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☆ ‘De-Americanize’: How China Is Remaking Its Chip Business
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Chang Che | John Liu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last October, construction plans for a hulking semiconductor factory owned by a major state-backed company in central China fell into disarray. The facility belonged to Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation, or YMTC, a memory chip company that Xi Jinping, China’s president, has extolled as a flag-bearer in China’s race toward self-reliance. Now, the chip maker and its peers are hurriedly overhauling supply chains and rewriting business plans. Nearly seven months later, the U.S. trade barriers have accelerated China’s push for a more independent chip sector. Western technology and money have pulled out, but state funding is flooding in to cultivate homegrown alternatives to produce less advanced but still lucrative semiconductors.

☆ How to build a giant? Sauropod dinosaurs did it 36 different ways
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A new study has calculated for the first time the number of different sauropod lineages that achieved whopping proportions - 36 of them in a span of about 100 million years bridging the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The heavyweight champion was Argentinosaurus, which lived about 95 million years ago in - you guessed it - Argentina, and weighed about 76 metric tons. Next were Brachiosaurus, at 63 metric tons, and Barosaurus, at 60 metric tons, both living approximately 150 million years ago in western North America. D'Emic identified 45 species from 36 sauropod lineages that beat those. "I think it's amazing that we are still learning so much about these animals," D'Emic said.

☆ China CDC urges WHO to take 'scientific, fair' position on COVID origins
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI, April 8 (Reuters) - The head of China's Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday urged the World Health Organization (WHO) to return to a "scientific, fair" position in tracing the origin of COVID-19. At a news conference, Shen Hongbing warned the WHO against politicising the source of the virus, which was first detected in central China in late 2019, or becoming a tool of another country. Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Study explains how primordial life survived on 'Snowball Earth'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Life somehow managed to survive during this time called "Snowball Earth," and a new study offers a deeper understanding as to why. "Our study shows that, at least near the end of the Marinoan 'Snowball Earth' event, habitable areas extended to mid-latitude oceans, much larger than previously thought. And the Earth spiraled into Snowball Earth conditions," Virginia Tech geobiologist and study co-author Shuhai Xiao said. Multicellular organisms including red algae, green algae and fungi emerged before the Cryogenian and survived "Snowball Earth." "It is fair to say that the 'Snowball Earth' events were significant challenges to life on Earth," Xiao added.

☆ Former Taiwan president Ma open to meeting leaders on landmark China trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ma met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Singapore in late 2015 shortly before now Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen won a presidential election. "Can't Ma Ying-jeou see China's true nature?" Given that neither Taiwan nor China's governments recognise each other, Ma will simply be referred to as "Mr. Ma Ying-jeou" while he is in China, Hsiao said, to avoid thorny political issues. The KMT says outreach to China is needed now more than ever given the tensions across the Taiwan Strait. If young people can communicate and have dialogue, it will definitely reduce the current tensions," Hsiao said of Ma's thoughts on the visit.

☆ Fact Check-Chinese TV did not show map of how Russia will be divided ‘after its collapse’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Central China Television (CCTV) did not show a map setting out how Russia will be divided “after its collapse” following the war in Ukraine, but that claim is circulating widely alongside a miscaptioned composite fabricated from two images unrelated to the war. The map image, which dates to at least 2020, actually shows which countries are geographically closest to Russian regions, and it was digitally added as background into a still taken from a Chinese YouTube video about finance that dates to June 2021. The image shared on social media does not include the CCTV logo, which can be seen (bit.ly/3YRqGV0). An archived version of the video (bit.ly/427jhnD) published by Dogruluk Payi shows the map of Russia was not part of the original broadcast. Central China Television did not air a map showing how Russia will be divided “after its collapse” and a composite image purporting to show such a broadcast is fabricated.

Such efforts to attract foreign investment come as the pandemic and geopolitical tensions push companies to diversify their supply chains away from China. The Commerce Ministry said Thursday that for the first time, it would launch events for an "Invest in China Year." Apple later said the Zhengzhou factory disruptions would delay deliveries of some iPhone 14 models. He also noted "serious challenges" to attracting foreign investment. Those include unfair competition with local players in China due to industrial policies, lack of legal protection for foreign business in China and geopolitical risks, Wang said.

☆ Economists urge China to think 'beyond GDP' to head off climate risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A team of influential economists has urged China to adopt a new development model based on "wellbeing" rather than GDP growth in order to fulfil its 2060 net-zero emissions goals and head off the mounting threats of climate change. The old development model drove rapid growth in China over the last four decades, but is putting the world at "grave risk", the report said. China began experimenting with "green GDP" in 2005 as concerns mounted about the environmental damage done by rapid industrialisation. A 2006 government report concluded that environmental losses amounted to 3% of total GDP, but critics believed the actual figure was much higher. China is home to 16 of the 20 global regions most vulnerable to climate change, data showed on Monday.

☆ China has to figure out how to care for 400 million people over the age of 60 by 2040 — and it's off to a rocky start
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

By 2040, it's expected to have 400 million people above the age of 60 — more people than in the entire US. "It's obvious that relying on contributions from medical insurance schemes to fund age care services is not likely to be viable in the longer term," she said. Alzheimer's is quickly rising as a concern in China, Luk said. "Is China aging rapidly? Beijing has been pressuring the private sector into building daycare centers, wards, and other age care infrastructure to shore up gaps in local government finances, Gu said.

Hong Kong CNN —A protest broke out in central China’s Wuhan on Wednesday as elderly residents showed their discontent with a local government reform to public health insurance that came into effect earlier this month. In some footage, the crowd can be heard singing the unofficial protest anthem “The Internationale.”Police and government officials have yet to comment on the situation publicly. The protest was at least the second one in a week in Wuhan, which is home to more than 11 million people. Videos circulating on social media last week show a large crowd of elderly people protesting the same issue. While the government did not directly comment on last week’s protest, Wuhan health authorities subsequently issued a statement acknowledging the reform, saying it would “reduce medical benefits in the short term” but “benefit those in sickness and the elderly population” for years to come.

☆ BYD to build $1.2 bln EV battery plant in central China - website
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - BYD , the world's largest maker of electrified vehicles, plans to invest $1.2 billion to build a new factory for its batteries in China, according to environmental appraisal filings. BYD's Blade Battery is a less bulky lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery that its Chairman Wang Chuanfu has said is safer than other alternatives in the market and will not catch fire. It has been powering BYD's best-selling battery electric cars such as the Han and Seal sedans that compete with Tesla's (TSLA.O) Model 3 in China. The South China Morning Post earlier reported BYD's Zhengzhou battery plant. Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh; Editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Is the iPhone's 'Made in India' era beginning as Apple breaks with China?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said Apple was already making between 5% and 7% of its products in India. His comments come at a time when Foxconn (HNHPF), a top Apple supplier, is looking to expand its operations in India after suffering severe supply disruptions in China. For years, Apple had relied on a vast manufacturing network in China to mass produce iPhones, iPads and other popular products. China headaches mountBut the world’s most valuable company posted shockingly weak earnings this month, partly because of its recent problems in China. According to Counterpoint’s Pathak, India accounts for 16% of the global smartphone production, while China constitutes 70%.

☆ Foxconn January sales hit record high after production restored at world’s biggest iPhone factory
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Apple supplier Foxconn says its January monthly sales hit a record high as it bounced back from Covid-19 disruptions in China. The manufacturer attributed its performance to a strong rebound at its sprawling campus in Zhengzhou, central China. The site, which is home to the world’s biggest iPhone factory, was crippled late last year by Covid-19 restrictions and workers’ protests. The figures underscore how Foxconn’s Zhengzhou campus, also known as “iPhone city,” is roaring back to life after the massive setbacks. The headaches had led analysts to predict that Apple would likely speed up its supply chain diversification away from China.

☆ COVID curbs over, China's tourists hit Thai beaches for first time in 3 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Kwang Jirapornkuhakan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Colorful umbrellas are seen in a restaurant as tourists enjoy a beach in the island of Phuket in Thailand January 19, 2023. Previously, when I was here, I ate mango sticky rice, which was delicious. Back in China I kept thinking about the mango sticky rice here. The Chinese return was welcomed by businesses, despite some wariness about a huge spike in COVID infections in China after Beijing ended its zero-COVID policy. The Thai government is expecting at least five million Chinese tourist arrivals this year, with some 300,000 coming in the first quarter.

☆ China’s Covid-19 Infections Hit Peak in Populous Regions, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Wenxin Fan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—One of China’s most populous provinces has passed the peak in the current wave of Covid-19 infections, its top health official said on Monday. Kan Quancheng, director of Henan’s health commission, said that by Friday, 89% of the 100 million residents in the central China province had already been infected by the Omicron variants that have been sweeping across the country.

☆ Protesters clash with police at antigen kit maker factory in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Protesters clashed with police in central China during a demonstration on Saturday by hundreds of people at a factory producing COVID-19 antigen kits, several videos posted to social media showed. Online users said the protest was over wages and the layoff of several workers by the manufacturer, Zybio, in the central municipality of Chongqing. One video showed people throwing traffic cones, boxes and stools at police carrying riot shields. Another video, posted on social media platforms such as Twitter and Douyin, showed dozens of protesters chanting "return our money". Protests are not rare in China, which has over the years seen people demonstrate over issues such as financial scams or labour disputes.

Hong Kong CNN —Production at the world’s biggest iPhone factory, disrupted since October by China’s Covid-19 restrictions and worker protests, is now running at nearly full capacity, according to a Chinese state media report. The sprawling campus in central China, owned by Apple (AAPL) supplier Foxconn, was running at 90% of planned production capacity at the end of December, the Henan Daily newspaper reported Tuesday. It cited an interview with Wang Xue, deputy general manager of the facility, which is also known as iPhone city. Gou’s office told CNN that it “denies the report and its contents.”Wang was quoted by the Henan Daily as saying iPhone City currently had about 200,000 workers on site. Analysts said the production woes at iPhone City would speed up the pace of Apple’s supply chain diversification away from China.

☆ China's economy looks different than it was going into the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

China's exports started to fall year-on-year in October — for the first time since May 2020, according to Wind Information. Net exports had supported China's GDP growth over the last several years, contributing as much as 1.7 percentage points in 2021, the analysts said. But China's exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have picked up, surpassing those to the U.S. and EU on a monthly basis in November, according to customs data. They expect ASEAN's GDP growth to rebound in 2023, while the U.S. and EU spend part of next year in recession. Jin pointed out that China's car exports, especially of electric cars and related parts, helped support overall exports this year.

☆ Xiaomi layoffs: Thousands of tech jobs cut as China’s unemployment crisis deepens
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Chinese company’s decision to slash jobs comes soon after tech giants across the world, including Meta and Twitter, have laid off thousands of workers. The Beijing-based firm recently conducted a “routine personnel optimization and organizational streamlining,” a Xiaomi spokesperson told CNN. In the first nine months of 2022, Xiaomi reduced its workforce by nearly 1,900, according to its financial documents. Diminishing tech jobsThe layoffs at the Chinese smartphone giant come at a time when the country is struggling with mounting economic challenges. The urban unemployment rate, the broadest official measure of jobs, rose to 5.7% in November, the highest in six months, according to most recent government statistics.

☆ China re-opens more areas at risk for COVID spread as lockdowns ease
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Dec 12 (Reuters) - China has slashed the number of locations deemed at high risk of wider COVID outbreaks, re-opening locked down areas including one hosting a key factory of an Apple supplier. The number of high-risk areas tumbled to around 4,500 on Monday, official data showed, down 85% from more than 30,000 on Dec. 7 before the latest policy shift was announced. Last month, thousands of workers fled the Foxconn facility on fears of COVID lockdowns, curtailing production. High-risk areas without new infections for five consecutive days should be released from lockdown, according to one of China's latest protocols released on Dec. 7. Local authorities have also been warned not to arbitrarily expand the scope of lockdowns or prolong them.

But the popular traditional Chinese medicine Lianhua Qingwen, used for symptoms like fever and cough, and antigen test kits remained harder to find. Online pharmacies across China have run out of drugs and test kits, prompting the government to crack down on hoarding. Heat was insufficient because of "unstable" coal supplies caused by COVID, state-run Baoding Daily reported, without giving details. "I have no fear" of COVID, said Yang, a farmer who is fully vaccinated and with no underlying diseases. China has reported no deaths since easing the COVID curbs, with fatalities to date around 5,200, versus more than 1 million in the United States.

☆ In China's Wuhan, a shadow of reserve and resentment even as COVID lockdowns ease
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"We know the country is reopening but we ourselves haven't let down our guard," said one Wuhan cornershop owner. "This has never happened before, not even at the start of the outbreak in 2020," said one Wuhan pharmacist surnamed Liu. Health authorities in Wuhan reported 229 new COVID cases on Thursday, while health authorities in Beijing reported more than 16,000 cases nationwide on the same day. REUTERS/Martin Pollard 1 2 3 4By November, as frustration towards the zero-COVID policies mounted, some Wuhan residents like Sam Yuen, a teacher, joined protests demanding an end to the lockdowns, alongside thousands of others in cities across China. City authorities put the official death toll at 3,869 in April 2020.

☆ Foxconn restoring production at world's largest iPhone factory
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Juliana Liu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The “epidemic situation” at the facility, known as iPhone City and normally home to hundreds of thousands of workers, has been brought under control, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer said in a statement on Monday. Its executives were quoted as telling Reuters that full production would resume between late December and early January. Analysts said the production woes at iPhone City would speed up the pace of Apple’s supply chain diversification away from China. In recent weeks, according to The Wall Street Journal, Apple (AAPL) has accelerated plans to shift some of its production outside China. If Apple moves aggressively, more than 50% of iPhone production could come from India and Vietnam by the 2025/2026 fiscal year, versus the single-digit percentage currently, he added.

NO ARCHIVESBEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) - China is softening its tone on the severity of COVID-19 and easing some coronavirus restrictions even as its daily case toll hovers near records, after anger over the world's toughest curbs morphed into protests across the country. Health experts warn of widespread illness and death if COVID is let loose before vaccination is ramped up. read moreWhile the recent change in tone over COVID appears to respond to the public discontent with the strictness of the measures, authorities are in parallel seeking out those who were present at the demonstrations. China Dissent Monitor, run by U.S. government-funded Freedom House, estimated at least 27 demonstrations took place across China from Saturday to Monday. Australia's ASPI think tank estimated 43 protests in 22 cities.

☆ Analysis: Apple supply chain data shows receding exposure to China as risks mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Josh Horwitz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) wide exposure to Chinese manufacturing, notable both for its low costs and rising risks, has receded since the COVID-19 pandemic began, company supply chain data shows. "The China supply chain is not going to evaporate overnight," said Eli Friedman, an associate professor at Cornell University who studies labour in China. The Apple supplier data to 2021, however, shows no locations so far that stand out as substantial gainers to match China's decline, according to the Reuters analysis. Apple's annual data covers more than 600 locations among its top suppliers, which represent 98% of Apple's direct spending. While Apple's shift from China is increasingly evident, including in its own supply chain data, so too are the risks from the concentration of operations there.

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