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
- Why the Hybrid Boom Is Funding EVs — Japan’s carmakers have been churning out record profits thanks to the weak yen and strong hybrid sales, creating a war chest for electric-vehicle investments.
- BYD Debuts First Pickup Truck in Mexico — The launch marked BYD’s first time debuting a new product overseas rather than in China.
- Senate Group Recommends Spending Tens of Billions of Dollars on AI — A bipartisan group published a road map for artificial-intelligence policy to stay ahead of China, while addressing the technology’s potential harm.
- YouTube Says It Will Block Protest Song in Hong Kong — The move came in response to a court order to ban the distribution of ‘Glory to Hong Kong,’ adding to fears of declining free speech as the authorities carry out a campaign against dissent.
- The Lopsided Reality of the Russia-China Relationship — Beset by Western sanctions, Moscow has increasingly turned to Beijing for economic and security support.
- With America Off-Limits, China EV Makers Aim to Conquer Rest of World — Carmakers in China are accelerating a sales push in Europe and Southeast Asia and are looking to produce more abroad.
- China’s Central Bank Holds Key Policy Rates Steady — The People’s Bank of China held key policy rates steady, a move that could preface a hold on benchmark lending rates later this month.
- Import Groups Decry Higher U.S. Tariffs on China-Made Goods — Retailers and apparel sellers say the increases in their costs will ultimately reach consumers.
The Financial Times
- Putin blasts west ahead of state visit to Beijing — Blistering diatribe in Chinese media emphasises geopolitical alignment with Xi Jinping.
- China ‘dwarfs’ US investments in EU neighbourhood countries — Countries in eastern Europe, north Africa and central Asia receive more funding from Beijing, EBRD says.
- Biden and Trump battle to prove who can be toughest on China — Tariffs on Chinese goods put trade, protectionism and blue-collar workers at heart of White House race.
- China-Russia: an economic ‘friendship’ that could rattle the world — After Putin’s invasion of Ukraine trade links between the two countries have strengthened. So have Beijing’s geopolitical ambitions.
- Brazilian niobium carves out an energy niche — US research highlights Chinese involvement in metal’s production.
- China’s SMIC warns of fiercer price war for less advanced chips — Demand in second half of year still ‘uncertain’, says top Chinese semiconductor maker.
- Why Washington’s new tariffs on Chinese clean tech goods matter — Joe Biden’s move looks to court blue-collar votes in electoral swing states — but will be felt far beyond the US.
- Stellantis dealerships in Europe to sell EVs made by Leapmotor — Chinese group’s electric vehicles to be available in nine markets as owner of Fiat and Peugeot looks to benefit from tie-up.
- Opinion: America is pulling up the drawbridge — The nation is growing tired of upholding the economic rules it laid out for the world after 1945. By Edward Luce.
The New York Times
- Few Chinese Electric Cars Are Sold in U.S., but Industry Fears a Flood — Automakers in the United States and their supporters welcomed President Biden’s tariffs, saying they would protect domestic manufacturing and jobs from cheap Chinese vehicles.
- China Deploys Dozens of Ships to Block Philippine Protest Flotilla — Filipino civilians set sail in fishing boats to oppose China’s control of a shoal claimed by the Philippines. A formidable Chinese fleet awaited them.
- YouTube Blocks ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ in the City — Responding to a court order, YouTube and its sister company, Google, will block viewers in the region from viewing videos of the song, “Glory to Hong Kong.”
- Why Biden Is Putting Tariffs on Chinese Imports — Why the Biden administration is imposing new tariffs.
- U.K. Summons Chinese Ambassador for Reprimand as Tensions Rise — Britain’s foreign office said it had reprimanded the Chinese ambassador, a day after three men were charged with assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service.
- Opinion: It’s Not Just Putin. Russia Needs China, Too. — Before the war, Russia’s trade with the European Union was double that with China; now it’s less than half. By Alexander Gabuev.
Caixin
- Bribes, Booze and Books Uncovered in Veteran Securities Regulator’s Corruption Probe — An Qingsong has been dismissed from the China Futures Association for misconduct that included accepting bottles of Moutai liquor and pushing his own writing on subordinates.
- Former ICBC Anti-Graft Chief Charged With Taking ‘Huge’ Bribes — Liu Lixian also allegedly abused his power while working at scandal-plagued China Huarong Asset Management and the country’s top prosecutor.
- Charles Li’s Micro Connect Rallies Key Employees to Invest in ‘Leading Sheep’ Program — Core frontline employees are being asked to put their money into an investment program that aligns their interests with their company’s.
South China Morning Post
- Mainland China targets Taiwanese influencers for punishment over ‘fake and negative’ comments — Beijing says five media and political figures from Taiwan will be subject to punitive measures, accusing them of provoking cross-strait hostility.
- TikTok owner ByteDance launches low-cost Doubao AI models for enterprises, initiating a price war in crowded mainland market — ByteDance’s aggressive pricing for its Doubao large language model family shows the increased opportunity in mainland China, where more firms are scrambling to adopt GenAI tools.
- China adjusts added value accounting to mitigate data manipulation, clean up GDP statistics — The added value of the financial sector is being calculated via a new set of metrics to increase statistical accuracy and cut down on data manipulation, making GDP figures more resilient to massaging by localities.
- Opinion: Sino-US youth exchanges are vital – and Hong Kong has a role to play — Amid threats such as climate change, more exchanges and dialogues between young people in the US and China can help forge trust. By Brian Y. S. Wong.
- Opinion: Vietnam’s Catch-22 in courting China as a rare earth partner — In many ways, China is the perfect partner for Hanoi’s rare earth processing industry ambitions. But standing in the way is Vietnam’s wariness of corporate exploitation and taking sides in the US-China rivalry, as well as its political turmoil. By Mengshi Ren.
Nikkei Asia
- Japan, South Korea, China seek to ease friction at trilateral summit — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul discussed the event Monday in Beijing, agreeing to “continue their cooperation for the success” of the talks, according to Seoul’s readout.
- Honda scales down production workforce in China as sales slump — GAC Honda Automobile, a joint venture between Honda and Chinese state-owned automaker GAC Group, began seeking employees this month to leave the company.
- Half of companies see China economy worsening this year: Japan chamber — Half of member companies responding to the chamber’s survey said they expect economic conditions to be worse or somewhat worse in 2024 compared with last year, up from 39% in January.
Bloomberg
- China Considers Government Buying of Unsold Homes to Save Property Market — Markets — China is considering a proposal to have local governments across the country buy millions of unsold homes, people familiar with the matter said, in what would be one of its most ambitious attempts yet to salvage the beleaguered property market.
- China’s Top Diplomat Says US Tariffs Show Loss of ‘Sanity’ — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi piled onto his nation’s criticism of the latest US tariffs, calling them “a classic example of bullying.”
- China Allows Visa-Free Entry for Overseas Groups on Cruise Ships — China will allow visa-free entry for foreign tour groups that come to the country via cruise ships in a further bid to attract international visitors and boost its sluggish inbound travel market.
- Opinion: China Tariffs: White House’s Green Trade War Is Just Starting — The desire to disentangle the US from dependency on China is bipartisan. Biden’s clean tech tariffs are only one piece of the puzzle. By Liam Denning.
Reuters
- ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,’ China trolls new US tariffs — Beijing’s response also suggests a new dynamic – and confidence – compared with 2018 when Trump-era tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods touched off an escalating trade war, analysts said.
- US House committee to vote on bill to restrict BGI, WuXi AppTec — Supporters say the legislation is needed to keep Americans’ health and genetic information from foreign adversaries, who could weaponize the data.
- Utility price hikes in parts of China hand another blow to households — The large tech and manufacturing hubs of Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and other cities in China, have in recent months increased or flagged plans to raise water or gas prices.
Other Publications
- CFR: China Is Reversing Its Crackdown on Some Religions, but Not All — Another side of the crackdowns involves state support for “indigenous religions” in an attempt to promote traditional social values amid declining belief in the communist ideology.
- Foreign Policy: Gazprom’s Declining Fortunes Spell Trouble for Moscow — The gas giant’s record loss should worry the Kremlin on several fronts.
- Foreign Policy: Europeans Need to Trump-Proof China Policy — The United States is an unpredictable ally—but Beijing isn’t a better option.
- The Atlantic: China Has Got the Trade War It Deserved — The Biden administration’s steep new tariffs are a rational response to Xi Jinping’s aggressive economic policies.
- BBC: China’s spy threat is growing, but the West has struggled to keep up — For years, Western spy agencies have talked of a need to pivot to focus on China. This week, the head of the UK’s GCHQ intelligence agency described it as an “epoch-defining challenge”.
- BBC: The illicit trade with China fuelling Mozambique’s insurgency — Timber smuggling, estimated to be worth $23m (£18m) a year, from Mozambique’s ancient forests to China is helping to fund a brutal Islamist insurgency.
- Brookings: Beware forecasts of doom for Taiwan under Lai — Since Beijing has threatened to go to war to prevent Taiwan independence, so the thinking goes, Lai’s inauguration could spell impending trouble.
- CSIS: Experts React: Energy and Trade Implications of Tariffs on Chinese Imports — CSIS scholars delve into key aspects of these new tariffs and the sectors where they apply.
- Semafor: Tech critic McCourt mounts TikTok bid — He told Semafor in an interview Tuesday that he plans to buy and rebuild TikTok as “a new and better version of the internet where individuals are respected and they own and control their identity and their data.”
