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
- Xi Jinping’s Ideological Ambition Challenges China’s Economic Prospects — Many economists predict slower growth, in part due to Xi’s focus on Communist Party control.
- China’s Xi Jinping Likely to Pack Party Leadership With Allies in Show of Strength — Shanghai party chief is a front-runner for premier, people close to party leaders say, despite outrage over Covid-19 lockdown.
- China’s Xi Jinping Urges Self-Reliance in Tech Amid Rivalry With U.S. — Chinese leader denounces protectionism, roughly a week after the U.S. unveiled export controls.
- Xi’s Contradictory Vision for China — Chinese leader urges workforce development and innovation, but his policies have blocked foreign students and hurt employment at home.
- China’s Economic Data Gets Harder to Find as Growth Slows — Getting a clear picture of the country’s economic woes has grown more challenging as official figures and private analysis vanish.
- British Police Investigate Attack on Pro-Democracy Protester at Chinese Consulate — U.K. politicians demand action in response to scuffle outside the diplomatic mission in Manchester.
- Australia Seeks to Break Impasse on Gas Project, Head Off Chinese Investment — Country appoints special representative to the stalled Greater Sunrise development after Timor-Leste said it would consider seeking an investment from China.
The Financial Times
- China’s GDP data delay fuels concern for economy — Growth is sluggish and drag from strict Covid policies is set to continue.
- China’s low-growth era — Is 3 per cent the new normal?
- What the eclipse of Tencent by a liquor company says about Xi’s China — Kweichow Moutai has overtaken the tech group in market capitalisation thanks to the whims of one man.
- UK police open probe into assault of protester inside Chinese consulate — MPs demand explanation of incident following Hong Kong pro-democracy protest in Manchester.
The New York Times
- China Recruiting Former R.A.F. Pilots to Train Army Pilots., U.K. Says — Citing national security, Britain wants to stop its retired military pilots from accepting lucrative contracts to train members of the People’s Liberation Army.
- China Delays the Release of G.D.P. and Other Economic Data — The unusual move comes as the country’s ruling elite have gathered in Beijing for the twice-a-decade national congress of the Communist Party.
Caixin
- China to Allow Foreign Multinationals to Directly Set Up Internal Finance Firms — New rules to take effect next month, marking yet another effort to widen market access for overseas investors.
- China’s CATL to Supply Batteries for Major U.S. Solar Project — CATL’s EnerOne modular battery energy storage system will be used in the Nevada facility.
- Chinese Video Game Developers Take on the World — Amid slowing growth and regulatory headwinds at home, Tencent, NetEase and top startups go abroad in search of new profits.
South China Morning Post
- What Xi Jinping’s shortened congress work report did not mention — A closer look at Xi Jinping’s full work report for the national congress reveals deep concerns about party members and officials with ‘wavering’ political convictions.
- Taiwan signals US trade talks breakthrough, hopeful of ‘early harvest’ amid China tensions — Talks over the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade began in August, and the two sides have ‘been talking to each other steadily’, according to Hsiao Chen-jung, executive secretary of Taipei’s cabinet-level Office of Trade Negotiations.
- China property crisis: Beijing’s crackdown on local government land buying may deprive market of lifeline — A land buying binge by local government-backed companies may slow down after Beijing warned against the practice, depriving China’s bruised real estate sector of a potential lifeline.
- China’s ‘rattled’ private firms with little confidence await signs, reassurances that some fear will not come — From its zero-Covid policy and heavy-handed regulations to deteriorating international relations in a weakened global environment, China faces a ‘storm’ like it’s never seen.
Nikkei Asia
- Chinese purchases of land near U.S., Japan bases spark warnings — Lawmakers, experts voice concerns over potential for espionage or sabotage.
- Foxconn to expand EV production in Thailand and U.S. — Chairman says electric car assembly will remain outside China for now.
- India surpasses China in sending students to U.S. — Fewer Chinese students study in U.S. due to political tensions and COVID restrictions.
- In skeptical Australia, Singapore PM says China ‘good’ for CPTPP — Lee and Albanese seal green deal to seize opportunities in clean energy.
Bloomberg
- China’s Junk Debt Is Sliding Deeper Into Unprecedented Distress — A worsening crisis in China’s property market is dragging junk dollar bonds from the nation’s borrowers deeper into distress, as the implosion of what was once one of the world’s most-profitable bond trades sends ripples across trading floors.
- China’s Shock GDP Delay Shows Communist Party Trumps Economy — During a week when investors are scrutinizing every utterance by officials in Beijing, the government’s unprecedented silence on key economic indicators is one of the clearest signs yet that the Covid Zero policy and politics trumps all else in Xi Jinping’s China.
- Anti-Xi Slogans in Rare Beijing Protest Spread Within China — Slogans attacking President Xi Jinping featured on banners draped by a lone protester over a Beijing bridge last week have since spread to other Chinese cities and across the globe, as censors on the mainland continue to ban any reference to the event.
- Stellantis Mulls Ending All Carmaking in China After Jeep Exit — Stellantis NV may stop manufacturing cars in China as geopolitical tensions escalate and western manufacturers cede market share to domestic players.
Reuters
- UK summons Chinese diplomat over beating of protester at consulate — Britain has summoned China’s Charge d’Affaires over an assault on a protester who was beaten after being dragged inside the grounds of the Chinese consulate in Manchester, England, British foreign office minister Jesse Norman said on Tuesday.
- China blames ‘illegal entry’ of ‘disturbing elements’ in UK consulate incident — China on Tuesday accused “disturbing elements” of illegally entering its consulate in Manchester, following an incident on Sunday in which a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester was seen being pulled into the mission’s grounds and beaten up.
- For China’s women, this week’s Congress is unlikely to mean progress — As Xi Jinping consolidates power at China’s 20th Communist Party Congress this week, Chinese women are not holding their breath for progress in gender equality.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Intel and the $1.5trn chip industry meltdown — Thank the boom-and-bust cycle—and America’s government.
- The Economist: No turning back for Xi Jinping — China’s president opens a high-stakes political meeting in an uncompromising mood.
- The Washington Post: China plans to seize Taiwan on ‘much faster timeline,’ Blinken says — Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused China of speeding up plans to seize Taiwan as Chinese President Xi Jinping looks set to secure a precedent-breaking third term at a party congress this week.
- Foreign Affairs: Why China Aims Too High — The Return of Beijing’s Dubious Economic Growth Targets. By Jeremy Wallace
- Rest of World: The Return of the Lipstick King — When China’s top livestreaming salesman, Austin Li, vanished over a tank-shaped ice cream cake, many fans thought he was gone for good.
