A year ago next Wednesday, the Chinese authorities finally admitted that the Covid-19 virus found in Wuhan was capable of human-to human transmission. They knew earlier, probably before the end of the previous year. By withholding this knowledge from the world, they gave the disease a head start. Globally, well […]
Inside China’s Online Fentanyl Chemical Networks Helping Fuel The Opioid Crisis : NPR
He is a slight, bespectacled man. Colleagues at the industrial materials company where he works describe him as a humorous but diligent employee, known for driving his white Jeep around town in northwestern China’s Ningxia region to meet potential clients. Unbeknownst to them, he goes by Benjamin Chen online, where […]
China’s piggy bank, the National Social Security Fund, set to be among Ant Group’s top IPO investors
Ant Group is making room for China’s state pension fund, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), to buy shares during the financial technology giant’s blockbuster initial public offering (IPO) in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. The group is favouring long-term investors who backed the country’s […]
Taoist priest honours China’s coronavirus dead with memorial tablets
By Martin Quin Pollard LAIWU, China (Reuters) – In a room inside a hillside Taoist monastery in China’s Shandong province lies a collection of 558 memorial tablets inscribed with the names and home towns of people who died after contracting the coronavirus or while battling the pandemic. Some of them, […]
What will China’s central bank digital currency mean for Alipay and WeChat Pay?
China’s e-payments ecosystem is set to step up a level of sophistication as the coronavirus pandemic and deteriorating US-China relations hasten Beijing’s plans for a digital fiat currency; potentially complicating a landscape dominated by Alipay and WeChat Pay. The central bank’s e-yuan, called Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DC/EP), would let […]
China’s sovereign digital currency plans must be globally compatible to internationalise the yuan, analysts say
China is set to expand the testing of its new sovereign digital currency later this year or in early 2021, but analysts say the design of its technological platform needs to be made compatible with those of other countries if the digital yuan is to play a role in international […]