Cold Chain Covid Origin Mooted, Kids’ Video Game Times Cut, U.S. Completes Afghan Withdrawal

Here is today’s ranking of the 10 most-read news stories in China, in economics, finance and current affairs, to help give you a sense of what’s trending in the Chinese language sphere.

Chinese social media users have been paying close attention to the country’s new policies on mobile gaming which limit minors to three hours’ online play per week. They are also following the completion of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

1. Covid outbreak may be linked to cold chain logistics: CDC expert

Ma Huilai, an expert at China’s Center for Disease Control, said the Covid-19 outbreak at Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market (external source, in Chinese) in Wuhan in 2019 could be attributable to viruses brought by cold chain logistics.

2. U.S. says drone strike killed Islamic State militants

The U.S. military (external source, in Chinese) killed two key targets in an airstrike Friday against the Afghan branch of the Islamic State group, U.S. Joint Staff officials said Saturday. U.S. President Joe Biden warned that another militant attack was highly likely as troops began leaving Kabul airport.

3. Zhejiang launches food takeout digital monitoring

Zhejiang province’s market supervision bureau director Zhang Genming introduced “Zhejiang takeout online” (external source, in Chinese) on Sunday, an innovative food takeout monitoring system. The closed-loop system keeps tabs on the complete online takeout chain from processing to delivery.

4. China imposes strict limits on kids’ video game time

China has limited to three hours a week the amount of time children can play online video games, a dramatic blow to the world’s largest mobile gaming market as Beijing continues to crack down on large technology companies.

5. U.S. completes withdrawal from Afghanistan

The commander of U.S. Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie (external source, in Chinese), announced Monday the completion of the U.S withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of a nearly 20-year mission as its last military flight left Kabul.

Photo: VCG

6. China bans ‘key classes’ in compulsory education schools

China’s Ministry of Education (external source, in Chinese) announced Monday that compulsory education schools can no longer set up special “key classes” in any name starting from the new semester. It also requires teachers’ workloads to be allocated in a balanced way.

7. It’s illegal to make employees work 12 hours a day, six days a week, top court says

The grueling “996” work schedule is a serious violation of China’s labor law, the country’s top judicial authority and the government agency overseeing labor issues have warned, amid nationwide debate on the pervasive practice.

8. China opposes U.S. deportation of three Chinese students

China has strongly opposed the deportation of three Chinese students (external source, in Chinese) from the U.S. which Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Monday was a discriminatory approach to its international students. The students returned to China on Aug. 15 after interrogation by U.S. officials on arrival at Houston Airport.

9. Chinese foreign minister talks Afghanistan with U.S. counterpart

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed Afghan affairs, including potential actions to be taken by the United Nations Security Council, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone conversation Sunday, the second in two weeks, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

10. Local authorities cancel mandatory Covid vaccinations

Several local authorities cancelled their mandatory vaccine policies (external source, in Chinese) on Monday, including Hubei’s Ezhou and Shiyan cities and Henan’s Zhumadian, after China’s top health authorities emphasized adherence to the basic principle of “informed, consent and voluntariness” for Covid vaccination.

Translated by intern reporter Chen Bingyi.

Caixin has not independently verified the veracity or accuracy of all of the headlines or stories.

The daily ranking of most-read news stories among Chinese people, about China and global affairs, is jointly provided to you by Caixin Insight and HANA Data, an artificial intelligence technology team.

The key indicators calculated on the list are based on mass data sourced from China’s mainstream social media platforms and online news websites. Click here for a detailed introduction of our methodology.