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.
The Wall Street Journal
- Instagram’s Short-Video Feature Reels Debuts in U.S. as Threats to TikTok Mount — Facebook’s Instagram has launched a short-video feature in the U.S., challenging the empire that Chinese social-media upstart TikTok has built on user-generated dance videos, comedy skits and viral challenges.
- U.S., Chinese Officials to Meet Aug. 15, Assess Trade Deal — The U.S. and China have agreed to high-level talks on Aug. 15 to assess Beijing’s compliance with the “phase one” bilateral trade agreement signed early this year, according to people briefed on the matter.
- Bezos, Beijing and the Washington Post — Democracy never lives in the darkness of a communist dictatorship.
- Saudi Arabia, With China’s Help, Expands Its Nuclear Program — Saudi Arabia has constructed with Chinese help a facility for extracting uranium yellowcake from uranium ore, an advance in the oil-rich kingdom’s drive to master nuclear technology, according to Western officials with knowledge of the site.
- TikTok Standoff Raises Fear of Retaliation Against U.S. App Developers — Digital companies making inroads in China could face heat should Beijing respond in kind to U.S. tactics.
- Microsoft CEO Nadella Wades Into U.S.-China Tensions in TikTok Pursuit — Merger deals are rarely simple. But Satya Nadella now is attempting to ink a takeover agreement that satisfies not only both the companies and their shareholders, but two governments in bitter competition for technological clout.
- U.S. Postal Service Is Urged to Stop Delivering Mysterious Seeds — State agriculture officials want the unsolicited seed packages, many postmarked from China, to be intercepted so as to avoid the potential introduction of weeds, pests or diseases.
The Financial Times
- Tencent/livestream retail: spieling test — It is logical to expect livestreamed services to share in the chunk of business that stays online in China.
- US-China tensions feed into the geopolitics of monetary policy — When the Federal Reserve advances, the People’s Bank of China retreats.
- China is far ahead on drilling for data — Allegations of information theft in Houston point to the importance of ‘the new oil’.
- Sri Lankan elections offer Rajapaksas chance to cement power — Political dynasty will move country closer to China as debt crisis looms, say analysts.
- How competitive is China’s tech scene? — Absence of foreign players does not mean life is less cut-throat for domestic groups, entrepreneurs argue.
- China air conditioners: uncool — Unfortunately, cooling units are unsexy white goods on a par with washing machines, which squeeze margins.
- China leads the way on global standards for 5G and beyond — Huawei moves front and centre as Beijing drafts strategy on rule-setting.
The New York Times
- U.S. Health Secretary to Visit Taiwan, in a Move Likely to Anger Beijing — Mr. Azar, the secretary of health and human services, will be the highest-ranking American official to visit since 1979, the year the U.S. severed its formal ties with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with the Chinese government in Beijing.
Caixin
- Debt-Ridden Tunghsu Explains Why It Was Unable to Withdraw Its Own Cash — The company has come under scrutiny by the Shenzhen exchange after it missed a 1.87 billion yuan bond payment in November.
- Commercial Vehicle Sales Drive Recovery in China Auto Market — The growth in auto sales over the last four months bucks the overall downward trend in 2020 with sales of commercial vehicles jumping 59.6% year-on-year.
- China Steps Up Policy Support for Integrated Circuits and Software — State Council builds on policy moves encouraging domestic chip-making by offering 10-year tax exemptions and streamlined review of proposed share sales.
- Baidu Search, Sina Weibo on ‘Secret List’ of Chinese Apps Banned in India’s Latest Purge — India has blocked Chinese search engine Baidu Search and social media platform Weibo in a fresh round of its tech purge taking aim at apps New Delhi believes might “harm” its “sovereignty and integrity”.
South China Morning Post
- Uncertain future awaits Hong Kong graduates in a world battling coronavirus and recession — The government is pressing ahead to create thousands of temporary jobs, some companies and sectors are still hiring, and universities are helping their students to find work, including by calling on alumni to provide a leg up to this year’s graduates.
- China, Russia likely to veto US bid to extend arms embargo on Iran, US envoy to UN says — China and Russia are likely to veto an American effort to extend a United Nations arms embargo against Iran before it expires in October, according to US ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft.
- China to feel the pressure as negotiators prepare for trade deal temperature check, Beijing adviser says — The pressure is on China as negotiators from the world’s two largest economies prepare to take a “temperature check” on progress towards meeting the terms of the phase one trade deal, an adviser to Beijing has warned.
- Chip maker SMIC’s founder says ‘optimistic’ China can catch up with US in semiconductors — The founder of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) said on Tuesday he was “optimistic” China could catch up with the United States in the next generation of chips, but that US efforts to contain the country’s technology sector could not be taken “lightly”.
- China increasingly worried about ‘losing face’ as Japan bankrolls exodus of firms — Japan’s decision to offer an initial group of 87 companies subsidies totalling US$653 million to expand production at home and in Southeast Asia has sparked debate whether the world’s third largest economy is trying to gradually decouple from China.
- China omits US dollar from forex trading fee waivers in bid to bolster yuan — China is waiving transaction fees between the yuan and 12 currencies, including the Singapore dollar, Russia rouble and Korean won, for three years in its onshore foreign exchange market in a clear move to skirt the US dollar.
- China’s services sector expanded at slower pace in July, weighed down by falling export orders and job losses — China’s services sector activity continued to grow in July, but the pace slowed from a decade high the previous month as export orders remained weak and firms continued to shed workers, a private survey showed on Wednesday.
- Australian PM says no evidence of TikTok abusing user data — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday there was no evidence that Chinese-owned TikTok had abused the data of its hundreds of millions of users.
- Hong Kong’s pre-owned home sales dry up, forcing many owners to settle for losses as capital shifts to new abodes — The prices of pre-owned homes in Hong Kong have come off their 10-month peak in June, as buyers shifted their attention to newly launched projects amid social-distancing measures during the city’s coronavirus relapse, forcing some desperate sellers to unload their lived-in property at losses.
Bloomberg
- Trump Has a Point on TikTok and China, But His Method Is Wrong — The U.S. needs a smart, strategic approach to coexisting with China on the internet.
- It’s Not Easy Being a Superpower’s Partner — When it comes to the global web of bilateral relationships, there are friends, enemies and a whole lot of in betweens.
- Hillhouse-Backed Biotech Firm Jacobio Said to Plan Hong Kong IPO — Jacobio Pharmaceuticals Co., a Chinese biotechnology company focusing on cancer treatments, is planning a Hong Kong initial public offering as soon as this year, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Trump’s Bid to Force TikTok Sale Follows Well-Trod Legal Path — President Donald Trump’s push for the sale of TikTok to a U.S. company marks a major escalation in his battle to keep data on American citizens out of Chinese hands and a move that, if successful, would be nearly impossible to overturn under U.S. law.
- PBOC’s Attempt to Exit Crisis Mode Faces a $500 Billion Test — China’s banks need about $500 billion in fresh liquidity this month to roll over existing debt and buy government bonds, complicating the People’s Bank of China’s efforts to exit crisis measures.
- China to Import Most Wheat in Seven Years to Ensure Food Supply — China will boost wheat imports in the coming year to secure domestic food requirements and is likely to increase purchases from the U.S. to help meet commitments under the phase one trade deal.
- 2020 the Worst for Fund Raising, Says V Fund’s Xiong — Ashley Xiong, founding partner of V Fund, discusses the tech rally in China, how the latest moves from the U.S. on TikTok could impact the tech scene in China and her outlook for fund raising in 2020.
- Sun Hung Kai’s Kwoks, HK’s Richest Family, Lose $8 Billion in Year — The Kwoks’ shrinking fortune underscores growing doubts about Hong Kong’s future.
- How Apps Like Tiktok Became a Cybersovereignty Issue — Early on, the narrative around the internet was that it would be unfettered and borderless, a global commons. That didn’t last long. Chinese President Xi Jinping has led the way in asserting what’s become known as cybersovereignty.
- TikTok’s Price Is a Giant Question Mark in Already Complex Deal — With parent ByteDance worth $100 billion, analysts try to pin down how much a buyer would pay for part of a unit
- China Muscles Onto NATO’s Turf, Roiling Alliance Frayed by Trump — On an overcast morning last month, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic arrived at a military airport near Belgrade to pose with six Chinese-made attack drones.
- China, Russia Likely to Veto U.S. Bid on Iran, Envoy Craft Says — China and Russia are likely to veto an American effort to extend a United Nations arms embargo against Iran before it expires in October, U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft said.
Reuters
- China to relax curbs on new energy vehicle purchases: state media — China will relax restrictions on new energy vehicle purchases and offer subsidies for them, the vice head of China’s state planner said on Wednesday, according to the state broadcaster.
- EU extends anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel — The European Commision said on Wednesday it had extended anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese corrosion-resistant steel to stop producers avoiding existing duties by slightly modifying the material they export.
- Special Report: COVID opens new doors for China’s gene giant — As countries scramble to test for the novel coronavirus, a Chinese company has become a go-to name around the world.
- Tencent to consolidate China’s Twitch-like services Douyu and Huya: sources — China’s biggest video game and social media company Tencent Holdings is driving a merger of Twitch-like game streaming platforms Douyu and Huya , as it seeks to consolidate its dominance in the industry.
- China central bank adviser says no need to step up monetary easing: media — The People’s Bank of China does not need to step up its policy easing as an economic recovery is well under way and further stimulus could stoke property and stock bubbles, central bank policy adviser Ma Jun said in remarks published on Wednesday.
- Australian politician’s staffer investigated for advancing China’s interests — Australian federal police raided the home and office of a man employed by an Australian politician as part of a foreign interference investigation into whether he was working to advance “Chinese state interests”, according to court documents.
- SMIC founder says ‘optimistic’ China can catch up with U.S. in semiconductors — The founder of China’s largest chipmaker SMIC said on Tuesday he was “optimistic” China could catch up with the United States in the next generation of semiconductors but that U.S. efforts to contain its technology sector could not be taken “lightly”.
- Japanese automakers post double-digit China sales growth in July — Japanese automakers’ China sales grew by more than 10% from a year earlier in July as the world’s biggest auto market sustained its recovery.
- China’s July exports seen falling on global virus surge; import growth cools: Reuters poll — China’s exports are expected to have dipped in July as a surge in global coronavirus infections depressed demand, while growth in imports likely cooled, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.
- Breakingviews – Stock markets in China grow governance teeth — Chinese equity market regulators are growing a set of governance teeth. The Supreme Court has finally permitted shareholder lawsuits similar to the class-action litigation deployed against corporate malfeasance in the West, mostly famously in the cases of Enron and WorldCom. As other liberalisations unleash massive rallies on domestic bourses, it’s past time to deter executive abuses.
- China’s hog futures set to make debut, but face big challenges — China’s long-awaited live hog futures contract is almost ready, offering a vital hedging tool for the world’s largest pork industry, which has been roiled by an African swine fever outbreak that devastated herds and sent pork prices soaring.
- Top aluminium producer China Hongqiao quits international body — China Hongqiao Group, the world’s biggest aluminium producer, has left the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) only four years after joining the global industry body for the metal used in everything from cars to cans.
Xinhua
- Economic Watch: How China fights “protracted war” for prosperity amid uncertainties — In coping with the disruptions from the COVID-19 epidemic and global economic slowdown, China’s leadership has emphasized the need to steer the world’s second-largest economy as if fighting a protracted war.
- Hong Kong’s business activity contracts further in July amid resurgence of COVID-19 infections: survey — A private survey showed Wednesday that the business activity contracted further in China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) as the worsening COVID-19 epidemic weighed on business confidence.
- China’s central bank continues to skip reverse repos — The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank, continued to skip open market operations via reverse repos Wednesday.
- Germany’s KION partners with Chinese robotics company Quicktron — German truck giant KION Group said on Wednesday that it has entered a strategic partnership with Quicktron, a Chinese robotics company offering automated warehouse solutions.
- China’s benchmark interbank gold prices higher Wednesday — China’s benchmark prices for spot interbank gold transactions were higher Wednesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
Other Publications
- Forbes: Will Chinese Companies Get A Stimulus Check Again This Time? — The final stage of the coronavirus relief plan is taking shape. Market participants think it’s a done deal by August 7. That’s Friday. The question among China watchers is, will Chinese companies based here be on the receiving end of more subsidized loans through the Payroll Protection Plan, or other measures, like they were the first time.
- Forbes: TikTok’s Top U.S. Contender Is…Also Chinese-Owned — “What you think you know is that if TikTok gets banned in the US, Triller, Byte, or Dubsmash may take over as the primary/preferred short-form video social networking app,” says app analytics firm Apptopia’s Adam Blacker. “Though neither of those is the current leader in the clubhouse as the top competitor to TikTok in the world, or the United States.”
- CNN: HSBC bet the bank on China. It’s in big trouble if tensions escalate — HSBC (HSBC) is headquartered in London but traces its roots to China and makes most of its money in Asia. In recent months, it has been repeatedly attacked by Chinese state media outlets.
