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 Says Covid-19 Origin Probe Should Shift Focus to Other Countries — Head of the WHO earlier called for more robust investigation into whether virus escaped from Chinese lab.
- H&M, Under Attack In China, Sticks to Stance That Angered Beijing — Fashion giant says 20 stores have been closed in China after brand was targeted by government and on social media.
- China’s Consumers Boost Its Economic Recovery — After a year in which manufacturing drove the rebound, services and construction activity jumped in March.
- The Wuhan Whitewash — By The Editorial Board. A WHO report on Covid’s origin echoes Chinese propaganda.
- U.S. Calls for Independent Study of Covid-19 Origin — Statement, backed by Australia, Japan, the U.K. and other governments, said a WHO-led mission to China wasn’t afforded full access to pertinent data.
- Huawei Reports Rare Drop in Revenue as U.S. Sanctions Bite — Slate of U.S. actions, including chip ban, hits Chinese telecom maker’s sales outside of China hard.
- Xiaomi Enters Electric Vehicle Market With $10 Billion Commitment — Chinese smartphone giant joins crowded but burgeoning automobile market.
- Will Xiaomi Be the Apple of Electric Vehicles? — Chinese smartphone maker bets consumer technology companies can also design attractive EVs.
The Financial Times
- China rejects WHO criticism and says Covid lab-leak theory ‘ruled out’ — Chinese scientist says international Wuhan mission had access to same data as local officials.
- Evergrande claims deleverage success after Beijing crackdown — China’s most indebted property developer races to pay back loans.
- BBC journalist leaves China after pressure campaign — John Sudworth relocates to Taiwan after angering Beijing with reports on Xinjiang.
- China’s currency set for worst month since US trade war — Investors fear country’s post-Covid economic bounce will prompt withdrawal of stimulus.
- US human rights report calls China’s treatment of Uyghurs ‘genocide’ — State department’s 2020 review takes hard line on Beijing as well as Saudi Arabia and Myanmar.
- Sanctions spat has forced EU to reassess its China strategy — Beijing’s hardline diplomatic response marks watershed in relations with Brussels.
- Cathie Wood sees bright prospects for China’s tech disrupters — Ark founder made comments in shared online webinar with China Asset Management chief.
- Australia fast tracks missile-making programme as regional tensions rise — Canberra wants domestic manufacturing capability to counter assertive China, analysts say.
- How China uses trade as a weapon [Video] — The FT’s James Kynge and Jamie Smyth discuss the implications of China’s aggressive trade policy towards Australia for the world.
The New York Times
- State Dept. Reverses Trump Policies on Reproductive and Religious Freedoms — Even as Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken similarly condemned abuses and oppression from China to Syria to Venezuela, he overturned aspects of the Trump administration’s human rights agenda.
Caixin
- BlackRock to Close China Private Fund After Just Three Years — Unit of world’s largest asset manager to focus on mutual fund business instead.
- China Allows More Investment Outflows to Ease Pressure on Yuan — Country reports first deficit on financial account since 2016 as investors are encouraged to shift more capital overseas.
- Rival Consortiums Need Deal to Develop World’s Biggest Iron Ore Mine, Rio Tinto CEO Says — The two groups with mining rights at the Guinea site both have Chinese backers, raising the prospects of cooperation.
- Xiaomi Joins Electric Car Race With $10 Billion Investment Plan — Chinese smartphone giant as plenty of dough to go it alone in the new business, billionaire founder Lei Jun says.
- Toyota and Beijing SinoHytec Team Up to Make Car Hydrogen Fuel Cells in China — Toyota and Chinese hydrogen fuel cell engine maker Beijing SinoHytec Co. Ltd. have clinched an agreement to set up a 50-50 joint venture to produce fuel cells for commercial vehicles in China.
South China Morning Post
- BBC China correspondent leaves Beijing for Taiwan, citing threats — The BBC said on Wednesday one of its journalists in mainland China had relocated to Taiwan, a move that comes amid criticism from Beijing of its reports on alleged human rights abuses against Uygur Muslims in the Xinjiang region.
- China best placed to profit from the world’s move towards a lower carbon future, says HSBC report — China, a dominant force in the manufacture of clean-energy equipment, is best placed to profit from the world’s drive towards decarbonisation, according to research by HSBC.
- Chinese government-run facial recognition system hacked by tax fraudsters: report — Identity verification using facial recognition is widely adopted in China, as the technology has become an integral part of apps from mobile payments and travel to retail, as well as surveillance systems and online platforms for government services.
Bloomberg
- China Approves Restructuring of Sinochem and ChemChina — China gave approval for a restructuring of Sinochem Group and ChemChina Group, two companies that have been long the target of merger speculation.
- Evergrande Unveils Plans to Halve Debt After Profit Falls — China Evergrande Group unveiled plans to roughly halve its debt over the next two years after reporting its second consecutive drop in annual profit.
- China’s Juggernaut Meets Biden’s Trillions — When Joe Biden vowed that China wouldn’t displace the U.S. as the most powerful nation on Earth under his watch, it was probably a safe bet.
- China Mulls Tax Overhaul for Steel in Push to Meet Green Goals — China is considering a number of tax changes for its mammoth steel industry — including lowering export rebates — to bolster efforts to clean up one of the dirtiest industries in the world’s top carbon emitter.
- China Developer Blames ‘Strict’ Auditor for Profit Plunge — A Chinese real estate firm said Ernst & Young’s “strict” accounting standards were partly behind a collapse in the company’s profit last year.
- Chinese Contracts Could Complicate Sovereign Debt Restructuring — Developing countries’ ability to renegotiate their overseas borrowing could be complicated by contracts with Chinese state-lenders which include confidentiality clauses and exemptions from restructuring, according to a new report.
Reuters
- China’s JD spins off cloud and AI businesses to fintech unit — Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com Inc said on Wednesday it had sold JD Cloud and artificial intelligence business to its financial technology unit for a combined valuation of 15.7 billion yuan ($2.40 billion).
- Exclusive: China considers new bourse to attract overseas-listed firms – sources — China is considering establishing a stock exchange to attract overseas-listed firms and bolster the global status of its onshore share markets, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
- Exclusive: Investors press companies on human rights in Xinjiang — A group of religious and socially conscious investors and other funds are ramping up pressure on Western companies over alleged human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region, highlighting the challenges for brands trying to maintain their business ties amid rising tensions.
- U.S. FCC commissioner urges tougher steps on Chinese network equipment — Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr on Tuesday called for new steps to ensure Huawei Technologies and ZTE equipment is barred from U.S. telecommunications networks and ensure no electronic devices produced with forced labor enter the United States.
- India blocks bank accounts of China’s ByteDance, company mounts challenge — NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian authorities have blocked at least two of ByteDance’s bank accounts for alleged tax evasion, prompting it to ask a court to quash the directive that it fears will hit its operations, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters.
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asian Review: Huawei’s grip on China market softens blow of US crackdown — Share of global 5G equipment market rises thanks to domestic sales.
- Economist: Governments have identified commodities essential to economic and military security — Obtaining them is another matter.
- The Diplomat: As the Government Pulls Back, China’s Boycott Against International Brands Loses Steam — While China’s efforts to name and shame foreign brands sometimes work, more often than not, brands and businesses simply have to wait out the nationalist outcry.
- AP News: Japan, Indonesia sign arms transfer pact amid China concerns — Japan and Indonesia signed a pact on Tuesday allowing the transfer of Japanese defense equipment and technology to Jakarta as the two countries strengthen their military ties in the face of China’s increasingly assertive activity in the region.
- CNAS: Positive Visions, Powerful Partnerships — The Keys to Competing with China in a Post-Pandemic Indo-Pacific.
- CSIS: China and Iran: A Major Chinese Gain in “White Area Warfare” in the Gulf — China may well have made a major new strategic gain in the Gulf on Saturday, and one that gives it great influence in the MENA region as well as major new leverage in competing with the United States.
