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 Levels Series of Allegations Against Former Law-Enforcement Official Sun Lijun — Drumbeat of Xi Jinping’s antigraft campaign picks up with former vice minister’s ejection from Communist Party.
- Zoom’s Nearly $15 Billion Acquisition of Five9 Rejected by Shareholders — Five9 investors voted against all-stock deal amid concerns about Zoom’s growth.
- Chinese Citizen Journalist Who Documented Covid-19 in Wuhan Resurfaces After 600 Days — Chen Qiushi, whose viral videos offered a rare view from the coronavirus epicenter, reappeared on Twitter and YouTube but offered few details of his disappearance.
- Bitcoin Stalls as U.S., China Go After Cryptocurrencies — Regulatory pressure pinches off third-quarter rally following steep spring selloff.
- As Selling Luxury in China Gets Tougher, Buy American — Designer brands that are doing brisk business in the U.S. offer a hedge against the risk of slowing growth in a more egalitarian China.
The Financial Times
- Evergrande bonds snapped up by distressed debt investors — Funds bet Beijing will come to rescue of the world’s most highly leveraged developer.
- Cambridge sets guidelines to reduce overseas engagement risks — University addresses working with countries that ‘do not share the UK’s commitment to democracy’.
- Chinese energy order points to harsher gas crunch for Europe — Beijing reportedly demands energy supplies to keep factories working at all costs.
The New York Times
- Lithuania vs. China: A Baltic Minnow Defies a Rising Superpower — Lithuania has enraged China by advising officials to scrap Chinese phones that it says contain censorship software, while cozying up to Taiwan and quitting a Chinese-led regional forum.
Caixin
- Tencent’s WeChat Pay Ties up with Unionpay’s Cloud QuickPass — Tencent’s WeChat Pay now accessible by Cloud QuickPass, the mobile payment service of state-backed UnionPay; QuickPass users can now make payments by scanning WeChat Pay QR codes, and WeChat Pay users can do the same with QuickPass codes.
- Foreign Investment in China Hits Record Amid Strong Post-Covid Recovery — Massive capital inflows reflect attractive returns provided by yuan assets amid currency’s ongoing appreciation.
- Cost of Shipping Between China and U.S. Plunges — After hitting record highs in early September, the looming off-season and power crunch have forced prices down by as much as half.
South China Morning Post
- China backs North Korean call to revise sanctions to revive nuclear talks — China has backed North Korea’s calls for the US to revise its sanctions to break the stalemate in denuclearisation talks.
- China’s box office is becoming a multimillion-dollar headache for Hollywood studios as US-China relations show no improvement — Seventeen US films have been released in China this year, down from 30 last year and 52 in 2019, according to Maoyan’s data.
- How is Xinjiang’s economy holding amid US sanctions, and can China keep supporting its ‘great burden’? — This is the first in a series of stories looking at China’s Xinjiang province and how the far-western region is coping economically under a series of US sanctions over alleged human rights violations and the widespread use of forced labour.
- Why China’s beef with Australia is making US meat exporters happy – for now — As Australian beef exports to China wither amid diplomatic tensions, demand for US grain-fed beef has soared, fuelled by the appetites of a growing Chinese middle class.
Bloomberg
- China’s Coal Miners Told to Produce Even If They’re Over Quotas — China’s leadership has told the country’s state-owned miners to produce coal at full capacity for the rest of the year even if they exceed annual quota limits as they struggle with the deepening power crisis.
- Even the Dirtiest Coal Is Surging Due to China’s Power Crunch — China is paying the most on record for the dirtiest type of coal, showing how the power crisis is turbo-charging Asian energy markets.
- Dairy Giant Yili Said to Weigh Deal for Formula Maker Ausnutria — Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., China’s biggest dairy producer, is exploring a potential takeover of infant formula maker Ausnutria Dairy Corp., according to people familiar with the matter.
Reuters
- China gorges on American grain-fed beef amid shrinking supplies from Down Under — Beef imports from the U.S. have grown to 83,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, nine times the amount in the same period a year ago, according to Chinese customs data, and are set to be worth more than $1 billion this year.
- China hikes 2021 rare earth quotas by 20% to record highs — China is the world’s dominant producer of rare earths, a prized group of 17 minerals used in consumer electronics and military equipment.
Other Publications
- The Economist: When China wants to be feared — Taking Canadian hostages was a message to America’s allies.
- Associated Press: China appoints new Xinjiang governor amid abuse accusations — Tuniyaz, 59, is an ethnic Uyghur who studied economics and law and worked his way up through a variety of posts in Xinjiang.
- Politico: U.S. trade chief: Biden will build on Trump-era tariffs to confront China — In an interview, the U.S. trade representative says her office is nearly done with a review of the administration’s approach to China as it prepares to chart a new course on the trade relationship.
- Nikkei Asia: HNA bankruptcy reaches turning point, putting $170bn size on debt — Chinese conglomerate’s restructuring expected to conclude in November.
