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
- Huawei’s First-Quarter Net Profit Rose More Than Sixfold — Net profit rise was helped by a jump in smartphone sales in China.
- Why Musk Now Needs China More Than It Needs Him — China used Elon Musk’s trip to promote their message that they are open to American businesses, despite rising tensions with the US.
- HSBC’s CEO Steps Down After More Than Four Years — Noel Quinn steered the banking heavyweight through a tumultuous period, and sharpened its focus on Asia.
- China Hints at Rate Cuts, Property-Market Support — The campaign to rekindle flagging growth is a fresh sign of rising angst over the economy at the very top of China’s government.
- North Korea Will Soon Be Able to Flout Sanctions More Easily — The U.N. panel that investigates and monitors the enforcement of sanctions on the country is set to end after Russia vetoed an extension of its mandate.
- Asia-Pacific Economies’ Resilience Spurs IMF Forecast Upgrade — Asia-Pacific economies seem to be weathering the impact of high interest rates, weak global demand and other headwinds rather well, the IMF says as it upgrades its growth forecast for the region.
- China Vanke Shares Slump After Soft Results — The property developer’s shares slumped after it posted soft first-quarter results amid continuing pressure in China’s property sector.
- China’s Factory Activity Keeps Growing But Loses Some Steam — China’s latest batch of factory activity showed the manufacturing sector has continued growing, but has lost some steam as economic headwinds persist.
- McDonald’s Supersizes China Bet as Corporate America Pulls Back — The fast-food chain aims to nearly double restaurants in the country after spending $1.8 billion to buy back a bigger stake in the company’s business there.
The Financial Times
- China says rival Palestinian factions express ‘political will’ to reconcile — Hamas and Fatah meet in Beijing to try to work out differences as international pressure grows for end to war in Gaza.
- Hong Kong joins global crypto ETF race — Rollout of spot bitcoin and ether exchange traded funds follows launch of similar products in US.
- What does Elon Musk’s China trip mean for Tesla? — EV maker’s chief executive held talks with Chinese premier and secured key approval for data use.
- China’s high-tech output drives growth in factory activity — Country’s leaders promise more support for economy they say still faces ‘challenges’.
- Tesla shares surge after Elon Musk secures deal with China’s Baidu — Shares in US electric-car maker soar 17% on autonomous driving prospects in world’s biggest auto market.
- Opinion: China’s problem is excess savings, not too much capacity — Policymakers on either side of bitter trade dispute seem to confuse two issues. By Michael Pettis.
The New York Times
- Elon Musk Reaches Deals in China on Self-Driving Teslas — Elon Musk met with the country’s premier, a longtime Tesla ally, and secured regulatory nods and a necessary partnership with a Chinese tech company.
Caixin
- Two of China’s ‘Big Four’ Banks Pick New Presidents, Sources Say — Positions at ICBC and CCB became vacant earlier this year when their incumbents were promoted to chair the lenders.
- Analysis: China’s EV Whiz Kids Are Flipping the Script on Joint Ventures — Increasingly, foreign giants are looking to take advantage of Chinese upstarts’ technological know-how.
- Chinese Shipbuilding Giant Seals $6 Billion Deal to Build LNG Carriers for Qatar — A boom in demand for the fuel driven by the Ukraine war is offering Chinese companies a chance to seize market share from South Korean rivals.
- ByteDance Fired 61 Employees Amid Internal Graft Crackdown — Three staff members have been arrested and another is under criminal investigation.
- Japan’s Semiconductor Export Controls Disrupt Global Supply Chain, Ministry Says — Japan’s extended restrictions on chipmaking tool exports labeled ‘erroneous practices’ by China ministry.
South China Morning Post
- KFC, Pizza Hut’s China owner plans stores in country’s ‘untapped’ smaller cities as consumers tighten belts amid slowing economy — Yum China Holdings, which owns the KFC and Pizza Hut restaurant chains in mainland China, plans to open more stores in ‘untapped’ parts of the country where it hopes its low-price strategy will appeal to vast numbers of less affluent customers.
- Huawei heir-apparent Meng Wanzhou eyes digitalisation, AI to regain ground in Asia-Pacific — Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies is eyeing opportunities in digital and artificial intelligence transformation to regain ground in Asia-Pacific, according to its deputy chairwoman Meng Wanzhou.
- How China’s third plenums have reshaped its economy – and what to expect this year — China’s Communist Party will hold one of its most-watched meetings in July, as analysts predict the political body will lay out reforms to aid in the country’s economic recovery.
- China now home to 369 unicorns, with an average value of US$3.8 billion, led by AI and semiconductor firms, report says — Across 16 sectors, artificial intelligence unicorns are the highest valued, at an average of US$6.76 billion, followed by financial technology firms at US$6.57 billion.
- Opinion: Xi’s European tour: why Hungary and Serbia are the important stops — The Xi-Macron meeting will make a splash but Chinese EV and battery manufacturers’ plans in Hungary and Serbia are also shaping the China-EU dynamic in important ways. By Bob Savic.
Nikkei Asia
- Taiwan’s Sunflower protest legacy looms large for incoming president Lai — New generations build pressure for change 10 years after movement paved way for DPP wins.
- Taiwan hails U.S.-Japan-Philippines ties as ‘great deterrent’ to China — Foreign Minister Wu says Beijing decision to invade not imminent or inevitable.
- China fires water cannons at Philippine ships in South China Sea — An official from the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said the water cannons were shot eight times during the morning standoff.
Bloomberg
- China’s EV and Solar Exports Are Powering Ahead as Prices Slide — China’s exports of batteries, electric cars and solar panels hit record highs last year, underlining its dominance of key green industries — and driving a global price slump that’s adding to alarm in developed economies.
- How the TikTok Law Could Intensify the US-China Tech Spat — The law is almost certain to lead to a Supreme Court case and retaliation against US interests in China.
- Xi Is on a Mission to Drive a Wedge Between US and Europe — Beijing offers much more of an economic opportunity for the bloc than the US wants to admit.
Reuters
- Strained Chinese cities struggle to pay home buying subsidies — This meant some local governments were unable to raise funds to pay the promised subsidies, frustrating buyers and casting doubts over future support measures. All of that could delay the property market’s recovery.
- China overtakes Japan in April as Australia’s top coal market — Australia’s coal exports to China have been recovering since February last year when the world’s biggest buyer of the polluting fuel ended an informal ban on imports.
- Von der Leyen’s China plan is all bark and no bite — Von der Leyen’s campaign to be reappointed as president of the European Commission depends on her ability to sound the alarm about China without breaking the European Union economy.
Other Publications
- POLITICO: Chinese professors warn of ‘culture of fear’ in Florida after DeSantis’ hiring restrictions — Two students and a University of Florida professor hope to block the law, which has stopped public universities from hiring students for assistantships from “countries of concern” like China or Russia.
- AP: Chinese scientist who first published COVID sequence stages protest after being locked out of lab — This is the latest in a series of setbacks, demotions and ousters since the virologist published the sequence in January 2020 without state approval.
- CSIS: Innovation and Antitrust in Competition with China — The United States has done exceedingly well at technological innovation, but so has China using a different, nonmarket, economic model.
- BBC: Tensions grow as China ramps up mining for green tech — China has taken big stakes in mines across the world extracting minerals vital to the green economy.
