Good Morning. Welcome to The Wire’s daily news roundup. Each day, our staff gathers the top China business, finance, and economics headlines from a selection of the world’s leading news organizations.
Want this emailed directly to your inbox? Send us an email at contact@thewirechina.com to sign up.
The Wall Street Journal
- Disney’s ‘Mulan,’ Tailored for Chinese Audience, Struggles to Connect — Disney’s live-action remake of “Mulan” is making its theatrical debut in China. WSJ’s Jonathan Cheng explains why a film tailored to please viewers in the world’s second-largest movie market could have a hard time at the box office there. Photo: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
- The Hollowing Out of Hong Kong — Beijing’s tightened grip on the finance hub will make it harder for Hong Kong to diversify its economic base and keep pace with regional rivals in Singapore and Shenzhen
- Rubio Seeks Security Review of Chinese Bid for GNC — Sen. Marco Rubio urged a national-security panel, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., to review a Chinese company’s bid for struggling vitamin-and-supplement chain GNC.
- What’s Biden’s New China Policy? It Looks a Lot Like Trump’s — In the past four years, President Trump broke with decades of close ties between the U.S. and China. If he’s elected president in November, aides to Joe Biden say the Democratic nominee is set to continue a hard-line approach.
The Financial Times
- Is China the closest thing to investing normality now? — Inexpensive equities, 3 per cent bond yields — no wonder foreign investment is pouring in.
- China and India agree to ‘disengage troops’ in Himalayas — Foreign ministers agree that troops must avoid any action that heightens tensions.
- China’s Meituan and Ele.me tackle backlash against demands on couriers — Food delivery groups’ move to give drivers more time per order in response to exposé could have a business impact.
The New York Times
- From Asia to Africa, China Promotes Its Vaccines to Win Friends — With pledges of a coronavirus vaccine, China is on a charm offensive to repair strained diplomatic ties and bolster engagement with other countries.
- Russian Intelligence Hackers Are Back, Microsoft Warns, Aiming at Officials of Both Parties — China is also growing more adept at targeting campaign workers. But contrary to Trump administration warnings, Beijing is mostly aiming at Biden campaign officials.
Caixin
- Tokyo-Based SBI Group May Leave Hong Kong Due to Business Environment — More than 80% of Japanese firms operating in the city are concerned about the effects of new security law.
- Carlyle, Warburg Pincus Among Top 20 Private Equity Firms in China, Ranking Shows — Annual awards organized by the Global PE Forum and Caixin Insight Group highlight the best companies working in the world’s second-largest private equity market.
- U.S.-Listed Chinese Firms Could ‘Better Manage Risks’ Back in Hong Kong, UBS Executive Says — The U.S. will remain an attractive listing location, Eugene Qian said, even as tensions between the two countries continue to simmer.
- Chinese Hotelier Huazhu Seeks to Raise $946 Million in Hong Kong — Secondary listing would help ease debt pressures following Steigenberger Hotels purchase and damage to operations from Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns.
- Two Anti-Graft Probes Started at Separate PetroChina Firms — Retired Communist Party official from Shanxi gas subsidiary and chief engineer in Shaanxi under scrutiny.
- Chinese e-learning Firm iHuman seeks up to $100m in US IPO — iHuman, one of China’s childhood edutainment companies, has listed the size of its US initial public offering (IPO) at $100 million, a placeholder amount likely to change, according to a filing.
- As U.S. Sanctions Deepen, China Announces State-Run Cloud Service Made with Local Tech — Following the fate of blacklisted Chinese tech firms Huawei and HikVision, Beijing has begun to worry that U.S. sanctions could bleed into other industries like cloud services.
- Possible $292 Million Lifeline For Troubled Electric Vehicle Startup Byton, but is it Enough? — Troubled Chinese electric vehicle startup Byton Ltd could be bailed out to the tune of 2 billion yuan ($292 million) by shareholders including the Nanjing city government, according to sources familiar with the matter.
South China Morning Post
- Hong Kong, China markets rise as jump in August money supply underscores growth, giving confidence to bargain hunters — The stock markets of Hong Kong and China ended Friday higher, as traders shrugged aside the overnight rout on Wall Street to hunt for bargains among stocks that have lagged the technology boom of recent months, while China’s growth in money supply underscored the country’s economic recovery.
- China’s private sector feels the hardest pinch in balancing profits with job safety, as Covid-19 takes its economic toll, survey finds — China’s private sector, the provider of more than 80 per cent of the nation’s urban jobs, has been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, as companies struggle with balancing their profitability with a social obligation to maintain jobs, according to a survey by the biggest industry guild.
- Several Cathay Pacific businesses to forgo Covid-19 wage relief from Hong Kong government, paving way for lay-offs: source — The Cathay Pacific Group will apply for a limited amount of help from the Hong Kong government’s wage subsidy scheme, the Post has learned, in a closely watched move indicating how soon it can lay off staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
- China’s belt and road builds network its military could use: US report — China could potentially “weaponise” some of the projects in its transcontinental infrastructure strategy the Belt and Road Initiative because of their dual capability for commercial and military use, a US think tank’s report has said.
- Baidu opens its robotaxis to the public in Beijing, making it the third city in China with service — Chinese internet giant Baidu launched a public robotaxi service in Beijing on Thursday as the country accelerates the commercial application of self-driving technologies across the country.
- Chinese ghost town rumbling back to life as free-trade zone, but is the second time a charm? — Along the coast and a stone’s throw from the headquarters of Caofeidian’s Economic and Technological Development Zone, in Hebei’s Tangshan city, small groups of people hurriedly collect cockles before the tide returns.
- China to pump hundreds of billions of yuan into key industry projects, with ‘no need to cover up its ambitions’ — China’s industry ministry has joined hands with China Development Bank – Beijing’s financing arm that bankrolls state-backed projects – to pump hundreds of billions of yuan into designated manufacturing and technology projects as the government further directs resources into areas it deems critical to the nation’s economic well-being.
- Hong Kong still world’s freest economy, but don’t expect that to last, says think tank, as it ranks integrity of city’s legal system at lowest level in 20 years — Hong Kong has retained its position as the world’s freest economy, but the think tank responsible for the listings said that was likely to change in the future, with the integrity of the city’s legal system in doubt.
- China’s inbound foreign investment surges 18.7 per cent in August, as bank loans grow more than expected — Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China jumped 18.7 per cent in August from a year earlier, to 84.1 billion yuan (US$12.3 billion), the commerce ministry said on Friday.
- German pork farmers fear China import ban amid swine fever outbreak — The head of Germany’s farming association DBV on Friday called on China to impose only limited import restrictions and not a national import ban on German pork after a case of African swine fever (ASF) was found in a wild boar in the country.
- Why this flexible work platform is seeing a boom in sourcing riders for delivery giants like Meituan and Ele.me — As a courier in Beijing delivering fresh produce, 40-year-old Yan Zhaojun works around 14 hours per day, delivering 40 to 60 orders on average.
- China’s TikTok, Douyin, says it created 36 million jobs in the last year, with lots of live-streamers — Short-video platform Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, says it created 36 million jobs domestically over the year-long period from last August in the video and live-streaming sector – one of the few areas where employment is flourishing in the nation’s challenging post-coronavirus labour market.
Bloomberg
- Trump-Brokered Deal Seeks to Wean Serbia off Its China Addiction — A U.S.-brokered agreement with Serbia and Kosovo ran into difficulty a week after it was signed, as Serb President Aleksandar Vucic raised questions over its implementation.
- China Set to Face European Demands for Tougher Climate Goals — The European Union will press China to toughen its climate goals in three areas when both sides hold a high-level meeting on Monday, according to officials in Brussels.
- China Takes Unspecified Retaliatory Measures on U.S. Diplomats — Beijing said it will take retaliatory measures against U.S. diplomats in China, including those in Hong Kong, following earlier moves by the Trump administration to limit the ways Chinese diplomats can operate on U.S. soil.
- China Missiles Present Security Dilemma for Japan’s Next Premier — For eight years, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been looking for ways around Japan’s pacifist constitution to bolster the country’s military. And in his last full week on the job, he laid the groundwork for a plan to allow preemptive strikes on enemy bases.
- TikTok Owner to Spend Billions in Singapore After U.S. Ban — ByteDance Ltd., the Chinese owner of video-sharing app TikTok, is planning to make Singapore its beachhead for the rest of Asia as part of its global expansion, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Tesla to Start Shipping China-Built Cars to Europe, Asia — Tesla Inc. plans to ship cars made at its Shanghai Gigafactory to other markets in Asia and Europe, according to people familiar with the matter, as the company looks to realize its plan to reduce shipping costs and manufacture vehicles closer to customers.
- Hong Kong’s Sun Hung Kai Sees More Headwinds Amid Pandemic — Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., Hong Kong’s biggest developer, reported earnings that missed analysts’ estimates and said it sees more economic headwinds from the pandemic and rising U.S.-China tensions.
- Tiny Hong Kong IPO Soars in Best Debut of 2020: ECM Watch — An engineering services company that raised just $16 million in its Hong Kong initial public offering soared 186% on the first day of trading, making it the best debut in the city this year.
- China Data Shows $73 Billion Gap on Cross-Border Yuan Use — How much yuan flowed into or out of China last year? Depending on which official data you look at, the answer differs by $73 billion.
- China’s 20,000 New Pig Farms Won’t Cool Pork Prices Just Yet — China’s massive hog farms are expanding rapidly on the back of government incentives and record pork prices, but it could be months before production increases enough to cool the market and curb imports.
- Sanctions Risk Prompts Fund to Cut China State Firms’ Debt — A fund manager at a $51 billion asset management firm has been cutting exposure to debts of Chinese state-linked borrowers, citing heightened risk of U.S. sanctions ahead of the elections.
- Why Australian Companies in China Aren’t Running for the Door — Welcome to our weekly newsletter — a fresh, global perspective on the stories that matter for Australian business and politics. This week: Why Australian companies in China aren’t running for the door, the outlook for corporate earnings and how the pandemic is complicating efforts to combat modern slavery.
- Is a Clean Break From China Too Painful for Trump or Biden? — Sometimes the future is crystal clear. For example, after the U.S. presidential election, it will almost certainly be more expensive for American companies to depend on supply chains in China.
- Trump Team Eyes Giving TikTok Owner More Time to Plan Sale — The Trump administration is considering whether to give more time to TikTok’s Chinese owners to arrange a sale of the popular video-sharing app’s U.S. operations to an American buyer, according to people familiar with the matter.
Reuters
- As U.S. cracks down on more Chinese firms, global banks scramble to manage risk — The sharp expansion of U.S. actions to hobble Chinese firms in recent weeks has sparked a rush by global lenders to pare back exposure to the companies and to identify others that may become caught in Washington’s crosshairs, banking sources said.
- Chinese President Xi calls for faster technology innovation – state media — President Xi Jinping on Friday urged China to speed up technological innovation and step up financial support for basic scientific research, according to state television.
- Prada says China sales to date well above 2019 levels — Italian luxury goods group Prada’s sales in China have recovered strongly since shops reopened there and to date have risen well above last year’s levels, Chief Executive Patrizio Bertelli told Reuters on Friday.
- China’s expanded export controls pose fresh challenge to global tech industry — The latest additions to China’s list of controlled technology exports could upset a broad range of industries and raise the possibility that some global tech giants might have to split off their Chinese operations, legal experts said.
- Chinese media, regulators try to chill startup euphoria ahead of Ant IPO — Chinese state media are stepping up warnings about a manic run-up in newly listed shares, seizing on a loss-making cattle breeder whose shares have surged 500% in less than two weeks.
- Tesla plans to export China-made Model 3s to Asia and Europe, say sources — Tesla is planning to export Model 3 vehicles made in China to Asian and European markets, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
- Australia says security agencies acted on evidence in Chinese journalist raid — Australia’s security agencies acted on evidence related to a foreign interference investigation when a raid was conducted on Chinese journalists in Australia in June, the country’s trade minister said on Friday.
Xinhua
- Economic Watch: Foreign firms expand footprints in China amid swift recovery, further opening up — While global investments succumbed to the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout, international companies are upping their ante in China due to the country’s head start in business recovery and unwavering commitment to opening up.
- China’s FDI inflow surges 18.7 pct in August — Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, grew 18.7 percent year on year to 84.13 billion yuan (about 12.3 billion U.S. dollars) in August, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Friday.
- Trade between Hungary, China remains strong despite COVID-19: HEPA — The trade between Hungary and China remained strong despite an overall setback of Hungary’s foreign trade due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Hungarian Export Promotion Agency (HEPA) told Xinhua on Friday.
- Huawei to launch HarmonyOS for smartphones next year — Chinese tech giant Huawei on Thursday announced the launch of HarmonyOS 2.0, the updated version of its own open-source operating system.
- Baidu rolls out self-driving taxi service in Beijing — Chinese Internet giant Baidu recently rolled out its self-driving taxi service “Apollo Go” in Beijing, with 40 autonomous cabs put into trial operation initially.
- Chinese businesses in EU call for unbiased treatment, cooperation — Chinese companies operating in the European Union (EU) have expressed their concerns and called for a better business environment via a report published by their chamber on Thursday.
- China’s FDI inflow up 18.7 pct in August — Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 18.7 percent year on year to 84.13 billion yuan (about 12.3 billion U.S. dollars) in August, the Ministry of Commerce said Friday.
- China’s new yuan loans rise in August — China’s new yuan-denominated loans hit 1.28 trillion yuan (about 187.13 billion U.S. dollars) in August, a year-on-year increase of 69.4 billion yuan, the central bank data showed Friday.
- China’s agricultural product wholesale prices edge down Friday — The wholesale prices of China’s agricultural products edged down Friday, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Other Publications
- The Economist: China’s Communist Party is splurging on new local drop-in centres — In Shenzhen’s glistening tech district, opposite the headquarters of Tencent, a giant digital conglomerate, the Communist Party vies for attention.
- The Economist: What can be learnt from Chinese futures trading? — Retail traders do play a much bigger role on the country’s commodity exchanges—in Shanghai, Dalian and Zhengzhou—than in Chicago or London, which have long been the world leaders in, respectively, agriculture and metals. Officials estimated that in 2016 about 85% of open positions on Chinese exchanges were held by individuals, compared with less than 15% in America, where institutions dominate trading. Nevertheless, the very immaturity of the Chinese market also reveals some enduring truths about futures that are obscured by the smoother functioning of century-old exchanges.
- The Diplomat: US-China Techno-Nationalism and the Decoupling of Innovation — As the U.S.-China rivalry spreads into the technology sector, it threatens to change the way centers of innovation can operate.
- CFR: How China Ramped Up Disinformation Efforts During the Pandemic — Although China once shied away from the aggressive, conspiratorial type of disinformation favored by Russia, it has increasingly turned to this approach during the coronavirus pandemic. Beijing is both manipulating factual information and spreading disinformation—or willfully false information—to distract from the origins of the virus, highlight the failures of the United States, and promote China as a global leader.
- The Guardian: Pollutionwatch: air pollution in China falling, study shows — A new study shows that annual deaths from air pollution in China peaked in 2013 and are now below 1990 levels. Concerted action reduced particle pollution in 74 key Chinese cities by an average of 33% between 2013 and 2017.
