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
- Global Trade Is Shifting, Not Reversing — Mexico is one country best-placed to take advantage of U.S.-China trade war.
- EU Set to Impose Coordinated Controls on Travelers From China — China has warned against measures such as mandatory pre-travel tests for travelers.
- Hong Kong Stock Exchange Woos Global Companies After Expanding China Link — CEO Nicolas Aguzin says he wants to use China ties to ‘do something great internationally.’
- Opinion: The West Needs America’s Leadership — How the U.S. can marshal its strengths—not only military but also moral, economic and diplomatic. By Jamie Dimon
The Financial Times
- Chinese battery makers strengthen grip on global supply — Electric vehicle boom in Asia’s biggest economy helps CATL and BYD reach worldwide market share of 50%.
- Ant: digital renminbi poses big risk to payments business — Groups such as Alipay risk becoming providers of plumbing in a government-controlled financial system.
- Resurgent Chinese travel would reset the country’s global image — It’s not only the spending power of tourism that matters — views of China will change.
- Chinese celebrities’ Covid deaths subvert propaganda push — Country mourns prominent academics, opera stars and business figures as virus wave mounts.
- Pakistan taps Chinese credit for railway upgrade despite debt crisis — Islamabad says $10bn revamp of colonial-era line is essential even as it faces risk of default and forex reserves plunge.
- China ESG reckoning looms for investors — Sustainability rules and standards common in western jurisdictions are at odds with realities in China.
- EU set to demand pre-departure Covid testing for travellers from China — Move comes after Italy, France and Spain announced screening of incoming passengers.
The New York Times
- China Denounces Covid Testing Rules Imposed on Its Travelers — A government spokeswoman said Beijing would consider reciprocal measures against countries that have sought to limit travelers arriving from China.
Caixin
- Debt-Plagued Local Financing Vehicle in China Gets ‘Unprecedented’ Extension to Repay Loans Within 20 Years — Guizhou province-based Zunyi Road and Bridge reaches a deal with 21 creditor banks including China Citic to postpone repayment of $2.3 billion in borrowings.
- China’s Box Office Bombs Despite End of ‘Zero Covid’ — ‘Avatar’ sequel raked in the most over the New Year break, but cinema takings overall slumped to their lowest since 2016.
- Chinese Intel Alternative Makes Consumer Play With Retail Store — Loongson Technology Corp. Ltd., a Chinese chip architecture developer, took a major step into the consumer market by opening its first brick-and-mortar pop-up store on Tuesday, according to a post on its WeChat account.
South China Morning Post
- China offers to open talks on oil exploration deal with Philippines as Presidents Xi Jinping and Ferdinand Marcos meet — The Philippine leader predicts years of opportunity to stabilise and strengthen economies, in first state visit to Beijing..
- Part of Taiwan’s most advanced anti-ship missile sent to mainland China for repairs — The island’s top military research unit said it had determined that no data had been leaked or malware installed on the optical instrument.
- National security law: Can Beijing influence court disputes after decision leaving key power in Hong Kong’s hands? — Some legal experts say defendants’ rights now in political hands, but pro-Beijing lawmaker stresses other jurisdictions put national security matters above courts.
- Justice minister vows to defend Hong Kong’s legal system from any ‘escalated attacks’ by Western nations ahead of key national security court cases — Western countries will continue to try and discredit Hong Kong’s legal and judiciary systems, as well as ‘maliciously attack’ court judgments, Paul Lam says.
Nikkei Asia
- Hong Kong takes aim at activists with crowdfunding crackdown — Proposed regulations would halt pro-democracy fundraising before it starts.
- Xi tells Marcos that China is ready to restart oil exploration talks — Philippine leader stresses cooperation amid South China Sea feud.
Bloomberg
- Battered by Covid, China Hits Pause on Giant Chip Spending — China is pausing massive investments aimed at building a chip industry to compete with the US, as a nationwide Covid resurgence strains the world’s No. 2 economy and Beijing’s finances.
- China Discussing Easing of Ban on Australia Coal Imports — Chinese bureaucrats are discussing plans to resume some imports of Australian coal after a more than two-year ban as relations between the nations improve.
- China’s CATL Extends Lead as World’s Top EV Battery Maker — Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.’s share of the electric-vehicle battery market continues to grow, according to the latest data from Seoul-based SNE Research, which show the Chinese company accounted for 37.1% of global sales in the first 11 months of 2022.
- Jack Ma’s Ant Wins Approval for $1.5 Billion Capital Plan — Chinese regulators approved a plan by billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. to raise 10.5 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) for its consumer unit, signaling progress in the government-ordered overhaul of the financial technology firm.
Reuters
- China promises more medicines in rural areas amid COVID surge — China’s cabinet said it will step up medicine distribution and meet the demand from medical institutions, nursing homes and rural areas, state media reported on Wednesday, amid a surge in COVID-19 infections.
- Japan to tighten COVID border controls for travellers from China — Additional measures will require negative coronavirus tests taken within 72 hours of passengers boarding direct flights from China, the government said on Wednesday after Kishida’s announcement, stepping up measures adopted on Dec. 30.
- New York man sentenced to 2 yrs for conspiring to steal GE secrets for China — Xiaoqing Zheng, 59, of Niskayuna, New York, was convicted of conspiracy to commit economic espionage following a four-week jury trial that ended in March last year.
Other Publications
- Quartz: Chinese car makers are becoming shipping companies — Electric car giant BYD has ordered its own auto transport ships—and may become a full-fledged shipping services provider.
- The Globe and Mail: China allows four firms to resume coal imports from Australia, sources say — China’s state planner has allowed three central government-backed utilities and its top steel maker to resume coal imports from Australia, the first such move since Beijing imposed an unofficial ban on coal trade with Canberra in 2020.
