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
- Base-Metal Demand From Energy Transition to Offset Some China Real-Estate Losses, SMM Says — Base-metals demand in China will be largely driven by electric vehicles, renewable power, lithium-ion batteries and related infrastructure investment in 2025, offsetting some losses from a weaker property market, the Shanghai Metals Exchange said.
- China’s Housing Glut Collides With Its Shrinking Population — Many cities are stuck with empty homes that they will likely never fill, adding to the country’s economic woes.
- Oil Boosted by Chinese Measures, Middle East Fears — Oil prices rose 1% in early European trading, boosted by China’s latest barrage of stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing the country’s property market, as well as supply disruption risks in the Middle East.
- NIO Shares Jump After Unit Secures $1.9 Billion Investment — NIO’s shares in Singapore and Hong Kong surged after a unit of the Chinese electric vehicle maker secured a capital injection.
The Financial Times
- Could the balloon shooting have taken the gas out of Chinese stocks? — Inflated expectations, blown away, losing altitude, full of hot air, free float; pump-and-dump, strings attached, etc.
- Opinion: Like it or not, miners are still a China proxy — A jump in shares shows how the sector’s fortunes are tied to the prospects of the world’s second-largest economy. By Lex.
- Opinion: Signs of China’s troubles around Hainan’s white beaches — Province is scattered with unfinished projects conceived when country’s growth appeared unassailable. By Eleanor Olcott.
- Opinion: Why China needs a ‘Three Arrows’ strategy — Beijing should err on the side of acceptance rather than denial and make major efforts to avoid the mistakes of Japan. By Stephen Roach.
The New York Times
- U.S. Raises New Concerns Over Chinese Lending Practices — A Treasury official will call for greater transparency over emergency currency “swap” loans to struggling countries by China’s central bank.
- U.S. and Allies Sound Alarm Over Their Adversaries’ Military Ties — The Biden administration is struggling to halt cooperation among Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. It feels urgency over the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East while also aiming to protect Taiwan.
- Opinion: Breaking Up With China Is Hard to Do — For many U.S. companies, Chinese partnership may be too important to quit. By Peter Coy.
Caixin
- CATL Chairman Sees Recycled Lithium as the Future of EV-Battery Making — Half of all power cells could be made with recycled lithium by 2042, Zeng Yuqun says.
- In Depth: Fine Dining Hits a Rough Patch in China — High-end restaurants in big cities have been losing business to more budget-friendly competitors, pushing some to launch more affordable options for diners.
- Two Grandmasters of Chinese Chess Banned for Life — Top-ranking players Wang Tianyi and Wang Yuefei stand accused of fixing matches.
- Citadel Securities Intends to Launch Its Own Brokerage Business in China — U.S. market maker to apply for licenses to run brokerage, asset management and proprietary trading businesses.
- China’s Biggest Cities Ease Homebuying Rules After Government Announces Stimulus — China’s four biggest cities have all lowered floors on down payment ratios, but the measures may not be enough to boost sales, industry sources say.
South China Morning Post
- China Telecom say AI model with 1 trillion parameters trained with Chinese chips — The state-owned telecoms operator did not reveal what chips it used for its 1 trillion-parameter model, but it has a partnership with Huawei.
- Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou back at the helm of firm ahead of next flagship smartphone launch — In her latest tenure as rotating chairwoman, Meng is expected to oversee the launch of Huawei’s next flagship 5G smartphone series, the Mate 70.
- Threat assessment: ranking risk among US companies dealing with China — Ford Motor, Carrier and Tesla are top three businesses most vulnerable in analysis by market research firm.
- China and Russia team up on Arctic coastguard mission, with new shipping routes on horizon — Maritime personnel put through their paces in the Sea of Japan as melting ice opens up potential for sea lanes.
- Opinion: China’s latest stimulus measures still don’t go far enough — Mortgage rate cuts and reserve requirement reductions may provide short-term relief but they are no substitutes for boosting domestic demand. By Anthony W.D. Anastasi.
Nikkei Asia
- China to roll out cybersecurity rules covering generative AI — The network data security management regulations contain 64 clauses based on China’s cybersecurity and data security laws. They will go into force on Jan. 1.
- China’s CHK Oil seeks to restore terminated Utah oil and gas leases — Hong Kong-listed company discloses deeper losses, including penalties.
- ‘We are Chinese’: KMT lawmaker challenges president on Taiwan’s nature — Weng Hsiao-ling urges ‘peaceful unification,’ warns against big defense buildup.
- Singapore’s lure for rich Chinese breeds family office tensions — City-state navigates reputational hazards in race to attract wealth.
- Opinion: Asian economies need nuanced steps to counter cheap Chinese imports — Local manufacturers battling for survival in face of aggressive pricing. By Doris Liew, Aaron Pek and Guanie Lim.
Bloomberg
- The Rise and Fall of China’s Copper King. Here’s How It Happened — Wang Wenyin arrived in Shenzhen in the early 1990s with 400 yuan in his pocket. Within three decades, he’d built an empire on the back of China’s infrastructure boom, with relentless self-promotion and a talent for wooing local authorities desperate to attract investment.
- BlackRock’s Fink Calls for Western Firms to Review China Ties — Western companies should be reassessing their ties to China in light of its support for the Russian economy, according to BlackRock Inc.
- Opinion: How the US Lost the Solar Power Race to China — Bloomberg Opinion’s climate columnist visited Michigan, the former heart of the solar industry, and China to learn how good, old-fashioned capitalism won out. By David Fickling.
Reuters
- Global investors gear up to go back into China — China’s factory activity shrank for a fifth straight month and the services sector slowed sharply in September, suggesting Beijing may need to move urgently to meet its 5% 2024 growth target.
- Australia could be canola trade winner if China gets over fungus worries — Chinese quarantine rules designed to stop blackleg spreading in China have blocked Australian canola shipments since 2020.
- Apple may need to turn to China after Indian Tata plant fire, sources say — The weekend blaze has caused an indefinite production halt at Tata’s Hosur plant in Tamil Nadu, the only Indian supplier of iPhone back panels.
Other Publications
- BBC: Xi Jinping is worried about the economy – what do Chinese people think? — What is less clear is how the slowdown has affected ordinary Chinese people, whose expectations and frustrations are often heavily censored.
- The Guardian: Xi Jinping forecasts ‘rough seas’ on 75th anniversary of People’s Republic of China — Chinese Communist party marks milestone in its rule but relatively low-key commemorations are indicative of national slump.
- Rest of World: Apple manufacturers moved from China to Vietnam. Now they’re desperate for workers — Recruiters are wooing new workers with bonuses and gifts.
- The Economist: Fear of a Soviet-style collapse keeps Xi Jinping up at night — China’s Communists have now been in power longer than the Soviets.
- CFR: Why Is China Investing In a $1.7 Billion Canal in Cambodia? — The Funan Techo Canal is the latest in a string of flashy Chinese investments in Cambodia. How did Cambodia, a lower-middle-income nation of 17.5 million people, become a focal point of Chinese foreign policy and investment?
