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 Covid-19 Cases Hit Record High, Forcing Fresh Control Measures — More cities lock down districts despite the central government’s drive to ease impact from stringent pandemic controls.
- China Recovery Set Back by Record Covid Outbreak as Lockdowns Spread — Economists see pandemic restrictions as a brake on growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
- China’s Central Bank Takes Action as Record Covid-19 Outbreak Hits Economy — People’s Bank of China frees up billions of yuan for new loans, but economists are skeptical it will lift growth.
- China Will Get Over Covid-19. But Will Its Markets Recover? — Strict Covid-zero regime will eventually end, but investors shouldn’t assume that makes a structural bull market inevitable.
- China’s Xinjiang Region Has Been Locked Down for Months, Casting Shadow Over Zero-Covid Easing — A mother’s monthslong separation from young children illustrates challenges government faces in easing restrictions.
- Cardinal Joseph Zen Convicted by Hong Kong Court in Crackdown on Dissent — The 90-year-old democracy activist, five others were found guilty of failing to register fund that helped antigovernment protesters.
- Pop Star Kris Wu Is Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison in China for Rape — Chinese-Canadian celebrity was found guilty of raping three women in one of country’s biggest sexual assault cases.
- VW Faces New Problem in China: Homegrown Competitors — Chinese electric-car makers are increasingly taking market share from the German giant in its largest market.
- Tesla to Recall About 80,000 Cars in China — The recall involves Model S and Model X vehicles with software problems and Model 3 cars with seat-belt issues.MARKETS
- Chinese Banks’ $178 Billion in ‘Medicine’ for Developers Won’t Cure All Ills — Falling home sales remain a big hurdle for property companies.
- Video: ‘It Tasted a Little Sweet’: China Rolls Out World’s First Inhaled Covid-19 Vaccine — Residents in Shanghai received the world’s first inhaled Covid-19 vaccine by taking sips from a cup. WSJ’s Dan Strumpf explains how the new type of vaccine works and what it means for China’s reopening.
The Financial Times
- UK limits use of Chinese-made surveillance systems on government sites — Decision taken on security grounds following MPs’ calls for ban over human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
- Mongolia puts its faith in China railway to boost Covid-battered economy — Cross-border trade was interrupted over fears truck drivers spread the virus.
- European businesses urge China to open up as Covid cases rocket — Beijing and Guangzhou are on the brink of lockdowns as daily infections hit record levels.
- ‘No way we can open’: China’s zero-Covid exit plans unravel — Economic and social costs are climbing but Beijing has failed to offer a way out of endless lockdowns.
- Country Garden: survivor of the China property bloodbath — Beijing’s new ‘game-changer’ support for real estate sector throws a lifeline to country’s biggest developer.
- Chinese lenders to pump $162bn of credit into property developers — Injection is most direct move yet by Beijing to counter a real estate crisis.
- European Council president to visit China next week for summit with Xi — Charles Michel’s trip is likely to highlight EU divisions on how to engage with superpower.
- Foxconn offers $1,400 payout to quell protests at China iPhone plant — Apple supplier apologises for ‘technical error’ after violent clashes between workers and police.
- Bill Ackman reveals short position against Hong Kong dollar — Billionaire says ‘peg no longer makes sense’ and ‘only a matter of time’ before it breaks.
- Hong Kong’s Swap Connect trading scheme faces delayed launch — Lack of final rules for programme could stall opening up of China’s $5tn swap market.
- How China’s close contacts are piling pressure on Beijing’s zero-Covid policy — Rising cases in Guangzhou indicate a widening gap between official guidance and reality.
The New York Times
- China Is Finally Trying to Fix Its Housing Crisis — After a year on the sidelines, Beijing this week took steps to get hundreds of billions of dollars into the hands of the country’s flailing real estate developers.
- In a Challenge to Beijing, Unrest Over Covid Lockdowns Spreads — Protests are rising as China enacts more lockdowns and quarantines, with no end in sight. The defiance is a test of Xi Jinping’s authoritarian leadership.
- Fire Kills 10 in Xinjiang, Raising Questions About Lockdown — A fire in a residential high-rise in Urumqi, where many residents have been under lockdown, set off public anger and questions about China’s zero-Covid policy.
- Chinese Court Sentences Canadian Singer to Prison for Rape — Before his arrest over #MeToo allegations, Kris Wu was one of China’s most popular entertainers, with legions of fans and brand deals.
- Meet the World’s New Human Rights Crisis Manager. He Has a Lot to Do. — From Iran to Ukraine to Xinjiang in China, Volker Türk will have no shortage of challenges as he steps into one of the United Nations’ most delicate roles.
Caixin
- In Depth: Why Saltwater Is Getting Into Shanghai’s Drinking Supply — After months of persistent drought and searing temperatures, China’s mighty Yangtze River is not giving Shanghai enough water. The sea is rolling in and turning the city’s drinking water brackish.
- China Fires Starting Gun on Personal Pension Scheme — China officially kicked off its long-awaited personal pension scheme on Friday, designating three dozen cities and regions for the first phase of the rollout as the country ramps up the development of private retirement savings to cope with a rapidly aging population.
- In Depth: Cosco Alters Course in the Face of Shipping Headwinds — The world’s fourth-largest operator of container ships is expanding its stakes in mammoth cargo-handling ports including an investment in Germany’s Port of Hamburg.
South China Morning Post
- China cotton production set to grow in 2022 as Xinjiang offsets drought-hit Yangtze River region — Total cotton production in China is expected to increase by 5.8 per cent year on year, although demand has weakened, while the US’ Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act has also hurt the market.
- Tech hub Hangzhou pledges millions in annual subsidy for video gaming, esports amid signs of a thaw in China’s crackdown — The programme reflects the extensive preparations of Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province, ahead of hosting next year’s Asian Games, where esports will be a medal event.
- Malaysia’s China policy to stay on even keel under Anwar Ibrahim with economy main focus, analysts say — Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s new prime minister, is sometimes seen as ‘pro-West’ and has raised concerns in the past about China’s Xinjiang policy.
- Retired Hong Kong Catholic leader Joseph Zen among 6 fined up to HK$4,000 each over failure to register legal defence fund set up for protesters — Ruling could be prelude to more legal troubles for six defendants, as national security police continue probe into their alleged collusion with foreign forces.
Bloomberg
- China Plans to Build Nuclear-Powered Moon Base Within Six Years — China plans to build its first base on the moon by 2028, ahead of landing astronauts there in subsequent years as the country steps up its challenge to NASA’s dominance in space exploration.
- Mainland Chinese Firms Outnumber US Ones in HK for First Time — The number of American companies with regional headquarters in Hong Kong has dropped below mainland Chinese firms for the first time in at least 31 years.
- Ackman’s Big Hong Kong Short Comes at a Bad Time for Bears — Bill Ackman’s revelation that he’s betting big on a collapse of Hong Kong’s pegged dollar will come across as contrarian to some in the market and mistimed to others.
- Opinion: Apple’s China Strife Is a Problem of Its Own Design — The company’s unhealthy reliance on China is unsustainable and needs to be tackled head on.
Reuters
- Exclusive: China central bank to offer cheap loans to support developers’ bonds — China’s central bank will offer cheap loans to financial firms for buying bonds issued by property developers, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said, the strongest policy support yet for the crisis-hit sector.
- UN committee urges China to free Xinjiang detainees, recommends reparations — A United Nations committee urged China on Thursday to release people held in detention facilities in its Xinjiang region and recommended that it provide victims with “remedies and reparation”.
- Germany’s Scholz ‘surprised’ by companies’ China dependence — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the number of German companies that have ignored the risks of depending too heavily on the Chinese market was remarkable and stressed the need for diversification.
The Economist
- Multinational firms are finding it hard to let go of China — Should companies divest, decouple—or double-down?
- China’s response to a surge in covid-19 cases is muddled — It is too early to predict how its “zero-covid” policy will evolve.
- China’s slowdown is hurting the young — The woes of vocational-college graduates are revealing.
- America and China are talking again about climate change — Political tensions will hamper dialogue, but could their rivalry have benefits?
- Australia emerges from China’s doghouse — Standing up to Chinese bullying works better than capitulating to it.
Other Publications
- Politico Europe: How Washington chased Huawei out of Europe — The Chinese tech giant is scaling back in Brussels, Paris and London and pivoting to its domestic market.
- Quartz: The West is rebuilding its rare earths supply chain—but China still looms large — A new rare earths supply chain spanning Canada, Sweden, and Norway could help reduce the West’s reliance on China
- The Los Angeles Times: Looking for a boost, Taiwan’s oldest political party turns to the great-grandson of Chiang Kai-shek — The party has long pushed for closer ties with China, a position that has increasingly put it out of touch with a younger generation that identifies as Taiwanese and has grown wary of the Chinese Communist Party’s designs on the island.
