STATE PENSION FUNDS DUMP PRC INVESTMENTS
The administrators of public employee pension funds in five U.S. states – Indiana, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas – are divesting from China due to fears that U.S. assets could be frozen amid a conflict. An Indiana law barring investments in entities "controlled by the PRC or the CCP" prompted its state pension funds to begin divesting. For years, those funds invested in China's growing economy, but now they see risks piling up, from intellectual property rights violations to espionage. Between 2021 and 2023, U.S. state pension funds invested $68 billion in China, and they currently hold between 1%-5% of their funds in PRC investments. In November, the U.S. Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board stopped investing in China, citing the worsening bilateral relationship. (Politico, July 26, 2024)
TIKTOK ILLEGALLY COLLECTS CHILDREN'S DATA – U.S. DEPT OF JUSTICE
The U.S. Justice Department is suing TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires kid-oriented apps and websites to get parental consent before collecting the personal information of children under 13. TikTok allowed millions of children to create accounts without providing their age, which it classified as "age unknown" accounts, then failed to honor requests from parents to delete their children's accounts. "This action is necessary to prevent the defendants, who are repeat offenders and operate on a massive scale, from collecting and using young children's private information without any parental consent or control," said Brian Boynton of the Justice Department's Civil Division. (ABC News, August 2, 2024)
CHINA ISSUES NEW FENTANYL REGULATIONS
China has issued new controls and regulations on the production of three chemicals used to make illicit fentanyl, said the White House, calling the move "a valuable step forward." Last week, a PRC delegation met U.S. officials to continue conversations on increasing controls on fentanyl chemicals and restricting financing for the drug trade in China. This is the third such action since the U.S. and China resumed bilateral counter-narcotics cooperation in November 2023. Fentanyl overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45; over 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2023. (MSN, August 6, 2024)
LESS CHINESE ARE GETTING MARRIED
The number of Chinese couples who got married in the first half of this year fell to 3.43 million, the lowest level since 2013 and a drop of 498,000 from the same period a year ago. Many younger Chinese are remaining single or delaying marriage due to worries about the future and the high costs of childcare. Additional reasons for the decline in marriage include a falling number of young people and millions more marriage age males than females. (Reuters, August 5, 2024)
WITH DEBTS MOUNTING, LOCALITIES CHASE BACK TAXES
Under the guise of "improving debt management," tax authorities are chasing dozens of companies and individuals with an eye toward recouping hundreds of millions in unpaid taxes dating back decades. Local police and tax officials have set up joint operations centers in at least 23 provinces. In June, VV Food & Beverage received an 85 million yuan ($12 million) bill for 30 years of back taxes, and Zangge Mining received a 668 million RMB ($92 million) invoice for two decades of back taxes. Dozens of singers, actors, and internet celebrities have also been fined millions for avoiding taxes. The aim is to address local governments' massive debt pile, which is estimated to be $11 trillion. (Associated Press, August 8, 2024)
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