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’s Economic Troubles Won’t Stay at Home — The collateral damage is already showing up in its neighbors.
- In China, if You’ve Got Mail, It Might Arrive With a Whiff of Sanitizer and a Covid-19 Test — Chinese authorities are putting packages through an extensive cleansing process as a part of the country’s zero-Covid regime.
- Ports Race to Clear Cargo, Fearing an Overload When China Lockdowns Lift — Increased congestion is a concern when export hubs such as Shanghai resume full shipments and companies look to build inventories.
- Philippines’ Duterte Era Ends, Leaving Fate of Tighter China Ties to His Successor — The tough-talking populist rocked his country’s alliance with the U.S., forging closer diplomatic and economic ties with China.
- Why Indonesia Has Bucked This Year’s Global Selloff — Foreigners poured $5 billion into the market in the first four months of this year.
The Financial Times
- US watchdog heads to Beijing to resolve audit stand-off — On-site inspections being considered to prevent 270 companies from being delisted.
- Arm China’s renegade chief makes his last stand — Allen Wu refuses to surrender control in extraordinary corporate battle at UK chip designer.
- Adidas cuts guidance as China lockdowns bite — Quarterly sales slide amid supply chain disruption, store closures and rising costs.
- Xi’s renewed commitment to zero-Covid rattles markets in China — Tech stocks and renminbi slip as Beijing refuses to change course despite economic pain.
- The trials of owning an illegal dog in Beijing — In China’s strictest city for dog-owners, a growing community of big dog-lovers learns how to live on the wrong side of the law.
- Chinese social media groups reveal nationalist influencers blogging from abroad — Proposal to reveal locations exposes patriotic commentators and stokes outrage among users.
- Shares of Tesla’s battery maker plunge after net profit slides — Contemporary Amperex Technology hit by China’s Covid lockdowns.
The New York Times
- In Hong Kong Election, John Lee Is Running Uncontested — John Lee, a Beijing loyalist who oversaw the crackdown on pro-democracy protests, built his career by deepening his contacts within the mainland security services.
- Has Shanghai Been Xinjianged? — Shanghai used to be the glamorous China, while Xinjiang was the dark China. Now both are casualties of authoritarian excess.
- Putin’s War on Information Is Far From Over — On this battlefield, lies are ammunition in Putin’s long and increasingly personal struggle to stay in power.
Caixin
- In Depth: Cutting the Ties That Bind Property Managers to Developers — China’s prolonged real estate slump drives a restructuring of the industry as management units break off links with their parents.
- State-Backed Developers Snap Up More Land Than Private Rivals — Hammered by the real estate slump, private property companies grow cautious as Chinese cities roll out the first round of this year’s land sales.
- Chinese Sponsor of Super Bowl Plans U.S. Covid Test Factory — Sales in the country boosted Andon Health’s profits by 375 times to $2.1 billion in the first quarter.
South China Morning Post
- Alipay, WeChat Pay install new features to help widen e-CNY roll-out — That support reflects Big Tech companies’ commitment to help promote the country’s sovereign digital currency, following earlier initiatives by Meituan and JD.
- China to send vice-president to new South Korean president’s inauguration — Wang Qishan’s visit comes as Beijing is watching to see if Yoon Suk-yeol will move South Korea closer to the US.
- Shares of surveillance camera maker Hikvision plunge on second day after report of harsh sanctions — Investors rushed to dump shares of Hikvision after it was reported that the Chinese firm may be added to the Specially Designated Nationals list, which would bar it from dealing with American companies or citizens.
Nikkei Asia
- Chinese property developers see hope in Politburo policy shift — Beijing changed tone on real estate, as on tech, but will it halt the sales slide?
- Japan, U.K. agree on defense pact amid China’s rise in Indo-Pacific — Kishida meets Johnson in London as part of 5-nation trip.
- China hosting of Asian Games delayed as Shanghai lockdown extended — Postponement for nearby Hangzhou contrasts with Beijing’s Winter Olympic success.
Bloomberg
- China’s Regular Covid Testing to Cost 1.8% of GDP, Nomura Says — Chinese cities are moving toward regular mandatory free testing for Covid-19, an approach that would cost the government 1.8% of gross domestic product if it’s rolled out to more places, according to an estimate from Nomura Holdings Inc.
- Xi Moves to Silence Covid Zero Critics in Sign of Brewing Tumult — China’s top leaders warned against questioning Xi Jinping’s Covid Zero strategy, striking a more defensive tone as pressure builds to relax virus curbs and protect the economic growth that has long been a source of Communist Party strength.
- China Orders Government, State Firms to Dump Foreign PCs — China has ordered central government agencies and state-backed corporations to replace foreign-branded personal computers with domestic alternatives within two years, marking one of Beijing’s most aggressive efforts so far to eradicate key overseas technology from within its most sensitive organs.
Reuters
- As Beijing battles outbreak, China warns ‘zero COVID’ doubters — Beijing residents fretted on Friday over tightening COVID curbs in its biggest district and dozens of new cases reported daily as China’s leaders reiterated their resolve to battle the virus and threatened action against critics of their strict measures.
- China builds permanent COVID testing stations for life after lockdown — China is setting up thousands of permanent PCR testing stations, with 9,000 already completed in Shanghai alone, as authorities seek to “normalise” tough pandemic controls even after the current round of lockdowns end.
- Selloff shows China’s lack of investment traction — Global fund managers are picky when it comes to choosing assets for their core portfolios. For all Beijing’s work to boost foreign involvement in its securities, this week’s bloodbath in New York illustrates how far it has to go to convince investors it’s more than just another volatile emerging market.
The Economist
- China’s young elite are considering moving abroad — Online searches for words related to emigrating have spiked
- China unveils its vision of a global security order — Xi Jinping lays out a worldview with Chinese-Russian roots
- How the West should respond to China’s search for foreign outposts — A Chinese deal with the Solomon Islands should be a wake-up call
- Why the Chinese government has embraced morality councils — A new way to keep villagers in line
- China wants to increase its military presence abroad — How concerned should America and its allies be?
