese Communist Party Sees Tibetan Monks as ‘Troublemakers’

• Chinese Hackers Blamed for Massive Microsoft Server Hack

• Israel, Iran, and China: US-Middle East Relations

• Taiwan’s Referendum Mayhem

• Taiwan Prays for Rain as Drought Threatens Chip Production

MERICS:

• CAI market access annexes released – review of key openings

• The powerful centenarian: China's Communist Party turns 100

• Who is the CCP? China's Communist Party in infographics

• China faces social challenges according to the NPC

• The National People’s Congress 2021

Quartz:

• China is boosting its vaccine diplomacy with visa perks for taking its shots

• The African countries that are part of China’s vaccine diplomacy

• Weibo diplomacy is an impossible problem for China

• The city of Suzhou highlights Islam’s long history in China

• A US-Europe rare earths partnership is sandwiched by China

• China’s Covid-19 success is slowing down its vaccine rollout

ThinkChina:

• China must understand the 'tragedy complex' of Biden's team

• Why the US is an unreliable partner to Southeast Asia

• US-China talks in Alaska — how far can they go?

• ‘Time and situation’ in China’s favour, but is China invincible?

• Will China take Taiwan by force within six years? Taiwanese think not and experts are worried

• 'Cold peace' in China-US relations: Who will get the last laugh?

• China-US strategic showdown: Will the east wind prevail over the west wind?

• Has China surpassed the US in the 5G race?

• From Yangon to Hong Kong: Why locals attack mainland Chinese companies during political unrest

• When even blue skies are political in China

• Chinese culture at odds with freedom and democracy, shows fate of Ming dynasty's opposition party Donglin

• French cultural and academic institutions alarmed by China's influence

• Why Southeast Asia has a love-hate relationship with China

The Conversation:

• UK trade and security review: pivoting to the east will draw Britain into tensions between China and US

• China-UK: new report reveals massive increase in research collaboration and dependence on Chinese students

• Origin of the Covid-19 virus: the trail of mink farming

• Quad group makes vaccine deal as a wary China watches on

• US-Japan relations: why two new leaders need a fresh approach to the alliance in the Asia-Pacific

• The double lives of gay men in China’s Hainan province

• China’s ‘mask diplomacy’ wins influence across Africa, during and after the pandemic

East Asia Forum:

• Domestic divisions leave blanks in US Asia policy

• Biden builds bridges to contend with Beijing

• Asia and the United States after the election of President Biden

• Biden recalibrates Trump’s approach to East Asia

• US–China competition after RCEP

• China’s commercial space sector shoots for the stars

• China’s chance to bridge the Algeria–Morocco divide

• Will Myanmar’s coup help China influence ASEAN?

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:

• How Biden Can Make the Quad Endure

• The Road from Galwan: The Future of India-China Relations

China Brief:

• China’s Xinjiang Propaganda and United Front Work in Turkey: Part Two

• A New Step Forward in PLA Professionalization

• Is the Growth of Sino-Nepal Relations Reducing Nepal's Autonomy?

• Early Warning Brief - China’s NPC and CPPCC: Xi Defies the West by Boosting Technological Self-Sufficiency And Crushing Hong Kong’s Freedoms

• Directions Forward for Chinese Rare Earths After the Two Sessions

National People's Congress Observer:

• 2021 NPC Session: Documents List

• 2021 NPC Session: NPC’s Hong Kong Electoral Overhaul Decision Explained

What's on Weibo:

• Luo Tianyi and the Booming Virtual Idol Market in China

Taiwan Insight:

• Positioning Taiwanese Queer Cinema on the Global Stage

• The Future of Taiwanese industries’ Supply Chain Reallocations Under Covid-19

• Attracting and Retaining Talent: Taiwan’s Challenges and Opportunities amid COVID-19

• Challenges To Inclusive Education In Taiwan

• The History Of Literature about Disabilities in Taiwan

• The Right of Independent Living and Its Challenges in Taiwan

Hong Kong Free Press:

• Electoral surgery risks overkill, further eroding Hongkongers’ trust in Beijing

• Why – and how – I ended my participation in an undemocratic electoral system

• Fighting words – but the battle to save Hong Kong has already been lost

• A vexing problem for Hong Kong’s Covid vaccine programme – lack of transparency

• Macau authorities must start taking human rights seriously

• The dream of genuine universal suffrage in Hong Kong is gone for good, but can the democracy movement survive?

• We have no say in Hong Kong’s electoral changes but let’s make the best of them

• The X-factor in China’s declaration of victory against poverty

• ‘In an unjust society the only place for a just man is in prison’ – Hong Kong is getting there

The India China Newsletter:

• The Quad summit as seen from China

• India amends telecom rules, a wrap of the NPC, and reading the tea-cups in China

• Reading China's Foreign Minister's Press Conference, dams on the Brahmaputra, and bureaucra…

Observer Research Foundation:

• Xi Jinping and Uyghur Muslim minorities in Xinjiang

• Aggressive sea control isn’t an option for India’s navy

• Thaw in Nepal’s relations with China

• Response to Chinese Assertiveness

• Chinese cyber escalation against India’s electricity grid amidst the boundary crisis

• Can India-China Relationship Indeed Return to Pre-Galwan Days?

• China-Central Asia relations: An uneasy co-existence

• Exploring the Promises and Perils of Chinese Investments in Tech Startups: The Case of Germany

Beijing to Britain:

• Hong Kong, Chinese Embassy in London, Jardines, Swire, HSBC and Standard Chartered, UK Sanctions list

China Research Group:

• The UK's strategic options: Belt and Road

The Strategist:

• Semiconductors as a shield for Taiwan?

• Taiwan’s cabinet reshuffle a response to China’s ‘unrestricted warfare’

• Why TikTok isn’t really a social media app

• Beijing replicates its South China Sea tactics in the Himalayas

China Dialogue:

• China’s market influence can make or break green supply chains

END OF DIGEST