Geopolitics
Chinese manufacturers strike COVAX deal to supply 550 million doses to developing countries by mid-2022
110 million Sinovac and Sinopharm doses will be made available immediately; Chinese manufacturers exported over 500 million doses (⅙ of global production) to 112 countries and territories (January-June 2021)
Majority of international coal energy loans come from Japan, US, and UK (87%), according to US study
Though the biggest public financier (50% of total), China only accounted for 13% of total funding for new plants (2013-19); China is phasing out coal loans to achieve carbon-neutrality and declined funding projects in Kenya and Zimbabwe
South China Morning Post, 10.07.2021
GCI Policy Brief, 07.2021
National Politics
Chinese companies with data of over 1 million users will have to undergo stricter cybersecurity review before being listed overseas
Announced after Didi’s controversial Wall Street IPO, the new rule aims to protect domestic data as technology competition with US escalates; cybersecurity industry expected to be worth US $39 billion by 2023
New anti-monopoly government law sees banning of Huya and Douyu merger, China’s two largest video game live-streaming platforms
Merger would create a US $5.3 billion giant with nearly 300 million monthly users (80% of total), controlled by Tencent (67% of shares), which dominated 43% of Chinese market (2020); the ban protects consumer interests and competition
Economy
Economic recovery maintained as China’s GDP grew 12.7% year-on-year (US $8.22 trillion, January-June 2021)
Economy increases expansion in retail sales (23%, US $3 trillion), industrial production (15.9%) – including high-tech manufacturing (22.6%) – and fixed asset investment (12.6%, US $4 trillion), with 6.98 million jobs created
National Statistics Bureau, 15.07.2021
Global Times, 15.07.2021
Baowu overtakes ArcelorMittal as world’s largest steelmaker in 2020, with crude steel production rising 21% to 115.29 million tons
ArcelorMittal loses the top spot since 2001 merger; China has 60% of global share of steel production (1 billion tons), seven of the world’s top 10 steel producers, and higher R&D spending than competitors
Agriculture and Environment
China invests US $15 billion to build world’s largest wind power plant (10GW) in Gobi Desert after four-year delay
Plant’s capacity is expected to double by 2025, cut fossil fuel use by 35%, and generate jobs and billions of yuan for China’s poorest province of Gansu; low local demand and distance from major centres pose challenges
Giant pandas are no longer classified “endangered” as China’s wild panda population grows to 1,800 from 1,100 in 2000
As the status of pandas is upgraded to “vulnerable,” World Wildlife Fund praises Chinese government’s conservation efforts, which have also helped Siberian tigers, Asian elephants, and crested ibises to thrive
People’s Life and Culture
Launched in 2011, National school meal program (US $22 billion) has fed 40 million rural children in the past decade
Improving child health, school attendance, and nutrition, the average height increased for girls (1.69cm) and boys (1.54cm); rising food and labor costs, insufficient supervision, and food quality remain challenges for budget of US $0.62/meal
Photographer documents public life and fashion of China’s aging population in “Senior Fashion Club” project
Since 2018, Qin Xiao has photographed over 1,000 elders’ daily life in Shanghai’s streets and parks to give them an online voice, reflect aging society, fight against prejudice, and learn from the their “earnest attitude towards life”
Photographs by Qin Xiao of Shanghai’s elders [老年时装俱乐部]]
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