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’s 5.5% Growth Target Is a Big Reach — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and soaring oil prices are latest obstacle to hitting growth targets in pivotal year politically for Xi Jinping.
- Australia to Boost Size of Military, Intensifying Effort to Counter China — U.S. ally says it will increase uniformed personnel to nearly 80,000 from 60,000 over the next two decades.
- China-Taiwan Tensions: What’s Behind the Divide — Beijing is flexing its military power in response to growing U.S. support for the island; here’s a primer on the frictions.
- Chinese EV Maker NIO Revives IPO Alternative in Hong Kong — U.S.-listed Chinese companies rush to the Asian financial hub even if the market isn’t amenable to new stock offerings.
- Nickel Market Crisis Sends London Metal Exchange Scrambling to Prevent Damage — Chinese nickel giant at center of action, Tsingshan, received financial lifeline from banks to help meet margin calls related to $8 billion in paper losses.
- Cathay Pacific Revival Hopes Snuffed Out by Hong Kong’s Zero-Covid Plan — Flag carrier’s return to profit proves short-lived as new antivirus measures kick in.
The Financial Times
- The Big Read: The rising costs of China’s friendship with Russia — The war in Ukraine represents a threat to China’s economy and could lead to a diplomatic backlash over its support for Moscow.
- China to double trading band with rouble after currency’s plunge — Move expected to boost bilateral trade as Russia grapples with sanctions imposed after invasion of Ukraine.
The New York Times
- Australia Asks: How Far Is Too Far in Making China a Campaign Weapon? — Australia’s conservative government has claimed, without evidence, that the political opposition would cozy up to Beijing. To many, it has crossed a red line.
Caixin
- In Depth: China’s Pension Insurers Told to Stop Pursuing Quick and Risky Profits — Watchdogs worry the firms are neglecting the long-term role they’re meant to play in the country’s retirement system
- Huayou Cobalt Gets Hammered in Nickel Futures Debacle — Chinese metals company with links to squeezed nickel short-seller Tsingshan Holding loses $4.1 billion of market value in two days
- Analysis: South Korea’s New President May Take Hardline Stance on China — Yoon’s victory returns the conservatives to power after five years, and may represent a shift from the country’s “ambiguous” foreign policies toward China under the outgoing president, Moon Jae-in.
South China Morning Post
- Russia says China has refused to supply airlines with parts after sanctions — China has refused to supply Russian airlines with aircraft parts, an official at Russia’s aviation authority was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying on Thursday, after Boeing and Airbus halted supply of components.
- China reaches out to congratulate South Korean president-elect despite hints of tougher stance on Beijing — Beijing has given a cautious welcome to the election of South Korea’s main opposition leader as its next president amid concerns that bilateral relations may be further tested over his pro-Washington stance.
- Chinese state-owned firm signs deal with Pfizer to supply Covid-19 pill — Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill is one step closer to clinical use in China, with state-owned China Meheco Corp securing a deal with Pfizer to commercialise the drug within the year.
Nikkei Asia
- Analysis: Less Xi, more Li in China policy speech — President’s signature policies take back seat as economy sputters.
- China’s online pro-Putin fest drowns out anti-war sentiment — Nationalist netizens seem to have free rein; experts paint more nuanced picture.
- China’s quest for mRNA vaccine hits stumbling block in omicron — Limited effectiveness of conventional shots puts ‘zero-COVID’ policy at risk.
- China scraps state-led IPO audits in bid to boost listings — Stock exchanges adopt simpler registration process to promote startups.
Bloomberg
- U.S. Slams China for Pushing Russia’s ‘Preposterous’ Lab Theory — Washington criticized China and Russia for promoting a conspiracy theory that the U.S. military runs biolabs in Ukraine, escalating a dispute over attempts at misleading the public over the war in Europe.
- Huawei U.K. Directors Resign After Company’s Silence on Russia — Huawei Technologies Co.’s U.K. non-executive directors have stepped down after the Chinese telecommunications giant didn’t condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Chinese EV Maker Nio Debuts in Hong Kong Homecoming Listing — Shares of Nio Inc. began trading in Hong Kong on Thursday after the Chinese electric-car maker chose a listing path that doesn’t involve selling new shares or raising funds.
Reuters
- U.S. tells China to give UN access to Xinjiang to probe Uyghur treatment — The United States called on China on Wednesday to ensure that a planned visit by U.N. human rights chief Michele Bachelet includes “unhindered and unsupervised access” to all areas of the Xinjiang region to investigate treatment of Muslim Uyghurs.
- China bars mainland brokers from promoting SPAC deals in Hong Kong – sources — The China Securities and Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has decided to take the step, which was communicated to the mainland investment banks earlier this year, due to concerns over the risks associated with those vehicles.
- China’s regulators check risks to futures brokers from nickel positions — China’s securities regulators are gathering information from futures brokerages about their clients’ short positions in nickel to prevent spillover risks from rocketing prices this week.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Will China offer Russia financial help? — A bit. But it will mostly seek to learn from Russia’s mistakes.
- Associated Press: China eases control to let ruble fall faster against yuan — China is easing government exchange rate controls to let the Russian ruble fall faster in value against the Chinese yuan to help insulate Beijing from economic sanctions on Moscow.
- The Verge: The Many Escapes of Justin Sun — Brash and outspoken, Tron founder Justin Sun has always been a controversial figure in crypto. More audacious than his reputation, Sun has an even riskier approach to U.S. and Chinese financial regulations — and is often trying to evade them.
- CNN: What keeps China from stopping Russia’s war — China is so obsessed with a narrow set of issues that it is unable to be more than a character actor on the international stage, appearing in a few specific roles but otherwise out of its depth. By Iain Johnson
