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 Says Economy Will Reach ‘Moderately Developed’ Level Within 15 Years — Ambitious task will require a tripling of per-capita GDP by 2035, putting China roughly on a par with developed nations like South Korea and Spain.
- If You Play Videogames, China May Be Spying on You — Data harvested from game consoles would be far easier to exploit than what TikTok gathers.
- China’s Strengthening Currency Is Increasingly Outside Beijing’s Control — Allowing more foreigners to buy the country’s bonds means strong inflows of capital to China, but that also means abdicating some control of the country’s financial conditions or currency.
- U.S. Charges Eight People With Helping China Illegally Target Alleged Fugitives — Defendants stalked, harassed New Jersey resident in effort to force him to return to China, officials say.
- Ant IPO Promises $8 Billion Gain for Elite Group of Foreign Investors — In 2018, the financial-technology giant raised $10.3 billion in its first and only private sale of stock to institutions outside China.
The Financial Times
- How China is helping exporters around the world — The country has become an important destination for goods during the pandemic.
- China’s Sinopec to accelerate push into hydrogen energy — Move by country’s biggest oil refiner follows Beijing pledge to cut emissions to near zero.
- US consulate in Hong Kong rejects asylum seekers, says activist group — Washington warns only those who apply in US eligible for status.
- Volkswagen returns to profit on Chinese recovery — World’s largest carmaker is optimistic business will stabilise despite pandemic.
- European lockdowns worry investors, China’s Five-Year plan — Stocks in Europe and the US dropped on Wednesday as Germany and France re-entered lockdowns.
- Taiwan’s UMC pleads guilty to US charges of trade secret theft — Chipmaker fined $60m and agrees to co-operate in case against China’s Fujian Jinhua.
- State interference threatens China’s control of rare earth production — Producers complain that policies to keep prices high are hurting a vital industry.
- US allows sales of chips to Huawei’s non-5G businesses — Chinese company could be handed lifeline if sanctions less severe than previously thought.
- The march of Ant is a Chinese success story — Fintech group’s increasing power raises policy issues for regulators.
The New York Times
- As the West Stumbles, ‘Helmsman’ Xi Pushes an Ambitious Plan for China — China’s leader emerged from a key Communist Party meeting newly emboldened, outlining a road map for the country for years to come. Some have warned of overreach.
- U.S. to Establish Embassy in the Maldives — Competing for influence in the region with China, the United States will for the first time have an embassy in the tiny nation of islands off the shore of India.
- U.S. Charges 8 in Plot to Harass Chinese Dissidents — Law enforcement officials said that Chinese operatives hired private investigators to locate their targets and then stalked, surveilled and threatened them.
Caixin
- In Depth: Fraud Allegations Fly as Mainland Investment Firm Turns on Hong Kong Money Man — China Minsheng Investment Group levels financial misconduct accusations against the CEO of an investment bank it has backed for years.
- China Warns of Risks in Livestreaming Sales of Financial Products — Banking and insurance regulatory commission sees potential for fraud and misleading practices by unqualified online ‘experts’.
- Manufacturing Workers in High Demand as Consumption Revives — With pandemic largely under control, China’s factories scramble to hire workers to make mechanical equipment, electronic parts and auto components.
- Yum China Serves Up Appetizing Financials — KFC and Pizza Hut operator reports profits up again in third quarter as business conditions improve.
- Education Giant New Oriental Seeks Second Financial Lectern in Hong Kong — New York-listed company aims to raise up to $1.53 billion as it follows names like Alibaba and JD.com with secondary listings closer to home.
- French Carmaker PSA’s China Sales Continue Free Fall — Maker of Peugeot and Citroën autos reports 67.9% third-quarter plunge in China vehicle deliveries, offsetting expanding sales globally.
- Battery and Hybrid Cars Will Dominate China’s Roads in 15 Years — Virtually all new cars sold in China will be either hybrids or new-energy vehicles (NEV) in 2035, an industry blueprint predicts, boosting confidence in a sector filled with domestic players hoping to level up with the likes of U.S. giant Tesla.
- Chinese Electronics Panel Maker CSOT Reports Profit Growth as Demand Soars — TCL’s electronics panel-making unit saw an uptick in net profit in the third quarter of 2020, as panel prices rose on the back of growing demand.
- Xiaomi Invests in Home Improvement Firm Amid Push into Internet of Things — Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi has agreed to invest in Beijing-based home improvement company Dongyi Risheng as part of a wider push into “smart home systems” powered by Internet of Things (IoT) connected home products.
- TikTok Escalates Patent Fight With Triller Amid Sale Talks — TikTok and its parent ByteDance Inc. sued rival Triller Inc., asking a U.S. judge to clear up a “cloud” over the China-based popular video-streaming app after Triller accused it of stealing technology.
South China Morning Post
- How ByteDance mastered the art of smartphone app pre-installs to growth hack millions of new users — The Shenzhen airport warehouse 3A was filled with phones, hundreds of thousands of them. Wall to wall, pallet after pallet, a seemingly endless stack of smartphones fresh from the factory production lines.
- China, Russia seek to curb use of US dollar in Eurasian trade bloc deals to minimise risks — By creating its own monetary and financial system, an economic and trade bloc backed by Russia is looking to reduce its reliance on the US dollar and euro for internal trading and in deals with China.
- WTO: US vetoes appointment of Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, China’s choice to lead the global trade body — The World Trade Organization (WTO) moved a step closer to appointing its next director general on Wednesday, with top officials recommending Nigerian candidate Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the job at a meeting in Geneva.
- Alibaba’s Taobao Live hits US$7.5 billion in first 30 minutes of presales for Singles’ Day — Taobao Live, the live-streaming platform for merchants on Alibaba Group Holding’s Taobao Marketplace, posted about US$7.5 billion total transactions in the first 30 minutes of the e-commerce giant’s presales campaign for China’s annual Singles’ Day shopping festival on Wednesday last week.
- Boeing’s China aviation business in the spotlight after Beijing announces sanctions on defence unit — Aerospace giant Boeing is under the spotlight in China, the world’s fastest growing aviation market, after Beijing said it would sanction the Chicago-based firm’s defence subsidiary over arms sales to Taiwan.
- Chinese Communist Party wraps up top policy meeting by outlining plans for nation to become greater power — The Chinese Communist Party leadership has wrapped up the fifth plenum – its most important political meeting – where the discussions focused on how China can steady its course of development at a time when the world is at a crossroads.
- Why semiconductors are important and how they became a flashpoint in the US-China tech war — Semiconductors, also known as microchips, are silicon-based devices made up of hundreds of millions, and in some cases billions, of transistors, which act as tiny “switches” to control the movement of electrons.
- China-US rivalry is main challenge to Asian giant’s development, NDRC says — China’s rivalry with the United States will be the “biggest external uncertainty” that restrains its medium- and long-term development but “time is on China’s side”, the country’s top economic planning agency said in its assessment ahead of this week’s key meeting in Beijing to chart the future course of the world’s second-largest economy.
- China’s digital yuan aims to halt US ‘dollarisation’, boost retail payments, ex-central bank governor says — China’s sovereign digital currency is designed primarily to grow retail payments at home and prevent the dominance of the US dollar, rather than address threats raised by cryptocurrencies or stablecoins, a former central bank governor says.
- How China hopes to win the quantum technology race — China’s national quantum programme has been shrouded in secrecy until recently, when it was defined as part of the national strategy.
- Debt at China’s state-owned firms in question after BMW partner fails to repay billion-yuan bond — A bond default by a big state-owned automaker, which is also the parent company of BMW’s joint venture partner in China, serves as a fresh warning about debt risks in the country despite strong headline economic growth numbers, according to analysts.
Bloomberg
- China to Reveal How It Plans to Grow Economy Into the 2030s — The first glimpse into China’s economic plans for the next five and 15 years will be unveiled Thursday when initial details are released on how the country will steer growth and develop industry in the face of an antagonistic external environment.
- Taiwan’s UMC to Aid U.S. Pursuit of Chinese Firm for Theft — Taiwan’s United Microelectronics Corp. pledged “substantial assistance” to the U.S. in a high-profile trade-secrets prosecution of Chinese chipmaker Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co.
- Tokyo Rubber Set for Best Month in 45 Years on China Car Outlook — Rubber futures in Tokyo headed for their biggest monthly surge in more than four decades on expectations that economic improvement in top consumer China will boost demand, while supplies may be disrupted due to adverse weather conditions.
- Democrats Press Trump’s Company for Details on Ties to China — Top Senate Democrats are asking the Trump Organization to explain the company’s ties to China after reports from the New York Times that the president’s company has a bank account there.
- China’s Central Bank Needs a Greater Helmsman — Fickle and lacking vision and independence, the People’s Bank of China has encouraged risky corporate behavior and helped to make China one of the world’s most indebted nations.
- Volkswagen Sees Car-Sales Rebound in China — Volkswagen AG returned to profit in the third quarter, mirroring upbeat results of peers including Daimler AG and Tesla Inc. as robust demand in China helped the car industry navigate the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
- African Insurer Old Mutual to Expand Business in China — Africa’s oldest insurer plans to expand its business in China, while weighing exiting some markets on its home base, as part of a refreshed strategy to focus on more profitable areas of its operations.
- Toyota’s Worldwide Sales Inch Higher on China, U.S. Demand — Toyota Motor Corp.’s global sales rose 2% in September from a year earlier, signaling car demand is starting to recover despite the continued spread of the coronavirus in many major markets.
- Philippines Paves Way to Ending Oil Exploration Row With China — The Philippines has removed a major hurdle in advancing oil exploration with Beijing in the South China Sea, its top diplomat said, but the two nations will have to navigate their overlapping claims in the area to reach a deal.
- Taiwan Fighter Jet Crashes, Fueling Worries About Aging Fleet — A Taiwanese fighter jet crashed and its pilot was killed while training over the Western Pacific, highlighting concerns about the island’s aging military fleet at a time of increased pressure from China’s air force.
Reuters
- Factbox: Key details from fifth plenum of China’s Communist Party — Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Central Committee, the largest of the ruling Communist Party’s top decision-making bodies, have concluded a four-day meeting on China’s economic and social policy goals for the next five years.
- China aims for sustained, healthy growth in the five years to 2025 — China is targeting sustained and healthy economic development in the five years to 2025, with an emphasis on a higher quality of growth, the official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday, citing the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee.
- PetroChina third quarter profit surges on recovering oil prices, pipeline spin-off — PetroChina Co , Asia’s largest oil and gas producer, reported a surge of around 350% in third-quarter profit versus a year earlier, owing to recovering oil prices and revenue from pipelines spin-offs.
- Xiaomi bucks trend of contracting China smartphone market in third quarter: Counterpoint — China’s smartphone market continued its steady contraction in the third quarter, with shipments declining 14% year-on-year, research firm Counterpoint reported on Friday.
- TikTok owner ByteDance launches education technology brand Dali for China — Beijing-based ByteDance announced a standalone education technology (edtech) brand Dali for the Chinese market on Thursday, becoming another major tech player looking to capitalise on the sector’s boom driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- China’s Kangtai starts mid-stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate — China’s Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products has begun a mid-stage human trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine, clinical trial registry data shows.
- Chinese spacecraft set for Mars landing in May: state media — A Chinese spacecraft is expected to land on Mars in May, state-run media reported on Thursday, citing a space agency official.
- Exclusive: Chinese banks seen swapping dollars for yuan in forwards to curb gains – traders — China’s major state-owned banks have been swapping U.S. dollars for yuan this week, traders said on Thursday, suggesting monetary authorities are trying to rein in the sharply appreciating currency.
- Analysis: As COVID persists and U.S. election nears, China growth lifts Asia — Asia is starting to see signs of economic recovery as it rides on the back of an upturn in China, which is entering a new expansion phase less than a year after it recorded the world’s first cases of COVID-19.
- Breakingviews – Chinese lender IPO mess holds rules up to ridicule — A Chinese lender’s farcically volatile initial public offering is holding archaic market rules up to public ridicule. Xiamen Bank shares surged by the maximum allowable 44% in their Shanghai debut this week. That’s par for the course on primary mainland boards, but a day-two 10% plunge is not.
- Exclusive: Biden, if elected, would consult allies on future of U.S. tariffs on China – advisers — Democrat Joe Biden would immediately consult with America’s main allies before deciding on the future of U.S. tariffs on China, seeking “collective leverage” to strengthen his hand against Beijing if he is elected president, Biden top advisers said on Wednesday.
- USDA defends estimate of China corn imports, despite hot sales pace — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday defended its latest monthly forecast of China’s corn imports, a figure that surprised analysts given that corn sales to China have already outpaced the USDA’s estimate.
- U.S. designates Chinese body a foreign mission, quits local cooperation agreement — The United States said on Wednesday it was designating a U.S. branch of a Chinese government-controlled organization as a foreign mission and withdrawing from an agreement to promote local-level cooperation between the countries.
- U.S. pitches cheaper solar tech to India amid high dependence on China — The United States wants India to explore manufacturing a cheaper alternative to silicon solar cells, U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said on Wednesday, amid high dependence on Chinese technology.
- Carlsberg raises outlook on strong sales in China and Russia — Danish brewer Carlsberg posted third-quarter underlying sales that beat expectations on Tuesday and raised its full-year earnings guidance thanks to strong sales in Russia and China.
Xinhua
- Foreign trade of China’s Hebei up 4.8 pct in first three quarters — North China’s Hebei Province saw its foreign trade grow by 4.8 percent year on year to 310.95 billion yuan (about 46.27 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of 2020, customs statistics showed.
- Foreign trade rises in China’s Shenzhen — South China’s metropolis of Shenzhen saw its foreign trade volume edge up 2.7 percent year on year to 2.18 trillion yuan (326.8 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters, customs data showed.
- Presence at CIIE “essential” for Italian companies, says Italy China Chamber of Commerce — The chief of Italy China Chamber of Commerce (CICC) said on Wednesday that it is essential for Italian companies that wish to do business in China to attend the China International Import Expo (CIIE) trade fair.
- Cumulative cross-border renminbi settlement in Yunnan exceeds 568 bln yuan — The cumulative amount of cross-border renminbi settlement in southwest China’s Yunnan Province since 2010 has reached 568 billion yuan (about 84.4 billion U.S. dollars), according to a local branch of the country’s central bank.
- China’s Tianjin sees trade growth with B&R countries — The northern China port city of Tianjin witnessed a 3.9 percent year-on-year growth in trade with the Belt and Road (B&R) countries in the first three quarters of the year, local customs said.
- NE China province reports steady export growth in Jan.-Sept. — Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province saw its exports grow 6.6 percent year on year to 26.9 billion yuan (about 4 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of this year, the provincial bureau of commerce said.
- China’s Henan sees foreign trade rise 2.4 pct in Jan.-Sept. — Central China’s Henan Province saw its foreign trade grow 2.4 percent to more than 377.1 billion yuan (56.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters, customs data showed.
- Chinese shares close higher Thursday — Chinese stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.11 percent to end at 3,272.73 points.
- Hong Kong stocks close 0.49 pct lower — Hong Kong stocks closed down 122.20 points, or 0.49 percent, to 24,586.6 points on Thursday.
Other Publications
- Council on Foreign Relations: 92 Percent of Trump’s China Tariff Proceeds Has Gone to Bail Out Angry Farmers — “China” is “paying billions and billions of dollars” on U.S. tariffs, President Trump said in his debate with Joe Biden on October 22. “And you know who got the money? Our farmers. Our great farmers.” He is half right.
- The Diplomat: China Shows Signs of Cracking Down on ‘Silk Road’ Crime — The bizarre story of She Zhijiang, who ran a Southeast Asian casino empire while a fugitive from the law in China, demonstrates the limits of Chinese power.
- The Diplomat: Under Trump, the US Strategy for Countering China Is Mimicking China — The US has begun to copy questionable Chinese behaviors, from aggressive diplomatic criticism to forcing sell-offs and joint ventures.
