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 Metal Demand Takes a Different Shape — China’s property crisis keeps punishing big miners, but increasing demand from manufacturing and infrastructure could take the edge off.
- China-Taiwan Frictions Flare After Deaths of Fishermen — Testy encounters at sea between Beijing and Taipei come weeks after a Taiwan election locked in a tense status quo.
- China Approves Loans for White-List Projects — Chinese officials have approved more than $17 billion in loans for a “white list” of real-estate projects, offering fresh signs that Beijing is moving forward to prop up the country’s sluggish property market.
- Cheap Chinese Goods Are Becoming a Costly Problem. Exhibit A: Hong Kong. — Shoppers are hopping across the border, where prices have dropped. Neighboring Asian countries could also be hit if Chinese companies dump their goods there among weak domestic demand.
- U.S. to Invest Billions to Replace China-Made Cranes at Nation’s Ports — The Biden administration is concerned about potential security threats at hundreds of sites.
- China Quant Fund Suspended as Regulators Tighten Grip on Trading — China’s two major stock exchanges have slapped a three-day ban on a large quantitative fund, the latest move by regulators ramping up trading scrutiny as they look to boost a sluggish market.
- HSBC Books Hefty China Impairment But Unveils Fresh Buybacks — The Asia-focused bank’s earnings were hurt by impairments related to its investment in a Chinese bank, but higher full-year earnings prompted the lender to unveil up to $2 billion in fresh share buybacks.
- China’s Property Stocks Gain as Lending Rate Cut Boosts Sentiment — Chinese property stocks rose a day after a deeper-than-expected cut to a key mortgage reference rate bolstered hopes that authorities are doing more to shore up the ailing sector.
The Financial Times
- Russia foils western sanctions on natural gas project as shipments near — Arctic LNG 2 plant completed with Chinese help as Beijing becomes biggest importer of the Russian gas.
- Bumper bonuses at HSBC do not reflect China risk — Weakness in the region makes hefty payouts increasingly difficult to justify.
- China circumvents US tariffs by shipping more goods via Mexico — Data highlight difficulties in cutting Chinese exporters out of American supply chains.
- Chinese authorities toughen quant trading rules in bid to prop up stock market — New regime comes after regulators punish major trading house for automated dumping of shares.
- Samsung and LG join forces against Chinese rivals in battle for display dominance — After taking over mass-market LCDs, Chinese manufacturers are threatening to undercut South Korean makers on premium OLED technology.
- How China’s Communist cadres target hearts and minds in Taiwan — United Front Work Department aims to spread influence and marginalise government in Taipei.
The New York Times
- Biden Plans to Harden Protection Against Cybersecurity Threats to Ports — An executive order on the president’s desk would give expanded powers to the Department of Homeland Security amid increased fears of a conflict with China.
Caixin
- Ping An Real Estate Gets $1.1 Billion Credit Line as Debt Pressure Mounts — Lifeline for property investment arm of Ping An Insurance as it comes under liquidity pressure in China’s housing slump.
- In Depth: Xiaohongshu’s Push to Make Users Open Their Wallets — The Chinese social media platform, which is mulling a Hong Kong IPO, has been struggling to get its users to buy things on the app.
- China Kicks Off Drafting of Law to Promote Private Sector — The legislation should cover companies’ core concerns including protection of property rights, equal access to factors of production, and equal protection under the law, state media reports.
South China Morning Post
- EU agrees to blacklist Chinese firms for first time in latest Russian sanctions package — Three mainland businesses and one from Hong Kong will be sanctioned after Hungary agreed not to veto the measure.
- Siemens boss demands EU action to fend off ‘cheap’ Chinese wind power imports — Christian Bruch says either quotas or qualitative criteria could help stop the industry going the way of solar.
- China affirms stance on Fukushima nuclear waste water release in rare ministerial meeting with Japan’s new envoy — Chinese environment minister tells Kenji Kanasugi that Japan should ‘take responsibility’ for nuclear-contaminated water.
- China’s Xi Jinping hypes up obstacle-crushing economic reforms as expectations for third plenum reach fever pitch — Fresh calls from the president point to a ‘milestone year’ for the implementation of much-ballyhooed changes intended to shore up China’s economy, but ‘institutional obstacles’ pose a risk to progress.
Nikkei Asia
- Alibaba’s Taobao sets up live commerce venture as competition grows — Operated by Taobao Live, the new company will mainly serve hosts who are new to Taobao, providing them with business connections as well as marketing, inventory and financial management services.
- Opinion: China should not underestimate impact of inward FDI plunge — The number of people and companies hesitant to invest in China is increasing and will continue to grow unless Beijing changes its policy priorities. By Nikkei Asia.
Bloomberg
- China Tightens Grip on Stocks With Net Sale Ban at Open, Close — The move is part of the government’s most forceful attempt yet to prop up the nation’s US$8.6 trillion stock market.
- China’s Spy Agency Sees Threats Everywhere in Data Security Push — It’s the latest sign of increasing scrutiny of data flows, one that is likely to heighten risks for businesses operating in the world’s second-largest economy.
- China Proposes New ESG Rules to Keep Up With Europe — Beijing hopes the guidelines will help bolster its struggling economy. But these rules come with some unique characteristics.
- Li Auto CEO Calls for Industry M&A as China EV Demand Softens — The head of China’s electric vehicle maker Li Auto Inc. called on the government to boost mergers and acquisitions among distressed EV makers, warning that failed companies could cause significant social loss.
Reuters
- Exclusive: US targets China’s top chipmaking plant after Huawei Mate 60 Pro, sources say — The Biden administration is turning up the heat on China’s top sanctioned chipmaker by cutting off its most advanced factory from more American imports after it produced a sophisticated chip for Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro phone.
- Rise of fast-fashion Shein, Temu roils global air cargo industry — Their growing popularity is boosting air-freight costs from Asian hubs like Guangzhou and Hong Kong, making off-peak seasons almost disappear and causing capacity shortages.
- Alibaba is the ultimate contrarian China bet — How did a company once seen as a consumer and technological bellwether for the world’s second-largest economy lose its shine?
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: Opinion: Xi Jinping is tanking China’s economy. That’s bad for the U.S. — Despite Mr. Xi lifting the world’s most draconian covid-19 restrictions at the end of 2022, construction in China has slowed, manufacturing prices have declined and consumer spending has flattened. By The Editorial Board.
- The Economist: How scared is China of Donald Trump’s return? — 60% tariffs are a danger, yet some Chinese nationalists are cheering him on.
- MIT Technology Review: Why China’s EV ambitions need virtual power plants — This technology can let millions of electric vehicles feed electricity back to the grid when necessary, helping China deal with extreme weathers and power shortages.
- The Information: TikTok Executives Fretted About China Ties of CapCut Editing-App — Last year, the second most downloaded free app in the U.S. on iPhones was CapCut, a video-editing app made by TikTok’s parent ByteDance.
