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
- Chinese State TV Station Barred From U.K. Airwaves — U.K. regulator Ofcom says news channel CGTN isn’t independent enough from Beijing.
- China’s SMIC Says It’s Missing Out on the Chip Boom Due to U.S. Restrictions — SMIC expects revenue growth to fall to single digits this year after a 17% jump in the last quarter.
- China’s Luckin Coffee Files for Bankruptcy Protection in U.S. — Troubled Chinese coffee chain agreed to pay fines to settle U.S. regulatory claims that it fabricated hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.
- Chip Shortage Buoys SMIC, but Sanctions Could Still Bite — U.S. tech war to dent the Chinese chip maker’s ambitions even as orders soar.
- Electric Vehicles Make Up More Than a Third of Volvo’s Sales in Europe — Backed by tax breaks, public support, EV sales in Europe surge past China, the longtime market leader.
The Financial Times
- China accuses UK of ‘political manipulation’ over broadcaster ban — Beijing says media watchdog’s decision shows ‘typical double standards’ after CGTN taken off air.
- China’s Luckin Coffee files for bankruptcy in US — The group was once considered Asia’s rival to Starbucks.
- TikTok rival Kuaishou hits $160bn valuation as shares surge after IPO — Chinese video app’s market debut is biggest in tech sector since Uber offering in 2019.
- Alibaba debt sale draws investor rush despite regulatory woes — Funds line up $38bn in orders for $5bn of bonds even as Beijing targets Jack Ma’s empire.
- Australian farmers warn China trade spat will cost them $28bn — Agricultural lobby asks Canberra for help finding alternative export markets.
- Hong Kong to impose ‘national security’ schools curriculum — Overhaul shows China’s crackdown has reached beyond jailing opposition leaders to reforming Hong Kong society.
The New York Times
- In Geopolitical Struggle Over Myanmar, China Has an Edge — As the United States and other nations denounce the coup, China has a chance to build up its influence. But Myanmar’s generals are difficult partners.
- How China Beat Covid-19 and Revived Its Economy — The Chinese Communist Party reached deep into private business and the broader population to drive a recovery, an authoritarian approach that has emboldened its top leader, Xi Jinping.
Caixin
- Kuaishou Shares Almost Triple in Hong Kong Debut — Short-video giant that competes with TikTok’s Chinese version Douyin saw its market value surge to seventh place in Hong Kong on voracious retail and foreign investor demand.
- In Depth: How HNA’s Teetering Empire Left One Listed Company Looted — A look at CCOOP’s financial moves over the last 20 years paints a picture of a firm that had been used like an ATM by the Chinese conglomerate and its subsidiaries.
- China Satellite Developer Gets State-Backed Investment — Commsat did not disclose exactly how much it raised in the seventh funding round, only saying it was in the hundreds of millions of yuan.
South China Morning Post
- US dollar-yuan exchange rate: China should not count on strong policy under Janet Yellen to ease currency pressure — China should not count on the Biden administration and its new US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to actively support a strong US dollar in the near term, a move which could help ease upwards pressure on the yuan, analysts said.
- China should promote free movement of digital data, government think tank says — China should encourage the free movement of digital information across borders and consider setting up regional data security pacts with Southeast Asian nations, a government think tank has suggested as part of the country’s plan to boost its digital economy.
- China-Australia relations: iron ore prices helped offset weakened trade with China in 2020 — Australia’s export figures for the final month of a tumultuous past year confirmed that momentum slowed in some trade with China amid various restrictions, but unbarred exports remained strong and buoyed overall trade between the two countries, according to the final December trade data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Bloomberg
- China Opens Its Doors to Foreign Junk — A resumption in recycling imports may not sound like much. But foreign mining companies should be worried.
- Biden Commerce Pick Sees ‘No Reason’ to Lift Huawei Curbs — President Joe Biden’s nominee for Commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, said she knows of “no reason” why Huawei Technologies Co. and other Chinese companies shouldn’t remain on a restricted trade list.
- World Food Bills Set to Keep Rising on China’s Crop-Buying Binge — China’s ravenous appetite for crops is further tightening global grain supplies and setting the stage for a prolonged rally in food costs.
Reuters
- China’s latest weapon against Taiwan: the sand dredger — Taiwanese coast guard commander Lin Chie-ming is on the frontline of a new type of warfare that China is waging against Taiwan. China’s weapon? Sand.
- Allianz to acquire full ownership of China life insurance venture — Allianz will acquire full ownership of its China life insurance business after agreeing to buy the 49% stake it doesn’t already own in its Chinese joint venture, the German insurance giant said on Friday.
- Exclusive: Brazil to buy 20 million more doses of China’s CoronaVac, governor says — Brazil is in talks to buy an additional 20 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech, the governor of Sao Paulo told Reuters in a Thursday interview, in a show of confidence in the Chinese shot.
Other Publications
- Economist: Chinese investors’ access to foreign assets expands—a bit — A new scheme will allow access to wealth-management products in Hong Kong.
- Economist: What the fate of HNA Group says about China Inc’s foreign ambitions — Globetrotting Chinese conglomerates retreat home.
- Axios: President Biden’s first foreign policy address: “America is back” — “America cannot afford to be absent any longer from the world stage,” President Biden declared on Thursday in his first foreign policy address since taking office.
- POLITICO: How Trump won over Europe on 5G — The former U.S. president’s tactic of cutting China out of next-generation cellphone networks has paid off.
- The Diplomat: China Brings Back Long-time Climate Czar — Xie Zhenhua’s return to the position of special envoy for climate is seen as a positive signal for U.S.-China cooperation on environmental issues.
