Good Morning. Welcome to The Wire’s daily news roundup. Each day, our staff gathers the top China business, finance, and economics headlines from a selection of the world’s leading news organizations.
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The Wall Street Journal
- China Allows WHO Experts in to Investigate Covid-19 Origins — U.N. agency’s top official earlier criticized Beijing for holding up mission.
- The Danger of Exaggerating China’s Technological Prowess — The conventional wisdom about Beijing’s supposed advantages in AI and 5G shows how incomplete tech knowledge can lead to policy mistakes.
Trump’s Ban on Chinese Stocks Roils Investors — Executive order was meant to hit China’s military, but has frustrated some U.S. investors. - China’s New Rules Amp Up Pressure on U.S. Businesses — Rules plan to ban Chinese companies from complying with some foreign laws.
- Brazil Embraces Chinese Covid-19 Vaccine as Cases Soar — President Jair Bolsonaro had maligned Sinovac’s vaccine before his administration agreed to buy up to 100 million doses.
- China Gives U.S. Tech the Silent Treatment — Slow approval from Beijing is dragging out big technology deals, costing American companies time and money.
- NIO, the Chinese Electric-Vehicle Startup, Unveils New ET7 Sedan — Luxury car faces stiff competition from Tesla’s locally built models.
- Blacklisted Chinese Telecoms Carriers Cut From Stock Indexes — Removals come after uncertainty about whether the shares would be covered by a U.S. government investment ban.
- Trade Chief Lighthizer Urges Biden to Keep Tariffs on China — The trade lawyer who engineered the Trump administration’s economic confrontation with Beijing argues that tariffs get results.
- Blacklisting of Chinese Stocks Prompts Banks to Delist Hundreds of Derivatives — Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley say warrants and callable bull/bear contracts will be suspended from trading Jan. 25.
- China’s Car Sales Fell 6.8% in 2020, but That Still Likely Beats Other Markets — The drop should be considered a success in the pandemic-struck 2020, analysts say.
- Chinese Management Companies are Suddenly Hot Property — One niche segment of China’s unloved property sector still has the government strongly in its corner.
- Indonesia Is First to Approve Sinovac Vaccine Outside China — Nation’s emergency-use approval comes despite trial results placing the shot at 65.3%, the low end of efficacy range.
The Financial Times
- Hong Kong delistings: unstructured thinking — A vast portfolio rebalancing is being triggered by the still hazy US sanctions.
- Pinduoduo hit by new allegations over working practices — Ex-employee claims staff are exploited at China’s fastest growing ecommerce company.
- China hits out at US move to elevate relations with Taiwan — Washington’s decision to abandon internal protocols governing diplomacy sparks anger.
- Baidu teams up with Geely to make smart electric vehicles — China’s leading search group and top carmaker to roll out new EVs brand.
- China consumer prices rise but worries persist over core inflation — Gains driven by higher cost of food after lagging industrial growth in recent months.
- Taiwan manufacturers quit China over trade tensions and rising costs — Shift out of mainland reverses decades of investment and could rattle supply chains.
- China launches measures to protect companies from US sanctions — Rules bar Chinese companies from complying with punitive measures from foreign governments.
- US risks enraging China by easing limits on Taiwan relations — Policy change could cause problems with Beijing for incoming Biden administration.
- China will vie to become world financial centre, says Ray Dalio — Bridgewater founder calls 2020 a ‘defining year’ for country’s financial markets.
The New York Times
- Taiwan New Passport Shrinks ‘Republic of China’ — Officials said the redesign was an attempt to disassociate Taiwanese citizens from those on the mainland, who faced travel restrictions amid the pandemic.
- China’s Efforts to Hide Covid Missteps in Wuhan — The Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to hide its missteps have taken on new urgency as the anniversary of the world’s first Covid-19 lockdown nears.
- Hong Kong Website Doxxing Police Gets Blocked, Raising Censorship Fears — Users of major mobile carriers can no longer access a service that detailed the personal information of police officers, a possible sign that the city is turning to tactics used in mainland China.
- China Issues New Rules Aimed at Trump’s Sanctions — An order issued on Saturday empowers Beijing to tell companies to ignore U.S. restrictions and allows them to sue other businesses if they comply.
Caixin
- Chinese SOEs May Speed Up Delisting U.S. Shares Amid Trump’s Crackdown, Sources Say — Chinese regulators urge U.S.-listed companies to pull out or risk getting caught up in rising political tensions.
- China’s Consumer Inflation Turned Positive in December — CPI rose 0.2% year-on-year, while PPI declined 0.4%.
- Fuyao Glass Issues $500 Million in New Shares in Move to Get into Solar — Expansion follows successive years of declining auto sales in China, which cut Fuyao’s profits at home as the Sino-U.S. trade war hurt its business overseas.
- Pinduoduo Reports Second Suicide as Overwork Debate Rages On — Worker jumped to his death from his family’s home in Central China on Saturday, one day after requesting leave and just months after joining the e-commerce company.
- Top Chinese Chipmaker SMIC Gets Reprieve from New York Delisting — Company says its shares, which were suspended last week under a Trump executive order, are being allowed to resume trade through Feb. 1.
- In Depth: China Applies Closer Scrutiny to Sprawling Tech Acquisitions — As part of a crackdown on anti-competitive practices by tech giants, authorities review and issue penalties for past M&A deals that weren’t approved.
- Cover Story: Why China Faces Handicaps in Antitrust War With Tech Titans — Even as authorities move to reign in Alibaba, Tencent and JD.com, they lack manpower and resources to take on industry with deep pockets.
- TikTok Sister App Douyin Fined for Spreading Sexual and Improper Content in China — Douyin, the sister app of ByteDance’s global sensation TikTok, has been slapped with the maximum penalty for spreading “obscene, pornographic and vulgar information” online, in the latest sign that Beijing is ramping up efforts to clean up the country’s cyberspace.
- Impossible Foods to Slash Wholesale Prices, But Real Meat is Still Cheaper — U.S. artificial-meat maker Impossible Foods says it will slash the wholesale price of its products in global markets, including in Hong Kong and Macao, in order to compete with those made from animals.
- Tesla Rival Nio Launches First Electric Sedan — Chinese electric vehicle startup Nio has expanded its product lineup by launching its first sedan model featuring intelligent driving capabilities.
- Chinese HR Software Developer WorkTrans Nets $190.5m in Series C, D — WorkTrans, a Chinese developer of human resources (HR) management software, announced on Friday that it has pocketed a combined $190.5 million across Series C and Series D rounds of financing.
- China Fines State-Owned Financial Institutions $31 Million in Crackdown — ICBC gets the biggest penalty for violations by its wealth management business as top banking regulator goes after risky practices even before new rules take effect.
- Hong Kong Offers $46.4 Million to Employers Hiring Local College Graduates — With youth unemployment soaring, 18-month subsidy plan under Greater Bay Area job-creation program would place young people in mainland positions.
- China Announces Rules to Block ‘Unjustified’ Application of Foreign Laws — Commerce ministry says move aims to protect “normal trade” and other activities.
- Major Chinese Supplier to Apple Raises $2.3 Billion to Boost Production — Lens Technology’s private placement comes ahead of a big year for global smartphone-makers, which are expected to churn out 9% more units than they did last year.
South China Morning Post
- Liberal voices in China fall silent after coronavirus — A year after China’s coronavirus outbreak, defiant 37-year-old citizen journalist Zhang Zhan is paying the price for speaking up in her on-the-ground reporting from the central Chinese city of Wuhan in the early days of the disease.
- US says Mike Pompeo won’t go to Taiwan after Chinese state media warns such a trip may ‘trigger a war’ — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not travel to Taiwan, the State Department said on Monday, after he lifted restrictions on American officials visiting the self-ruled island.
- After Alibaba probe, antitrust is at the top of 2021 agenda, China’s top market regulator says — Tightening antitrust regulations leads the 2021 agenda for China’s top regulator, the head of the agency said, sending a signal that Beijing’s crackdown on Big Tech’s outsized market power is likely to deepen and widen following the launch of an antitrust probe into Alibaba Group Holding.
- China consumer inflation turned positive in December on higher food prices — China’s headline consumer inflation recovered in December after dropping into negative territory in the previous month for the first time in 11 years, data released on Monday showed.
- China’s factories must be ‘armed with automation’, as coronavirus gives boost to machines in manufacturing — The US-China trade war weakened demand for automation on Chinese assembly lines from 2018-19, but a shortage of manpower during the pandemic reversed that trend last year, and analysts expect manufacturers to further embrace robots in 2021.
- Community group buying has brought Big Tech’s disruption to China’s smaller cities but are they ready for it? — Community group buying is the latest big e-commerce trend to hit China, with consumers ordering fresh food via a few swipes on their mobile phone.
- China’s birth rate push trumps gender equality, with women hit with ‘parenthood penalty’ — China’s ongoing battle to boost its population is having a knock-on effect on its efforts to ensure gender equality in the workplace, with female applicants increasingly being told they are unsuitable for roles for “unsubstantiated” reasons, including because the role required overtime work, business trips, driving or even moving books.
- China hits back at foreign sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals — China on Saturday issued a new order to prohibit firms from complying with foreign laws banning transactions with Chinese companies and individuals, effective immediately.
- Hong Kong florists accuse authorities of turning a blind eye to their plight following cancellation of Lunar New Year fair — Hong Kong’s florists on Monday stormed out of a meeting with authorities in protest against what they called a lack of aid for them following the cancellation of an annual Lunar New Year fair.
- American Chamber of Commerce survey finds businesses in Hong Kong pessimistic about outlook for 2021 — Members of an influential American business group in Hong Kong are expecting a challenging 2021 – following an already-gruelling 2020 – and have called on the government to offer more clarity on how it intends to bring the coronavirus pandemic to heel and shore up stability in the coming year, according to a new poll.
- Bilibili and Kuaishou’s Hong Kong listings will showcase the e-commerce prowess of China’s video-sharing giants — Kuaishou Technology and Bilibili executives will become the internet stars of their own online videos when they digitally market their video-sharing apps’ Hong Kong share sales in the coming months.
- Bid to refashion Hong Kong’s idyllic south coast into tourist haven full of promise – and potential pitfalls — For most of his adult life, Tsang King has lived and worked on southern Hong Kong Island, where jungle-covered hills fall sharply down to waters that fishing boats have plied for more than a thousand years.
- Hong Kong finance minister lays out plan to maintain or even boost public spending in next month’s budget, despite mammoth deficit — Hong Kong’s financial chief has revealed he plans to maintain or even increase levels of public spending in the forthcoming budget to protect livelihoods during the economic downturn, despite the heavy strain on government funds.
- Mainland China’s tariffs may see cheaper Australian wines destined for Hong Kong after Lunar New Year, merchants say — Hong Kong wine lovers could soon reap an unexpected benefit from the souring of relations between mainland China and Australia: their favourite plonk from down under may become a bit cheaper.
- Tencent feels heat from gaming rivals Alibaba, ByteDance and Genshin Impact maker miHoYo — Tencent Holdings, the world’s largest video games company by revenue, saw remarkable growth in 2020, but it now finds itself on the defensive, trying to tap into new gaming genres as large tech rivals and gaming upstarts chip away at its empire.
- China’s EV war: Tesla faces a rival with a record 621-mile range as NIO’s ET7 electric car raises the ante in world’s largest market — NIO has launched a mass production electric car with what could be the world’s farthest driving range, as it ups the ante with Tesla for customers in the largest market for new-energy vehicles on the planet.
- ByteDance’s Douyin ‘won’t be the last’ to be punished in China’s Big Tech crackdown, state media says — Beijing’s latest crackdown on Douyin, a popular short video sharing app run by Chinese internet giant ByteDance, is meant to send an important message to the country’s Big Tech companies that they must redouble efforts to toe the government line and censor any content deemed unhealthy, according to state media and government sources.
- Beijing updates internet regulation to include a wide swathe of services, fake news and fraud — China is making a comprehensive upgrade to its internet services regulation, giving the 20-year-old rules teeth as Beijing authorities seek to crack down on harmful online activities and fake news.
Bloomberg
- Nio May Touch Fresh High After Unveiling New Sedan, Battery Pack — Chinese electric-car maker Nio Inc. is poised to outperform peers on Monday after the company unveiled a new luxury sedan and a bigger volume battery pack over the weekend.
- Trump’s Last Days Bring Fresh Turmoil to U.S.-China Relations — The Trump administration’s final days are proving as confounding as ever for companies and investors stuck in the middle of an increasingly contentious U.S.-China relationship.
- China Approves Two GMO Corn Strains for Imports as Demand Soars — China approved two genetically modified corn varieties from Bayer AG and Syngenta AG for imports as demand for animal feed surges.
- Philippines Seeks to Vaccinate 100 Million Citizens by 2023 — The Philippines targets to vaccinate its entire population of more than 100 million people against the coronavirus by 2023, with President Rodrigo Duterte opting to be given a vaccine either from China or Russia, officials said.
- China Stocks Slump Most in Three Weeks on Valuation Concerns — Chinese stocks fell the most in three weeks, led by consumer shares and commodity producers, amid concern valuations for the most popular stocks were stretched and as metal prices slumped.
- WHO Gets Access to China After Virus Origins Experts Delayed — China said that a World Health Organization team of experts will arrive this week to investigate the origins of the coronavirus, after the country was criticized by the health body and other nations for a lack of transparency around tracking the pathogen’s source.
- China Said to Let Banks Sell Soured Personal Loans to Ease Risks — China plans to allow some commercial banks to start selling soured personal loans to distressed asset managers as soon as this month, according to people familiar with the matter.
- China’s Young Workers Rebel Against 996 Work Schedule, Embrace ‘Touching Fish’ — With bosses distracted and prospects dim, employees feel freer to goof off.
- China-Taiwan Tensions Rise as Trump Scraps Decades-Old Rules — China’s state-run media called for retaliation after the Trump administration removed decades-old restrictions on interactions with Taiwan officials just days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, one of its biggest moves yet to reshape U.S. ties with the Asian democracy.
- China Telcos Rally as Mainland Funds Buy Record Hong Kong Stocks — Having slumped under the weight of a U.S. executive order, China’s three major telecommunications companies are on the rebound in Hong Kong — supported by a record inflow of mainland cash.
- Wheat Exporters in Australia Look Past China to North Africa — From mounting tensions with China to trade disruptions caused by the coronavirus, Australian agriculture has been hit by a raft of curve balls in recent months. Still, for wheat farmers, the outlook has seldom been better.
- Beijing’s Virus Clampdown Spurs Food Price Surge and Shortages — Beijing’s move to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infections to the capital city is triggering a spike in food prices, with some supplies of meat and vegetables running out quickly amid fears of a shortage.
- Asia’s Icy Winter Snarls Ports and Sends Energy Prices Soaring — China’s coldest winter in decades meant state-owned energy giant Sinopec was desperate to unload heating fuel from a vessel headed to a northern port, yet freezing temperatures that have swept parts of Asia froze a thick sheet of ice and blocked access.
- Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Site Slams Telcos Over Blocked Access — The editor of a pro-democracy website in Hong Kong accused internet service providers of cooperating with government agencies to block access to its content, saying they were restricting “citizens’ rights and freedom to access information.”
- China’s Consumer Prices Gain in December After Brief Decline — China’s consumer prices rose in December after briefly declining in the previous month, while factory-gate deflation eased further, providing more evidence of the country’s economic recovery.
- Hang Seng Indexes Under Pressure as Funds Avoid Chinese Stocks — Hong Kong’s index provider is facing increasing pressure to comply with a U.S. ban on investments in Chinese companies that populate its benchmarks.
- China Pushes Back Against U.S. Sanctions With New Rules — China continued its pushback against U.S. sanctions, issuing new rules to protect its firms from “unjustified” foreign laws and allowing Chinese courts to punish global companies for complying with foreign restrictions.
- SoftBank Leads New Funding Round for $2 Billion Fitness App Keep — SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund led a $360 million funding round in the startup behind China’s most popular workout app Keep, as coronavirus-driven gym closures prompt more users to exercise in their homes.
- Taiwan’s Star Turn in the Global Spotlight Under Trump May End With Biden — Asia’s most liberal democracy did very well out of the U.S. president’s harsh policies toward China. That may come to an end.
- U.S. Eases Restrictions on Contact With Taiwan in Jab at China — The U.S. will remove decades-old, self-imposed restrictions on how its diplomats and other officials interact with Taiwan, a move that may inflame tensions with Beijing just a little over a week before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in.
- Local Virus Cases Rise in China’s Hebei Province Near Beijing — The northern Chinese province of Hebei reported 40 new locally-transmitted coronavirus cases, with all cases in the capital city of Shijiazhuang, about 300 kilometers south of Beijing.
- China Vows to Strengthen Anti-Monopoly Legal Actions in 2021 — An annual central conference for China’s judicial, prosecution and public security work promised to strengthen law enforcement and judicial work against monopolies and unfair competition in 2021.
Reuters
- Angola gets breathing space from Chinese creditors, says finance minister — Angola has secured three years of payment relief from Chinese creditors and expects to get more than $700 million in its next tranche of International Monetary Fund financing in the coming days, its finance minister said on Monday.
- Indonesia approves China’s Sinovac vaccine as infections surge — Indonesia gave Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine its first emergency use approval outside China on Monday as the world’s fourth most populous country launches nationwide inoculations to stem surging infections and deaths.
- Exclusive: Tesla hunts for design chief to create cars for China – sources — Tesla Inc is searching for a design director in China, part of efforts to open a “full-function” studio in Shanghai or Beijing and design electric cars tailored to Chinese consumer tastes, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
- China’s Xi congratulates North Korea’s Kim on new title — Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated North Korea leader Kim Jong Un on being elected as general secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party, Chinese state media said on Monday.
- China says WHO team to probe COVID-19 origins will arrive Thursday — A World Health Organization (WHO) team of international experts tasked with investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic will arrive in China on Jan. 14, Chinese authorities said on Monday.
- WHO’s Tedros welcomes Chinese green light for virus origins probe — The head of the World Health Organization on Monday welcomed news that China had authorised a team of international experts probing the origins of the new coronavirus to come to the country.
- Smartphone shipments in China fell 20.4% in 2020: government data — Domestic smartphone shipments in China in 2020 fell 20.4% from the previous year, government data released on Monday showed,
- Don’t expect a conclusion from WHO’s China visit, says expert — Expectations should be “very low” that a World Health Organization team of experts tasked with investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic will reach a conclusion from their trip to China this month, a health expert affiliated with the WHO said.
- Wall Street firms reduce exposure to Chinese telcos as U.S. ban approaches — Wall Street firms in Hong Kong including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have set out plans to reduce exposure to Chinese telecom companies named in a U.S. ban on investments in companies Washington considers linked to China’s military.
- China’s export growth seen slowing in December; imports steady: Reuters poll — China’s exports likely grew solidly in December but at a slower pace than in the previous month, as demand from its coronavirus-hit trading partners cooled, while imports held steady, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.
- Exclusive: Nintendo ships 1 million Switches in China since late-2019 launch — Nintendo Co Ltd has shipped 1 million Switch consoles in China since it launched the device in the world’s largest video games market at the end of 2019, its Chinese partner Tencent Holdings Ltd said on Monday.
- Exclusive: Chinese regulators to push tech giants to share consumer credit data – sources — China plans to push tech giants including Ant Group, Tencent and JD.com to share consumer loan data to prevent excess borrowing and fraud, two people with knowledge of the matter said, in Beijing’s latest tightening of scrutiny.
- China condemns U.S. as Taiwan welcomes lifting of curbs on ties — China condemned the United States on Monday for scrapping curbs on interactions with Taiwan officials, saying nobody could prevent the country’s “re-unification”, while Taiwan’s foreign minister hailed the U.S. move as a sign of “global partnership”.
- China says opposes countries meddling in China’s domestic affairs — China said on Monday it strongly condemned and firmly opposed meddling in its domestic affairs by the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia, after they condemned the arrest of activists in Hong Kong.
- Seychelles rolls out COVID-19 vaccination using China’s Sinopharm, says president’s office — Seychelles has started vaccinating its population against COVID-19 with doses from China’s Sinopharm vaccine, President Wavel Ramkalawan said.
- China’s Baidu to create an intelligent EV company with automaker Geely — China’s search engine giant Baidu Inc said on Monday it will set up a company to partner with car maker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group to make smart electric vehicles (EV), the latest move by a tech company in the fast-evolving sector.
- China’s factory prices fall at slowest pace in 10 months in December — China’s factory gate prices fell last month at their slowest pace since February, official data showed on Monday, suggesting the country’s manufacturing sector continues to see a rapid recovery from the COVID-19 shock.
- China’s national emissions trading may launch in mid-2021 -Securities Times — China’s long-awaited national emission trade scheme (ETS) is expected to launch in the middle of 2021, an executive from the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange said in an interview with government-backed Securities Times on Monday.
- Chinese EV maker Nio may launch mass market vehicles under another marque — China’s electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio Inc, which competes with conventional premium automakers including Daimler AG and BMW, may make mass market products under another marque, its chief executive said.
- Breakingviews – Becoming a bank would shrink but not squash Ant — Becoming a bank will shrink Ant. Regulators are set to treat Jack Ma’s financial group more like a regular Chinese lender. Though it has enough capital to support its existing online credit business, growth prospects will dim and its $300 billion-plus valuation will shrivel.
- Nio launches first electric sedan model as Tesla delivers China-built SUV — Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio Inc is taking on conventional gasoline premium automakers from BMW to Audi further, launching on Saturday its first sedan model as it eyes a greater share of the world’s largest car market.
- China to counter ‘unjustified’ foreign trade and business laws — China’s Ministry of Commerce on Saturday published new rules for countering “unjustified” laws and restrictions imposed by foreign countries on Chinese companies and citizens, as economic relations between Beijing and Washington deteriorate.
- China to provide COVID-19 vaccines free of charge – official — China will provide COVID-19 vaccines free of charge once they become available to the general public, government authorities said on Saturday.
Xinhua
- IMF projects China’s economy to grow by 7.9 pct in 2021 — China’s economy is projected to expand by 7.9 percent in 2021 following 1.9 percent growth in 2020, as economic activity continues to normalize and domestic COVID-19 outbreaks remain under control, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Friday.
- China to step up legal efforts for IPR protection — China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) has vowed better protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) through judicial and procuratorial efforts in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).
- China to set up one more IPR protection center — China has approved the establishment of one more center to reduce processing time and cost of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, the National Intellectual Property Administration said Monday.
- China’s top 30 mobile game publishers rake in 2.16 bln USD in Dec 2020 — The top 30 Chinese mobile game publishers raked in 2.16 billion U.S. dollars worldwide in December last year, according to Sensor Tower, a mobile app data analysis firm.
- China-Europe cargo train service continues to grow via central China city — A total of 1,126 cargo train trips were operated linking the city of Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan Province, with European cities in 2020.
- China’s SMEs continue robust recovery — China’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) registered stable recovery in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4) as the country’s economy demonstrated strong resilience and vitality, said the country’s top economic planner.
- Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz sets new sales record in China in 2020 — Mercedes-Benz, Daimler’s core brand, set a new record in China last year with 774,382 passenger cars sold, achieving double-digit growth of 11.7 percent, the German carmaker said on Friday.
- Chinese shares close lower Monday — Chinese stocks closed lower Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 1.08 percent, at 3,531.5 points.
Other Publications
- The Atlantic: China’s Economic Autocracy — The country’s paramount leader is turning away from reforms that helped it grow and develop. That will have consequences beyond its borders.
- Power Technology: Will China do for hydrogen what it did for solar power? — China has already accelerated the adoption of solar power around the world, and now there is hope that it could do the same for hydrogen. Already the world’s largest producer of hydrogen power, much of this production is tied to fossil fuels, raising the question of whether China can ever fully embrace green hydrogen.
- CNN: China keeps promising its African allies that coronavirus vaccines for the continent are a priority. But where are they? — How China is hoping to use its vaccine as a diplomatic tool.
- Quartz: If China no longer wants to be the world’s factory, who will take its place? — China’s transformation into the world’s manufacturing powerhouse has been remarkable. When it joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, it was a minor player on the global manufacturing stage. But after years of reforming its economy around producing goods for export, its formal entrance to the WTO helped its output soar.
