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 Nobel laureate Yang Chen-ning turning 100 years old. They are also following embattled Luckin’s Tuesday statement that it has offered $187.5 million to settle all claims in a U.S. securities class action lawsuit.
1. Alipay’s Huabei integrated into central bank’s credit reporting system
Alipay’s consumer credit platform Huabei (external source, in Chinese) said Wednesday that it will be integrated into the central bank’s credit reporting system.
2. Luckin offers millions to settle lawsuit
Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee Inc. said Tuesday that it has offered $187.5 million to settle all claims in a U.S. securities class action lawsuit filed last year over its accounting fraud.
3. President Xi Jinping sends birthday wishes to physicist Yang Chen-ning who turns 100
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent birthday greetings (external source) to renowned physicist Yang Chen-ning on his 100th birthday Wednesday, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency. Yang was born in 1922 in the eastern province of Anhui and, together with a colleague, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957.
4. China to commemorate 50th anniversary of restoration of its lawful seat in U.N.
This year 2021 is “a truly remarkable one for the Chinese people,” as it marks the centenary of the Communist Party of China and the 50th anniversary of the restoration of China’s lawful seat (external source) in the United Nations, President Xi Jinping said Tuesday during a virtual address to the U.N. General Assembly, adding that China will solemnly commemorate the latter historic event.
5. U.S. death toll from Covid-19 exceeds that of 1918 flu pandemic
In the U.S., the number of deaths from Covid-19 exceeded the estimated death toll of 675,000 from influenza during the 1918 pandemic, local media reported. The country’s population is more than three times larger now. The coronavirus had killed more than 678,000 Americans (external source) as of Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
6. U.S. ‘patient zero’ of Covid-19 probably appeared between August and October 2019, paper says
Chinese university researchers claimed in a paper posted on ChinaXiv, a pre-publishing platform hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, that the first case of Covid-19 infection (external source) could have emerged between August and October in 2019, which is earlier than the officially announced date of the first confirmed case in the U.S. on Jan. 20, 2020.
7. U.S. to relax travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travelers from 33 countries
The White House said Monday that starting November, it will grant entry to fully vaccinated travelers (external source, in Chinese) from 33 countries including 26 European Schengen Area states and seven additional countries including China, the U.K., Ireland, South Africa, Iran and India.
8. Envoys from China, Russia and Pakistan on joint visit to Afghanistan
Special envoys on Afghan affairs from China, Russia and Pakistan visited Kabul early this week (external source) and held discussions on recent developments in the country with their local counterparts, including acting Prime Minister Mohammad Hasan Akhund, acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, and acting Finance Minister Hidayatullah Badri, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
9. Local Covid-19 outbreak in East China province could be contained in a month, expert says
Zhang Boli, an academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, said in an interview with Chinese media that he believed the Covid-19 outbreak in East China’s Fujian province could be contained in about a month (external source, in Chinese). But he also warned it is still possible that the outbreak could spread to other regions in the short term.
10. Chinese biopharmaceutical firm develops Covid vaccine against multiple variants
Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Clover Biopharma released clinical results of a Covid-19 vaccine candidate called SCB-2019, showing 79% efficacy against delta variant, 92% against gamma variant, and 59% against mu variant, according to People’s Daily (external source, in Chinese).
Translated by reporters Wang Xintong and Lu Zhenhua
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.
