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.
Paid subscribers automatically have this list emailed directly to their inboxes every day by 10 a.m. EST. Subscribe here.
The Wall Street Journal
- China Signals Opposition to Forced Sale of TikTok in the U.S. — Beijing’s stance leaves few options for app owner ByteDance.
- China’s Real-Estate Market Just Set a Record—but Not a Good One — Sales are up, but homeowners are being forced to slash prices.
- Steven Mnuchin Says He Is Putting Together a Group to Buy TikTok — Former Treasury secretary’s comments come after House voted to ban the app in the U.S. or force a sale.
The Financial Times
- TikTok’s US revenues hit $16bn as Washington threatens ban — Parent company ByteDance on track to become world’s biggest social media group with $120bn in global sales.
- State-linked Vanke is latest Chinese developer hit by confidence crisis — Homebuyers in China are staying clear of property groups with unfinished projects.
- China eases tourist visa restrictions to boost economy — Beijing hopes giving easier access to people from some European countries will revitalise multibillion-dollar tourism sector.
- Diamonds lose sparkle in China amid property woes and marriage drought — Chinese consumers’ shift to gold jewellery helps push down demand despite wider revival in luxury market.
- US private funds struggle to cash out from China — TikTok bill in Washington impedes path to exit investments after IPO market fizzles.
- China hits out at US push to ban TikTok as Steven Mnuchin plots bid — Beijing urges Washington to ‘stop unfairly suppressing foreign companies.’
The New York Times
- Why Taiwan Is Building a Satellite Network Without Elon Musk — The island democracy urgently needs an internet backup. Mr. Musk’s total control over his Starlink service, which dominates the market, left Taiwan wary.
- Big Appeal, and Big Question Marks, in Possible TikTok Sale — Wall Street is abuzz about a potential deal, but the large price tag for the app is one of many factors that could limit the number of suitors.
- TikTok Is Its Own Worst Enemy — The video-sharing app has received unfair treatment in Washington. But the company’s biggest wounds are self-inflicted.
- TikTok Faces a Senate Showdown — A federal bill to force TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell the video app — or have it banned — is moving through Washington with surprising speed, after the House passed it with an overwhelming majority.
Sponsored by WireScreen
Navigate China’s Business Landscape with Confidence – Easily manage complex trade compliance issues like FDPR, UFLPA, EAR & ITAR, and End User Verification.
Caixin
- Over 800 Chinese Involved in Cross-Border Cybercrime Repatriated From Myanmar — More than 800 Chinese nationals involved in gambling and fraud in a Myanmar border town have been repatriated through Thailand as part of a joint three-country operation to tackle cross-border cybercrime, according to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).
- Exclusive: ByteDance Revives Gaming Ambitions Amid Fears of U.S. TikTok Ban — In a surprising reversal of its recent strategy, TikTok parent company ByteDance Ltd. plans to re-enter the gaming industry. This decision came less than four months after it chose to wind down its Nuverse gaming brand and retreat from mainstream video games.
- Nio Teams up with CATL to Develop Longer-Life Batteries — Chinese electric vehicle upstart Nio Inc. is teaming up with battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) to develop batteries with a longer lifespan in a bid to cut the cost of powering electric cars.
South China Morning Post
- Is China’s state-led industrial policy on a perilous path? Some Beijing advisers warn of ‘detrimental’ implications — Injecting funds into strategic industries such as alternative energy has given China a massive leg up on the international competition, but domestic experts say cracks may be showing.
- China said to fall short of matching US advances in AI owing to ‘many challenges in theory and technologies’ — A presentation made to Chinese Premier Li Qiang pointed out major hurdles faced by the nation’s artificial-intelligence development initiatives.
- Club Med owner Fosun Tourism courts investors on return to profitability days after reports of debt concerns at parent firm — Fosun Tourism Group, the leisure and tourism unit of Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, is courting both domestic and international investors in a move that is in line with its asset-light strategy.
Nikkei Asia
- China automation slump lays bare Omron’s dependence on market — Miscues cause Japanese supplier to cut jobs while rivals weather slowdown.
- China home prices sink further despite mortgage rate cut — February data shows another 0.3% monthly drop in top-tier cities.
- Online retailer Shein targeted by fast-fashion bill in France — Lawmakers agree to slap up to $11 penalty per item, in move seen as protectionist.
Bloomberg
- China Urges EV Makers to Buy Local Chips as US Clash Deepens — The Chinese government has quietly asked electric-vehicle makers from BYD Co. to Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. to sharply increase their purchases from local auto chipmakers, part of a campaign to reduce reliance on Western imports and boost China’s domestic semiconductor industry.
- China’s TikTok Bill Anger ‘Supremely Ironic,’ US Envoy Says — The top American diplomat in China hit out at Beijing’s objection to a potential ban on TikTok in the US, in sharp comments that underscore persistent tensions between the countries despite a recent improvement in ties.
- Three Top China Executives Depart Consulting Firm Control Risks — Control Risks has seen all three of its partners in mainland China depart or plan their exits over the past year and it isn’t clear they will be replaced, a reflection of the increasingly complicated environment facing advisory firms in the world’s second-biggest economy.
Reuters
- China tightens scrutiny over IPOs, listed firms to revive stock market — China published a set of rules on Friday that would tighten scrutiny over stock listings, public companies and underwriters, as regulators ramp up efforts to revive investor confidence.
- Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Global must face US investor lawsuit over IPO — Didi Global, the Chinese ride-hailing company, must face a lawsuit in a U.S. court claiming it defrauded investors by concealing and disobeying a Chinese government order to postpone its 2021 initial public offering until it resolved cybersecurity and privacy concerns.
- TikTok ban bill: What we know about Tiktok’s Chinese owner — The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill this week that would give TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the U.S. assets of the short video app, or face a ban, in the greatest threat to the app since the Trump administration.
Other Publications
- ProPublica: Gangsters, Money and Murder: How Chinese Organized Crime Is Dominating America’s Illegal Marijuana Market — A quadruple murder in Oklahoma shows how the Chinese underworld has come to dominate the booming illicit trade, fortifying its rise as a global powerhouse with alleged ties to China’s authoritarian regime.
- The Economist: A toast to the possible end of Chinese tariffs on Australian wine — Officials in Beijing appear to be done fermenting trouble.
- Washington Post: Chinese students, academics say they’re facing extra scrutiny entering U.S. — Stay calm. Answer their questions but don’t volunteer more than asked. Have a lawyer’s number ready. Pack clothing from Western brands, and don’t carry any emblems of the Chinese Communist Party.
- POLITICO: Congress’ TikTok bill faces a massive hurdle — It’s not clear who can afford one of the world’s most valuable tech companies — especially if it doesn’t want to be sold.
- Foreign Affairs: Playing Both Sides of the U.S.-Chinese Rivalry — Why countries get external security from Washington—and internal security from Beijing
- The Guardian: Fiji to stick with China police deal after review, home affairs minister says — Pio Tikoduadua says agreement has been ‘restored’ after Fiji examined controversial deal that allows for police exchanges and intelligence sharing.
- CNBC: Estee Lauder sinks on disappointment that CEO Fabrizio Freda didn’t have better news about China — Estee Lauder shares declined Thursday after CEO Fabrizio Freda offered an underwhelming outlook on China at a retail conference earlier in the day.
- Axios: Biden eyes chance to bully Trump on TikTok and China — With an anti-TikTok bill flying through the House, Senate Democrats are debating whether to give President Biden what he’s wanted for three years: An opportunity to bully former President Trump on China.
- United States Institute of Peace: Are China and the Philippines on a Collision Course? — China’s gray zone operations risk a war that could draw in the United States.
