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.
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The Wall Street Journal
- U.S. Adds Senior Chinese Lawmakers to Hong Kong Sanctions Blacklist — Trump administration targets most of the leadership of China’s legislature.
- Mexican Cartels Are Now Cooking Chinese Chemicals in Dutch Meth Labs — Narco gangs piggyback legal business networks to tap rich markets world-wide.
- Goldman Sachs to Acquire 100% of China Securities Joint Venture — Firm is first global bank to seek full ownership of its securities business in the country.
- Chinese Household Debt Surges Through the Pandemic — The continued rise of real-estate investment left China with the largest increase in global household debt in the first half of the year, which will drag on its economic potential in years to come.
- China Car Sales Rise Again, Cementing Pandemic Recovery — To boost sales, government has been easing purchasing quotas and giving subsidies to car buyers.
- China’s Riskier Companies Pay Up to Raise Bond Financing — Firms rated below triple-A paid their highest average yield since early 2019.
The Financial Times
- China’s export growth is striking — but is this as good as it gets? — Pandemic has spurred demand from the west but unclear if that will continue with vaccine rollout.
- Telemedicine/JD Health: what the doctor ordered — China is the perfect test bed for digital medicine.
- JD Health shares jump 75% on Hong Kong debut after $3.5bn IPO — Chinese online healthcare platform benefits from pandemic-led boom in demand.
- Reprieve for lithium producer shines light on Beijing’s priorities — Tianqi Lithium carves out role as national champion operating in a strategic industrial sector.
- The provocateur driving China’s ‘wolf warrior’ pack — Zhao Lijian is at the forefront of Beijing’s combative campaign against criticism.
The New York Times
- U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Chinese Officials Over Hong Kong Crackdown — China summoned an American diplomat to protest the travel bans and financial sanctions against 14 senior officials. In Hong Kong, the police stepped up arrests of pro-democracy politicians and activists.
- A Costly Quip Angers Chinese Moviegoers, and a Film Is Yanked — “Monster Hunter” disappeared from theaters in China after online critics labeled a snippet of dialogue — a pun about knees — racist and called for a boycott.
Caixin
- Thailand’s Wealthiest Family to Make Play for Chinese Pork With Shanghai IPO — Thai conglomerate plans to take swine-focused China subsidiary public.
- Exclusive: Two Executives of ICBC’s WMP Unit Arrested in Beijing — Wealth managers Li Chao and Yi Chongbin taken away from work Friday in handcuffs for unknown reasons, and bank isn’t commenting.
- JD Health Gets Vigorous Reception in Hong Kong Debut — Online services provider’s shares jump 56% on first trading day, as investors bet on its strong potential as leader in a high-growth market.
- Sinovac Returns to Health as All Eyes Focus on Covid-19 Vaccine — Vaccine maker Sinovac found strong medicine in the third quarter, as healthcare consumption trends in its home China market resumed to normal patterns with the successful taming of the country’s Covid-19 outbreak. And even stronger financial results could be just around the corner, as the company works to prove the effectiveness of its Covid-19 vaccine now in development.
- Chinese Financial Information Service Provider Snowball Nets $120 Million from Orchid Asia — Beijing Snowball Finance Information Technology Co., Ltd, a Chinese internet financial information provider that focuses on cross-border investments, has completed its Series E round funding raising $120 million exclusively from Orchid Asia.
- EV Maker XPeng to Charge Up Cash Pile with $2.2 Billion Fundraising — New York-listed Xpeng said on Monday that it plans to sell up to 46 million new American depositary shares (ADSs), as the money-losing electric vehicle (EV) startup ramps up funding to pay for expensive technological developments.
South China Morning Post
- China dodges speeding space junk bullet after Chang’e 5 moon mission — China’s space administration has gone to great lengths to prevent its Chang’e 5 mission from contributing to the growing piles of orbital junk.
- Geopolitical tensions fuel concerns for British companies in China, survey finds — British companies in China are increasingly worried that tensions between London and Beijing could dampen their business prospects in the country, according to a new survey.
- Lethal illegal building works in China can’t be torn down fast enough — With China’s property market booming and its cities growing rapidly, it’s common for building owners to add illegal structures to their properties in pursuit of profit. Sometimes this causes deadly accidents.
- Biden may struggle to ‘restore’ US foreign policy to deal with China challenge, experts say — US president-elect Joe Biden will continue Donald Trump’s legacy of a foreign policy that is more wary of Beijing, but will struggle to repair relations with allies to meet the China challenge, American experts said.
- Covid-19 vaccines are on the way. But making them compulsory will only backfire — The United Kingdom began its Covid-19 vaccination programme on Tuesday, the first Western country to do so, but with many parts of the world, including Hong Kong, likely to follow, a debate has started about whether to make the jabs mandatory.
- US diplomat summoned by Beijing for formal protest against sanctions on top Chinese lawmakers — China summoned a US diplomat in Beijing to protest against the latest US sanctions on top officials at the Chinese legislature on Tuesday – after describing Washington’s move as “hysterical political bullying” and warning of consequences.
- China’s forex reserves growth in November exceeds expectations as US dollar weakens — China’s foreign exchange reserves, the world’s largest war chest, rose more than expected in November, likely boosted by a weaker US dollar and gains from investments in global equities.
- China trade: everything you need to know — China’s export-driven economy was the workshop of the world for decades. In 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), the country accounted for 4 per cent of the world’s exports, and by 2017, that had risen to 13 per cent.
- China going after Big Tech’s monopoly in financial data to curb abuses and protect privacy, says regulator — China will look to crack Big Tech’s monopoly in financial data so that it can curb abuses of power and protect consumers’ privacy, according to the country’s banking and insurance watchdog.
- China-Australia relations: Beijing bans beef exporter with ‘mislabelling’ track record — A sixth Australian meat processor banned by China from exporting to the country had a history of compliance issues, including mislabelling and shipment errors, Chinese customs data shows, as Australian farmers brace for a further hit to business amid ongoing diplomatic tensions.
- China-Australia relations: Canberra’s path through the WTO looks to be riddled with hurdles and pitfalls — Australia will be heading down a difficult road if it follows through with intentions to challenge China’s anti-dumping duties on barley exports at the World Trade Organization (WTO), as the global trade body’s appeal court sits empty, and with the potential rewards being minimal, according to international trade lawyers.
- Hong Kong to tighten coronavirus measures on Thursday, with ban on dine-in service at restaurants from 6pm, gyms to close — Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced a raft of tougher measures to contain the coronavirus on Tuesday, with a ban on eating inside restaurants after 6pm and the closure of gyms and beauty and massage parlours from Thursday.
- Hong Kong lags behind Singapore in biotech race, but Greater Bay Area could prove its trump card — More than three decades after Hong Kong and Singapore separately embarked on growing biotechnology sectors at almost the same time, their outcomes have proven dramatically different.
- Chinese regulators remove TripAdvisor, 104 other apps from online stores for ‘illegal’ content — China’s internet watchdog has ordered domestic app stores to remove TripAdvisor and 104 other apps, as part of an ongoing series of crackdowns by Beijing to clean up the country’s cyberspace.
Bloomberg
- New Australia Law Can Scrap China Belt and Road Accords — Prime Minister Scott Morrison has new powers to veto or scrap agreements that state governments reach with foreign powers under laws that could stymie China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Australia and further inflame tensions between the trading partners.
- Alibaba’s Shopping Culture Fails to Lure Europe’s Binge Buyers — Live streaming by Chinese influencers like Wei Ya and “lipstick king” Li Jiaqi, peddling everything from skincare products to toilet paper, lured millions to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s biggest binge-shopping day last month, posting a record $75 billion in sales. In Europe, the event barely made a ripple.
- Sinovac Says It’s Yet to Get Efficacy Data on Covid Vaccine — Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s coronavirus shot created antibodies among 97% of those administered with it in a final stage trial in Indonesia but its efficacy has yet to be determined, a company spokesperson said Tuesday.
- Robinhood Is Losing Thousands of Day Traders to China-Owned Webull — Webull offers free trades and has picked up users after outages at Robinhood this year.
- Electric Cars Lead as China Auto Sales Rise for Fifth Month — Auto sales rose for a fifth straight month in China, fueling optimism that a two-year slump in the world’s largest market is over as the coronavirus pandemic eases and demand for electric cars from the likes of Tesla Inc. grows.
- China Doesn’t Need That Much Pork After Record Imports This Year — Pork imports by the world’s top consumer may fall as much as 30% next year as the recovery of China’s hog herd from African swine fever exceeds expectations, Pan Chenjun, a senior livestock analyst with Rabobank, said on Tuesday.
- China E-Cig Firm Relx Technology Said to Pick Citi For IPO — Chinese e-cigarette maker Relx Technology has picked Citigroup Inc. for its planned initial public offering in the U.S., people with knowledge of the matter said.
- China-U.S. Farm Ties Are Stronger Than Ever Despite Trade War — Through the trade war and open hostilities at the highest political levels, pig farmers in China and crop farmers in the U.S. have become increasingly interdependent. Already America’s biggest customer of soybeans and sorghum, for this season China bought an unprecedented 11.2 million metric tons of corn, up nearly 1,300% compared with pre-trade-war purchases.
- HSBC Again Snagged in Hong Kong Turmoil as Lam Defends Banks — Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam came out in defense of the city’s financial system after HSBC Holdings Plc was criticized for freezing the accounts of a former pro-democracy lawmaker and a local church that’s helped protesters.
- Asia’s Historic Trade Pact to Open Oil-Supply Route to China — South Korea and Japan look set to be the biggest winners in the Asian oil and chemicals marketplace as the world’s largest regional free-trade agreement paves the way for a gradual reduction in tariffs.
- China Is Close to First Consumer Price Deflation Since 2009 — China could post its first year-on-year decline in consumer prices in over a decade, but that trend is likely to be short-lived and have limited impact on monetary policy.
- China’s Financial Markets Start to Price In Deleveraging — China is bucking the global trend of greater economic stimulus amid the coronavirus, preferring instead to refocus on controlling its record debt burden.
- Soy-Hungry China Gets Early Start Buying America’s 2021 Crop — China is so hungry for soybeans that it has started buying U.S. supplies from next year’s crop much earlier than usual.
- U.S. and China Need to Prevent Emerging-Market Debt Crisis — A pandemic-induced crisis threatens to hurl millions into poverty unless Washington and Beijing can work together.
- Home of Nokia Passes 5G Security Law Banning Suspect Gear — The home of 5G network-maker Nokia Oyj is introducing a telecommunications law which may be used to exclude China’s Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. from its networks.
Reuters
- China condemns U.S. sanctions on Chinese officials over Hong Kong crackdown — China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office condemned U.S. sanctions on Chinese officials over their role in a national security law for Hong Kong as “purely double standards”, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.
- Chip supply crunch likely to hit China’s auto output in first quarter 2021: industry body — A shortage of certain auto chips may start to have a big impact on car production at some Chinese companies in the first quarter next year, a senior industry executive said on Tuesday, which may cast a shadow over the global auto sector’s recovery.
- China’s Wang vows to uphold trade deal during Biden administration: U.S. business group — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi assured U.S. executives during a videoconference on Sunday that Beijing remained committed to the Phase 1 trade deal with the United States, the head of the US-China Business Council said.
- China beef imports to slow in 2021 on lower Australian supply: Rabobank — Growth of beef imports by China will slow to less than 20% next year, a leading industry analyst said on Tuesday, amid lower supplies from key exporter Australia and as the country boosts domestic pork production.
- China CO2 trading unlikely to be ‘fully functional’ by 2021: poll — China’s nationwide emissions trading scheme (ETS) is unlikely to be “fully functional” by 2021, according to a poll published on Tuesday, reflecting the challenges Beijing has faced since launch plans were announced in 2015.
- Abu Dhabi’s ADIA sees China, India as key growth drivers — Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the United Arab Emirates’ biggest sovereign wealth fund, said in its 2019 annual review it saw China and India as key drivers of global economic growth, and climate change and data centres as investment opportunities.
- China to adopt ‘positive and prudent’ approach towards fintech sector, regulator says — China will adopt a “positive and prudent” approach towards the rapid growth of its financial technology industry and will watch over “too big to fail” cases in the sector, the head of its banking and insurance regulator said on Tuesday.
- Timeline: U.S. arms sales to Taiwan in 2020 total $5 billion amid China tensions — The United States government has so far announced $5.1 billion in arms sales to democratically-ruled Taiwan in 2020, to the anger of China which claims the island as its own territory.
- Russia approves clinical trials for Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Ad5-Ncov: Ifax — Russia has granted approval for clinical trials to be held for the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Ad5-Ncov involving 8,000 volunteers, the Interfax news agency reported on Monday.
Xinhua
- Interview: Daimler to accelerate electric car business in China: CEO — Ola Kaellenius, chief executive officer (CEO) of Daimler, told Xinhua the German automaker is eyeing new opportunities in China’s rapidly growing market for electric cars thanks to the Asian country’s economic recovery and the brisk demand for new energy vehicles in the world’s largest auto market.
- China to embrace new fintech challenges with innovation, prudence: official — Faced with rapidly evolving financial technology (fintech), China will continue to maintain an innovative and prudent approach in embracing new challenges, a Chinese official said Tuesday.
- China’s central bank injects liquidity into market — China’s central bank injected liquidity into the banking system through open market operations on Tuesday.
- Chinese yuan strengthens to 6.532 against USD Tuesday — The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 42 pips to 6.532 against the U.S. dollar Tuesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
- Hubei sees robust agricultural export growth in first 10 months — Central China’s Hubei Province, once hard hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, saw 29.4 percent year-on-year growth in agricultural product exports in the first 10 months of 2020.
- Xi’an sees China-Europe freight trains nearly double in Jan.-Nov. — China-Europe freight trains to and from Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, made more than 3,400 journeys in the first 11 months of this year, almost double the figure from the same period last year, local authorities said on Tuesday.
- Brazilian beef exports set record in November — Brazilian beef exports rose 10 percent in November compared with October, mainly driven by purchases from China, setting a record for the year, the Brazilian Meat Packers Association (Abrafrigo) said Monday.
- China’s local-gov’t bond issuance hits 138.4 bln yuan in November — China’s local-government bond issuance reached 138.4 billion yuan (about 21.19 billion U.S. dollars) in November, data from the Ministry of Finance showed Tuesday.
- Chinese shares lower at midday Tuesday — China’s major stock indices ended lower in the morning session Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.25 percent at 3,407.99 points.
Other Publications
- Axios: Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians — A suspected Chinese intelligence operative developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including a U.S. congressman, in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by China’s main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios found in a yearlong investigation.
- Foreign Policy: China Is Both Weak and Dangerous — “The China Nightmare” lays out the risks of a surprisingly fragile state.
- CNBC: China is the ‘principal military and economic threat’ in Asia, says Wilbur Ross — U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said China accounts for many anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders imposed by the U.S., and makes up a “good portion” of the U.S. entity list.
- Nikkei Asian Review: China and Pakistan ink military MOU to counter US-India pact — Beijing sends defense minister to Islamabad, joint air maneuvers planned.
