Apr 13, 2020 09:10 PM

Caixin Business Digest: Some Remdesivir Covid-19 China Trials Halted, Partial U.S. Reopening in Sight

China continues delivering trade deal commitments with the U.S. despite the pandemic, Chinese envoy says. U.S. expects partial reopening as the Covid-19 outbreak is approaching a peak. And some trials in China of the anti-viral drug remdesivir have been halted because of stalled enrollment.

— By Timmy Shen (hongmingshen@caixin.com) and Han Wei (weihan@caixn.com)

** ON THE CORONAVIRUS

U.S. reopening in sight as outbreak stabilizes

The Covid-19 outbreak is near a peak in the U.S. and will start declining soon, said Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Redfield said the country will reopen slowly, without giving a timeline.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said part of the country may be ready in May to ease emergency measures to contain the pandemic. Fauci also warned the disease may rebound in the fall.

Remdesivir trials partly halted in China

Trials of Gilead Sciences Inc.’s experimental drug remdesivir on patients with severe symptoms have stopped in China due to a stall in enrollment, the American drugmaker’s CEO said Friday.

Trade deal implementation goes on, ambassador says

China is still implementing the phase one trade deal with the U.S. despite the Covid-19 outbreak, China’s ambassador to the U.S. said.

“As far as I know, we're still doing our part of the deal,” Ambassador Cui Tiankai said in an April 3 interview on broadcast show Gzero World, according to a transcript published Sunday on the embassy’s website. Cui said China is still buying American agricultural products and removing restrictions on foreign companies in the domestic financial market as part of the agreement.

60 people on Russia-Shanghai flight test positive

A Shanghai health official said that 60 passengers on a Friday flight from Russia to Shanghai have tested positive (link in Chinese) and been admitted to medical facilities. Another 90 people from the same flight are under quarantine.

Imported cases keep streaming into Heilongjiang

China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province on Sunday recorded 49 new imported coronavirus cases (link in Chinese), including 27 which had not shown symptoms, all of whom were Chinese nationals returning from Russia. That brought the total number of imported cases in the province to 247, official data showed.

All China-Russia land border crossings have been temporarily closed amid the surge of imported cases to Heilongjiang. Suifenhe, a remote border town near the Russian port of Vladivostok, has seen a major influx of imported cases and has implemented a Wuhan-like lockdown.

Guangdong in the spotlight

Guangdong province has seen a large number of imported cases, especially in the provincial capital Guangzhou, which has made headlines over allegations of racism against Africans in its response to the virus. As of late Sunday, the province had recorded 183 imported cases — 38 of those foreigners, including 22 from Africa (link in Chinese). Official data show that over 30,000 foreigners live in Guangzhou, including about 4,500 from Africa (link in Chinese).

A foreign ministry spokesperson said that Guangdong authorities attach great importance to African countries’ concerns and are working promptly to improve their working method. “We reject differential treatment, and we have zero tolerance for discrimination,” the spokesperson said.

Other virus news

• On Sunday, the Chinese mainland reported 108 new confirmed cases (link in Chinese) and two new deaths, official data showed.

• As of Monday evening, global infections had surpassed 1.86 million with about 115,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

• The city of Beijing has announced that students preparing for graduation exams in the city’s senior high schools and junior high schools shall return to school on April 27 and May 11, respectively (link in Chinese).

• Japan last week unveiled a 108 trillion yen ($1 trillion) stimulus package, part of which will include subsidies to encourage Japanese companies to shift their overseas production sites back to Japan, although with no specific mention of those in China.

• Google and Apple will join hands to develop a Bluetooth-based coronavirus contact tracing tool.

• In response to online criticism of her plans to publish her Wuhan epidemic diary overseas, Chinese author Fang Fang said that “there’s no tension between me and the country.”

** TOP STORIES OF THE DAY

STAR market companies punished for disclosure flaws

China’s securities regulator barred (link in Chinese) Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology Co. and Zhejiang HangKe Technology Inc. from selling stocks or bonds for a year for inadequate disclosure of links to a defaulted customer. The punishment is the first of its kind for companies trading on the new high-tech board.

China stock short selling hits record high

Chinese short sellers have been increasingly active over the past few months amid grim market conditions, pushing the balance of securities lending on domestic exchanges to a record high.

Hisense to lay off over 10,000 employees

Appliance giant Hisense Group Corp. has announced a plan (link in Chinese) to lay off over 10,000 employees. The state-owned enterprise will likely complete the layoffs by the end of May.

Luckin Coffee among 20 apps censured for data infringement

Luckin Coffee Inc.’s mobile app was among more than 20 apps threatened by China’s cybersecurity watchdog with removal from the country’s app stores after it found they had violated consumer data regulations. The Starbucks challenger has been grappling with a fraud scandal.

Operators of other apps that were censured include New York-listed Yum China Holdings Inc.’s Pizza Hut and Hong Kong-listed Ping An Good Doctor.

China’s central bank increases stake in Indian lender

The People’s Bank of China has raised its stake in Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd., India’s largest mortgage lender, to 1.01% from the previous 0.8%.

Asian stock markets post losses

East Asia’s major stock markets posted losses. Hong Kong didn’t trade on Easter Monday.

** OTHER STORIES MAKING THE HEADLINES

• China’s GDP is expected to have shrunk 7% year-on-year in the first quarter this year, according to the median estimate from a Caixin survey of economists (link in Chinese).

• China’s goods exports and imports are expected to have declined 14.2% and 8.3% year-on-year respectively in March, according to the Caixin survey (link in Chinese).

• Shenzhen-listed Lens Technology Co. Ltd., one of Apple Inc.’s suppliers, plans to raise up to 15 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) through private placements.

• Zhang Zhinan, a vice governor of Fujian province, is being probed for suspicion of severe legal and disciplinary violations (link in Chinese).

• A train departing from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region to Hebei province derailed on Sunday afternoon, resulting in zero injuries. This was the second train derailment in two weeks (link in Chinese).

** AND FINALLY

Wuhan’s streets are starting to return to life. The city of 11 million people was the epicenter of China’s coronavirus pandemic, causing the government to close it off from the rest of the country for more than two months. Although schools and many stores remain closed, residents are now free to walk the streets.

A resident stretches on Sunday near Wuhan’s East Lake. Photo: IC Photo

** THE WEEK AHEAD

April 14: China import and export data for March

April 17: China Q1 GDP

Contact reporter Timmy Shen (hongmingshen@caixin.com) and editors Yang Ge (yangge@caixin.com) and Gavin Cross (gavincross@caixin.com)

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