China Macro

COVID-19 returns to the public spotlight in China

On the afternoon of May 20, China’s National Health Commission held a press conference to introduce the recent COVID-19 epidemic situation in China. COVID-19 infections have returned to public attention lately, with many people around them having friends or relatives testing positive again. Famous singer Eason Chan also canceled performances due to COVID-19.

According to the Beijing Daily, COVID-19 has surpassed human metapneumovirus, influenza virus, and rhinovirus to become the main pathogen causing influenza-like cases recently.

Mr.An Zhijie from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that COVID-19 cases in some countries and regions have seen a small increase recently, but there has been no significant change in symptoms after infection.

China’s central government revenue sees first monthly positive growth this year

On May 20, China’s Ministry of Finance released data on fiscal revenue and expenditure from January to April. From January to April, China’s general public budget expenditure was 9.3581 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.6%. General public budget revenue was 8.0616 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0.4%. Among them, tax revenue in April increased by 1.9%, turning from negative to positive in monthly growth.

From the source of tax revenue, the equipment manufacturing industry maintained a high growth rate. Among them, the tax revenue of the railway, ship, aerospace equipment manufacturing industry and the computer communication equipment manufacturing industry increased by 33.2% and 6.8%, respectively.

Record low mortgage rates for first-home buyers in Beijing and Shanghai

On May 20, China’s loan prime rate saw the first cut this year.

Some banks in Beijing lowered the 5-year or longer term commercial loan rate for first-home buyers to 3.05%, and for second-home buyers to 3.45%, both reduced by 10 basis points compared to earlier. Many banks in Shanghai have also reduced first-home loan rates to 3.05%, and the second-home rate in main urban areas to 3.45%.

Industry insiders pointed out that the 3.05% commercial mortgage rate for first homes in Beijing and Shanghai is a historic low.

China will select 20 more cities to update infrastructure

On May 20, China’s Ministry of Finance announced that after last year’s first batch of 15 cities undergoing urban renewal, a second batch of 20 cities will be selected this year to begin implementation.

The renovation mainly includes three aspects: first, updating infrastructure such as urban drainage, gas, and heating; second, adding cultural, tourism, dining, and entertainment facilities in old urban areas; third, optimizing financing and approval mechanisms in the process. Chinese netizens interpreted this as using urban renewal as an opportunity to increase employment and stimulate the economy.

Enterprises

China’s EV battery giant goes public in Hong Kong

On May 20, the global power battery leader CATL was listed in Hong Kong. As of 11:00 a.m. that day, the company’s market value exceeded 1.35 trillion Hong Kong dollars.

According to current subscription results, CATL’s fundraising amount will reach 41 billion Hong Kong dollars, making it not only the largest IPO in the Hong Kong market since Kuaishou, but also possibly the world’s largest IPO in 2025.

Breaking through tech blockades, two Chinese companies top trending searches

In the tech field, two companies have made breakthrough progress in areas where China has long lagged behind, landing them on China’s trending search lists.

First is Huawei. On May 19, Huawei released two laptops, both running its self-developed operating system: HarmonyOS. This is the first official launch of HarmonyOS for PCs.

HUAWEI MateBook Pro is priced from 7999 yuan, and HUAWEI MateBook Fold Extraordinary Master is the world’s largest commercial foldable PC, starting at 23999 yuan. When unfolded, the screen reaches 18 inches, with the thinnest part only 7.3mm; when folded, it’s only 13 inches—smaller than the MacBook Air and weighs just 1.16kg.

On the same day, Xiaomi—one of young Chinese people’s favorite brands—announced a major breakthrough in the chip field: its self-developed 3nm smartphone chip has entered mass production.

It also promised to launch two smartphones with the Xiaomi Xuanjie O1 chip at the May 22 conference: the high-end flagship Xiaomi 15spro and the ultra-premium OLED tablet Xiaomi Pad 7ultra.

Chinese entrepreneur and commentator Xiang Ligang commented that this is certainly good news for smartphone chip manufacturing, but one should also see that the core of smartphone chips lies in comprehensive balance capability. Xiaomi’s strength remains to be further validated by consumers.

Society

Trump meme coin’s largest holder revealed: A Chinese man obsessed with hype

Tron founder Justin Sun confirmed on Tuesday that he would attend a Trump fundraising dinner as the largest holder of “Trump meme coin.”

The market had long speculated that the person behind the pseudonym “Sun” was indeed Justin Sun, who loves appearing at trending events. In the past, he paid $4.57 million for a “lunch with Buffett” and $6.2 million for the avant-garde art piece Comedian—a banana taped to a wall.

The donor of a photo album documenting Japanese war crimes against China once had to wear a bulletproof vest when going out

Evan Kail, the American pawn shop owner who donated a photo album documenting Japanese invasion war crimes to China, gave an interview and said he had faced great pressure. In September 2022, Kail posted a video online saying he had received an old album, suspecting the photos documented Japanese war crimes in China.

“The video came on Wednesday, by Friday, I had the gun on me”—online abuse led him to start wearing a bulletproof vest.
In the interview, he said, “China is definitely a big part of my mental healing.”

Because of this donation, he received a national gift from China. When he visited China last winter, he was recognized by Chinese people and was given a military coat to keep warm.

Evan Kail received a state gift from China — an exquisite porcelain tea jar.

Actress’s luxury earrings spark a national detective frenzy

Chinese netizens’ detective enthusiasm peaked after a young actress was seen wearing ultra-expensive jeweled earrings.

On May 11, 18-year-old actress Huang Yangdiantian shared photos on social media from her coming-of-age ceremony, wearing earrings that appeared to be from the luxury brand Graff.

The Graff earrings are worth 2.3 million yuan, and the full jewelry set exceeds 20 million yuan. This figure sparked public concern about the source of her income and suspicions that her father, during his tenure as a government official, may have engaged in corruption. His earlier involvement in earthquake relief in the city of Ya’an caused further unease that public donation could have been a source of embezzlement.

At present, the Ya’an municipal government in Sichuan, where her father once worked, told media reporters that relevant departments are handling the case.

Building collapse at a tourist site in Anhui Province triggers corruption suspicions

On May 19, large areas of roof tiles fell from the Drum Tower of Ming Zhongdu City in Fengyang County, Anhui Province, attracting attention.

The building had just reopened one year and three months after its last renovation, which cost around 3 million yuan.

This triggered public doubts about the construction quality and bidding process.

Guangdong Province bans forced school uniform purchases；A cafeteria manager from Sichuan Province caught taking kickbacks

The Guangdong Education Department issued an official document to regulate the purchase of school uniforms for primary and secondary students: “Parents can decide the number of school uniform sets based on personal need.”

Corresponding to the above news, the Chinese anti-corruption website magazine reported a case in Sichuan: a middle school cafeteria manager embezzled over a million yuan, taking 0.2 yuan kickbacks on even a single piece of bread in the school shop.

Beijing’s Official Stance

Chinese Foreign Minister sternly condemns U.S. blockade on Chinese chips

On May 20, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Beijing with Kyung-wha Kang, President of the Asia Society. During the meeting, he acknowledged the progress made in high-level China-U.S. economic and trade talks, but stated: “The U.S. side continues to suppress and contain China’s legitimate right to development. It has even attempted a comprehensive blockade of Chinese chips in recent days. This is blatant unilateral bullying. China firmly opposes it.”

Taiwan Affairs Office responds to Lai Ching-te’s May 20 speech

At a press conference on May 20, the spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Chen Binhua, responded to the speech marking the first anniversary of the Taiwan regional leader’s inauguration: “Taiwan separatism and peace in the Taiwan Strait are incompatible like fire and water. Confrontation and dialogue run counter to each other. Only by ceasing provocative moves toward ‘independence’ can there be room for a turnaround in cross-strait relations; only by enhancing cross-strait exchanges and cooperation can tensions in the Taiwan Strait be eased; and only by recognizing that both sides of the Strait belong to one China can there be a foundation for cross-strait consultation and dialogue.”

U.S. makes false statements on COVID origins; China: U.S. has lost basic sense of right and wrong

According to the official WeChat account of the “Permanent Mission of China to Geneva,” on May 20, responding to false statements made by the United States regarding the origins of COVID-19 at the 78th World Health Assembly, the spokesperson of China’s Permanent Mission stated: “A country like the U.S., which has announced its withdrawal from the WHO, making unwarranted attacks on countries that have increased contributions to the WHO, is truly astonishing. The U.S. has lost a basic sense of right and wrong.”

China’s UN representative: U.S. remarks at odds with other countries

According to the website of China’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, on May 20, Ambassador Geng Shuang, Chargé d’affaires of the Mission, delivered remarks during an open debate at the UN Security Council on maritime security.

At the end of the speech, the Chinese representative pointed out that while other countries were focused on safeguarding maritime security and promoting international cooperation, the U.S. representative took the opportunity to mention the South China Sea issue. “The U.S. remarks were filled with arbitrary attacks and smears against other countries, and wanton suppression. Her remarks were completely out of tune with the statements made by other countries just now.”

Military

Multiple areas issue maritime vessel control notices

On May 19, the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration issued Navigation Warning No. 338/25, announcing that a large vessel will navigate through the Yangtze River Estuary on May 21, and traffic control will be enforced in the deep-water channel of the estuary. According to online users, this is suspected to be the sea trial of the Fujian aircraft carrier.

The day after this news was released, China’s Maritime Safety Administration website issued another notice on May 20 stating that on May 20 and 22, from 8:00 to 18:00 daily, live-fire exercises will be conducted in parts of the South China Sea. Based on images shared by netizens, the area is offshore of Shantou, approximately 180 kilometers from the Penghu Islands.

Sports

Chinese Olympic table tennis champion’s paddle damaged again

During the World Table Tennis Mixed Doubles Round of 32 recently held in Doha, Chinese Olympic table tennis champion Wang Chuqin discovered after the match began that his paddle, sealed in advance by the organizers, had been damaged and was unusable. He had to switch to a backup paddle and went on to win the match.

At last year’s Paris Olympics, Wang Chuqin’s main paddle was left on a seat and was accidentally stepped on by someone, causing it to bend and rendering it unusable for competition. Therefore, upon once again experiencing paddle damage in an overseas competition, Wang Chuqin expressed his disappointment with the organizers.