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 to Open Borders as Covid-19 Cases Rise — Beijing plans to drop quarantine rule for incoming travelers, its latest policy softening.
- Chinese Rush for Exit as Beijing Ends Zero-Covid and Opens Its Doors — Surge in flight bookings suits some; others see more danger in letting the coronavirus loose.
- Taiwan to Extend Mandatory Military Service in Face of Chinese Pressure — President Tsai Ing-wen says decision was extremely difficult.
- Wealthy Chinese, Fed Up at Home, Find a Haven in Japan — Real-estate agents and people in the Chinese community say interest in emigration is rising.
- China Stops Issuing Daily Covid Data Ahead of Outbreak’s Peak — Latest official nationwide tally of new infections was under 5,000, while some regions estimate up to a million residents catching the virus every day.
- China Sends Wave of Warplanes Near Taiwan — Maneuvers come a day after President Biden signed defense-policy bill authorizing $10 billion in military assistance to Taipei.
- Chinese IPOs Set to Return Outside the Mainland, One Step at a Time — Easing of Covid-19 restrictions and U.S. audit progress likely to boost new listings.
- TikTok Security Dilemma Revives Push for U.S. Control — Some Biden administration officials think TikTok will remain security risk as long as it is owned by Chinese company.
- China Won’t Spoil the Fed’s Soft Landing — The Chinese economy’s reopening will put upward pressure on oil demand and inflation—but probably less than you think.
- American Bargain Hunters Flock to a New Online Platform Forged in China — Temu, a marketplace with deep discounts and copious coupons, has become the most downloaded mobile app in the U.S.
The Financial Times
- China scraps inbound quarantine rules in decisive break with zero-Covid — Requirement of five days at a hotel followed by three days at home will end on January 8.
- Taiwan to extend conscription to a year in bid to counter China threat — Compulsory military service will be made more rigorous and pay quadrupled in first tranche of defence reforms.
- China stocks push higher as Covid rules are eased — Markets subdued in post-holiday trading but brighter tone in CSI 300.
- Carmakers quietly cut ties with China in supply chain shake-up — International groups are sourcing parts from other markets as fears rise of breakdown in relations with Beijing.
- ‘Made of flesh, not iron’: China’s medics battle zero-Covid exit wave — Doctors and nurses given ‘no choice’ but to work while infected after influx of cases inundates hospitals.
- Apple to start making MacBooks in Vietnam by mid-2023 — iPhone maker aims to have ‘out of China’ production alternatives for crucial products.
- China launches military drills around Taiwan after US passes defence act — PLA jets violate airspace in biggest show of force since Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in August.
- Chinese vaccine tourists flock to Macau for mRNA Covid jabs — Explosion of cases and ban on more effective western shots lead residents to look abroad.
- Hua Hong gives China new hope with old chip technology — US restrictions on advanced tech help foundry benefit from Beijing’s shifting view of the semiconductor supply chain.
- Hong Kong’s filmmakers stifled by tight political script — Directors say territory’s once-acclaimed movie industry is under threat from Beijing’s crackdown.
The New York Times
- ‘Tragic Battle’: On the Front Lines of China’s Covid Crisis — Medical staff are outnumbered and working sick as the nation’s health care system buckles under the strain of a spiraling crisis.
- China to Drop Covid Quarantine for Incoming Travelers — From Jan. 8, visitors will be required to show only a negative P.C.R. test taken within 48 hours. The restrictions had cut the country off from the rest of the world for nearly three years.
- With ‘Zero Covid,’ China Proved It’s Good at Control. Governance Is Harder. — For a powerful government that has bragged about its command of the country, its absence at a moment of crisis has made the public question its credibility.
- With Record Military Incursions, China Warns Taiwan and the U.S. — Taiwan said China sent 71 military aircraft near the island days after President Biden bolstered U.S. support for Taiwan.
- Covid Is Spreading Rapidly in China, New Signs Suggest — Even as official figures from the central government remain low, regional numbers point to explosive outbreaks and overstretched health care systems.
- China’s Hottest New TV Genre: Dating Shows for Older People — Several popular television programs in the country are helping to encourage conversations about the social, romantic and sexual needs of older Chinese people.
Caixin
- Cover Story: After China’s Covid U-Turn, A ‘Tsunami’ of Infected Strip Bare Pharmacy Shelves — Today, hundreds of millions of people who just weeks earlier may have been confined to their apartments for months on end in the government’s attempt to stamp out every case, have been left largely to fend for themselves.
- In Depth: Historic Middle East Summits Cap Xi’s Year-End Diplomatic Push — The momentum of China’s head-of-state diplomacy campaign built to a grand finale in the Middle East as the year came to a close.
- China Should Drop ‘Zero-Covid’ Charges Against Medical Workers, Professor Says — A Chinese legal expert has defended medical personnel who treated Covid patients in violation of then valid disease control rules before the country’s abrupt policy reversal, calling them “innocent” and urging prosecutors to drop charges against those awaiting trials.
South China Morning Post
- Travel to China to get easier from January 8 as Covid barriers come down — State Council announces travel changes that will ease travel into the country and is expected to prompt a rebound in Chinese heading abroad.
- Japan to limit China flights, with mainland, HK, Taiwan visitors restricted to certain airports —
- Kishida said on Tuesday the decision was taken because “there is information that infection is spreading rapidly” in China.
- Calls to make mainland China visitors in Hong Kong pay for Covid jabs after online posts detail ways to get free shots in city — Without giving details, China distributor of BioNTech vaccines says mainlanders can make appointments online to get bivalent shots once border reopens.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s subway ridership plunges 40% as COVID spreads — Beijing sees signs of recovery as people return to work.
- Kevin Rudd, Australia’s new U.S. envoy, will alter China playbook — Sinologist seeks to ‘engage and hedge’ against ‘ideological man’ Xi.
- Chinese visitors lured by mRNA vaccines to Macao, Hong Kong — Mainlanders flock to enclave, prepare for Hong Kong border to reopen to get shots.
Bloomberg
- New passports, Hong Kong permits for China as Covid Zero comes down — China will start issuing new passports and Hong Kong travel permits to mainland residents as it removes some of the tourism barriers from three years of strict Covid restrictions.
- Taiwan Extends Mandatory Military Service Amid China Tension — Taiwan announced it is extending its compulsory military service to one year from the current four months, a signal to Beijing and Washington it is serious about defending itself.
- China Cities’ Covid Estimates Suggest Infections May Peak in January — China’s cities and provinces are reporting hundreds of thousands of daily Covid infections surpassing the official national tally as infections spread unabated across the country, predicting that outbreaks will peak during January.
Reuters
- India makes inroads into Sri Lanka under China’s long shadow — Now, as Sri Lanka closes in on a $2.9 billion loan deal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its economy stabilises, India is seeking to land ambitious long-term investments, with an eye on countering the influence of regional rival China, a government minister and three sources said.
- Fosun app lets China users get BioNTech COVID vaccines in Hong Kong — China’s Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group said users of its mobile health app in China can now register to take COVID-19 booster shots in Hong Kong using BioNTech’s vaccine.
Other Publications
- The Globe and Mail: Most Canadians want Ottawa to set up foreign-influence registry — A strong majority of Canadians favour a registry of foreign agents, similar to ones in Australia and the United States, to shed light on Canadian citizens paid to influence Canada’s political process on behalf of countries such as China or Russia.
- Associated Press: China races to vaccinate elderly, but many are reluctant — Experts have forecast 1 to 2 million deaths in China through the end of 2023.
- Associated Press: Packed ICUs, crowded crematoriums: COVID roils Chinese towns — Emergency rooms are turning away ambulances, relatives of sick people are searching for open beds, and patients are slumped on benches in hospital corridors and lying on floors for a lack of beds.
- Foreign Affairs: The End of the Age of Sanctions? — How America’s Adversaries Shielded Themselves. By Agathe Demarais
