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
- U.S. Battery Producer Enticed to Set Up Shop in the EU — GDI’s silicon anodes can help cut reliance on Chinese materials, but the startup plans to build its first factory in Germany with EU funding.
- Chinese Soccer Remains Terrible. It Says This Is Why. — The country’s fan-in-chief is cleaning house as a state-television documentary detailed the sport’s biggest corruption scandal in more than a decade.
The Financial Times
- China’s new growth strategy brings a fresh set of challenges — If the country is going to emphasise investment over consumption, it must rethink its funding model.
- US and Chinese military officials hold first talks since 2021 — Meetings mark improvement in communications just days ahead of elections in Taiwan.
- Chinese companies resort to repurposing Nvidia gaming chips for AI — US export controls force developers to strip components from PC graphics cards.
- Taiwan’s pivotal vote: China casts shadow over island’s election — National identity takes centre stage even as many citizens have tired after eight years under ruling party.
- Asia space race heats up as China, Japan and India reach for the stars — Beijing-based LandSpace set to challenge Elon Musk’s monopoly on reusable rockets next year.
- Volkswagen fails to win ground in China — Company spent €5bn last year to defend its position in the world’s biggest car market.
The New York Times
- Microsoft Debates What to Do With A.I. Lab in China — Amid U.S.-China tensions, the company has faced questions over whether operating an advanced research lab in Beijing is politically tenable.
- The Next Front in the U.S.-China Battle Over Chips — A U.S.-born chip technology called RISC-V has become critical to China’s ambitions. Washington is debating whether and how to limit the technology.
- World Bank Warns of Energy Price Surge if Mideast War Spreads — A new economic report predicted a year of weak growth and said the world faced a decade of “wasted opportunity.”
Caixin
- Former China Central Bank Deputy Governor Abused Power for 30 Years — Veteran banker Fan Yifei took advantage of financial market rules and traded influence for bribes, a CCTV anti-graft docuseries reveals.
- Iflytek to Spin Off Loss-Making Health Care Arm — The Chinese AI developer is looking to float its medical device and diagnosis business Xunfei Healthcare Technology in Hong Kong.
- State Companies’ Rush to Clean Energy Sparks Bubble Fears — China’s rapid dash for wind and solar power mean it is six years ahead of its green target but concern grows that it is fueling an investment bubble.
South China Morning Post
- China’s Xi Jinping pushes for stable US ties and more exchanges in letter to long-time American friend — Chinese leader praises role of ordinary people in improving bilateral relations in message to ‘citizen diplomat’ from small Iowa city where he led agricultural delegation in 1985.
- Foxconn pushes into electric vehicle production near its biggest iPhone plant amid slow smartphone sales — The Apple supplier has set up a new venture in Zhengzhou to sharpen its focus on the electric vehicle industry.
- Can China halt the exodus from its state health insurance scheme as enthusiasm wanes? — Over 25 million people in China dropped out of the voluntary urban and rural residents’ health insurance scheme in 2022 due to rising premiums, lower incomes and a lack of awareness.
Nikkei Asia
- China to launch 26,000 satellites, vying with U.S. for space power — China will start building this year its own version of StarLink, a satellite internet constellation using low Earth orbit, with plans of launching some 26,000 satellites to cover the entire world led by state-run companies.
- Maldives’ president meets Xi, woos Chinese tourists amid India spat — Xi hailed the two countries’ cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative since he visited Male, the Maldivian capital, in 2014.
- Taiwan’s export reliance on Chinese market falls to 21-year low — Taiwan’s exports to China accounted for 35.25% of the total in 2023, the lowest share in 21 years, reflecting the mainland’s economic slowdown and robust artificial intelligence-related exports to the U.S. and Europe.
- China’s foreign minister contender seeks peace, including on Taiwan — Liu, currently the head of the international liaison department of the Chinese Communist Party, tried to portray a softer image of Beijing on his U.S. tour, which also includes a stop in Washington.
- Opinion: Rise of admirals shows Xi’s focus on patriotic professionalism — Chinese navy can be expected to put more emphasis on submarine capabilities. By Alessio Patalano.
Bloomberg
- China Targets Officials’ Business Dinners in Anti-Graft Campaign — China’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign has another target in its cross hairs: officials’ meals.
- Xi’s Empty Dream City of Xiongan Shows Limits of His Power, Even in China — China has spent more than double the cost of the Three Gorges Dam on building a futuristic megacity. But will people come?
- Xi Elevates Ties With Record Number of Nations to Counter US — Chinese President Xi Jinping upgraded ties with a record number of countries last year as he seeks to rally the Global South to reshape the US-led world order.
- Sunak Condemns Hong Kong’s Trial of Free Speech ‘Champion’ — UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned Hong Kong’s trial of Jimmy Lai as “politically motivated,” making him the only world leader so far to weigh in on the hearing that could see the former media mogul jailed for life.
- China Startup Deals Plumb Four-Year Low Despite Mega Chip Deals — Venture capital investment in China shrank more than 7% to its lowest in four years despite a series of giant chip deals, as investors cooled on startups and steered clear of economic and regulatory turmoil.
Reuters
- China’s policy dilemma: is boosting credit deflationary? — The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is under pressure to cut interest rates as falling prices raise real borrowing costs for private businesses and households, curbing investment, hiring and consumer spending.
Other Publications
- Brookings: Why India cares about China-Russia relations — Tanvi Madan speaks with Nivedita Kapoor about Russia’s evolving role in India’s China strategy and New Delhi’s perception of recent developments in the China-Russia partnership.
- The Economist: Xi Jinping risks setting off another trade war — Why Western politicians should prepare for a second “China shock”.
- Foreign Policy: Will Vietnam Get Caught in the Crosshairs of Great-Power Politics Again? — The U.S. and China are courting Hanoi. But the country is trying to chart its own path.