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
- H&M Criticized in China Over Xinjiang Forced-Labor Stance — State media, social-media users and celebrity endorsers lambast fast-fashion company—with some calling for a boycott—over months-old statement.
- Move Over Huawei, Xiaomi Is China’s New Smartphone King — Gadget maker’s global fortunes revive as tech giant stumbles under a string of blows from the U.S.
- Facebook Takes Down China-Linked Hacking Campaign Targeting Uyghurs — The effort included setting up fake news sites and compromising real ones to infect people’s devices.
- U.S.-Listed Chinese Stocks Fall Into Bear Market — Technology-heavy gauge that includes Alibaba, JD.com and electric-car maker Nio tumbles 6.4%.
- Tesla-Loving Chinese Day-Traders Flock to a Bullish Broker — Tencent-backed Futu and other Chinese online brokers have benefited as younger investors have poured money into booming markets.
The Financial Times
- Chinese delistings: exodus will hurt US investors most — New rules may mean Americans missing out on a slice of Chinese groups’ growth.
- H&M and Nike face China backlash over Xinjiang stance — Clothing groups attacked by state media and consumers over statements last year about forced labour.
- Turning the tables on China — A very small step has been made in the right direction.
- Chinese tech stocks fall sharply on rising regulatory concerns — Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu shares drop on fears of US delistings and control over data.
- Chinese stocks turn from leader to laggard on tighter liquidity — Country underperforms other big markets in 2021 as Beijing seeks to rein in risky lending.
- Iron ore tycoon pleads with west to mend its relationship with China — Andrew Forrest warns populist politicians they are ‘sacrificing humanity and the environment’.
- Jack Ma’s Ant demands bigger fees to rebuild valuation after pulled IPO — Chinese fintech boosts commissions to offset Beijing’s crackdown on lending business.
- Tencent: Ma is less as Beijing tightens grip — Time for investors to switch to smaller groups challenging the incumbents..
The New York Times
- China’s Outrage over Forced Labor Charges Targets H&M, Adidas and Nike — Major clothing brands that rely on the Chinese market are caught in a bind as Beijing and the West harden their stances on the crackdown on Xinjiang.
- H&M Faces a Boycott in China Over Statement on Uyghurs — The Swedish retailer is the latest fashion business to come under pressure from Chinese consumers after a perceived misstep.
Caixin
- Banks Urged to Lend More to China’s Loan-Starved Private Sector — CBIRC pushes for more financing for healthy private companies, particularly those in advanced manufacturing.
- Hong Kong Art Market Roars Back to Life With Record $41.9 Million Sale — Basquait painting fetches highest ever price for Western art sold in Asia’s auction market, giving hope for a post-pandemic revival.
- Analysis: China’s Power System Needs More Flexibility to Hit Carbon Goals — Country will have to rapidly build up its wind and solar capacity to meet aggressive targets, but the process must be fair for all involved.
- SEC Starts Implementing Law That Risks Chinese Stock Delistings — Watchdog said it’s taking initial steps to force accounting firms to let U.S. regulators review the financial audits of overseas companies.
South China Morning Post
- As China faces sanctions from the West, it looks to the Middle East for alliance and influence — Beijing is trying to beat back a new wave of international sanctions over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, with its Foreign Minister Wang Yi lavishing praise on Saudi Arabia for supporting China‘s policies towards Xinjiang.
Bloomberg
- How U.S. Should Ease China’s Rare-Earth Dominance — The Biden administration should partner with allies and invest in research to ensure the supply of critical minerals.
- What’s Up With China EVs? Here’s a Clue — Dense as it may be, the Chinese government’s annual work report – a summary of the country’s recent economic and social developments, as well as a list of future ambitions — is worthwhile reading material. It gives some key insights into Beijing’s thinking and by extension, a hint about what investors should keep an eye on in the world’s second-largest economy.
- China Tech Giants Dive as Delisting Threat Joins Crackdown Fears — Tech giants from Tencent Holdings Ltd. to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. dived after U.S. regulators revived threats to toss China’s largest corporations off U.S. bourses, compounding concerns of a widening domestic antitrust crackdown.
- A $60 Billion U.S. Stimulus Windfall Is Heading China’s Way — David Ni is expecting a great year for his Chinese car-wheels business, thanks to the $1.9 trillion boost President Joe Biden just gave to the U.S. economy.
- Li’s New Deal is Latest Effort to Prop Up CK Asset Share Price — Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing and his eldest son Victor Li are stepping up efforts to boost the stock of family business CK Asset Holdings Ltd., after HK$4.4 billion ($566 million) of personal purchases of the company’s shares failed to reverse slumping prices.
- China’s $1 Trillion Wealth Fund Shuffles Some Leadership Roles — China’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund shuffled some leadership roles including in asset allocation, following a revamp of its investment decision-making committees, according to people familiar with the matter.
Reuters
- Global oil markets under pressure as Asia destocks, China imports slowed — Crude oil producers from Europe, Africa and the United States faced difficulties selling to Asia, especially China, as buyers took cheaper oil from storage while refinery maintenance has reduced demand, industry sources said on Thursday.
- Column: Slow growth in China’s soybean demand threatened by hog disease outbreaks — China is taking in record amounts of soybeans from the United States and Brazil as its hog population recovers from a deadly disease that began nearly three years ago, but import expansion into the next marketing year might be minimal.
Other Publications
- POLITICO: China hosts ‘normal’ climate talks despite sanctions blow up — The US and EU are hoping China can separate sanctions anger from climate policy.
- Nikkei Asian Review: Muji promotes Xinjiang cotton as Chinese netizens lash rivals — Japanese clothing retailer’s position comes amid boycott calls of foreign brands.
- Economist: India and China are finding vaccine diplomacy tricky — Helping both their own citizens and foreigners is an immense task.
- Foreign Policy: Beijing’s Schadenfreude Over the Capitol Riots Conceals Deep Anxiety — China’s elite are nervous about the coming succession crisis around Xi Jinping.
- The Diplomat: China’s Foreign Minister Heads to the Middle East — Wang Yi’s six-country tour highlights the region’s expanding importance for China.
