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
- Apple’s Smartphone Shipments in China Fell in Fourth Quarter — Shipments were hurt by weaker consumer demand and rising market share for rival Huawei Technologies.
- Chinese Demand for U.S.-Stock ETFs Takes a Pause — A host of Chinese exchange-traded funds tracking overseas stocks fell, reversing course from recent rallies as investment managers seek to stem soaring demand for equities.
- Desperate Chinese Investors Are Pouring Into the U.S., Japan — The nation’s individual investors are desperate to shift their money out of the country—and they are willing to pay a big premium to do so.
- China’s RRR Cut Doesn’t Solve Long-Term Economic Concerns — The timing and scale of the People’s Bank of China’s policy easing may have surprised investors and given stock markets a much-needed lift, but it does little to resolve long-term economic concerns.
- Red Sea Conflict Prompts India’s Navy to Flex Its Muscles — Indian officials say its navy, beefed up to better deal with China concerns, is closely monitoring and responding to ships in distress.
- Chinese EV Maker Stocks Fall as Tesla Outlook Weighs — Shares of Chinese electric-vehicle markers were lower after Tesla’s latest results and its outlook for 2024 reaffirmed investor worries about slowing demand in China.
The Financial Times
- China’s food delivery apps could fill up on Beijing’s blessing — Shift in government policy to deal with rapidly ageing population offers sector unexpected stroke of good luck.
- Chinese retail investors hit by big losses in ‘snowball’ derivatives — Wipeout in contracts sold as safe investments is feeding erosion of confidence in domestic stocks, analysts say.
- ‘Opportunistic’ Chinese lines send ships to serve Red Sea ports — Vessels advertise their Beijing connections to avert Houthi attacks that have driven away rivals.
- White House science chief signals US-China co-operation on AI safety — Biden adviser says the two nations must work together to tackle risks from artificial intelligence despite race to dominate its development.
- Lithium price plunges on slowing Chinese demand for electric vehicles — Miners slash costs and scale back plans to increase production after battery metal’s price plummets more than 80% in 12 months.
- EU scales back China investment screening plans to avoid ‘turf war’ — Economic security proposals aim to reduce friction with member states and tighten FDI rules.
The New York Times
- China Building Fire That Killed 39 Was Caused by Construction Work — Nine people were also injured in the blaze, which officials said was a result of workers renovating a cold storage unit in violation of regulations.
- Opinion: Visiting the Most Important Company in the World — Replicating the chipmaking power of T.S.M.C. in the United States will be much harder than Americans realize. By Nicholas Kristof.
Caixin
- China Expands Developers’ Loan Access for Debt Payments in Fresh Support — Loans pledged against office blocks, hotels or malls are to be made available to developers to help them survive the liquidity crunch.
- China’s Central Bank to Set up Credit Market Department — The new credit market department will focus on policy guidance on credit support to the real estate sector, agriculture, small and micro businesses and science and technology sectors.
- Former China Olympic Official Jailed for 11 Years for Accepting Bribes — Liu Aijie, retired director of the Preparation Office for the Olympic Games of the General Administration of Sport, pleaded guilty to accepting nearly $3.4 million, a judicial document shows.
- Beijing Municipal Government Repays Bond 17 Years Ahead of Maturity to Save Interests — According to its draft budget, the municipal government saved 70% of interest costs by early repayment of these bonds in 2023.
- Most German Firms in China Have No Plans to Leave, Survey Shows — A poll by the German Chamber of Commerce showed that 91% of companies had no concrete plans to leave within the next two years, amid a targeted effort by the government to attract more foreign investment.
South China Morning Post
- China denies providing weapons to Hamas in Israel-Gaza war — For the first time since conflict began, Beijing rejects allegations that it is arming Palestinian militant group.
- Chinese fintech giant Ant Group sets up AI unit led by former Google researcher — The new unit, called NextEvo, will drive and coordinate Ant’s core AI efforts, according to people familiar with the matter.
- US House panel renews push to punish trade fraud by Chinese companies, warning of ‘catastrophic impact’ on manufacturing — US congressional committee on China raises concerns about tariff evasion and lax enforcement days after raid of Chinese-owned car parts supplier in Ohio.
- Shein backers look to sell shares at 30% discount, valuing it as low as US$45 billion amid dimming IPO prospects — The discount brings the valuation down from US$66 billion during a May 2023 funding round amid tough competition from PDD’s Temu while it also faces political scrutiny in Washington.
Nikkei Asia
- Analysis: Balance of power between Xi’s top two aides is tipping — After more than a decade of wielding unprecedented strong powers, Chinese President Xi Jinping now has just two notable aides whom he deeply favors within the Chinese Communist Party.
- U.S.-China startup aims to grow role in Toyota parts supply chain — Yang Heng, general manager for China at Aerlyte, expects its technology to be used this year in sport utility vehicles made by Toyota’s U.S. arm.
- Asia braces for Trump comeback and major U.S. policy reversal — Many Asian leaders must be watching the race for the U.S. Republican presidential nomination with trepidation, trying to figure out what impact Donald Trump’s possible return to power will have on their countries.
- Singapore fintech partners with Alipay to meet holiday demand — Aleta Planet, a Singapore-based payments provider, launched on Thursday a remittance service with Chinese payment service Alipay as it seeks to handle a surge in transfers to China during the Lunar New Year holiday.
Bloomberg
- China Will Start Visa-Free Travel With Singapore and Thailand — China is set to start visa-free travel with Singapore and Thailand soon, as the world’s second-largest economy ramps up efforts to encourage more cross-border exchanges.
- China’s $6 Trillion Stock Wipeout Exposes Deeper Problems for Xi — It’s a public reminder that confidence in the Chinese economy is at its lowest ebb in decades.
- ASML’s China Sales Surged Despite Secret Dutch Deal With US — A secret agreement between the US and the Netherlands last year to limit ASML Holding NV’s deliveries to China didn’t stop a surge in sales of its sensitive chipmaking equipment.
- China Almost Quadrupled Its New Energy Storage Capacity in 2023 — China almost quadrupled its energy storage capacity from new technologies last year, as the nation works to buttress its rapidly expanding but unreliable renewables sector and wean itself off dirty coal.
- Apple’s iPhone Tops China Smartphone Market for First Time Despite Challenges — Apple Inc.’s iPhone was the top-selling smartphone series in China for the first time last year, a surprisingly strong showing in the face of fierce local competition and expanding government prohibitions against the American company’s technology.
Reuters
- Taiwan begins extended one-year conscription in response to China threat — Taiwan’s army said in a statement that it expected a total of 670 conscripts to join in the first batch under the newly extended scheme.
- Geopolitics, elections and policy uncertainty to weigh on China market – financial leaders — More geopolitical headwinds expected in 2024, executives at exchange operators and asset managers said during panel discussions on Thursday at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong.
- Philippines, Vietnam to sign coastguard deal risking China’s ire — The two Southeast Asian countries have competing claims over swathes of the South China Sea, an important waterway for fishing and global trade that China claims almost in its entirety.
- China’s attempts to lift confidence in economy fall flat — The disconnect between the positive official messaging and the concerns that nervous investors and penny-pinching Chinese citizens are raising over the economy is growing.
Other Publications
- CFR: Fickle Friends: Sino-Israeli Ties Buckle Amid War With Hamas — China’s response to the war in Gaza has jeopardized its once fruitful relationship with Israel, a risk China is willing to take as it exploits the war to bolster its own standing and undermine the United States’s.
- AP: China accuses US of ‘abusing’ international law by sailing in Taiwan Strait and South China Sea — Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said Thursday that U.S. warplane and warship activity “on China’s doorstep” is the root cause of the problems between the two military powers.
- The Economist: The false promise of friendshoring — America, China and Europe appear to be trading less with their geopolitical rivals.
- Brookings: Will 2024 be a turning point for IUU fishing? — United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) data illustrates the staggeringly large role China plays in the global seafood industry.
- The Guardian: Science fiction awards held in China under fire for excluding authors — Concerns raised about interference or censorship after documents showed writers were barred despite receiving enough nominations.
