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’s Yuan Is Quietly Gaining Ground — Surge in the global use of the Chinese currency could complicate the impact of any future Western sanctions.
- American Spies Confront a New, Formidable China — CIA lost network of agents a decade ago and has struggled to rebuild in the surveillance state America calls its top security priority; ‘no real insight into leadership plans’.
- China Looks Cheap—but It Has Burned Investors Before — World’s second-largest economy was a terrible place to put your money this year.
- U.S., Asian Allies Quicken Response to North Korean Missiles — Sharing tracking information in real time will improve chances of interception in the event of an attack.
- China Is Stealing AI Secrets to Turbocharge Spying, U.S. Says — U.S. officials are worried about hacking and insider theft of AI secrets, which China has denied.
- China’s Jobless Don’t Always Show Up in the Data. But They Show Up in the Library. — Unemployed and afraid to tell their families, many need a place to figure out their futures; for some, it’s the stacks.
- The Crypto Queen Pulling the Strings at Binance — Yi He, a former talk-show host, has sweeping control over the crypto giant’s marketing and investment divisions. She is also founder Changpeng Zhao’s longtime romantic partner.
- Investigators Probe Whether U.S. Was Billed Twice for Coronavirus Research in China — Nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance denies allegations, saying projects didn’t overlap.
- Tencent Sheds $46 Billion in Market Cap After China Proposes Online-Gaming Curbs — Global gaming shares dive after Beijing issues proposals that include limiting users’ in-game spending.
- Tencent Rocked by China’s New Boss Level — Beijing’s internet clampdown isn’t done yet, wiping tens of billions of dollars off the value of games companies.
The Financial Times
- Nike challenger Anta faces fresh rivals in Chinese sportswear race — Number two sports retailer responds to newer brands gaining market share due to more active lifestyles.
- China sidelines its once venerated central bank — After decades of championing financial reforms, the People’s Bank of China has lost powers to a Communist party body and a revamped regulator.
- China, war and tech: Taiwan’s youth weigh in on a pivotal election — Candidates in one of the world’s biggest geopolitical flashpoints are trying to get younger voters onside.
- Christmas spirit — and consumers — return to Shanghai — Covid emptied the city’s streets and put paid to festivities but there are signs of fresh international colour.
- Tencent: tighter controls on in-game spending threatens earnings — Sell-off in company’s shares is not an overreaction to Chinese regulators’ draft regulations for the sector.
The New York Times
- This N.Y.U. Student Owns a $6 Million Crypto Mine. His Secret Is Out. — A legal dispute in a tiny Texas town unexpectedly reveals how Chinese nationals can move money to the U.S. without drawing the attention of authorities in either country.
- How Russian and Chinese Interference Could Affect the 2024 Election — The stakes for Russia in the presidential vote are large. Other adversaries also might try to deepen divisions among American voters.
- China Quietly Rebuilds Secretive Base for Nuclear Tests — Beijing is investing heavily in the modernization of Lop Nur, a sprawling military site where it long detonated atom bombs and thermonuclear warheads.
- A New Tax on Imports and a Split From China: Trump’s 2025 Trade Agenda — Donald J. Trump plans to sharply expand his use of tariffs if he returns to power, risking disruption to the economy in an attempt to transform it.
Caixin
- Cover Story: China Renews Affordable Housing Push to Ease Crunch — Government plan to promote construction must battle real estate slump.
- Two More Vivo Executives Detained in India in Money-Laundering Probe — China’s foreign affairs ministry ‘closely following’ latest arrests byIndia’s Enforcement Directorate; ministry asks for fair treatment for Chinese businesses in India.
- Air China Order Gives Homegrown C919 Jets a Boost — Chinese flag carrier plans to add 17 of the domestically produced aircraft to cut maintenance costs, increase number of potential routes.
- Retired Dongfeng Motor Executive Becomes Latest to Fall Under Graft Probe — Tong Dongcheng joins several others at the state-owned automaker who have been caught up in a corruption campaign targeting the firms.
- China’s Top Court Building Case Database to Ensure Law Is Applied Consistently — Legal cases deemed to be a valuable reference will be included on the database, which will be accessible to the public, said the Supreme People’s Court.
South China Morning Post
- Xinjiang: China adds US risk intelligence firm Kharon and researchers to sanctions list over human rights ‘excuse’ — It is a tit-for-tat response to US Treasury sanctions this month on Chinese entities over alleged human rights abuses.
- China’s Xi Jinping says Taiwan reunification will ‘surely’ happen as he marks Mao Zedong anniversary — Xi tells event to mark Mao’s 130th birthday that ‘complete reunification of our motherland is a righteous cause’.
- Israel appeals to Chinese president to help free hostage Noa Argamani — Benjamin Netanyahu asks Xi Jinping to intervene personally to secure the release of woman captured during Hamas’ October 7 attack.
- China’s ‘first coffee village’ brewing up change amid digital transformation as jobseekers give it a shot, tourists take a sip — The self-proclaimed ‘first coffee village in China’ is enjoying an upturn in fortunes with an influx of tourists and a return of young locals, while it has embraced digital transformation to grow and sell its Arabica coffee beans.
- Local governments inject liquidity into China housing market by encouraging upgrades with limited success. Here’s why — Under a new initiative called ‘old-for-new’, local authorities are helping prospective homebuyers sell their old homes, while offering them partial subsidies to buy new homes.
Nikkei Asia
- GAC, Geely and other Chinese automakers rush to launch EV sports cars — Brand strategy in high-end automobiles mirrors Japan’s carmakers in 1960s.
- From India and Pakistan to Indonesia, Asia set for election-packed 2024 — Over a billion people will be voting but democracy questions cloud some races.
- Sony banks on Chinese smartphone makers to revive image sensor profits — Technology group also sees logistics sector as new revenue source.
- Opinion: 2024 outlook: China property market turn requires new growth model — Stronger safety net would encourage consumers to spend more. By Donald Low and Elisha M. Sonthra.
Bloomberg
- Chinese Media’s Exposé Prompts Probe into Illegal Child Surrogacies — Health authorities in the southern Chinese coastal city of Xiamen plan to probe an assisted reproduction clinic after local media exposed a secretive surrogacy service that’s reportedly helping deliver more than 300 babies a year.
- China Issues Rebuke Over Coal Deaths, Adds Mines to Favored List — China’s regulator on Monday rebuked officials for two recent disasters at coal mines in Heilongjiang province that killed 23 people, in a rare public censure that blamed the local authorities for overlooking threats to safety.
- China Names a New Naval Chief as Maritime Tensions Climb — China appointed a new head of its navy, a move that comes amid worsening tensions in the South China Sea.
- China Earthquake Inflicts $75 Million Loss on Hardest-Hit Region — China’s worst earthquake since 2014 has caused a direct economic loss of 532 million yuan ($74.6 million) for a northwestern province that hosts the epicenter, the country’s state broadcaster reported Saturday.
- Micron Settles IP Theft Lawsuit Amid Push to Repair Beijing Ties — Micron Technology Inc. has settled a high-profile intellectual property theft lawsuit with a key, state-backed Chinese rival amid the US company’s efforts to mend ties with Beijing.
Reuters
- US-China climate relations brace for US election, envoy change — Whichever way the White House vote swings, China is readying a new climate diplomacy effort and is expected to announce Xie’s replacement as the English-speaking diplomat Liu Zhenmin.
- Philippines is not provoking conflict in South China Sea, its military says — It was the latest salvo amid rising tension as the two have traded accusations in recent months over a series of maritime run-ins.
- China warns rocket remnants to hit South China Sea — China launched a Long March 5 rocket on Dec. 15 from Hainan’s Wenchang launch site, a sixth launch of the rocket type since its first flight in 2016.
Other Publications
- Foreign Affairs: How to Thwart China’s Bid to Lead the Global South — America Should See India as a Bridge to the Rest of the World.
- Foreign Affairs: What War Games Really Reveal — Outcomes Matter Less Than Who Pays and Who Plays.
- The Economist: China is shoring up the great firewall for the AI age — The Communist Party has created a thriving but sanitised digital economy. Can it do the same with artificial intelligence?
- AP: Whisky wooing young Chinese away from ‘baijiu’ as top distillers target a growing market — A centuries-old drink, whisky is relatively new to China, but there are already more than 30 whisky distilleries in the mainland, according to the whisky website Billion Bottle.
