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.
Paid subscribers automatically have this list emailed directly to their inboxes every day by 10 a.m. EST. Subscribe here.
The Wall Street Journal
- In China, Fewer Are Willing to Splurge as Economic Worries Mount — Chinese leaders can’t convince people to spend more, threatening plans to reignite growth.
- Putin Sees a West United on Ukraine—But What About China and India? — Where the two most populous countries land will be critical for the Russian president and his country’s economy.
- Is the China Reopening Trade for Real? — Hints are emerging that China may begin moving away from ‘zero-Covid’ approach. That would mark a sea change for consumer shares.
- Chinese Property Developers’ Broken Promises Erode Investor Confidence — China’s property-bond market remains deeply distressed as real-estate sales fall and investors retreat on a lack of trust.
- TikTok Faces Scrutiny in State Attorneys General Probe of Online Harms to Children — State prosecutors add video-sharing platform to their investigation into social media’s psychological effects on young users.
The Financial Times
- China/Ukraine: siding with Russia puts food security at risk — Shortages have already been a problem as extreme weather last year affected local harvests.
The New York Times
- Strong Stance on China and Peng Shuai Helps Land WTA a New Title Sponsor — The women’s tennis tour has been without a title sponsor since 2010, but the medical diagnostics company Hologic has agreed to a multiyear deal with the WTA.
- China Asked Russia to Delay Ukraine War Until After Olympics, Biden Officials Say — A Western intelligence report indicates that Chinese officials had some level of direct knowledge about President Vladimir V. Putin’s war plans or intentions.
Caixin
- GDP Target, Budget Deficit, Housing Controls: What to Watch for at China’s ‘Two Sessions’ — Premier Li Keqiang will on Saturday unveil the government’s plans for economic and social development in 2022.
- Chinese Local Governments Unveil Plans to Implement RCEP Mega Free Trade Pact — Governments of Yunnan and Jilin provinces, as well as Shanghai, pledge to improve the business environment and speed up development of cross-border e-commerce industry.
- More Surveyed Companies in China Failed to Turn a Profit in 2021 Amid Covid, AmCham Says — Of 200-plus firms, the proportion that turned a profit last year fell to 82% from 95% in 2019.
South China Morning Post
- China to limit news notifications to licensed publishers after weeks of discussion about human trafficking and Ukraine — China’s powerful internet regulator has drafted a new law to restrict push notification on topics such as sensitive news items, disasters and celebrity gossip in a new effort from Beijing to curb Big Tech’s power in shaping public discourse.
- Macau extends casino licences for 6 months to allow legislature to enact new gambling law — Macau’s gambling regulator will extend the territory’s casino licences for six months until the end of December, according to an announcement on the government’s website.
- Taiwan aims to double missile production as Beijing tensions rise — Taiwan plans to more than double its annual missile production capacity to nearly 500, continuing to boost combat power amid what it sees as growing military threat from mainland China.
Nikkei Asia
- Analysis: Ukraine crisis throws China’s top 7 leaders into disarray — Aligning with Russia comes at a huge cost.
- Macao extends expiring casino concessions for 6 months — Hotel owners expected to step up lobbying against ban on hosting gambling halls.
- Macao casino operators count cost of junket crackdown — Companies set aside millions for potential losses, see drop in VIP betting.
- Intel, TSMC and Samsung join forces on chip stacking technology — New consortium aims to set global standard for industry’s next frontier.
Bloomberg
- China Looking to Reduce Social Cost of Covid Zero, Official Says — China is looking for ways to reduce the “social costs” of its strict Covid Zero strategy, an official said on Thursday, in a sign that Beijing is looking to adjust a policy that has been criticized for isolating the world’s second biggest economy.
- Overwhelming UN Vote Makes China’s Ukraine Balancing Act Harder — An overwhelming vote by the United Nations on a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may increase the pressure on China to take a clearer position on the issue.
- Hong Kong Virus Fight Went From Confidence to China Reliance — When Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced that the Chinese government was bringing its mass-testing strategy to the city, a slogan behind her foreshadowed the move. “Combating the Epidemic with Staunch National Support,” it read.
- India Avoids Condemning Putin to Get Weapons for China Fight — India plans to avoid condemning Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as it needs Russian weapons in its standoff with China, and officials in New Delhi are confident the U.S. won’t apply much pressure, people familiar with the matter said.
Reuters
- China’s Belt and Road strafed by Vladimir Putin — Beijing is alienating many eastern European countries where it is constructing trade, investment and technology relationships under its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.
- Analysis: Ukraine crisis threatens China’s discreet pipeline in military technology — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is likely to threaten one of China’s most discreet but important strategic relationships in recent years: its use of Ukraine as a source of technology for the expanding Chinese military.
- Exclusive: Russian firms rush to open Chinese bank accounts — The Moscow branch of a Chinese state bank has seen a surge in enquiries from Russian firms wanting to open new accounts, a person familiar with the matter said.
- Analysis: Chinese banks scramble for ‘workarounds’ as Russia sanctions impinge — Top Chinese banks are rushing to ensure they can maintain business ties with Russian clients without running afoul of a barrage of Western sanctions, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Other Publications
- Politico: Russia crisis forces Pentagon to rework defense strategy on the fly — The National Defense Strategy was supposed to be rolled out in February.
- Quartz: A Russian e-commerce store in China is suddenly seeing brisk business —Internet users are flocking to the National Pavilion of Russia, an online shop mainly selling Russian food products on Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com, according to Chinese nationalist outlet Guancha.
- ChinaFile: China’s Calculus on the Invasion of Ukraine — A ChinaFile Conversation.
