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 Wants to Screen You for Coronavirus—and Your Frozen Fish — Many countries around the world are screening people at their borders for the coronavirus. China is also inspecting incoming frozen fish, making it an outlier in this area.
- China’s Economic Squeeze on Australia Extends to Cotton — China’s top economic-planning body is targeting Australian cotton, Australian industry groups say, the latest escalation in the countries’ diplomatic and trade row.
- Daryl Morey, Who Changed the NBA in Houston and China, Is Leaving the Rockets — Daryl Morey is stepping down as the Rockets’ general manager. His tweet supporting Hong Kong’s protesters sparked a crisis last year—and his teams revolutionized basketball over the last decade.
The Financial Times
- Five things to watch for as China reports third-quarter GDP — Data release next week will reveal if country’s post-pandemic recovery remains on track.
- Beijing 1986: portraits of a forgotten China — A trove of lost photographs, taken by a junior teacher more than 30 years ago, revisits a country on the brink of social change and a landscape near eclipsed from history.
The New York Times
- Separatists Kill 14 in Attack on Oil Convoy in Restive Pakistani Province — The assault was an escalation of violence in the resource-rich province of Baluchistan, which has become a nexus of Chinese development projects and heavy security crackdowns.
Caixin
- China’s Muji Wannabe Raises $6.08 Billion in New York IPO — Budget retailer Miniso’s stock finishes its debut day up 4.4%.
- SMIC Raises Third-Quarter Guidance and Investors Shrug — China’s leading microchip-maker says it expects its revenue will grow 14% to 16% compared with the previous three-month period, versus previous guidance of a 1% to 3% rise.
- Dutch Tech Giant ASML Says Being Non-American Has Its Advantages When Selling to China — U.S. tech suppliers are stuck when it comes to helping China achieve its microchip ambitions, hamstrung by export restrictions from Washington designed to keep their wares out of Chinese hands.
- Toyota to provide China’s GAC with hybrid system — Toyota Motor has decided to provide Guangzhou Automobile Group, a joint venture partner in China, with its gasoline-electric hybrid technology system, Nikkei has learned. This is the first time Toyota will offer its core hybrid technology to a foreign company.
South China Morning Post
- American hostility means China can’t come clean on its nuclear arsenal, Beijing official says — The United States’ “hostile policies” mean China must retain some ambiguity regarding its nuclear arsenal, and expecting Beijing to engage in arms control talks under the current circumstances is “unreasonable and unrealistic”, according to a senior foreign ministry official.
- Australia’s strong China coal exports exhausted quotas, justifying ban, but politics also at play, analysts say — Australia’s strong coal exports to China this year justified a reported import ban as it has exhausted its quotas ahead of other countries, commodities analyst S&P Global Platts said, although political reasons for the ban were not out of the question.
- China reports surge in long-term investment inflows despite talk of decoupling from US — Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into China surged in September by nearly a quarter compared to a year ago, underlining the confidence international investors have in the world’s second biggest economy long-term prospects, despite threats of decoupling from the United States.
- Where will Ant Group’s next billion users come from as it ploughs its jumbo IPO proceeds into overseas expansion? — Chinese fintech giant Ant Group unveiled a joint venture in Russia last year to build an online payments service with a local e-commerce, social networking and gaming conglomerate. The move prompted Russian banks to revamp the way they connect with younger clients, amid fears they could lose a generation of customers to digital ecosystems.
- How joining vaccine initiative Covax could be shot in the arm for China — China’s decision to join Covax was seen as a boost to the global scheme to ensure fair access to Covid-19 vaccines for poorer countries, but membership could benefit itself as well as any nations receiving its doses.
- China GDP: economic growth in third quarter neared pre-coronavirus level, economists forecast — Li Aifei still has concerns about her family’s financial prospects. Her husband’s income from online advertising has plunged as advertisers have cut their budgets, so the whole family is relying on her small convenience store in Mianyang, Sichuan province, to cover utility bills, kindergarten tuition and daily expenses.
- China moves to shield its own advanced tech in fight with US by expanding arsenal of export restrictions — China is set to pass a new law that would restrict sensitive exports vital to national security, expanding its toolkit of policy options as competition grows with the US over access to technologies that will drive the modern economy.
- Fresh from Shenzhen honours, Hong Kong property tycoon Gordon Wu blames local leadership for city’s land issues, lack of competitive edge — Gordon Wu Ying-sheung, the only Hong Kong property tycoon honoured for his contributions to Shenhzen’s rise during President Xi Jinping’s visit to the city on Wednesday, has lashed out at local officials for their “inefficiency and incapability” in solving his hometown’s land problems.
- China-Australia relations: Canberra ‘keeping the door open’ as questions swirl over coal import ban — Canberra’s response to China’s ban on Australian coal exports has hinted at more conciliatory engagement with Beijing, but former diplomats and analysts said it was too early to tell if tensions have eased.
- US aircraft carriers in the South China Sea and why they anger Beijing — The United States has deployed an aircraft carrier group led by the USS Ronald Reagan in the contested South China Sea for the third time this year, the US Navy said on Friday.
- Apple’s 5G iPhone 12 may have drawn derision on China’s social media but millions are still signing up for it — Reaction on Chinese social media to Apple’s new iPhone 12 has been lukewarm to say the least but that has not stopped over 2.3 million Chinese consumers signing up for the US smartphone giant’s new handset series on major e-commerce sites.
- China speeds up draft law against food waste as nation strives to feed 1.4 billion people — China’s legislature is speeding up its drafting of a national law to discourage food waste, following President Xi Jinping’s order to clamp down on the problem and ensure stable food supply.
Bloomberg
- Oil Slips Below $41 With Virus Curbs Dampening Demand Hopes — Oil dipped as the prospect of a resurgent virus, forcing more stay-at-home measures in Europe and the U.S., was weighed against signs of improved demand from China and India this week.
- Evergrande’s Push to Calm Investors Receives Mixed Response — China Evergrande Group’s latest attempt to restore confidence in its finances received mixed reviews from investors, adding to volatility in the company’s dollar bonds.
- Chinese Police Probe Halts Withdrawals at Crypto Giant OKEx — Chinese police have launched an investigation linked to cryptocurrency exchange giant OKEx, forcing one of the world’s largest Bitcoin trading platforms to block users globally from withdrawing money.
- Philippines to Resume Oil Exploration in South China Sea — The Philippines lifted its moratorium on oil and gas exploration in disputed areas of the South China Sea, a move that was welcomed by China and boosted the shares of the Southeast Asian nation’s energy producers.
- Yuan’s Sudden Surge Past 6.7 Puts Spotlight on Central Bank — China’s yuan surged past a key technical level, a sign that the central bank may soon be forced to rein in further strength in the currency.
- China Drug Stock Jumps After Doctor Endorses Treatment for Covid — A maker of traditional Chinese medicine products saw its stock surge the most in two years Friday after one of the nation’s top medical advisers reportedly said one of its treatments could potentially inhibit Covid-19.
- Singapore-Hong Kong Air Fares Jump 40% on Travel Bubble Plan — The cost of air tickets between two major Asian financial hubs jumped within 24 hours of Singapore and Hong Kong unveiling plans for a travel bubble that wouldn’t require people to quarantine upon arrival.
- Brokers Offer 20 Times Leverage for ‘Deal of Decade’ Ant IPO — Hong Kong stockbrokers are so confident Ant Group’s blockbuster IPO will go smoothly that they’re offering to let mom-and-pop investors buy the stock with as much as 20 times leverage.
- Jack Ma’s Ant Group Raises IPO Valuation Target to $280 Billion — Ant Group plans to increase the valuation target for its initial public offering to at least $280 billion due to strong demand, charging ahead with the sale even as the Trump administration weighs restrictions on the Chinese fintech giant, according to people familiar with the matter.
- China Set to Pass Law Protecting Vital Tech From U.S. — China is set to pass a new law that would restrict sensitive exports vital to national security, expanding its toolkit of policy options as competition grows with the U.S. over access to technologies that will drive the modern economy.
- Foxconn Expands its Automotive Business to Boost Future Growth — Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. unveiled plans to expand its nascent automobiles business as the Taiwanese electronics giant seeks to offset slowing growth in its core consumer electronics assembly business.
- China’s Headlong Rush into Hog Farms Sparks Boom-Bust Fears — Investing in Chinese hog farms may never have been so profitable, and that’s spurred fears that the boom may soon turn into a bust.
- Former Pipe Factory Worker Becomes a Budget Store Billionaire — A Chinese entrepreneur who started a chain of stores selling sleek household items at bargain-basement prices has just become a billionaire, benefiting from the global trend of consumers turning to cheap goods as the coronavirus pandemic eats into spending budgets.
- Thailand Seeks Travel Bubble Pact With China to Spur Tourism — Thailand is in talks with China to establish a quarantine-free travel corridor by January to rescue its ailing tourism industry.
- Tencent Chooses Co-Working Space For First Singapore Office — Tencent Holdings Ltd. has chosen a co-working space for its first office in Singapore, joining other Chinese tech giants in using the city state for a launching pad into the rest of Asia.
- Xi Gets Serious About One of His Grandest Economic Goals Yet — Few skylines have sprung up as rapidly as Shenzhen’s. The once-sleepy fishing village is now home to technology giants such as Huawei, Tencent and drone-maker DJI.
- Evergrande: How Xi Snubbed Property Tycoons in Big Shenzhen Visit — Shenzhen celebrations delivered a snub to real estate bosses that investors can’t miss.
- What to Watch in China GDP Data as Economic Rebound Strengthens — China is the only large nation that is expected to grow this year, with booming export demand driving an industrial rebound and the nation’s control of the Covid-19 outbreak allowing it to also reopen the domestic economy.
- 50,000 Shoppers Give China’s Digital Yuan Its Biggest Test Yet — Tens of thousands of Chinese this week spent digital yuan at Walmart, gas stations and convenience stores across the southern tech hub of Shenzhen. The experiment — unprecedented in scope and size — went off without a hitch, catapulting the world’s No. 2 economy to the forefront of a race to develop virtual money.The real-world test is thus far the largest in terms of users and money involved since the Chinese central bank kicked off testing of its digital cash in a handful of cities in April.
- Bolsonaro Weighs Huawei Ban From 5G Network, Cabinet Member Says — President Jair Bolsonaro is considering banning Huawei Technologies Co. from supplying components to Brazil’s upcoming 5G network because he sees China as a global threat to data privacy and sovereignty, according to a senior member of his cabinet.
- India Foreign Minister Says China Talks Are Work in Progress — Military and diplomatic talks on troop disengagement amid India’s worst border tensions with China in four decades are “a work in progress,” India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said.
- Fastly Plummets After Tension Over ByteDance Curbs Sales — Fastly Inc. shares plunged as much as 31% Thursday morning after saying that Chinese internet giant ByteDance Ltd., its No. 1 customer, spent less than predicted in the third quarter on cloud computing services as a result of rising U.S.-China trade tension.
Reuters
- China’s central bank unveils changes to laws for commercial banks — China’s central bank issued on Friday a draft of revisions to laws for commercial banks, improving the mechanisms of risk disposal and market exit for lenders, it said, and set a Nov. 16 deadline for public comment on the changes.
- Europe telecoms lobby group ‘denounces’ bans on Chinese vendors — A business group representing challenger telecoms operators in Europe warned on Friday against banning Chinese equipment vendors, saying that doing so for political reasons would force up costs and delay network upgrades.
- China supports G20 proposal to extend debt relief to poor countries: PBOC head — China supports a G20 proposal to further extend debt relief to poor countries, the head of its central bank, Yi Gang, told a G20 videoconference on Thursday, according to a statement on the central bank’s website.
- Indonesia sees China firms lead ‘commitment’ for $35 billion nickel investments — Indonesia expects to see investment in nickel processing, as well as petrochemicals, double to $35 billion by 2033, led by investors from China seeking to expand their businesses in Southeast’s biggest economy.
- A millennials love affair: China’s second-hand luxury goods market booms — China’s love for luxury is spilling over into the once shunned second-hand goods sector, with online stores surfing a wave of pent-up demand from shoppers, led by millennials, who have been forced into belt-tightening by the coronavirus pandemic.
- Sinovac coronavirus vaccine offered by Chinese city for emergency use costs $60 — A Chinese city is offering Sinovac Biotech’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine to essential workers and other high-risk groups as part of a national programme for about $60.
- China’s turbo-charged online fashion takes on Zara and H&M — China’s Shein may be the biggest shopping site you’ve never heard of.
- China and Australia commodities trade tensions — Australia’s ties with top trade partner China soured in 2018 when it became the first country to publicly ban China’s Huawei [HWT.UL] from its 5G network, and worsened after Canberra called for an enquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.
- EU imposes tariffs on aluminium products from China — The European Union will impose duties of up to 48% on imports of aluminium extrusions from China midway through an investigation into whether Chinese producers are selling at unfairly low prices.
- Japan will not join U.S. plan to bar China from telecoms networks: Yomiuri — Japan has told the United States that Tokyo will not, at the moment, join Washington’s plan to exclude Chinese firms from telecommunications networks, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Friday, citing several sources.
- With eye on China, Japan’s Suga seeks tighter ties with Vietnam, Indonesia — Japan’s new leader will aim to beef up security ties when he visits Vietnam and Indonesia next week amid concerns about Beijing’s growing assertiveness, but he is likely to steer clear of the harsh anti-China rhetoric used by U.S. counterparts.
- Ford’s third-quarter China sales rise 25% year-on-year to 164,352 vehicles — Ford Motor Co on Friday said its China sales rose 25% over July to September from the same period a year earlier to 164,352 vehicles, attributing the increase to product launches and a localisation strategy.
- China’s economic recovery seen broadening in Q3 as consumers re-emerge: Reuters poll — China’s economic recovery likely stepped up in the third quarter as consumers returned to shopping malls and major trading partners reopened for business, shaking off the record slump seen earlier this year.
- Coronavirus vaccine candidate from China’s CNBG shows promise in human test, study shows — One of China’s front-running coronavirus vaccine candidates was shown to be safe and triggered immune responses in a combined early and mid-stage test in humans, researchers said.
- China denies ‘coercive’ diplomacy with Canada, urges release of Huawei executive — China on Thursday denied it had taken two Canadian men hostage, and repeated a call for the release of a Huawei Technologies Co Ltd executive held in Canada who faces extradition to the United States amid a long-running diplomatic dispute.
Xinhua
- Interview: Chinese companies top player in Ethiopia’s investment landscape: official — Chinese companies, with close to 1,564 projects that were either operational or under implementation during the past two decades, are the top players in Ethiopia’s investment landscape both in terms of the number of projects and the financial capital, an official at the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) said on Friday.
- China’s FDI inflow up 25.1 pct in September — Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 25.1 percent year on year to 99.03 billion yuan (about 14.25 billion U.S. dollars) in September, the Ministry of Commerce said Friday.
- China’s FDI inflow surges 18.7 pct in September — Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 25.1 percent year on year to 99.03 billion yuan (about 14.25 billion U.S. dollars) in September, the Ministry of Commerce said Friday.
- China’s non-financial ODI down 0.6 pct in Jan.-Sept. — China’s non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) went down 0.6 percent year on year in the first nine months of the year, official data showed Friday.
- Interview: Shenzhen a successful symbol of China’s reform, opening-up, says Argentine academic — The success of China’s Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has demonstrated the effectiveness of the country’s reform and opening-up, Argentine academic Patricio Giusto said on Thursday.
- Across China: China sees burgeoning craft beer industry — Designer Mu Yang likes to occasionally grab a beer after work while hanging out with friends, but his taste has a special preference for good-quality craft beer. Therefore, he makes a conscious effort to pick out places offering such brews.
- Healthcare products to take spotlight at 3rd CIIE — Global pharmaceutical companies have been scrambling for booths to showcase their new products and public health solutions at the upcoming 3rd China International Import Expo (CIIE).
- China Focus: China’s ice cream industry going full steam ahead — China’s ice cream industry, like many others, has been hit hard by the COVID-19 epidemic that impeded the transportation of raw materials. The industry, however, is gaining steam quickly thanks to the effective epidemic control across the country.
- British luxury retailer Harrods to open first private shopping space in China — British luxury retailer Harrods will open its first permanent private shopping space in Shanghai in December, its managing director Michael Ward told Xinhua.
- Xinjiang border port sees rising rail freight volume — The rail freight volume in Horgos, a major land pass in China bordering Kazakhstan, has already exceeded last year’s total figure, local customs authorities said Friday.
- Chinese shares close mixed Friday — Chinese stocks closed mixed on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.13 percent at 3,336.36 points.
- Chinese shares open mixed Friday — Chinese stocks opened mixed on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.07 percent to open at 3,334.46 points.
Other Publications
- POLITICO: Ex-Google chief: U.S. must do ‘whatever it takes’ to beat China on AI — “We want America to be inventing this stuff,” Eric Schmidt said during POLITICO’s summit on artificial intelligence. “Or at least the West.”
- Foreign Policy: The United States Isn’t Doomed to Lose the Information Wars — China and Russia are ramping up their disinformation campaigns in the lead-up to the November vote. It’s time for Washington to fight back.
- AP: China defends Confucius Institutes now under fire from the US — Following scathing political attacks from the Trump administration, China on Friday defended its Confucius Institutes.
- Nikkei Asian Review: How a Chinese gay dating app blazed a trail to the US stock market — Founder of Blued was police officer by day and online activist by night.
