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
- Country Garden to Make CNY3.07 Billion Disposal to Aid Debt Restructuring — Proceeds of the disposal will be used to restructure offshore debt.
- Climate Deal Puts Pressure on Renewables — China is increasingly looking like the Saudi Arabia of renewables, so it is no surprise where its interests lie.
- Nations at COP28 Agree for First Time to Transition From Fossil Fuels — The final wording was acceptable to China, a person familiar with Beijing’s thinking said, because the proportion of fossil fuels in the country’s energy mix has been declining.
The Financial Times
- Staff rebel at consultancy behind VW review of Xinjiang rights abuse — Löning says only two staff members supported the audit, which had earlier cleared the German carmaker.
- Top defence officials from US and China meet after Taiwan rift — Re-engagement seen as sign of progress towards improving relations after Biden-Xi summit.
- Country Garden sells Chinese mall stake as developer tackles offshore debt — Property group that defaulted in October says it has also repaid $113mn onshore bond.
- West’s love for Shein and Temu drives ecommerce boom for air freighters — Logistics groups see sustained demand for fast delivery of goods from China to western markets.
The New York Times
- Pro-China YouTube Network Used A.I. to Malign U.S., Report Finds — Content from at least 30 channels in the network drew nearly 120 million views and 730,000 subscribers since last year.
- Clean Energy Tax Credits Leave the Door Open to Chinese Investment — The Treasury Department pledged to carefully scrutinize foreign investments in the United States for national security threats.
Caixin
- In Depth: What China’s New Capital Rules Mean for Banks — New rules for China’s banks to determine their risk exposure and capital requirements are slated to go into effect on Jan. 1, as regulators bring the country’s banking system into line with the latest international standards.
- IMF Deputy Calls for Higher Carbon Prices to Fight Global Warming — Countries should hike carbon prices significantly to curb global warming, Li Bo, a deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said earlier this month.
- Opinion: How China’s Youth Got So Thrifty — In recent years, overspending has often been synonymous with young Chinese consumers, especially with the convenience of consumer credit and numerous internet financing programs.
South China Morning Post
- China’s money supply had a dismal November, as private-sector struggles and housing woes suppressed investment — A key gauge of economic vigour could reflect ‘a weaker willingness among the private sector to invest, and a similarly depressed housing market’, and it’s not making Beijing’s stability plans any easier.
- SpaceX rival: pioneering Chinese firm unveils big rocket with design elements ‘resembling Starship and Falcon 9’ — Company eyes debut of reusable rocket in 2025 to help China create its 13,000-satellite broadband megaconstellation to rival SpaceX network.
- Fed interest rate stance could help ‘pummelled’ yuan, China could feel ripple effects of 2024 cuts — US Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark overnight borrowing rate steady, but said cuts could begin to ‘come into view’, which could benefit China’s yuan, exports and capital flows, observers said.
Nikkei Asia
- Chinese envoy to U.S. revives ping-pong diplomacy after 52 years — Ambassador Xie Feng says ‘no reason competitors can’t be friends.’
- China’s Country Garden to sell stake in Wanda unit for $432m — Deal struck between two major embattled Chinese developers.
- Chinese auto shares volatile as investors search for next BYD — EV makers who set themselves apart can rise above price competition.
Bloomberg
- Owner of the Philippines’ Largest Malls Says China Feud May Hurt Businesses — SM Investments vice-chair says group ‘cautiously optimistic.’
- China Edtech Firm Gaotu Rallies After Rush for Shopping Channel — The beaten-down shares of a Chinese education company are staging an unlikely comeback after its pivot to livestream shopping saw a sudden influx.
- Ex-Bank of China Manager Jailed for Life Over $322 Million Fraud — China handed a life sentence to a former Bank of China Ltd. manager who was repatriated from the US two years ago over one of the Asian nation’s biggest bank frauds.
Reuters
- Why the Indian Ocean could be China’s Achilles’ heel in a Taiwan war — A dozen military attaches and scholars say that vulnerability is now being scrutinised as Western military and academic strategists discreetly game scenarios about how a conflict with China over Taiwan, or elsewhere in East Asia, could evolve or escalate.
- Taiwan’s last generation to fight China — During the past four years, China has ramped up its military pressure against the island it claims as Chinese territory, including staging two rounds of major military exercises, stoking fears of a war that could drag in the United States.
- Exclusive: Chinese Premier Li Qiang to attend Davos summit — Chinese Premier Li Qiang is planning to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos next month, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, leading a large and senior group of government officials to show Beijing is open for business.
Other Publications
- The Economist: How to sneak billions of dollars out of China — A new era of capital flight has begun.
- Associated Press: Janet Yellen says the Trump administration’s China policies left the US more vulnerable — reasury Secretary Janet Yellen says former President Donald Trump ‘s policies toward China left America “more vulnerable and more isolated” in the global economy, a rare jab by her at the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.
- POLITICO: Who reined in the China committee’s trade-war proposal? — The latest recommendation from the House China Select Committee has raised alarms from agriculture and other business groups.
- Foreign Policy: Why China is stepping up its maritime attacks on the Philippines — Beijing’s aggression threatens to disrupt friendshoring operations in the region.
- Semafor: ‘There’s no such thing as pure free trade’: Katherine Tai defends China tariffs — U.S. Trade Rep Katherine Tai defended tariffs against China at Semafor’s Made in America Event on Wednesday, saying that “tariffs are a part of the U.S.-China bilateral relationship” because of an “unfair” global economy.
