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
- China’s Stock Rally Is Out of Time — The shares suffer from the same rotation away from tech and growth as in the U.S. but don’t enjoy the same comfort blanket from the central bank.
- U.S and China Engage, Tentatively, on Climate Change — Washington and Beijing will co-chair a G-20 study group focusing on climate-related financial risks, a confidence-building move amid strained bilateral ties.
- For U.S. Farmers, China Is Back and Bigger Than Ever — Record exports follow a painful trade war, but concerns remain: ‘We can’t just be reliant on one partner’.
- Massive Hacks Linked to Russia, China Exploited U.S. Internet Security Gap — Protecting U.S. networks from cyberattacks launched domestically emerges as an intelligence blind spot, security experts say.
- China’s Rise Drives a U.S. Experiment in Industrial Policy — Amid worries about vulnerability of semiconductor supply in China and Taiwan, Washington seeks to halt migration of chip making overseas.
The Financial Times
- Taiwan accuses Bitmain of poaching its top chip engineers — Taipei investigates new front in Chinese efforts to snare semiconductor R&D expertise.
- UK ambassador rebuffs Beijing broadside against press freedom comments — Caroline Wilson summoned by foreign ministry over article defending international media coverage.
- China’s economic plan short on climate goals as ministries tussle — Lack of strict measures reduces chances of country hitting peak emissions by 2030 as pledged.
- Harvest aims for global investors with HK-listed China sustainable ETF — The fund will track a bespoke index of 100 A-share companies rated for ESG investment criteria.
- US and China lay groundwork for first high-level meeting under Biden — Alaska touted as venue for potential talks between rivals’ top foreign policy officials.
- China retail king’s woes temper Xi’s football fantasy — Beijing will no longer rely on tycoons but remains determined to host the World Cup.
- Admiral warns US military losing its edge in Indo-Pacific — Biden prepares to meet Quad allies to discuss countering China in region.
The New York Times
- China and Russia Agree to Explore the Moon Together — The two countries, moving increasingly closer, signed a memorandum of agreement to collaborate on lunar missions, including the establishment of a research station in orbit or on the surface of the moon.
- Xi’s Gambit: China Plans for a World Without American Technology — Beijing’s leaders plot a path to go it alone, vowing to spend big to fill gaps in innovation and avoid dependence on the United States and others.
Caixin
- Developer China Fortune Defaults on Another $1.3 Billion in Debt — China Fortune is negotiating with its creditors to postpone repayment, it said in a stock exchange filing.
- China Telecom May Raise $4 Billion in Shanghai Secondary Flotation — After Trump-forced NYSE suspension, unit of state-owned China Telecommunications sees ‘strategic opportunity’ in long-considered domestic listing.
- Baidu Wins Hong Kong Exchange Approval for Flotation — Secondary offering may raise $5 billion as search engine giant joins parade of Chinese companies retreating from American markets.
- Online Education Company 17 Education & Technology Losses Grow — Chinese online tutoring company 17 Education & Technology Group posted widening losses in the fourth quarter of 2020, even though its revenue hit a record high during the period.
South China Morning Post
- China economy: new bank loans in February fall less than expected, as ‘real financing demand is very strong’ — New bank lending in China fell less than expected in February from January amid efforts by the central bank to cool credit growth to contain debt risks while maintaining support for ailing small firms.
- EV battery supply chain firms seek diversification as Biden order shines more light on China reliance — Amid a global review of supply chains, centred on reducing reliance on countries such as China, an Australian-listed critical commodities specialist and its German-based graphite partner have joined the 500-member European Battery Alliance to provide products for the electric vehicle market.
- Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways in ‘survival mode’ after posting record loss of HK$21.6 billion for 2020 amid Covid-19 pandemic — Cathay Pacific Airways has warned that it is still in “survival” mode after suffering record losses in 2020, making cost-saving and vaccinating staff for Covid-19 its top priorities to get back on the road to recovery.
Bloomberg
- U.S., China Envoys to Hold First In-Person Meeting in Alaska — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet with their Chinese counterparts in Alaska next week, according to two people familiar with the matter.
- Ant-Backed Bike-Sharing Firm Files Confidentially for IPO — Chinese bike-sharing giant Hello Inc. has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter, joining a wave of technology firms seeking to take advantage of surging valuations to sell shares.
- China Weighs Tighter Rules on STAR Board IPOs, Fintech Curbs — China is considering tighter rules for first-time share sales on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style STAR board that will require firms to prove their technology credentials and raise the bar for companies such as Ant Group Co.
- China Appears to Ban ‘Stock Market’ From Social Media Search — China’s stock rout turned so extreme that state-backed funds intervened to calm the market on Tuesday, but authorities appeared to make it somewhat difficult to find out what happened on the mainland.
- Taiwan Probe Spurs Fears of China Poaching Top Chip Talent — An investigation into illegal talent poaching by Beijing-based Bitmain Technologies Ltd. has revived fears Chinese companies will target Taiwan’s top engineers as their country works to build a world-class chipmaking industry.
- China’s $1.3 Trillion Stock Rout Tests Limit of Intervention — A world-beating rally in Chinese stocks has turned into the biggest rout globally, shocking investors with the severity of its reversal and evading state efforts to slow the pace of losses.
- China Generals Urge More Spending for U.S. Conflict ‘Trap’ — China must boost military spending to prepare for a possible confrontation with the U.S., top generals said, in an unusual acknowledgment of the risk of a clash between the world’s two largest economies.
- China Said to Plan New State Pension Firm as Population Ages — China plans to create a new state-owned pension firm to tackle a massive funding gap as the world’s largest population struggles to finance retirement despite decades of economic growth.
Reuters
- U.S. says no change in its genocide determination for China’s Xinjiang — The United States has not seen any developments that would change its determination that China committed genocide and crimes against humanity in its treatment of Uighur Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday.
- U.S. Senate panel chairman hopes for vote on China measures as soon as April — Senator Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Tuesday he hoped the Senate could vote as soon as April on a sweeping bi-partisan package of legislation to address threats from China.
- Analysis: Rapeseed rush sends prices soaring as Chinese demand swells — Rapeseed prices are surging to record highs as traders scour the world for supplies of the oil-rich crop, illustrating growing strain across oilseed markets exerted by booming Chinese demand.
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asian Review: Chinese EV startups’ sales accelerate despite pressure from Tesla — Unfazed by US rival’s price cuts, Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto seen profitable in 2022.
- Nikkei Asian Review: Biden set to double down on China tech denial — Beijing must prepare for harsher semiconductor rules.
- TIME: How We Could Sleepwalk into a War with China — China and the United States today are on a collision course. No less an authority than Henry Kissinger said just over a year ago that the U.S. and China are in the “foot hills of a Cold War.”
