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
- China Sentences Canadian Citizen to 11 Years for Espionage in Case at Heart of Diplomatic Standoff — Charges against Michael Spavor and fellow Canadian Michael Kovrig are widely seen as retaliation for Ottawa’s arrest of a Huawei executive at request of U.S.
- Sexual Assault Accusation at China’s Alibaba Sparks Reflection on Alcohol, Work and Women — An alleged sexual assault involving employees of the tech giant has many examining how women bear the burden when forced drinks are key to business.
- China’s Corporate Intervention Drives Investors to Industries Beijing Supports — The hammering of internet stocks has benefited sectors such as high-tech manufacturing and renewable energy.
- Air China Stock Will Struggle to Lift Off — Optimism about China’s reopening to the world and its domestic tourism has waned. But some airline stocks still look optimistically priced.
- SoftBank to Hold Off on New Investments in China Amid Tech Crackdown — World’s biggest tech investor posts lower profit as some investments sink in value during April-June quarter.
The Financial Times
- Evergrande shares jump as indebted developer confirms asset sale talks — Chinese group in negotiations to offload stakes in electric vehicle and property management units.
- China jails Canadian for 11 years in case seen as linked to Huawei CFO’s trial — Michael Spavor convicted of spying in trial regarded as retaliation for arrest of Meng Wanzhou.
- China’s focus on giant aircraft carriers makes it vulnerable to missile threat — As Beijing’s economic interests grow, it may need to deploy carriers farther and farther from its shores.
- Investors in China should beware Beijing’s unpredictability — The authorities are capable of turning their wrath on any company or sector that displeases them.
- Private school owners forced to hand institutions over to Chinese state — Fallout from Beijing’s education overhaul ripples across the country.
The New York Times
- China Sentences Canadian Michael Spavor to 11 Years in Prison — The prosecution of Michael Spavor has been widely seen as political retaliation by China against Canada for the detention of a Chinese technology executive.
- Ying-shih Yu, Renowned Scholar of Chinese Thought, Dies at 91 — He believed that Chinese tradition was more varied and tolerant than critics thought it to be, and that it could be a vessel for enlightened values and democratic progress.
Caixin
- Hong Kong to Make Investors Trade Stocks Under Their Real Names — Requirement, set to take effect in the second half of 2022, tightens personal identification rules on the exchange to make it easier to ferret out misconduct.
- After Days Stranded Off China’s Coast, Cargo Ship Crew Members Hospitalized With Covid — Chinese seafarers’ plea for help wasn’t accepted until video calling for aid spread on social media, sources said.
- In Depth: Chinese Chipmaking Upstarts Race to Rival Nvidia — Raising billions of dollars from investors, Iluvatar CoreX, Biren Technology, MetaX and Moore Threads bet on next-generation chips for AI.
South China Morning Post
- China’s probe into ride hailing giant Didi Chuxing may lead to management reshuffle, sources say — Didi’s founder and chairman Cheng Wei, co-founder and global president Jean Liu Qing, and senior vice-president Stephen Zhu Jingshi – who together hold more than 50 per cent of the voting rights of Didi’s eight-member board – are under scrutiny by a number of agencies led by the Cyberspace Administration of China.
- Human rights abuses claimed in hundreds of China belt and road projects — A total of 679 allegations of human rights abuses involving Chinese companies operating abroad were recorded between 2013 and 2020, a rights group said on Wednesday.
- Shanghai bans primary school final exams for the subject of English amid education reform drive — Pupils in Shanghai will not be taking final English-proficiency exams as Chinese authorities continue to implement sweeping reforms to ease the academic burden placed on students.
Bloomberg
- Hong Kong Bourse Sees Drop in Quarterly Profit as IPOs Slow — Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., the world’s largest exchange by market value, reported a drop in profit in the second quarter as a boom in initial public offerings and trading at the start of the year waned.
- China Huarong Unit Rating Now Deep into Junk Territory at Fitch — Fitch Ratings downgraded one of China Huarong Asset Management Co.’s units deeper into junk territory, citing questions about future support from the parent and lack of a debt refinancing plan.
- China Leaves Room to Release Canadian After Spy Conviction — A Chinese court jailed a Canadian tour organizer for 11 years for spying, while leaving room for his eventual deportation — a ruling that appeared timed to pressure Ottawa in extradition proceedings against a top Huawei Technologies Co. executive.
Reuters
- China regulatory storm tests nerves, limits of top-down policy — The regulatory storm that washed billions from Chinese corporate valuations in the name of curbing excesses exposes not only the policy risk under President Xi Jinping’s increasingly activist tenure, but also the uncertainty over implementation.
- Great Wall Motor to shift some India investment to Brazil after approval delays – sources — Great Wall Motor has decided to re-allocate to Brazil a portion of its $1-billion investment in India, as the Chinese automaker has been unnerved by a year-long delay in winning government approvals, three sources told Reuters.
- China to fund Myanmar projects in agreement with junta — China will transfer over $6 million to Myanmar’s government to fund 21 development projects, Myanmar’s foreign ministry said, in a sign of cooperation resuming under the junta that overthrew an elected government on Feb. 1.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: Chinese state media has seized on a Swiss scientist critical of a covid origins probe. The one problem: He might not exist. — The post drew wide attention from Chinese state media, which used it to vindicate China’s stance on the investigation.
- Nikkei Asia: Will China’s digital yuan vanquish the dollar? — 50 years after the ‘Nixon shock,’ a new era in international finance is dawning.
- Foreign Policy: Is China’s New U.S. Ambassador a ‘Wolf Warrior’—or a Fox? — Although close to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Qin Gang doesn’t quite fit the mold of hostile Chinese diplomacy.
- Protocol: Alibaba’s rape allegation is a milestone in China’s #MeToo movement — A scandal brings toxic business drinking culture to the forefront.
