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
- Businessman to Admit Smuggling Marine Tech to China — Qin Shuren is pleading guilty to illegally exporting equipment that officials say could help China as it builds an undersea drone armada.
- After Default, Zambia’s Outsized Bet on Copper Could Play Into China’s Hands — Zambia takes on $1.5 billion debt to acquire loss-making mine, raising fears it could ultimately hand strategic asset to top creditor, China.
- Chinese Bad-Debt Manager Huarong Repays a $453 Million Bond — Investor worries linger after repayment of first international bond to come due since company delayed release of financial results.
- Hong Kong’s Towering Office Rents Are Coming Back Down to Earth — Economic impacts of the pandemic, social unrest and U.S.-China tensions put downward pressure on prices. ‘It’s survival of the fittest.’
The Financial Times
- HSBC: in China, all capital is political — Hong Kong is a valuable but contentious territory to dominate financially.
- China set to report first population decline since 1949 — Officials are preparing response to census data that should have been released weeks ago.
- China’s Huarong suffers first debt downgrade after bond sell-off — Fitch cuts rating after state-backed investor misses a second annual results deadline.
- Tesla’s publicity nightmare in China comes at crucial juncture — US electric vehicle maker targeted by Beijing as authorities boost local players.
The New York Times
- A Graying China May Have to Put Off Retirement. Workers Aren’t Happy. — Most Chinese workers retire by 60. But with the population aging and pension funds running low, the government says that must change.
Caixin
- Slowdown in Bond Sales Signals Belt Tightening at Local Governments — Authorities have checked the pace of debt issuances to finance infrastructure projects this year.
- Beijing Serves Notice to Unruly Apartment Middlemen — New rules seek to prevent cash crunches like the one last year at major player Danke that left many of its tenants evicted despite paying rent.
South China Morning Post
- China’s digital economy surges in 2020 amid pandemic, making up nearly 40 per cent of country’s GDP — China’s digital economy made up nearly 40 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2020, as consumers and businesses moved many of their daily activities online amid the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
- China and Germany agree to step up climate change cooperation — Germany and China agreed Monday to step up their cooperation in combating climate change in an effort to help stop global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) by the year 2100.
- China food security: why the nation’s ‘food crisis’ is more of a livestock feed challenge — Debate is simmering in China about whether the nation is facing a food crisis. Stoked by President Xi Jinping’s war on food waste, food export restrictions from some Southeast Asian nations amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and the inclusion of food security in the government’s 2021 work report – feeding the nation’s 1.4 billion people is back in the public eye.
- Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei hints for the first time that a public listing of one of its business units might be on the cards — Ren Zhengfei, the leader of embattled Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co, hinted in a letter to employees on Sunday that the company may be exploring the capital market, marking a subtle shift from previous statements that it has no plans to go public.
- US legislation for US$112 billion tech research funding to counter China will be delayed, lawmakers say — A United States legislative proposal to allocate US$112 billion for basic and advanced science and technology research in the face of rising competitive pressure from China will be delayed by at least two weeks, US Senate Republicans and members of their staff said on Monday.
Bloomberg
- Huarong Is Said to Get State Bank Support to Repay Offshore Debt — China Huarong Asset Management Co. repaid an offshore bond maturing Tuesday with funds provided by the nation’s largest state-owned bank, people familiar with the matter said, a sign that Chinese lenders are heeding government calls to support the embattled distressed-debt manager.
- China’s Economic Divide Between North and South Is Set to Widen — The economic divide between China’s prospering southern regions and lagging northern areas will continue to widen in coming years, with huge implications for growth, debt and policy making, according to Nomura Holdings Inc.
Reuters
- Oil spills outside China’s Qingdao port after ship collision — A tanker carrying around one million barrels of bitumen mix was involved in a collision near the Chinese port city of Qingdao, spilling oil into the Yellow Sea, Chinese maritime officials and tanker representatives said on Tuesday.
- Column: China ramps up tin exports as rest of the world runs dry- Andy Home — The super-squeeze in the tin market rolls on.
- The Nio normal: Chinese electric carmaker seeks to plug buyers into lifestyle app — In Shanghai, aerospace executive Lu Hao didn’t just buy a sleek electric SUV from Nio, China’s answer to Tesla. He bought Nio’s whole vision of a future where social media, e-commerce and the daily commute converge in one lifestyle app.
- China’s industrial profits nearly double as demand for raw materials rises — BEIJING (Reuters) -Profits at China’s industrial firms nearly doubled in March from a year ago, as demand for raw materials surged along with the economic recovery, official data showed on Tuesday.
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asian Review: China demand helps Tesla to record quarter amid chip shortage — EV maker’s revenue jumps as CEO Musk admits supply problems.
- Nikkei Asian Review: China adds carrier pier to Djibouti base, extending Indian Ocean reach — Beijing looking for other basing opportunities in Africa, US commander says.
- Foreign Policy: Q&A: ‘We Can Turn It Around’ — John Kerry on the deep roots of his environmentalism, how he negotiates with the Chinese on climate, and the unshakable momentum of the green marketplace.
