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Another standing committee meeting; Infected woman drives from Wuhan to Beijing; More evidence of coverups in Wuha…Bill Bishop at Sinocism <[email protected]:19 PM (15 minutes ago)Read in browserI decided to make today’s issue of the newsletter free. If you like what you see please sign up for the Sinocism China Newsletter here. Group and education discounts are available.Another standing committee meeting; Infected woman drives from Wuhan to Beijing; More evidence of coverups in Wuhan; Q1 GDP growth 0?Bill BishopFeb 26The growth of new cases in Hubei and the rest of China continues to slow according to the official data.A loyal reader in China suggests that I add one more item to my unmistakable signs the Party thinks victory really is at hand.Xi visits Wuhan;The announcement of a date for the “Two Meetings”Kids go back to schoolThis reader is correct, as the political risk of sending kids into harm’s way is too high. And until it is safe for kids to go back to school it is hard to see the economy operating at anywhere near normal levels.The Chinese Internet is in a bit of an uproar after a woman was able to travel from Wuhan to Beijing by car last week, after leaving prison. She is now in Beijing and is confirmed to have the virus. The speculation is she must be somehow very connected, but now that the news has exploded online it has become a political problem and an investigation is underway. There is more on this in item #5, as well as reports from Caixin and Caijing that give more evidence of a coverup in Wuhan at the start of the outbreak.I will hold another open thread tomorrow morning, this time for paying subscribers only. I’d love to hear from you.Thanks for reading.The Essential Eight1. Another standing committee meetingI don't remember so many reports about standing committees in such a compressed period of time.Xi Focus: Xi chairs leadership meeting on COVID-19 control, makes donation - XinhuaXi Jinping,...chaired a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).Responding to a call of the CPC Central Committee to all Party members, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng all made donations to support the COVID-19 prevention and control work.Addressing the meeting, Xi said the positive trend in preventing and controlling the epidemic is expanding and economic and social development is rapidly recovering, but the situation in Hubei Province and its capital city of Wuhan remains complex and grim, and the risk of a rebound of the epidemic in other regions can not be overlooked...Prevention and control work in Beijing and other key provincial-level regions should be strengthened to resolutely block any possible source of infection, according to the meeting.The meeting demanded better protection measures for special venues such as the elderly care, childcare and mental health facilities where vulnerable groups of people are housed in enclosed premises.Comment: Interesting to see that PBSC specifically mentioned “elderly care” given the Caixin report about deaths in nursing homes in Hubei.CCTV Evening News on the meeting, no video from inside- 中共中央政治局常务委员会召开会议 分析新冠肺炎疫情形势研究近期防控重点工作 中共中央总书记习近平主持会议 响应党中央对广大党员的号召 习近平李克强栗战书汪洋王沪宁赵乐际韩正同《大国战“疫”》近期出版The CCP’s propaganda department said it will soon publish a book on China’s efforts to combat the coronavirus, and the book “focus on showing General Secretary Xi Jinping, as a major power leader, his care for the people, his sense of mission and responsibility, his strategic vision and great leadership.” It will be published in six different languages.2. The outbreakMainland China reports 406 new cases of coronavirus on February 25, deaths up by 52 - ReutersAll the new deaths were in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak. Hubei also reported 401 new cases on Feb. 25, down from 499 a day earlier.Outside Hubei, the number of new mainland China cases fell to 5, down for the fifth consecutive day and the lowest since Jan. 20, when the NHC began publishing nationwide figures.China Tightens Screening of Travelers, Fearing Reinfection From Abroad - WSJ $$A number of Chinese municipal governments are imposing stricter health screenings on people entering China and, in some cases, even quarantine measures on those arriving from coronavirus-afflicted countries. These controls come after Beijing waged a concerted campaign urging other governments not to impose restrictions on travel to and from China, saying such measures were out of line with World Health Organization guidance.Beijing to quarantine people if they visited countries seriously hit by coronavirus - ReutersChina’s capital will quarantine people for 14 days at home or in groups if they have been to countries seriously hit by the coronavirus, the city’s health commission spokesman Gao Xiaojun told a press briefing on Wednesday.14% of Recovered Covid-19 Patients in Guangdong Tested Positive Again - CaixinThere is no clear conclusion on why it happens and whether such patients could still be infectious, said Song Tie, deputy director of the Guangdong Center of Disease Control And Prevention (Guangdong CDC), at a Tuesday briefing.Teachers advised to wear masks in class after primary schools reopen - XinhuaTeachers are advised to wear medical masks in class after primary and middle schools reopen in China as part of the country's novel coronavirus prevention and control efforts, according to a circular issued by authorities.Jingmen Party chief, mayor sanctioned for reporting incorrect numbers of COVID-19 infection - Global TimesParty chief Zhang Aiguo and city mayor Sun Bing of Jingmen, Hubei Province, have been punished by the provincial Party discipline watchdog on Wednesday, after the city reported minus 107 cases to the daily update feed on confirmed cases of COVID-19 on February 19, showing an obvious numerical error.Beijing offers free medical, psychological, legal consultation amid epidemic - XinhuaThe experts are renowned specialists in related areas or professors at Beijing's top universities, said Qi Jinli, deputy head of the united front work department of Beijing.So far the hotline has received over 5,500 phone calls, Qi said, adding that most calls were from people who need help with psychological issues related to the epidemic, with some suffering from insomnia and stress.3. EconomyFive more Chinese regions lower emergency response level as virus threat recedes - ReutersThe northwestern Chinese regions of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, the southwestern province of Sichuan, the northeastern province of Jilin and the southern island of Hainan have all cut their emergency response levels.Comment: Mother-in-law has been in Hainan, the last few days things have started to loosen upAs China’s Economy Suffers, Xi Faces Pressure to Lift Virus Restrictions - WSJ $$Businesses executives and some local leaders are becoming more vocal about the need to streamline rules to reopen factories and get workers and supplies moving again in many parts of the country where activity remains at a standstill.But many local officials fear doing so could risk a resurgence of infections, prolonging the outbreak and putting their jobs on the line. Many privately complain that President Xi Jinping has put them in an impossible position, demanding they keep growth on track while also ensuring the virus doesn’t spread...“Propaganda can’t move mountains,” wrote Zhang Anyuan, an economist at CFC Financial, a Chinese securities firm, in a Feb. 24 report. Mr. Zhang is among the experts who think first-quarter growth could come in at zero or worse.“Based on the seriousness of the economic losses in the first quarter, adjusting and downplaying growth targets would be understandable and acceptable to the people,” he said.张岸元：疫情冲击下的经济、政策与金融市场Very detailed analysis of the coronavirus’ impact on Chinese economy by former NDRC economist Zhang Anyuan. He believes it will be “extremely difficult” for China to achieve the 5% growth goal for 2020 if there is zero growth in Q1. He also said the capital flight out of China in the past years has been “stunning 触目惊心”. His calculation suggests that since 2015 the capital flight not included in China’s official statistics has totaled nearly one trillion USD.The COVID-19 coronavirus and its economic impact (updated 26th Feb.) - Capital EconomicsThe charts on this page track the spread of the virus in China and its economic impact. Most include daily data, which we are updating every working day. This page also contains links to our latest analysis on the impact of the outbreak in China and around the world.Comment: Useful charts, and in a note this morning the analysts wrote:With normal activity taking longer to recover than seemed likely earlier this month, we now think that China's economy will contract outright in year-on-year terms this quarter, for the first time since at least the 1990. The leadership appears to be readying significant stimulus which should restore employment and output by the third quarter, but the hit to output during the first half of the year will still result in much slower annual growth北京日报：全国中小企业的复工率目前只有30%左右China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a presser yesterday that the small- and mid-sized companies in China so far have resumed only 30% of their business.China ups measures to support catering, accommodation sectors amid epidemic - XinhuaAs the epidemic has had a great impact on the sectors, the value-added tax will be waived from their revenues, Xian Guoyi, an official with the MOC told a press conference Wednesday.In the meantime, enterprises in the hardest-hit Hubei Province will be exempted from pension, unemployment and work-related injury insurance premiums from February to June this year with a 5-percent electricity price cut, while the payment of the housing accumulation fund will be deferred, Xian said.Caixin: Companies Jump on Coronavirus Bandwagon With $8 Billion of Bond SalesChinese companies have wasted no time taking advantage of a “green channel” created to fast-track bond sales by businesses needing money to fund operations related to the Covid-19 epidemic or who are suffering liquidity pressure stemming from the coronavirus outbreak...A closer look at the details in the bond prospectuses suggests many companies are taking advantage of the “green channel” to get quicker access to cash and at a lower cost...Of the total amount raised, only 22.4% on average is being used to directly support prevention and control activities, with the bulk of the money earmarked for paying down existing debt or supplementing working capital, according to Caixin calculations based on data from Wind Information独家|不是谁都能拿专项再贷款！煤炭、城投等48家企业出局Citing sources, Caixin reported that to prevent moral hazard, the central government had named 48 companies, mostly state-owned enterprises in industries with overcapacity, who will be denied access to the preferential loans issued for “anti-virus” purpose. The article mentioned that some of these companies had tried to get these cheap loans by pretending to produce things like disinfectant and masks.China’s Virus-Hit Airlines Are Showing Signs of Recovery - BloombergScheduled airline capacity within China is up more than 25% -- by 1.3 million seats -- week-on-week thanks to a rebound in domestic capacity, according to OAG Aviation Worldwide. Air China Ltd. appears the most optimistic as it has added back 306,000 seats, almost double its capacity from the previous week, analyst John Grant wroteCoronavirus: China’s legal system ‘will be more lenient’ on private sector | South China Morning Post“If the law allows more lenient measures, [we] should try not to use forceful measures that would limit their personal freedom and property rights,” Zhang Shuyuan, vice-president of the Supreme People’s Court, said during a Wednesday press conference in Beijing.Apple iPhone maker Foxconn taps famed scientist as coronavirus advisor - CNBCNow Foxconn has tapped his expertise in respiratory diseases to serve as a consultant for the firm’s prevention and rehabilitation efforts. In a statement on Tuesday, Foxconn said Zhong Nanshan will give advice and guidance to the company.Air Canada cancels China flights until April amid coronavirus outbreak | NewsAfter announcing last month it was temporarily suspending all direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai until February 29 amidst growing concern surrounding coronavirus, Air Canada said on Tuesday it has extended that timeline until April 10 – a move it said is reflective of “reduced market demand.”Big unknowns for millions as they return to work in China’s economic powerhouse | South China Morning PostFeng Huiqiang, a senior official from provincial health commission of Guangdong, said: “We want to tell people from high-risk areas that they should not rush to return to Guangdong. If they must come back, then they should first stay under quarantine for 14 days. All conferences and sporting activities should be cancelled to prevent people from gathering.“Everyone should follow the guidelines – apart from going to work, don’t go out, don’t gather, don’t dine together, don’t eat wild animals. And don’t be over optimistic.”Coronavirus, trade war a ‘double whammy’ for foreign firms in China, EU chamber boss says | South China Morning PostAfter more than 19 months of uncertainty and difficulties caused by the US-China trade war, the signing of an interim deal to end the conflict on January 15 gave many foreign firms reason to be optimistic. But their hopes were short-lived as the virus outbreak delivered a painful “double whammy”, said Paul Sives, chairman of the southwest branch of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China...“Some member companies have already moved certain production lines to factories they have elsewhere in the world, to supply the goods that they cannot supply from China,” Sives said.4. Will the propaganda and censorship work?Coronavirus: China tries to contain outbreak of freedom of speech, closing critics’ WeChat accounts | South China Morning PostQin Qianhong, a law professor from Wuhan University, a top-ranking institution in the city that has been the epicentre of the outbreak, said his WeChat account had been disabled since last Wednesday.He said it could be because he raised concerns in his WeChat posts over the extreme lockdown measures imposed on the Hubei provincial capital, and questioned state media reports that praised the sacrifices of Wuhan residents.The Story of Jiangshanjiao (江山娇) – Elephant Room: Make China Relatable12 hours, that was how long I lived, from the moment I was launched on the Chinese Internet to the moment I vanished, along with my younger brother Hongqiman. Our short lifespan was something no one expected; we were born to be something great, something iconic. We were made to be stars, or more accurately, to be idols. We were going to be huge hits; people, especially China’s young generation of patriotic netizens, were going to love us.We had absolutely all the right elements to be loved, or at least, that was what our creator, the Communist Youth League believed. China’s young generation loved the League, which had been known for its agility in catching up with the latest internet trends. On Weibo, my creator had almost 13 million followers, and even a cute nickname, Tuantuan (团团)...But the public reception of our launch took a completely unexpected direction: the League’s Weibo account was flooded with negative comments. People hated us, or more accurately, they hated the fact that the Youth League tried to idolize its own image by creating us. As it turned out, the strategy of personifying a party organization for political purposes didn’t work as well as my smart creator had planned...You see what I am trying to say here? People have noticed. By February 17th, the day of my debut, the Chinese people, at least those who use social media, had been fed up with many of the government’s conducts. They had noticed the authority’s sneaky little tricks in managing this national crisis; the corruption, the irresponsibilities, the inefficiencies, all laid bare like never before thanks to the internet.Coronavirus Weakens China’s Powerful Propaganda Machine - The New York Times“Even if I say that I don’t trust the government, what could I do?” Ms. Lu said. “It seems there’s nothing I can do.”There’s no scientific way to gauge public sentiment in China. But hers is probably a widely shared attitude, and one that the Chinese government wants to nurture.To get there, Beijing has intensified internet censorship in the past few weeks. Social media accounts have been deleted or suspended. Starting Saturday, online platforms will be subject to new regulations that could ensure even tighter limits.Turning on the Kitsch | China Media ProjectIn yesterday’s People’s Daily we can find a consummate piece of kitsch propaganda given position of prominence right below the masthead. The article, “Heroic City, Heroic People,” is an emotional hymn dedicated to front-line medical workers, officials and ordinary people. But the real objective of the article is to underscore the Chinese Communist Party as the enabler of miraculous human feats.Comment: The mask has been ripped off in previous disasters too. Will the outcome be any different this time when it comes to political activism, or will more people just become more cynical and want to emigrate?5. Wuhan governance failings continuing财新：北京新怡家园确诊案例来自武汉, 系刑满释放22日回京A Beijing coronavirus patient is causing a huge scandal. She arrived in Beijing from Wuhan on Feb 22. Caixin reports she made it out of Wuhan despite the lockdown because she was newly released from prison and her family drove her all the way back to their apartment in Beijing. Rumors are swirling that she must have some powerful connections to make it through all the checkpoints between Wuhan and Beijing, and because she lives in a residential area who apartments cost 120,000 RMB per square meter. There has been a massive social media uproar and now there is an official investigation.胡锡进: 希望武汉官方和监狱管理机构及时对此事做出说明Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin demands an explanation from the Wuhan authorities on why the woman was able to make it out of Wuhan and came all the way to Beijing, so not to undermine the public’s confidence in Wuhan’s ability to control the virus spread.How did COVID-19 patient leave Wuhan for Beijing? - Global TimesA confirmed COVID-19 patient returned from Wuhan on Saturday to Beijing, leading to questions over the management of the Wuhan government again two days after it issued a traffic easing policy but retracted it hours later.Such questions against Wuhan government have lurked on Chinese social media for days, as the central government repeated that channels to and out of Wuhan must be strictly controlled to win the battle against the epidemic.The woman, surnamed Huang, was found on Monday in a residential community in Dongcheng district. She came to Beijing from Wuhan on Saturday and underwent inspection right after her arrival, as she had been suffering intermittent fevers and throat pain since February 18 in Wuhan, said the Beijing Center for Diseases Prevention and Control on Wednesday.澎湃新闻：湖北多地继续严控离鄂通道ThePaper reported that local governments in Hubei have ramped up the measures to make sure no one can leave the province. Those temporary entry-exit permits issued earlier have been rescinded.Officials in China's Wuhan Deny Reports of Elderly Care Home Fever Deaths - RFACutting-edge news website Caixin said in a recent report that 11 elderly people had died at the Wuhan Social Welfare Institute from "fevers and respiratory failure."A statement on the official website of the Wuhan municipal cyberspace administration denied the report.Caixin then doubled down and published the names and dates of all of the deaths after a local official threatened to pursue the organization for rumor-mongering, a crime carrying a maximum jail sentence of seven years in China.独家|新冠病毒基因测序溯源：警报是何时拉响的Caixin reported that as many as nine virus samples had been examined by Chinese labs in late December and early January, and the labs had notified the authorities about the new virus. But somehow the government failed to act soon enough, and the Hubei officials tried to block the release of test results.回望2019年12月底至今年1月初的那几天，原本应是决定无数人命运的关键时刻。但彼时，公众对这种病毒日后会引发的后果还浑然不知。一位基因测序公司人士透露，2020年1月1日，他接到湖北省卫健委一位官员电话，通知他武汉如有新冠肺炎的病例样本送检，不能再检；已有的病例样本必须销毁，不能对外透露样本信息，不能对外发布相关论文和相关数据，“如果你们在日后检测到了，一定要向我们报告”。财经：追问卫健委第二批专家：为何没发现“人传人”？One member of the second expert group sent from Beijing in early January to investigate the coronavirus in Wuhan told Caijing magazine they didn’t find enough evidence of human-to-human transmission because the Wuhan Health Commission was hiding the truth from them. The expert group once told the Chinese public the disease is “preventable and controllable”.《财经》：为什么会出现这种情况？专家：他们根本不合作，这是最主要的问题。比如医务人员感染的事，你哪怕报一个医务人员感染，我们也就意识到它有传染性。《财经》：既然有怀疑，为什么没有直接向当地的政府或者医院发问？专家：当时我们讨论的时候，我们让他如实报。卫健委的领导当场就说了，他说，“你们是不是怀疑我瞒报啊？”他公开反问我们，专家组的都在场。他都这么说了我们还能说什么？《财经》：听到这句话，专家组心里是什么感觉？专家：你不应该找我们，你应该找找那个领导层去了解。现在这个卫健委的人已经被免职了。（注：2月10日，湖北省委常委会决定：免去张晋的湖北省卫生健康委员会党组书记职务；免去刘英姿的湖北省卫生健康委员会主任职务；上述两职务，由新到任的湖北省委常委王贺胜兼任。）6. Medical workers on the frontlineWuhan nurses' plea for international medics to help fight coronavirus | The GuardianYingchun Zeng, of the Guangzhou Medical hospital, and Yan Zhen, of the Sun Yet-sen Memorial hospital, also in Guangzhou, published a letter in the medical journal the Lancet on Monday describing mental and physical exhaustion and severe supply shortages on the frontlines of the outbreak...The virus has claimed more than 2,715 lives and infected at least 80,000 people. On Monday, China’s National Health Commission said more than 3,200 health workers had contracted Covid-19, about 90% of those cases in Hubei province. According to tallies of deaths reported in the Chinese media, at least 22 health workers have died from the virus.The letter - Chinese medical staff request international medical assistance in fighting against COVID-19 - The Lancet Global HealthIn addition to the physical exhaustion, we are also suffering psychologically. While we are professional nurses, we are also human. Like everyone else, we feel helplessness, anxiety, and fear. Experienced nurses occasionally find the time to comfort colleagues and try to relieve our anxiety. But even experienced nurses may also cry, possibly because we do not know how long we need to stay here and we are the highest-risk group for COVID-19 infection. So far 1716 Chinese staff [Note: Over 3000 now] have been infected with COVID-19 and nine of them have unfortunately passed away. Due to an extreme shortage of health-care professionals in Wuhan, 14 000 nurses from across China have voluntarily come to Wuhan to support local medical health-care professionals. But we need much more help. We are asking nurses and medical staff from countries around the world to come to China now, to help us in this battle.广东援助湖北武汉医疗队：请柳叶刀撤销文章 澄清事实并道歉The Guangdong medical team in Wuhan soon issued a statement through Southern Metropolis Daily saying the two authors are not part of their team and the article is a “outright misrepresentation”. But this statement has been deleted.Shaved Heads, Adult Diapers: Life as a Nurse in the Coronavirus Outbreak - The New York TimesThe most difficult moment for Ms. Zhang came when her superiors — almost all men — told her and her female colleagues that they “lacked the spirit of devotion” and discipline after they sought help getting pads and tampons.Coronavirus: China not sharing data on medical personnel cases, WHO says - The Washington Post“We received disaggregated information at intervals, though not details about health care workers,” said Tarik Jasaravic, a spokesperson for the Geneva-based organization.The comment, in a Saturday email to The Post, was one of the first instances that the U.N. health agency has directly addressed shortcomings in China’s reporting or handling of the coronavirus crisis.陈一新抗疫这一招的背后寓意是什么？-中国长安网Chen Yixin convenes meeting of alumnae of Wuhan universities and Hubei business representatives to ask them to make donations to help front line medical workersCCTV Evening News on the meeting, no video from inside the meetingComment: I don't remember so many reports about standing committees in such a compressed period of time .7. New Hong Kong budgetSpotlight: HKSAR government's new budget unveils 15-bln-USD measures to ride out economic difficulties - XinhuaFinancial Secretary Paul Chan said in his speech on the 2020-2021 budget that 2019 was "an unsettling year fraught with obstacles" for Hong Kong, while the spread of COVID-19 in 2020 "has dealt a severe blow to economic activities and sentiment in Hong Kong."Chan said Hong Kong's economy contracted by 1.2 percent in 2019, and he forecast full-year growth of between minus 1.5 percent and 0.5 percent in 2020...Chan also announced a payment of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars to each Hong Kong permanent residents aged 18 or above, with a view to encouraging and boosting local consumption on the one hand, and relieving people's financial burden on the other. This measure is expected to benefit about 7 million people.Hong Kong budget: HK$2.7 billion jobs outlay largely aimed at training programmes, employer subsidies | South China Morning PostHong Kong’s newest budget has set aside HK$2.7 billion (US$347 million) to bolster efforts to create and retain jobs amid the economic downturn, with HK$200 million of the amount aimed at the city’s struggling construction sector...The lion’s share of the employee support portion of the budget – HK$2.5 billion – will go toward bolstering existing vocational, innovative and generic skills-training programs for the unemployed and underemployed.Hong Kong police to ramp up manpower by more than 7 per cent with 2,500 new posts in ‘biggest boost since 1997’ | South China Morning PostHong Kong’s police force will ramp up manpower by more than 7 per cent in its biggest boost in decades, with an extra 2,500 posts to cope with operational needs, according to force insiders citing the latest budget address.The figures also showed that police overtime pay and other allowances in the 2019-20 financial year soared to HK$2.5 billion (US$321 million), 10 times the original estimate of HK$256 million.8. US-ChinaWIPO, world don’t need US bullying and interference - Global TimesNext week, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will hold an election for its next director general. This was supposed to be a serious but standard matter handled in line with existing regulations and procedures of the agency. But the US, as it has done many times before, is seeking to interfere in the election and bend the agency's 191 other members to its political will and put its economic interests over those of others.After China nominated Wang Binying, who has risen through the ranks to be deputy director general in her 28-year career at the agency, to be the next director general, Washington apparently became paranoid and launched an extensive campaign against Wang's nomination. ..That brings us to the ulterior motives behind the US campaign against Wang's nomination: preserving its fading dominance in trade and technology through political gambits. The US has waged trade wars with not just China but also major economies in Europe and beyond. The US has also put up barriers to disrupt global cooperation in technology.Comment: It will be hugely embarrassing for the US if Wang become the director-general.Break with China? Top Trump aide eyes an opening with coronavirus - POLITICOPeter Navarro, the leading China critic in the Trump administration, is seizing the moment.The White House’s director of trade and manufacturing policy and the administration’s other China hawks are pushing to use the coronavirus crisis to press U.S. companies to end their dependence on foreign suppliers...Navarro also has written memos on the coronavirus that he's circulated to other White House officials, according to an administration official and an official from the National Security Council.The renewed focus on America First for medical manufacturing is a sign of what could become a broader push as multinational companies face the prospect of crippled supply chains as the virus shutters factories around the globe.Chinese naval fleet wraps up far sea exercise deep in Pacific Ocean - China MilitaryA far sea joint training fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy returned to base after sailing 14,000 nautical miles and crossing the International Date Line deep into the Pacific Ocean for the first time, a move that challenges US hegemony in the open waters and will become increasingly frequent in the future, experts said on Wednesday.US sanction on Chinese firms rebuked as 'long-arm jurisdiction' - Global TimesThe manager of a high-tech Chinese company sanctioned by the US for "helping" Iran's missile program denied on Wednesday that his company sells products to Iranian entities while Chinese observers believed that the US latest move shows Washington has never restrained from bullying practices as it imposed"long-arm jurisdiction"to sanction Chinese firms and exercised hegemonism as China is fighting arduously against the COVID-19 outbreak.China firmly opposes Pompeo's groundless accusation of COVID-19 control: spokesperson - Xinhua"Since Mr. Pompeo talks about freedom of speech so much, would he care to explain why he cursed at an NPR journalist? Why was the journalist denied press credentials to travel with him? Is that Mr. Pompeo's definition of 'freedom of speech'? I think it's typical discourse monopoly and double standards," said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.China urges U.S. to stop interfering in China's internal affairs under pretext of religion - XinhuaSpokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press conference when responding to a question on the words of Sam Brownback, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, slandering China's measures regarding Muslims.Certain people in the United States have repeatedly made wanton accusations and rumors, attempting to undermine China's ethnic harmony and interfere in China's internal affairs under the pretext of religious freedom, Zhao said. "We firmly oppose that."China says Wall Street Journal ‘admitted its mistake’ over ‘sick man of Asia’ headline | South China Morning PostMinistry spokesman Zhao Lijian questioned the paper’s political motives and said it had yet to hold any individuals responsible for the headline, “China is the Real Sick Man of Asia”, on a February 3 column about the novel coronavirus outbreak...“The Wall Street Journal has already admitted its mistake and engaged in self-reflection, so why did Pompeo ignore international public opinion and continuously cheer for this paper, and criticise the Chinese side?” Zhao said.“This makes one wonder, is The Wall Street Journal an agent for the US state department?”不容种族歧视者胡说（钟声）In Wednesday’s People’s Daily Zhong Sheng weighs in on the WSJ's headline. The propaganda organs are really flogging this hardBusiness, Economy and TradeYicai Global - China-led Consortium to Operate Pakistan's First Metro Line Guangzhou Metro Group said it has formed a consortium with two other companies and the trio will take over the operation and maintenance of the Orange Line Metro service, Pakistan's first-ever mass rapid urban transit, for an eight-year term.Out of Stock: Coronavirus in China Threatens Amazon Sellers - WSJ $ Thousands of Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more Inc. sellers who built their businesses using China’s cheap and efficient manufacturers are on the spot as the coronavirus shuts factories there. Sellers say Amazon’s ranking algorithm demotes products that are out of stock. To avoid that painful fate, many are raising prices to slow sales, and attempting to shift production to other countries.BYD electric bus deal one of the biggest for US · TechNode Shenzhen-based BYD will deliver a total of 130 all-electric buses to Los Angeles as part of the city’s initiative to convert its entire public bus fleet to zero-emission vehicles by the start of the 2028 Summer Olympics, the company said in a statement sent to TechNode on Monday. Two of four BYD buses from an earlier deal had already been delivered.Politics and Law...[Message clipped] View entire message