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
- Biden, China’s Xi Hold Talks Over Human Rights, Trade, Climate — U.S. president raised issues that divide the two countries but also held open the possibility of working together on common concerns.
- Tencent Executive Held by China Over Links to Corruption Case — Zhang Feng has been investigated for alleged unauthorized sharing of personal data collected by WeChat to an ex-official.
- As Huawei Talks Stall, Detention of Two Canadians in China Drags On — Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were detained after a Huawei executive was arrested in Vancouver; ‘It was grueling,’ Mr. Kovrig’s wife said of the early months of his imprisonment.
- TikTok Sale to Oracle, Walmart Is Shelved as Biden Reviews Security — Trump-driven deal had languished as video-sharing app’s Chinese owner mounted successful legal challenges.
The Financial Times
- CSOP kicks off launch of Hong Kong’s Star Market ETFs — The exchange traded funds will track Shanghai’s science and technology board.
- Biden holds first call with China’s Xi since taking office — US president raises concerns about ‘coercive’ behaviour and human rights abuses.
- Biden creates Pentagon task force on China — US president pledges to ‘meet the China challenge and ensure the American people win’.
- The west should pay attention to Russia and China’s vaccine diplomacy — Beijing and Moscow are using jabs to court poorer nations — but the EU and US are barely noticing.
The New York Times
- India and China Use Vaccines as Diplomacy Tools — India, China, the U.A.E. and others dole out donations in countries where they seek sway. In some cases, they are sending doses despite pressing needs at home.
- Biden Raises Concerns With China’s Xi in First Call Since Election — The two leaders developed a friendly relationship during the Obama years, but now face a wide range of contentious issues.
Caixin
- Flexible-Screen Maker Royole Withdraws STAR Market IPO — Money-losing foldable-phone maker cites three types of shareholders that may not comply with listing requirements after CSRC picks its application for special review.
- WeRide Wins China’s First License for Self-Driving Ride-Hailing Service — Guangzhou issues authorization two years after Nissan-backed autonomous vehicle startup’s application, but next steps are unclear.
South China Morning Post
- Taiwan envoy’s meeting with Biden official a sign of how US regards Taipei and disregards Beijing’s warning — Taiwan’s top envoy to the US Hsiao Bi-khim has met US acting assistant secretary Sung Kim at the State Department, signalling that high-level official contact between Taiwanese and American officials has not stopped despite the change of government in the United States and a stern warning from Beijing.
- Chinese regulators seek cap on tips given by internet users to live-streaming content creators — Internet platforms will need to put a “reasonable” cap on the amount of digital monetary tips that their users send to live-streaming content providers, according to new guidelines issued on Tuesday, amid government efforts to clean up China’s online economy.
Bloomberg
- Even with the Lunar New Year Break, Chinese Money Keeps Faith in Tencent — When retail investors and mutual fund managers chase rallies, black swan events like corruption investigations aren’t going to matter much.
- Clubhouse Mania Drove $6 Billion to This Chinese Company — Clubhouse has in just two months become the venue of choice for luminaries like Elon Musk or Drake to expound on everything from telepathic monkeys to stock market valuations. But the real winner of the audio-chat app’s stratospheric rise is a loss-making Shanghai startup called Agora Inc.
- Why It’s So Hard for the Solar Industry to Quit Xinjiang — Nearly half the global supply for the raw material used to make solar panels is produced in the troubled Chinese region.
Reuters
- An election, a mine deal and China loom over Zambia’s IMF talks — Zambia and the International Monetary Fund begin discussing a loan programme and debt relief for Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign default on Thursday, with a controversial mining deal, an election and a mountain of debt to China looming over the talks.
- Tencent says executive held by China linked to ‘personal’ corruption allegations — Tencent said on Thursday the case of one of its executive held by Chinese authorities is linked to allegations of personal corruption, and is not related to its international messaging to payments WeChat app or domestic Weixin platform.
- Exclusive: Goldman, other financial firms add China staff, eyeing growth — Global financial firms including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and Fidelity International are poised to add hundreds of staff in China this year as they look to take advantage of the opening up of its $40 trillion financial sector.
- Manufacturer for hire: China’s Geely sets out to become a force in electric cars — Like many others in his industry, Geely Chairman Li Shufu has been irked by skyrocketing valuations for electric car manufacturers such as Tesla Inc and Nio Inc, sources at the Chinese automaker say.
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asian Review: China central bank’s new venture signals digital yuan ambitions — Finance Gateway to do info systems integration, data processing, tech consulting.
- Nikkei Asian Review: China moves for more control over Belt and Road in Pakistan — Demand for joint parliamentary oversight indicates Beijing frustration on projects.
- Foreign Affairs: China’s Inequality Will Lead It to a Stark Choice — A New Oligarchy Can Be Restrained Only by the Government That Made It.
- Axios: China’s producer prices jump while consumer prices fall — Prices for Chinese consumers in January declined by 0.3% from last year, while prices for producers, or businesses, rose by 0.3%, data showed.
- MacroPolo: Cheap Solar (Part 2): How Solar Manufacturing Got Its Chinese Characteristics — Over the past decade, China has become both the largest market and the biggest supplier of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels globally. The country dominates manufacturing: only two of the ten largest solar PV manufacturers globally are not Chinese (see Figure 1).