The Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, episode 94

08/12/19 • 13 min

Welcome to the 94th installment of the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, a weekly podcast that brings you the most important business stories of the week from China’s top source for business and financial news. Produced by Kaiser Kuo of our Sinica Podcast, it features a business news roundup, plus conversations with Caixin reporters and editors. This week: We discuss how China’s yuan dropped below seven per dollar as the trade war escalated. We note that troubled Hengfeng 恒丰 Bank has received official approval for a restructuring plan that involves investments from a provincial government and a unit of China’s sovereign wealth fund. We dive into the story of Hu Huaibang 胡怀邦, the former chairman of policy lender China Development Bank, who is under investigation for allegedly using his position to funnel billions of dollars of dodgy credit to fallen energy and financial group CEFC China Energy and prop up the heavily indebted real estate conglomerate HNA Group. We analyze Huawei’s new operating system “Harmony,” which marked the Chinese smartphone giant’s latest step toward creating its own software ecosystem. We report that several Chinese automakers’ sales of new-energy vehicles hit the skids in July as the industry navigates government subsidy cuts. We hear that Foxconn and customer Amazon face renewed criticism from a labor advocacy group for allegedly slashing wages and flouting labor laws at a Chinese factory as pressure from U.S. tariffs mounts. We find out that Tesla’s Shanghai facility is on track to officially start production at the end of this year, the company said Wednesday in a message posted to its official Weibo account. We chat about mini-programs — bare-bones applications that run instantly on web platforms — which are the new front line as China’s internet giants battle for traffic and corporate business, and the country’s biggest search engine is keen to get in on the act. In addition, we talk with Tanner Brown, head of real-time news at Caixin, about deadly heat waves in China. We also chat with Doug Young, managing editor of Caixin Global, about recent news about Huawei. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Previous Episode

The Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, episode 93

Welcome to the 93rd installment of the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, a weekly podcast that brings you the most important business stories of the week from China’s top source for business and financial news. Produced by Kaiser Kuo of our Sinica Podcast, it features a business news roundup, plus conversations with Caixin reporters and editors. This week: We note that Li Jinxing 李金星, a Chinese rights lawyer who made his name fighting against wrongful convictions, is now contesting an official decision to revoke his license for “improper remarks on the internet.” We discuss a recent investigation into FedEx conducted by the Chinese government, which disputed the American courier’s explanation for “misdirected” Huawei parcels, saying that it also discovered other clues that the company had violated laws and regulations. We report that Hong Kong picked the next head of its de facto central bank last week, amid social unrest that has shaken the financial hub recently. We hear that Chinese telecom giant Huawei’s 5G-ready smartphone, the Mate 20 X, will formally go on sale on Aug. 16, marking the second launch of a handset supporting fifth-generation wireless technology produced by a Chinese company. We find out that Nur Bekri, the former head of China’s National Energy Administration, pleaded guilty to accepting millions of dollars’ worth of bribes during a court trial that makes him the latest high-profile former official to fall foul of an ongoing government crackdown on corruption. We analyze Interstellar Glory Space Technology, which has become the first private Chinese space company to successfully launch a rocket into orbit, marking an important milestone in the development of the country’s commercial space industry. We chat about new materials released by the Minnesota police regarding JD.com founder and chairman Richard Liu, who was accused of rape by a Chinese student at the University of Minnesota. In addition, we talk with Tianyu Fang, reporter for Caixin Global, about Justin Sun, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur who raised eyebrows by cancelling a $4.6 million lunch with Warren Buffet. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Next Episode

The Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, episode 95

Welcome to the 95th installment of the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, a weekly podcast that brings you the most important business stories of the week from China’s top source for business and financial news. Produced by Kaiser Kuo of our Sinica Podcast, it features a business news roundup, plus conversations with Caixin reporters and editors.

This week:

We discuss how Hong Kong protesters brought the city’s airport to a standstill.
We analyze how the deepening tariff war between China and the U.S. knocked China down to third place in the U.S.’ trade table in the January-June 2019 period.
We note that the price of solar power has become lower than grid-supplied electricity in hundreds of cities across China, marking an important inflection point in the country’s deployment of renewable energy.
We report that a former senior legislator in northern China’s Inner Mongolia may have set a record for the country’s officialdom, though not a laudable one.
We find out that Hong Kong’s government slashed its 2019 growth forecast and announced a $2.4 billion package of measures to support the economy as the city faces threats from the impact of a global slowdown, the U.S.-China trade war and mass protests.
We chat about a new study which found out that the Chinese public generally worries less about the climate crisis than other countries do.
We hear that Hu Kun 胡昆, a senior Communist Party official at the Shanghai Futures Exchange, died over the weekend from unknown causes.
We note that leading Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing is lowering its minimum passenger age from 18 to 16, allowing minors to ride without their parents’ supervision.

In addition, we talk with Doug Young, managing editor of Caixin Global, about a recent setback in Chinese sci-fi ambitions at the box office.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.