Why is China lagging behind in COVID-19 vaccinations?
China is millions of doses behind the U.S. in its COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and officials are reportedly pushing back their timeline for the first 50 million shots. Vaccine diplomacy abroad, and vaccine hesitancy at home, are slowing China’s domestic rollout.
There is no urgency in China, where the virus has been eliminated, and the need is urgent overseas, where vaccines are being sent:
“While wealthy countries have been criticized for hoarding vaccines, China has actively committed to supplying vaccines to the developing world.”
How China’s ecommerce helped stamp out the pandemic
SupChina, Feb 16, 2021.
“.. China’s logistical networks — ultra-fast, thoroughly diffused, and widely trusted — helped a nation weather lockdown during COVID-19.”
Fintech, payments, and CBDC in China/ OMFIF, Part 2
Podcast with Douglas Arner, Kerry Holdings professor in law and director of the Asian institute of international law at the University of Hong Kong, and Charles Chang, deputy dean of academics, professor of finance and director of the fintech research centre at Fudan University
In this two-part series the panel discuss the Chinese fintech space, focusing on payments, regulations and the Chinese central bank digital currency project. This second part looks at the effectiveness of China’s digital currency/electronic payment, how it will integrate with a market dominated by the private sector, its possible disintermediation impact on incumbents, as well as how it can become a cross-border central bank digital currency.
Listen to the podcast, or search 'OMFIF' on your smartphone's podcast app
Four Things to Know About Threats to China’s Payment Giants
Caixin global, Four Things to Know About Threats to China’s Payment Giants
By Zhang Yuzhe, Hu Yue and Timmy Shen
Alipay and WeChat Pay are the two fintech companies most likely to feel the heat from new regulations for nonbank financial payment institutions.
Is China experiencing an advance of the state sector?
Andrew Batson’s blog, Feb 16, 2021.
“The share of China’s economic output being produced by SOEs today, under Xi Jinping, is not significantly different than it was under Hu Jintao, or even in the later years of Jiang Zemin.”
The ABCF mission is to build a deeper understanding between the Chinese people and Barbadians and Caribbean people from all walks of life. The association’s focus is on personal experiences, people-to-people contact, cultural exchanges and exchanges of ideas, and the facilitation of travel, business and study. From the outset we aim to learn from and build on the experiences of the Caribbean and China, and to develop mutual understandings and support that will be to the benefit of both sides.
