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
- Time Is Running Out in Covid-19 Origins Inquiry, Say WHO-Led Team Members — Researchers call on United Nations agency’s member states to mandate a second phase of research.
- China’s Vaccination Surge Could Accelerate Asian Recovery From Covid — Faster Chinese vaccination could accelerate the return of sorely needed tourism to the battered economies of Southeast Asia.
- China’s ‘Uber for Trucks’ Heads for Billion-Dollar-Plus U.S. IPO — Full Truck Alliance is seeking a valuation of between $20 billion and $30 billion, according to people familiar with the situation.
The Financial Times
- China ecommerce/JD Logistics: warehouse party fizzled for good reasons — The delivery spin-off faces a catch-up challenge and investors were right to be cautious.
The New York Times
- ‘Friends’ Reunion Is Censored in China, Cutting BTS and Lady Gaga — Cameos by Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and the K-pop group BTS mysteriously disappeared from the special when it aired on Chinese streaming sites. Online, fans suspected censorship.
- Jimmy Lai and Other Hong Kong Activists Are Sentenced Over Oct. 1 Protest — Many of the city’s democracy activists face jail terms amid a broad campaign to subdue opposition.
- U.S. Is Said to Have Unexamined Intelligence to Pore Over on Virus Origins — Intelligence officials have told the White House that computer analysis may shed light on the mystery.
- Senate Poised to Pass $195 Billion Bill to Bolster Competitiveness With China — The legislation, which has bipartisan support, would be the first major industrial policy effort in decades.
Caixin
- Swiss Re Sells Entire Stake in New China Life for $257.5 Million — World’s second-largest reinsurance company divests stake after reporting losses of $878 million last year.
- China to Build Data Center Clusters Nationwide to Plug Shortage — Hubs to be centered in major metropolitan areas as well as energy-rich western regions to ensure reliable access to cloud computing and data storage services.
- China’s Banking Regulator Adds Limits on Wealth Management Marketing — Final rules taking effect June 27 will also apply to wealth management units of commercial banks and foreign-owned operations.
- China Connects 15.8% More Offshore Wind Capacity to National Grid — Offshore installations’ capacity topped 10.4 GW as of the end of April, government data show.
- Online Health-Care Platform ClouDr Mulls $500 Million IPO — ClouDr provides software-as-a-service systems for chronic disease management, connecting hospitals, pharmacies, insurers and patients.
South China Morning Post
- China promises economic support for sanctions-hit neighbour North Korea — China has pledged to keep up strategic communication with North Korea and help the sanctions-hit nation cope with worsening economic problems amid a prolonged nuclear stalemate with the US.
- What are Citizens Bank and Cathay Bank, the buyers of more than 90 of HSBC’s US branches? — After four decades of operating in the United States, HSBC is preparing to exit its American retail banking business for mass-market customers and small businesses to focus primarily on wealthy clients and big, international corporations.
- Food delivery giant Meituan to deepen dialogue with regulators after beating estimates to post first-quarter revenue growth — Meituan, operator of China’s largest food delivery and local services platform, reported a 120.9 per cent revenue increase in the first quarter, as the company vowed to deepen its dialogue with antitrust regulators amid an investigation into the company’s operations.
Bloomberg
- Huarong Wires Funds for $900 Million, 500 Million Yuan Bonds — China Huarong Asset Management Co. has transferred funds to repay a $900 million bond maturing June 3, according to a person familiar with the matter.
- Some Chinese State Bodies Reviewing Tesla Ownership Among Staff — Tesla Inc. is facing further fallout in China, with some local governments and official institutions reviewing vehicle ownership among their staff, citing concerns the cars pose security risks, according to people familiar with the matter.
- China Launches $11 Billion of Funds to Reform State-Owned Firms — China is taking another step to shape up state firms with a new fund aimed at reforming a sector that has emerged as the nation’s biggest source of credit risk.
Reuters
- China’s COSCO hopes for Greek deal on Piraeus despite delay -official — Chinese shipping group COSCO hopes to reach a deal with the Greek government to complete the purchase of an extra stake in Piraeus, despite running out of time to fulfil a key condition, a top official at the port said.
- Exclusive: China presses Ximalaya to drop U.S. for Hong Kong as listing venue – sources — China is pressing the country’s largest online audio platform Ximalaya to drop plans to list in the United States and go for Hong Kong instead, three people with knowledge of the matter said, showing how the authorities are seeking to further tighten their grip over private media and internet businesses.
- Morgan Stanley nears full ownership of China ventures with stake buys — Morgan Stanley is buying stakes put up for sale by its partner in their China securities and mutual funds joint ventures for about $150 million, according to a statement by the partner, moving towards full ownership of the businesses.
- Explainer: How will China’s latest oil probe affect the world’s biggest crude importer? — This year China’s government has been gradually ramping up scrutiny of its sprawling oil industry, reinforcing its authority with new taxes on refined products while investigating crude imports by state energy giants and independent refiners.
- Hyundai Motor considers selling one of its Beijing factory sites – Yonhap — South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co is in talks with the Chinese government to sell one of its factory sites in Beijing, news agency Yonhap reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.
- Exclusive: As China plans new rules, global automakers move to store car data locally — BMW, Daimler and Ford have set up facilities in China to store data generated by their cars locally, they told Reuters, as automakers come under growing pressure in the world’s biggest car market over how they handle information from vehicles.
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asian Review: China’s telemedicine boom sparks mad rush for doctors — Tech giants from JD.com to Alibaba ramp up expansion in fast-growing field.
- Nikkei Asian Review: Japan gains more international posts, but China is gaining fast — Soft power competition intensifies between two Asia heavyweights.
- Foreign Policy: Understanding China Is Getting Harder Every Month — Limitations on reporters and political crackdowns make covering even everyday stories tough.
- The New Yorker: The Sudden Rise of the Coronavirus Lab-Leak Theory — Scientists and political commentators are no longer dismissing the possibility that COVID-19 emerged from a Chinese laboratory. What changed?
- Foreign Affairs: China’s Inconvenient Truth — Official Triumphalism Conceals Societal Fragmentation.
- POLITICO: Universities fight scrutiny of foreign funding in Senate China bill — Under the initial bipartisan proposals, universities would face national security reviews of some of their foreign transactions.
- POLITICO: Senate bid to counter China thrown into chaos amid GOP objections — The legislative package would set aside more than $250 billion to make the U.S. more competitive against China.
- Economist: What it means to invest in Chinese offshore assets could be changing — Enforcing cross-border claims was often futile. Perhaps for not much longer.
- Economist: China’s revealing Afghan strategy — A suspicious China prepares for America to pull out of Afghanistan.
- Economist: Education in China is becoming increasingly unfair to the poor — The hukou system of household registration exacerbates a huge divide.
- Economist: Chinese e-commerce titans embark on a spending spree — Competition is spurring big internet companies to reinvest their plush profits.
- The Diplomat: China’s PLA Upgrades Its Forces Along Disputed Border With India — Despite continuing talks between India and China, military preparations clearly are continuing, too.
