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 Rejects WHO Proposal for Second Phase of Covid-19 Origins Probe — Top Chinese health official said plan to audit laboratories and markets in Wuhan ‘violated science.’
- China Flood Death Toll Rises Along With Questions Over Infrastructure — At least 33 are dead and eight are missing in Henan province, with economic losses estimated at about $190 million so far.
- EV Batteries: The Next Victim of High Commodity Prices? — Batteries have gotten a lot cheaper due to economies of scale, but rising commodity prices could upend that trend.
- Investigation: How TikTok’s Algorithm Figures Out Your Deepest Desires — The Wall Street Journal created dozens of automated accounts that watched hundreds of thousands of videos to reveal how the social network knows you so well.
The Financial Times
- Security concerns are weakening China’s place in the world — Lack of trust on both sides has led to dramatic fall in foreign dealmaking by Chinese companies.
- Hong Kong privacy law change will let government block social media — Business fears impact of legislation that targets posting of personal information online.
- Evergrande shares jump as developer says spat with bank resolved — Debt-laden Chinese group’s stocks and bonds have been volatile amid wider liquidity fears.
- China flood death toll rises to 33, stoking climate change debate — Cities are ill-prepared to handle weather events exacerbated by global warming, say activists.
- India, China and the contested border — How will Joe Biden’s administration react to ongoing tensions in the region?
- Wall Street banks redirect China IPOs to Hong Kong after Didi shock — Beijing’s new cyber security rules sever lucrative flow of listings to New York stock market.
- China rushes to set up bailout funds for indebted state-run firms — Six provinces launch rescue vehicles after series of defaults threatens local economies.
The New York Times
- ‘Please Save Us!’ Grim Scenes in China as Flood Inundates a Subway — The heaviest rainfall on record in central China also swept cars and people away, caused power outages and led to suspended rail services and flights.
- ‘The Water Came So Fast’: Floods Leave Scores Displaced in China — Still more rain is in the forecast, following days of torrential downpours, including the strongest on record in the area on Tuesday.
Caixin
- In Depth: Why Hong Kong Could Gain From China’s Foreign Share-Sale Crackdown — Under Beijing’s new cybersecurity rules for shares issued abroad, HKEX doesn’t count as a ‘foreign’ exchange, making it more of a draw for tech companies.
- China to Back Shanghai’s Trial of Free Use of Yuan — Central bank’s research chief elaborates on plans to support newly issued guidelines designating the city’s Pudong district to take the lead in further financial opening-up.
- Alibaba Targets Fresh Graduates to Stay Competitive in Tech Market — Alibaba is launching what it calls its biggest ever recruiting program for fresh graduates, as the battle for young talent intensifies in China’s tech landscape despite Beijing’s tightening oversight of the sector.
South China Morning Post
- Domestic clinical trials planned for China’s mRNA Covid-19 vaccine — Chinese pharmaceutical companies that have developed a Covid-19 vaccine using advanced mRNA technology are planning to hold clinical trials in the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi.
- At two years old, Shanghai’s Star board is already bigger than Spain’s capital market and shields investors from global tech rout — The Star Market, China’s Nasdaq-style board, which is celebrating its second anniversary, has emerged as a safe haven for investors seeking shelter from Beijing’s crackdown on technology companies.
- China-Australia relations: wine exports to mainland China are way down, but it remains the top market — Australia’s increased wine shipments to new and existing markets were not able to offset the 45 per cent decline in sales to mainland China in the financial year that ended in June, industry group Wine Australia’s latest export report shows.
Bloomberg
- China Is Said to Weigh Unprecedented Penalty for Didi After IPO — Chinese regulators are considering serious, perhaps unprecedented, penalties for Didi Global Inc. after its controversial initial public offering last month, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Billionaire Who Missed Out on TikTok Is Trying to Beat It — In 2017, Su Hua, the founder of a Chinese startup called Kuaishou Technology, was on the verge of closing the biggest deal of his career — the acquisition of a fledgling video service that would become TikTok. But arch-rival ByteDance Ltd. swooped in with a better offer, and Su missed out on what has become a global sensation.
- Hong Kong Arrests Five Over Kids’ Books With Pro-Beijing Wolves — Children’s books likening Hong Kong democracy activists to sheep pursued by wolves were at the center of the city’s latest national security sweep, with five people arrested on suspicion of publishing seditious material.
- China Evergrande Is Said to Explore Listing of Tourism Business — China Evergrande Group is exploring the prospect of listing its tourism business, according to people familiar with the matter, as the world’s most indebted developer seeks to convince investors it can generate enough cash to pay down borrowings.
Reuters
- Chinese hackers stole Mekong data from Cambodian foreign ministry – sources — Buried in a long U.S. indictment accusing China of a global cyberespionage campaign was a curious detail: Among the governments targeted by Chinese hackers was Cambodia, one of Beijing’s most loyal Asian allies.
- Exclusive – China’s CCPC takes centre stage in Iran, Venezuela oil trade-sources — A Chinese logistics firm has emerged as a central player in the supply of sanctioned oil from Iran and Venezuela, even after it was blacklisted by Washington two years ago for handling Iranian crude, seven sources with knowledge of the deals told Reuters.
- More than 90% of adult Beijing residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19 — China’s capital Beijing has fully vaccinated nearly 91% of its adult residents against COVID-19, data from the municipal government showed, as the country expands its nationwide vaccination efforts.
- French cybersecurity agency warns of China-linked APT31 attacks on French organizations — French cyber-security watchdog ANSSI warned on Wednesday of what it said were ongoing attacks against a large number of French organizations led by the China-linked APT31 hacking group.
Other Publications
- The Economist: LinkedIn faces awkward choices in China — To operate in the communist country, Microsoft’s professional social network has to appease censors. So do its users.
- The Economist: China offers a masterclass in how to humble big tech, right? — Be careful what you wish for.
- Associated Press: Room for 10,000: Inside China’s largest detention center — This is one of an estimated 240 cells in just one section of Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center in Dabancheng, seen by Associated Press journalists granted extraordinary access during a state-led tour to China’s far west Xinjiang region.
- Nikkei Asia: Analysis: Nixon visit anniversary will be a watershed moment — Will Xi commemorate the groundbreaking visit next February?
- Protocol: Beijing’s costly plans for cybersecurity ‘self-sufficiency’ — A new government initiative means potentially quadrupling multibillion-dollar domestic spend.
