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 Rejects U.S.-U.K. Espionage Claims — Dueling statements come ahead of planned meeting this week in Bali, Indonesia, between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart.
- U.S. Small-Business Programs’ Future Is Clouded by Congressional Fight — Programs used by Pentagon and others face overhaul or elimination amid allegations they are being abused by recipients and China.
- China Introduces New Rules Governing Cross-Border Transfers of Data — Many companies will have to seek approval before exporting data, increasing compliance and business costs.
- China Car Sales Jump as Covid Curbs Relaxed — Tesla sales more than doubled in June as local auto makers saw a bump in market share following new incentives for the secondhand market.
- After Xiaomi and Huawei, Chinese Phone Maker Vivo Is Latest to Face Tax Scrutiny in India — China’s embassy in New Delhi says frequent probes are damaging Chinese business confidence in the country.
- After 91% Drop, Hong Kong’s IPO Market Shows Signs of Life — Some big stock offerings from mainland China could help reopen the market.
- The West Forgot How to Build Nuclear Power Plants — Decades after safety concerns pushed nuclear power out of favor, Western nations want it again. First, they need to re-learn how to make the reactors.
- ‘Wuhan Wuhan’ Review: Compassion Amid Crisis — Yung Chang’s documentary uses portraits of medical professionals and families to show a community coming together and battling the unknown during the initial Covid-19 lockdown in Wuhan, China.
The Financial Times
- Western investors flock to China equity ETFs — Record amount floods in after lockdowns are relaxed and regulators ease up on tech sector.
- The Communist missionaries spreading the party gospel in the Chinese countryside — Lure of a fast-track in the civil service is appealing to graduates facing rising unemployment.
- China’s ice cream brands outpace inflation with soaring prices — Price of 75g dark chocolate ice lolly from premium producer Chicecream hits $8.20.
- China developers face $13bn wall of dollar bond payments in second half — Foreign investors fear Beijing will favour onshore creditors as Shimao Group becomes latest to default.
The New York Times
- Beijing Introduces a Local Vaccine Pass and Urges Older People to Get Shots — The city announced the change months after other countries had put vaccine passports in place.
- Ni Kuang, Prolific Hong Kong Novelist and Screenwriter, Dies at 87 — Best known for fantastical thrillers that doubled as political allegories, he also wrote hundreds of martial arts films for Bruce Lee and others.
Caixin
- Beijing Launches Consumption Vouchers Scheme to Stimulate Waning Spending — The capital city plans to offer vouchers for the restaurant and tourism sectors, two of the worst-hit by recent lockdowns.
- Rail Freight From China to Russia Spikes, While Fewer Trains Head to EU — Price of sending goods to Russia has jumped and trains are taking days longer to arrive as demand soars.
- In Depth: Asia’s Data Center Developers Grapple With Green Restrictions, Energy Security — Data centers are a hot ticket in the Asia-Pacific, where investors are pouring billions of dollars into the industry. But the facilities’ voracious appetite for electricity is posing a major hurdle for developers, who are facing both soaring energy prices and governments that are trying to wean themselves off of fossil fuels.
South China Morning Post
- ByteDance executive who co-founded Musical.ly app, later absorbed by TikTok, quits tech unicorn amid corporate restructuring — Yang’s exit from ByteDance reflects how the firm’s sweeping restructuring has ushered in a new era to explore fresh areas for expansion amid tightened regulation in China.
- US charges American government official in Beijing scheme to harass Chinese dissidents — Indictment alleges the official and a retired agent passed information from restricted federal database to other defendants seeking to surveil activists in US.
- WeChat closes Bloomberg’s financial news account, making it latest victim of China’s online control — WeChat says it has received ‘complaints’ about Bloomberg’s ‘Daybreak’ account, which has been posting global market updates for over a year.
Nikkei Asia
- Tesla’s China ties help EV maker bounce back from COVID chaos — June output hits record after Shanghai Gigafactory dubbed a ‘must reopen’ business.
- Risky China business: Japan Inc. wary over Taiwan, zero-COVID — Survey reveals heightened concerns over exposure to geopolitical hazards.
- China’s embattled Evergrande starts preorders for new EVs — Property developer faces uphill battle breaking into crowded electrics market.
Bloomberg
- Tycoon Whose Bet Broke the Nickel Market Walks Away a Billionaire — Nickel’s ‘Big Shot’ is moving on, but the market is still reeling.
- China Tries to Tamp Down Nationalist Fervor Over Abe Shooting — Leading nationalist figures in China tried to silence celebrations after the shooting of Shinzo Abe, the former Japanese leader who sparked controversy by urging to Japan to bolster its military.
- Beijing Scraps China’s First Vaccine Mandate in Abrupt Reversal — Less than two days after Beijing announced it would roll out China’s first ever vaccine mandate, authorities withdrew the policy in a rare concession to criticism from residents.
- China’s Cabinet Stresses Cybersecurity After Data Leak — China’s cabinet stressed the need to bolster information security, following a huge leak of personal data that could be the largest cyber-attack in the country’s history.
Reuters
- Chinese embassy in Japan voices condolences on death of ex-Japanese PM Abe — The Chinese embassy in Japan expressed condolences over the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday in a shooting attack.
- After backlash, Beijing drops COVID vaccination mandate for crowded venues — Beijing’s city government has dropped plans to allow only vaccinated people to enter crowded venues such as libraries, cinemas and gyms from Monday, following a strong online backlash to the measure announced earlier this week.
- U.S. mulls fresh bid to restrict chipmaking tools for China’s SMIC — The Commerce Department, which oversees export policy, is actively discussing the possibility of banning exports of chipmaking tools to those Chinese factories that make advanced semiconductors at the 14 nanometer node and smaller, the people said, to stymie China’s efforts at making more state-of-the-art chips.
The Economist
- A huge data leak in China was not unexpected — The need for unencrypted data for spying on its people has consequences.
- Britain and America sound a joint alarm over China — In Britain, that is a novelty.
- Fewer people are dying in floods in China — Money, dams and better planning are helping; climate change is not.
- The G7 at last presents an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative — Just as China starts to scale back its own scheme.
- China’s Communist Party cracks down on larping — The youth will not be happy.
