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
- Yahoo Pulls Out of China, Ending Tumultuous Two-Decade Relationship — It is the second well-known U.S. tech firm to downsize China operations in less than a month.
- China Binges on U.S. Gas to Manage Energy Shortage, Carbon Footprint — Record U.S. liquefied natural gas exports to China contrast to just a couple of years ago during the trade war.
- Venture Capital Hasn’t Given Up on China — Despite the carnage in overseas listed tech firms, VC activity in China remains surprisingly resilient.
- China Locks 30,000 Visitors Inside Shanghai Disneyland After One Guest Got Covid-19 — Guests required to take coronavirus test to exit after a positive case shuts down the park.
- Visa Restrictions on Chinese Students Endanger U.S. Innovation Edge, Universities Say — Trump-era ban could be used to block visas for up to one-quarter of STEM graduate students from China.
The Financial Times
- ByteDance restructures itself after tough year — TikTok owner to split into six business units as outlook dims for gaming and online education.
- Hong Kong takes risk in shutting itself off to the world — Opening up to China while keeping its international border closed is an unprecedented experiment.
- China tells citizens to stockpile food as Covid controls are tightened — Communist party newspaper says no reason for alarm but admits families running low on supplies.
- Global investors turn cautiously optimistic on China — Sentiment shifts after Evergrande crisis and Beijing’s regulatory assault pummels markets.
- Law firms in Hong Kong in the line of fire — Mayer Brown controversy over Tiananmen monument case highlights dilemma for multinationals.
- Departing US business chiefs warn of expat exodus from China — Companies blame tough travel restrictions that have hit families for difficulties in retaining staff.
The New York Times
- China Urges Families to Stock up on Food for Winter — State-run news media said that the directives were to prepare for emergencies like coronavirus lockdowns as the country pursues its “zero Covid” policy.
- China Makes It a Crime to Mock Country’s Heroes — Under a new law, China has zealously prosecuted even the perceived slander of Communist figures, broadening Xi Jinping’s campaign to dominate party orthodoxy.
Caixin
- Don’t Read Too Much Into Commerce Ministry’s Call for Households to Stock Up on Daily Necessities, Sources Say — The notice is a regular seasonal move to ensure adequate supplies and stable prices, according to people close to the ministry.
- Sunac Services Strikes Deal to Buy Into Property Management Unit Linked to Struggling Rival — First Service is affiliated with developer Modern Land, which missed a payment deadline on a $250 million bond last week.
South China Morning Post
- What China’s strict new data export guidelines mean to international businesses — Beijing’s new security assessment guidelines for cross-border data transfers are more far-reaching than previously anticipated, but questions remain as to how the requirement would be implemented, said legal experts.
- Beijing Olympics organisers have ‘stymied’ foreign media coverage, group says — China’s foreign press corps urged the International Olympic Committee for greater access to the Beijing Winter Games, complaining that organisers have “continuously stymied” them from covering preparations for the event.
- Will China’s proposed property tax be big enough to support struggling local governments? — China’s planned property tax reforms could lift revenues for local governments but would not be sufficient enough to support them unless a large tax is imposed nationwide, according to analysts.
- ByteDance carves out TikTok as world’s most valuable technology unicorn finds way to satisfy US-China regulatory demands — ByteDance will separate out its worldwide social media phenomenon TikTok into a stand-alone business unit, as chief executive Liang Rubo overhauls the world’s most valuable technology unicorn into six parts after founder Zhang Yiming decided to take a back-seat role.
Bloomberg
- ByteDance’s Chew Steps Down as CFO, Remains TikTok CEO — ByteDance is also setting up six business units as part of the restructuring, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News.
- Huawei Said to Sell Key Server Division Due to U.S. Blacklisting — Huawei Technologies Co. is in advanced talks to sell its x86 server business after the U.S. blacklisting of the company made it difficult to secure processors from Intel Corp., the latest blow to the Chinese technology giant from American sanctions, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Top Wall Street Law Firm Paul Weiss’s China Head Said to Depart — Betty Yap, managing partner for the China practice of New York-based law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, is leaving the firm, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Credit Ratings Firms Were Asleep at the China Switch — Moody’s, S&P and Fitch were actually upgrading developers when the troubles began. Now, they are waking up and overreacting, only to worsen a selloff.
Reuters
- Australia’s foreign interference laws fuelled suspicion of Chinese community – report — Australia’s adoption of foreign interference laws in 2018 helped to curb Beijing’s overtures to the Chinese community there but led to tension that alienated many Chinese-Australians, the Lowy Institute foreign policy think tank said in a report on Tuesday.
- China’s Xi to cement authority, legacy in Communist Party resolution — Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to push through an historical resolution at a key Communist Party gathering next week, cementing his authority and legacy and strengthening his case for a precedent-breaking third term starting next year.
- Chinese IPOs return to New York with a whimper — Shares of LianBio fell 14% on their first day trading in New York on Monday after raising $325 million. It touts a foreign domicile and U.S. backers but most of its business is in the People’s Republic. Investors who once loved such hybrids have good reason to distrust them now.
Other Publications
- Associated Press: ‘Ordinary people suffer most’: China farms face climate woes — China’s people are already suffering the brunt of climate change. And in a common pattern around the world, those who have contributed least to the warming and have the fewest resources to adapt often feel the pain most acutely.
- Foreign Affairs: What the New China Focus Gets Wrong — Containment Requires Balance.
- Center for Strategic and International Affairs: Winning the Tech Talent Competition — Without STEM Immigration Reforms, the United States Will Not Stay ahead of China.
