Economic

Chinese companies waiting twice as long for payments as in 2015

China’s business owners have spent a record amount of time collecting money owed to them this year as clients, led by large companies and local governments, put off payments in the wake of an economic slowdown. Official data show it took an average of 54 days for Chinese private manufacturers to get paid in the first three quarters of this year. That is up from 45 days in 2019 and 27 days five years ago. “There is no shortage of orders,” said Zhang Huaqiang, owner of a machine parts factory in the eastern city of Ningbo. “The challenge is to figure out when you can get paid.” Large state-owned companies are taking the lead in making late payments to their smaller suppliers. Local governments are also guilty of not paying on time. Analysts said the surge in late payments was mainly a result of weakening industrial profits that make it difficult for businesses to make timely payment. Chinese manufacturers reported a 2.4 per cent decline in profits in the first three quarters of this year following a 3.3 per cent drop in the whole of 2019. Click here to read...

China lifts technology innovation to new national height

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Nov 03 released the full text of proposals for formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives through the Year 2035. The document was adopted at the fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, which closed on October 29. Unusually, the proposal dedicated a specific third chapter to highlighting technology innovation, immediately after mapping out key economic goals. According to the text, indigenous innovation will play a key role in China's industrial modernization, and the country will make technology self-reliance an underpinning strategy for national growth. For the first time, it pinpointed leading sectors in which Beijing will strive to launch strategically important projects. Those sectors include AI, semiconductors, quantum computing and health-related sciences, some of which have been a battle ground in the boiling technology war launched by the US against China. Other accompanying measures, including bolstering the innovation ability of enterprises, improving the technology innovation mechanism and cultivating talent, are included in the proposal. Click here to read...

China to jointly boost high-quality B&R construction

China will promote high-quality development in the joint construction of the Belt and Road (B&R), according to the full text of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's development proposals made public on Nov 03. More efforts will be made to build a mutually beneficial cooperation system on industrial and supply chains, enhance international cooperation on capacity and expand bilateral trade and investment. The country will develop a market-oriented system in which enterprises are the main players, follow international practices and the principle of debt sustainability and optimize diversified investment and financing system. Meanwhile, cooperation on public health, digital economy, green development, technology and education will be deepened. The Party leadership's proposals for formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 were adopted at the fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee which closed on Oct. 29. Click here to read...

Chinese tech giants seek talent amid tech competition with US

Chinese tech giants, such as Xiaomi and ByteDance, are busy recruiting talent amid ring tech competition with the US, in a bid to gain an advantage when Washington is moving to strangle Chinese tech giants through administrative weapons. Lei Jun, the founder of Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi, said on Nov 05 that the company will recruit 5,000 engineers next year, and further increase research and development (R&D) investment. According to Lei, Xiaomi's R&D team has more than 10,000 people, and the key areas where staff are to be recruited include camera imaging technology, artificial intelligence, voice intelligent interaction technology, 5G and 6G communication standard technology, and big data and cloud service technology.Xiaomi is not alone. Chinese internet company ByteDance, the parent of short-video platform TikTok, which has been in the spotlight amid tech disputes with the US, said it plans to offer another 10,000 jobs before the end of the year, and the total staff in the group could exceed 100,000. The new jobs are mainly concentrated in emerging businesses such as education, games and e-commerce. Click here to read...

China leapfrogs world with first 6G experimental satellite

China has leap-frogged the world in satellite communication. On Nov 07, it successfully completed a world’s first, sending up a sixth-generation communications test satellite, Yicai Global reported. Named after the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, the satellite was jointly developed by Chengdu Guoxing Aerospace Technology, UESTC, and Beijing MinoSpace Technology. The satellite is the first technical test of terahertz communication’s application in space, said Xu Yangsheng, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The technology is expected to be over 100 times faster than 5G, enabling lossless transmission in space to achieve long-distance communications with a smaller power output, Yicai reported. According to China Daily, 6G technology is still in its infancy and must overcome several technical hurdles in basic research, hardware design, and its environmental impact before the technology becomes commercially available. Moreover, some scientists worried that 6G’s new infrastructure, the increased integration of space-air-ground-sea communication technologies, and the use of a new frequency range to transmit data might affect astronomical instruments or public health, or be too expensive or insecure for researchers to use. Click here to read...

Ant faces tortuous path back to market as Beijing tightens rules

In comments that capped off a disastrous week for Ant and Jack Ma, the group’s controlling shareholder and China’s richest man, the banking regulator suggested it would begin treating fintechs more like banks — a move that could drastically slash their valuations and attractiveness to investors. The new draft rules for online micro-lending state that internet platforms will have to provide 30 per cent of the funding of “joint loans” — a term the regulators have yet to fully define — that are offered through their platforms. Ant currently funds only 2 per cent of its total Rmb1.7tn in consumer loans itself with most of the remainder coming from its partner banks. Ant disclosed in its listing documents that revenue from the CreditTech unit accounted for almost 40 per cent of its total sales. Ant extracts an estimated fee of 2.5 per cent from its partner banks for each loan it arranges and takes on none of the risk. But the new regulations could force Ant to move substantially more of those loans on to its own books. Click here to read...

Why luxury brands are weathering the pandemic better than other retailers

Clothes shops are among the worst hit retailers from the coronavirus pandemic. Strikingly, luxury brands appear to be weathering the conditions relatively well. The issue could well be one of control. Whereas high street retailers do not typically own their supply chains, the same is not true of luxury brand conglomerates such as LVMH, Kering, Chanel and Richemont. As these groups have increased their product offer across their brands over the past 20 years, they have pursued a meticulous strategy of acquiring the companies in their supply chains. They now oversee an ecosystem that is virtually self-sufficient. They are able to set their own prices, from raw materials to labour to what customers pay for their products. The luxury brands put lots of emphasis on heritage. They typically date back more than a century – Louis Vuitton founded in 1854, Kering’s Boucheron in 1893, Richemont’s Cartier in 1847 and Chanel in 1910. One challenge, however, for luxury conglomerates has always been how to cope with unsold stock. Burberry disclosed in 2018 that it had burned £105 million-worth of stock over five years to protect its brand, for instance, but said that it would stop doing so. Click here to read...

Australia tells exporters to find other markets after rise in China tensions

Canberra has advised Australian businesses to seek new export markets and reduce their reliance on China as a worsening dispute threatens up to A$6bn in annual trade. Government officials delivered the warning to exporters during a conference on Nov 05 to discuss informal threats relayed by Chinese importers to Australian exporters. The importers said Beijing planned to ban wine, lobsters, copper and other selected goods from Nov 06. The warning follows Beijing’s decision to impose punitive tariffs on Australian barley, restrict beef imports and begin an anti-dumping inquiry into wine exports following Canberra’s call in April for an inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan. China is Australia’s largest trading partner with two-way trade worth A$252bn last year, which makes any attempt to diversify to other markets difficult. The timing of the trade tensions is also causing exporters pain, as demand for certain products, such as wine, has fallen sharply during the coronavirus pandemic. Click here to read...

Coronavirus: EU says economy will only bounce back in 2023

As Europe wrestles with the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said that renewed disruptions would "put the recovery on hold in the short term." The pandemic crashed the EU economy earlier this year, but the bloc has been recovering more quickly than expected during July, August and September, as the rate of infections dropped, and the authorities loosened lockdowns and travel restrictions. During those three months, the bloc's GDP grew by 12.7% — the largest increase since records started in 1995. With infection rates now reaching and surpassing previous levels, however, many EU member states have already reimposed some anti-pandemic measures. "The rebound has been interrupted." Gentiloni told reporters while announcing the latest forecasts on Nov 05. In July, the European Commission said the economy of the 19 countries that use the euro as currency would grow by 6.1% next year. The latest numbers, however, bring the forecast down to 4.2%. Also, officials say the economy is not expected to go back to "its pre-pandemic level" before 2023. Click here to read...

Russia plans to export hydrogen to Asia in green shift

Russia will begin the production and export of hydrogen, seeking to diversify its energy portfolio, as it begins talks to supply to Japan, with the aim of selling to other Asian and European countries ultimately. In a recent online interview with Nikkei, Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Pavel Sorokin unveiled a new government policy to export 2 million tons of hydrogen by 2035. The country is already in talks with Japanese officials and also Kawasaki Heavy Industries and other Japanese companies to cooperate in this area, in hopes of exporting to Europe and Asia by 2035. There are three types of hydrogen that Russia can produce: gray hydrogen using fossil fuels such as natural gas; blue hydrogen using fossil fuels but employing carbon capture technology to lower emissions; and green hydrogen which meets the low-carbon threshold by using renewable energy. Russia is considering using nuclear power plants to produce green hydrogen. Natural gas supplier Gazprom, atomic energy producer Rosatom, technology conglomerate Rostec and the Russian Academy of Sciences have begun the development of and market research on production and exports of hydrogen. Click here to read...

Strategic

Biden wins: What's next for China-US relations?

While the world displays a growing sense of expectation for the 46th president of the US, some Chinese experts considered the outcome offers some "breathing room" for the tense China-US relations. Biden entering the White House is expected to provide an opportunity for breakthroughs in resuming high-level communication and rebuilding mutual strategic trust between the two major countries, some experts forecast. As the US is about to welcome its new president, some Chinese academics and observers on China-US relations have been keeping a close eye on the outcome of the race, which may also bring changes to deteriorating bilateral relations that have been trapped in a vicious circle under the Trump administration. Jin Canrong, associate dean of the School of International Studies at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times that Biden will usher in a "buffer period" for China-US relations - relations may still worsen, but not as quickly. Click here to read...

Moscow braced for anti-Russian rhetoric and more confrontation

Mr Biden has vowed to harden Washington’s stance against Moscow, seeking to counter Russian aggression by reaffirming US involvement in Nato and putting human rights and a new anti-corruption drive at the forefront of his foreign policy as part of an explicit bid to face off against the Kremlin. “We must impose real costs on Russia for its violations of international norms and stand with Russian civil society, which has bravely stood up time and again against President Vladimir Putin’s kleptocratic authoritarian system,” the president-elect wrote in an article this spring. While European officials hope Biden will soften America's tone with traditional allies, senior western officials in the US capital are braced for an abrasive change when it comes to US-Russia relations. “I suspect that Moscow in October had a deal on arms control that would be acceptable to Washington but chose to hold back suspecting that Mr Trump wasn’t going to win,” a western ambassador in Moscow said. “That could be back on the table now.” Click here to read...

Japan must relax its fear of a Democrat in the White House

Since the 1980s, Japan's political and media elites have believed that Republicans are better for their country than Democrats. That thinking is wrongheaded and dangerous. Republican and Democratic support for the alliance is bipartisan and strong. The Japanese preference for Republicans reflects three tendencies. The first is the GOP's historical support for a strong military. The second reason for Japan's preference for the GOP is the historical influence of labour unions in the Democratic Party and their push for a tough line on trade. This conveniently ignores frictions between Republican President Richard Nixon and Prime Minister Eisaku Sato over textiles in the 1970s, conflicts in the 1980s between the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and that of Yasuhiro Nakasone and his successors. The third explanation highlights warm personal relationships forged between Japanese and Republican leaders, the most famous being that of "Ron-Yasu" -- Reagan-Nakasone -- which was followed by that between George W. Bush and Junichiro Koizumi, and most recently the Trump-Abe relationship. Click here to read...

Biden’s presidency won’t go smoothly on Turkey, say experts

Joe Biden’s presidency is likely to lead to new developments in US relations with Turkey as his approach differs from that of his predecessor, who was providing shelter to Turkey’s assertiveness in the region. The personal relationship between former President Donald Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan formed a buffer between an increasingly upset Washington and a defiant Ankara, could not be created between Biden and Erdogan because the two leaders had demonstrated a dislike of each other and because Biden, unlike Trump, was expected to give priority to institutionalizing relationships rather than personalizing them. The new US administration was likely to bring forward the democracy and human rights deficit in Turkey, while also trying to contain its moves in Libya, Syria and naval ambitions in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey’s testing of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system and a possible green light on sanctions against it will also be on the agenda. The US Congress remains stubborn and has bipartisan support to take measures against Ankara as Washington is concerned that the Russian missiles could compromise NATO defences. Click here to read...

Arabs doubt Biden will herald change in the Middle East

Arab leaders congratulated Joe Biden on his election victory, but some people in the Middle East expressed cynicism over U.S. policy even if he pursues diplomacy rather than President Donald Trump's blunt approach to the region's myriad problems.Biden may face some of his most complex foreign policy challenges in the region: from wars in Libya and Yemen to reassuring the United States' Gulf Arab allies that Washington can protect them from enemy Iran, even though he has said he would return to the international nuclear deal with Tehran. While Trump had cosy relationships with what critics say are increasingly authoritarian leaders in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, Biden has promised to take a tough line on human rights. Ibrahim Matraz, a Yemeni journalist, was also pessimistic about prospects for a shift in U.S. policy after years of conflict that have ravaged his country. "We shouldn’t forget that Biden was vice president in Obama’s administration when the war began." Click here to read...

Biden urged to avoid repeating Obama’s mistakes in Asia

Officials and experts across Asia are concerned a myopic domestic focus will lead to neglect of pressing issues such Kim Jong Un’s weapons of mass destruction and border clashes between India and China. There is also worry that moves to ease tensions between Washington and Beijing risk undermining US commitments to Taiwan as well as opposition to Chinese military expansion in the South China Sea. John Delury, an Asia expert at Yonsei University in Seoul, warned that the “overwhelming” domestic agenda — including guiding a divided America through the coronavirus pandemic — meant that problems such as North Korean nuclear talks would no longer be a priority. There was a “danger”, Mr Delury said, that the US slipped back into “strategic patience” — the much criticised Barack Obama policy under which there was little engagement between Washington and Pyongyang and Mr Kim was able to make rapid advances in nuclear weapon technology. Some Taiwanese officials worry that a Biden administration could seek to smooth tensions with a more accommodative stance towards Beijing, sacrificing Taiwan’s interests in doing so. Click here to read...

‘Islamist terrorism is our common enemy’: Germany’s Merkel expresses support to Austrians after Vienna attack

Islamist terrorism is a common enemy for both Germany and Austria, Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a terrorist attack in Vienna, which left at least three civilians dead in a spree of gun violence. “We, Germans, stand by our Austrian friends in sympathy and solidarity,” Merkel said in a statement on Nov 03.Islamist terrorism is our common enemy. The fight against these murderers and their instigators is our common fight. The gunmen launched an attack in Vienna on evening of Nov 02, firing random shots at people at six different locations in the Austrian capital, while fighting running battles with the police. The attackers killed at least three people – two men and a woman – and seriously injured 15 others, including a police officer. One of the suspects was killed by law enforcement and was later identified as a sympathizer of the terrorist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). At least one accomplice is believed to be still at large. Click here to read...

Kabul University attack: Islamic State claims responsibility after 22 people killed in Afghanistan

The Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorist group has claimed responsibility for an attack on Kabul University on Nov 02 in which at least 22 people died, including students, after gunmen stormed the campus. The group’s Amaq News Agency sent out a message claiming Islamic State had carried out the attack and had targeted judges, investigators, and security teams working for the government. It claimed 80 people had been killed in the incident. The official number of those killed stands at 22, however, with more than 20 other people wounded. President Ashraf Ghani branded the violence an attack on “the honour, advancement, and bright future of Afghanistan,” and the Afghan government has declared Nov 03 a national day of mourning. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for a bomb attack at a Kabul education centre just over a week ago that killed 24 people. Bloodshed has continued in the country, despite recent peace talks between the Taliban and the government, with the UN envoy for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, warning of “near-record violence.” Click here to read...

UAE relaxes Islamic laws– state media

The UAE has moved to revise its Islamic personal laws, loosening restrictions on alcohol and cohabitation of unmarried couples as well as scrapping lenient penalties for “honour killings,” the state media said. The changes, which were announced on Nov 07 by the government-run WAM news agency, are intended to “consolidate the UAE’s principles of tolerance” and improve the Gulf nation’s economic and social profile. However, the agency didn’t specify when the new relaxed rules will go into force. Penalties for alcohol consumption, possession and sales for those 21 and over will be eliminated in the Muslim country, which positions itself as a more Westernized tourist hotspot than other areas in the region. UAE citizens previously required a special license to drink beer and other liquors at bars or at home. The reform will also allow “cohabitation of unmarried couples.” Such behaviour has been considered criminal in UAE for a long time, though the law was rarely enforced against expats living in the financial hub of Dubai and other emirates. Click here to read...

Melbourne man with links to Chinese groups becomes first suspect charged under Australia's new foreign interference law

Australia has charged the first person under its new foreign interference law. The suspect, connected with China-linked organizations, stands accused of working for foreign intelligence and could face up to 10 years in jail. The 65-year-old Melbourne resident, identified as Duong Di Sanh, was charged with “preparing for a foreign interference offence”, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said in a statement on Nov 05. According to Australia’s new Espionage and Foreign Interference law, hastily adopted back in 2018, even an attempt of “foreign interference” can land the individual behind bars for up to 10 years. Australian officials have repeatedly warned of the ever-increasing threat of foreign meddling lately. According to a recent report by the ASIO, “almost every sector of Australian society is a potential target of foreign interference, and the threat manifests itself in different but equally unacceptable ways.” China has been the prime target for Australia’s allegations of foreign meddling for a few years, with Canberra repeatedly accusing Beijing of trying to influence its domestic affairs – an accusation that China has consistently denied. Click here to read...

Russia, Turkey near a deal for Nagorno-Karabakh

Russia and Turkey have tentatively agreed to a two-stage deal to end the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, a move that comes as Azerbaijan makes decisive gains on Armenia in the contested enclave. The deal, which reportedly will require Armenia to cede a large chunk of the enclave’s territory and deploy a Turkish and Russian peacekeeping mission in the area, comes on the heels of Azerbaijan’s capture of the strategic town of Shusha, situated at the end of the strategic Lachin corridor and the last defensible city in the Armenia-controlled enclave. With its fall, Stepanakert – the capital city of the so-called Artsakh Republic – is surrounded and cut off from Armenia. If the fighting continues, Artsakh would almost inevitably be taken and result in many deaths. As of Nov 08, Armenia had denied that Shusha had fallen. The proposed deal, attributed in reports to “Turkish sources”, does not address fully what the future holds for Nagorno-Karabakh. Nor is there any word yet on how any of this will be financed or whether any reparations will be paid by either side. Click here to read...

China could face greater terrorism threat as US 'delists' East Turkestan Islamic Movement

China could face a greater terrorism threat as a result of the US removing the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which Beijing has repeatedly blamed for violent acts in Xinjiang and elsewhere, from its list of terror groups, observers say. However, China is unlikely to change its counterterrorism strategy on the back of the decision, they say. The US state department announced the ruling on Nov 06, with a spokesperson saying the group was delisted "because, for more than a decade, there has been no credible evidence that ETIM continues to exist". Raffaello Pantucci, a senior associate fellow with the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London, said that regardless of the US decision, the ETIM would remain a terror group in Beijing's eyes, but the ruling could put further strain on the two nations' already troubled relationship. "As long as the US prescribed the [ETIM as a] terrorist organisation it meant the US and China could look at counterterrorism cooperation as a possible point of engagement," he said. Click here to read...

Shifting militant tactics curb development in Egypt's North Sinai

Egypt is rolling out ambitious development projects in the peninsula adjoining the Suez Canal, Israel and Gaza, but pockets of instability persist despite an intensified military campaign. Large scale assaults on military and government positions have subsided but militants have shifted tactics, staging more individual attacks, deploying snipers and planting explosives, security sources and analysts say. Their ability to temporarily overrun villages near Bir al-Abd in north-west Sinai this summer shows security remains fragile, while poverty and neglect have not been fully addressed, they say.At least 15 people have been killed by explosive devices around Bir al-Abd since Oct. 10, security sources said, alarming residents and highlighting the risks for development projects. An Islamist insurgency spread in northern Sinai after the military overthrew President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. Hundreds of policemen and soldiers, and more than 1,000 civilians have died, according to official statements. Sinai Province, a militant group loyal to Islamic State (IS), has drawn support from local Bedouins complaining of marginalisation, a charge the government denies. Click here to read...

Concern of outright war in Ethiopia grows as PM presses military offensive

Ethiopia's prime minister stepped up a military offensive in the northern region of Tigray on Nov 08 with air strikes as part of what he called a "law enforcement operation", increasing fears of outright civil war in Africa's second-most populous country. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has defied calls from the United Nations and allies in the region to negotiate with leaders in Tigray, home of the ethnic group that dominated the federal government before he took power in 2018. Abiy last week launched a military campaign in the province, saying forces loyal to leaders there had attacked a military base and attempted to steal equipment. Also on Nov 08, Abiy named a new chief of the army, a new intelligence chief and a new federal police commissioner and foreign minister, changes that analysts said brought close allies into top posts as the conflict escalates. The premier won last year's Nobel Peace Prize for making peace with neighbouring Eritrea and for introducing democratic reforms in one of Africa's most repressive countries. Click here to read...

China's coast guard allowed to fire on foreign ships under new law

China's coast guard would be authorized to use weapons against foreign ships involved in illegal activities in its waters under draft legislation released this week. The text, released on Nov 04 by the National People's Congress, stipulates that handheld weapons may be used against vessels deemed to have violated China's sovereignty, either in emergencies or if warnings are not heeded. Beijing's move has raised concerns about the heightened risk of a clash around the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands. The new legislation would give China's coast guard a freer hand in weapons usage than its Japanese counterpart, which faces tight restrictions. The Chinese legislation would let coast guard vessels that are under attack respond with shipborne or airborne weapons. It also allows for other measures, such as detention and towing, to be taken against foreign vessels considered to have illegally entered Chinese waters. The legislation also lists taking necessary steps to protect strategic islands, exclusive economic zones and artificial islands as part of the coast guard's duties. The latter likely refers to Beijing's artificial islands in the South China Sea. Click here to read...

Frustrated Myanmar minorities aim to thwart Suu Kyi in elections

Ethnic minorities are hoping that their parties will make gains in Myanmar's general elections on Nov. 8 so as to break the stalemate in peace talks between groups that has festered over the last five years under Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. Conflict between the military and various ethnic armed groups has been going on for seven decades. Violence has intensified in some regions since the NLD took office in 2016. Suu Kyi has attempted to make peace through four peace conferences, but critics say negotiations have excluded key actors. The rift between the military and Suu Kyi has further hindered dialogue. Almost 100,000 people are living in a total of 136 IDP camps in Kachin state, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Bauk Nu Aung added: "We hope that the result of this election will bring change for the destinies of Kachin people." The NLD is widely expected to win the elections. Click here to read...

Medical

Global COVID-19 cases exceed 50 million after 30-day spike

Global coronavirus infections exceeded 50 million on Nov 08, according to a Reuters tally, with a second wave of the virus in the past 30 days accounting for a quarter of the total. October was the worst month for the pandemic so far, with the United States becoming the first country to report more than 100,000 daily cases. A surge in Europe contributed to the rise. The latest seven-day average shows global daily infections are rising by more than 540,000. More than 1.25 million people have died from the respiratory disease that emerged in China late last year. The pandemic's recent acceleration has been ferocious. It took 32 days for the number of cases to rise from 30 million to 40 million. It took just 21 days to add another 10 million. Europe, with about 12 million cases, is the worst-affected region, overtaking Latin America. Europe accounts for 24 per cent of COVID-19 deaths. The region is logging about 1 million new infections every three days or so, according to a Reuters analysis. That is 51 per cent of the global total. Click here to read...

A quirk in human psychology that helps spread COVID-19

Passing by a coughing stranger on a sidewalk during a global pandemic or having coffee with a work friend — for most people, one of those two scenarios will sound considerably safer than the other. We know the work friend, they know us. They don't appear unwell, and neither do we. Even if it may be risky to sit close together and remove our masks, it doesn't really feel threatening — unlike the coughing stranger. But it's precisely those interactions between people who know each other that may be contributing to a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases. "The real threat we often overlook and don't realize is there," says Tegan Cruwys, a clinical psychologist and researcher at the Australian National University, "is our closest networks — our family, our friends, our valued communities." Feeling the threat of contagion may not be as palpable when we're with the people we know and like. That's not just because we prefer to spend time with them than strangers, but also because we are wired to assume our friends are less threatening. Click here to read...

Red Pill? Behind China's COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy

While Indonesia leaders are trying to procure other vaccines as well, it is clear they will rely mostly on China, which has several advantages in the vaccine race. First, it is a leader in producing the first generation of COVID-19 vaccines, accounting for four of 10 vaccine candidates currently in Phase 3 clinical trials -- the last step in the approval process before public distribution. Sinovac and two other Chinese companies, Sinopharm and CanSino Biologics, are doing Phase 3 trials in at least 15 countries. A second advantage for China is that it has a natural edge in scaling up the manufacturing of the vaccines, according to experts. This is partly because of its huge manufacturing capacity, and partly because Chinese companies are mainly focused on "tried and tested technologies". Three out of four of the lead Chinese candidates in Phase 3 trials are inactivated virus vaccines, which is a vaccine technology that has been used for quite some time. This will make it easier for them to scale up manufacturing vs. other newer technologies which require refrigeration at very low temperatures. China's third advantage is that it has largely contained the virus within its borders, meaning it is not in desperate need of the vaccines for its own population. Click here to read...