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.
The Wall Street Journal
- Chinese Oil Futures Draw More International Interest — Foreign companies and investors are warming to Chinese oil futures, a boost to a project that Beijing hopes will strengthen the yuan’s appeal and loosen the dollar’s hold on global commodity pricing.
- Australia Lays Out China-Focused Defense Overhaul — Australia is overhauling its military to create a larger, more powerful force focused on the Indo-Pacific as it seeks to counterbalance China’s growing influence and military power in the region.
- Congress Launches Bipartisan Bill to Give Refugee Status to Certain Hong Kong Residents — Lawmakers of both parties introduced a bill to give refugee status to Hong Kong residents at risk of persecution under the Chinese territory’s new national-security law.
- Hong Kong’s Security Law: What It Says, and Why China Is Doing This Now — An explanation of why Beijing decided to bypass Hong Kong’s legislature and impose new national-security legislation on the city.
- Government Closes Bribery Probes Into Usana Health — The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have closed Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations into the Salt Lake City-based company’s baby nutritional supplement business in China.
- India Ban Disrupts TikTok Users and China’s Digital Ambitions — Chinese tech companies trying to replicate their domestic success globally have hit a wall in India, where their apps have attracted billions of downloads.
The Financial Times
- UK will open path to citizenship for 3m Hong Kong residents — Foreign secretary says national security law imposed by China is ‘clear violation’ of region’s autonomy
- Beyond Meat takes a bite out of Chinese retail market — US group strikes a deal with supermarket chain owned by Alibaba
- Apple freezes updates for thousands of mobile games on China App Store — Tech group under pressure from Chinese government to comply with local rules
- The ‘chop’ reigns in corporate China — Ancient system of using a stamp to authorise documents poses challenge for foreign investors
The New York Times
- As China Strengthens Grip on Hong Kong, Taiwan Sees a Threat — The sweeping new security law in Hong Kong has further eroded what little support there was in Taiwan for unifying with the mainland.
- China’s Software Stalked Uighurs Earlier and More Widely, Researchers Learn — A new report revealed a broad campaign that targeted Muslims in China and their diaspora in other countries, beginning as early as 2013.
- Harsh Penalties, Vaguely Defined Crimes: Hong Kong’s Security Law Explained — The legislation grants Beijing broad powers to crack down on a variety of political crimes, including meting out life imprisonment for “grave” offenses. But the law is rife with ambiguities.
- Brushing Aside Opponents, Beijing Imposes Security Law on Hong Kong — In passing the rules, China’s leaders faced down the democracy movement in Hong Kong and shrugged off opposition from the Trump administration.
- A New Superpower Competition Between Beijing and Washington: China’s Nuclear Buildup — The Trump administration is portraying the small but increasingly potent Chinese arsenal — still only one-fifth the size of the United States’ or Russia’s — as the big new threat.
Caixin
- Overseas Demand Pushes Some Chinese Stocks to Their Limit — As funds pour into mainland markets, foreign investors are increasingly approaching regulatory caps on their equity holdings
- In Depth: China Prepares to Tear Down 25-Year Bank-Brokerage Divide — Ban on lenders running securities businesses may be lifted as competition from foreign investment banks heats up
- New Policies to Boost Duty-Free Shopping in Hainan — In campaign to make tropical island a new commercial hub, Chinese authorities triple the annual buying limit to $14,000 and encourage new competition
- Intel Halts Chip Supply to Leading Chinese Server-Maker — Chip giant’s move, which it says is temporary, comes a week after U.S. Defense Department put Inspur on a list of 20 companies controlled or owned by the Chinese military
- Autowise.ai and Swiss Cleaning Carmaker Launch Driverless Street Sweeper — Chinese autonomous driving startup Autowise.ai and Swiss cleaning vehicle maker Boschung on Tuesday announced the establishment of a joint venture to co-develop driverless street sweepers.
- China’s IT Spending Expected to Hit $297 Billion: IDC — China’s spending on products and services powered by information technology (IT) will continue to grow in 2020, as the government pledges more investment in “new infrastructure” to embrace digitalization.
South China Morning Post
- Hong Kong’s deferred vacancy tax carries a US$279 million price tag, adding to the financial woes of a recession-busting budget deficit — Hong Kong’s government may have lost at least HK$2.16 billion (US$278.68 million) in tax income in the current financial year, after the city’s legislature failed to pass a two-year-old law to collect a vacancy tax on developers hoarding completed homes.
- China’s urbanisation drive leaves some rural residents ‘heartbroken’ as local governments accused of unfair evictions — Nine years ago, after decades of living in a mud house, Xiao Yang’s family scraped together enough money to build a modern two-storey home in a rural village in Shandong province.
- Beijing warns Taiwan’s ruling party not to ‘mess up’ Hong Kong affairs — Beijing has warned the ruling party in Taiwan not to “mess up” Hong Kong affairs, as Taipei prepares to help Hongkongers seeking to flee their city, where a contentious national security law has been imposed.
Bloomberg
- Tesla China Plant Might Have Come to the Rescue Last Quarter — Tesla Inc. endured a roughly seven-week shutdown of its most important car plant in the world last quarter, but its brand-new backup factory may have saved the day.
- Asia Gas-to-Plastic Ventures Bleed as U.S. Shale Output Sputters — Across Asia’s fastest-growing economies, companies that pumped billions of dollars into facilities to handle and convert a natural gas by-product into plastics have been licking their wounds after a surge in the cost of feedstock from U.S. shale fields.
- Taiwan Courts Hong Kong Bankers Spooked by China’s Security Law — Taiwan is ramping up efforts to lure bankers and other skilled workers who want to escape China’s tightening grip on Hong Kong.
- FCC Calls Huawei, ZTE Security Threats as It Bars Subsidies — The U.S. Federal Communications Commission designated Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. as national security threats, a step toward driving the Chinese manufacturers from the U.S. market where small rural carriers rely on their cheap network equipment.
- China Adds AP, NPR to U.S. Media Ordered to Disclose Finances — China ordered more American news outlets to declare their finances and staff, in the latest tit-for-tat exchange with the U.S. over media access to each other’s countries.
- India Seeks to Dissuade Wireless Firms From Buying Chinese Gear — India may advise local telecom operators to shun equipment made by China’s Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp., people with knowledge of the matter said, as relations between the neighbors deteriorated amid a border dispute.
- ‘Stay Out of Politics’: What Hong Kong’s Law Means for Business — After more than five weeks of waiting, the business world is getting its first real look at the controversial national security law that will shape Hong Kong’s future as a financial hub.
- Shares in Iconic Taiwan Brand Plunge After ‘Flawed’ Board Vote — Shares in one of Taiwan’s favorite household-appliance brands fell by the daily limit as a power struggle for control of the company intensified after a controversial shareholder vote Tuesday.
- U.K. Says Only Matter of Time Before Huawei Exits 5G Network — Huawei Technologies Co. will not be part of the U.K.’s 5G telecoms networks in the long term, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden told Parliament, adding that he welcomes approaches from alternative vendors including South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. and Japan’s NEC Corp.
Reuters
- Outflanked by China in Africa, Taiwan eyes unrecognised Somaliland — Taiwan and Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland will establish representative offices in each other’s capitals, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said on Wednesday, a step guaranteed to anger Beijing.
- Investors reckon China’s grip is good for Hong Kong markets — In the streets of Hong Kong, activists protest against China’s new security law. But in the trading rooms of Asia’s dominant financial hub, investors are cheering the mainland’s embrace.
- India asks telcos, internet firms to block banned Chinese apps, ByteDance to hold talks — India has ordered telecom companies and other internet providers to stop access to 59 banned Chinese-origin apps, according to notices seen by Reuters, intensifying efforts to crack down on such businesses following a border clash between the nations.
- China’s Pinduoduo appoints Lei Chen as chief executive officer — Chinese e-commerce firm Pinduoduo Inc on Wednesday appointed its technology head Lei Chen as its chief executive officer, effective immediately.
- DHL temporarily suspends Chinese import shipments to India — German logistics company DHL said on Wednesday it had temporarily suspended picking up import shipments from China to India, after border tensions between the countries led to clearance delays.
- Taiwan opens office for those fleeing Hong Kong after China’s new security law — Taiwan opened an office on Wednesday to help people fleeing Hong Kong after China imposed new national security laws in the city, with a senior minister saying Taiwan hoped to seize the opportunity to attract professionals and capital from the city.
- Chinese police say Tencent likely swindled by chilli sauce impostors — Chinese police on Wednesday said Tencent appears to have been duped by a group of people masquerading as representatives of China’s best-known chilli oil maker, Lao Gan Ma, after the internet giant accused the latter of breaching a contract.
- China’s Sinopharm unit completes new COVID-19 vaccine plant, doubles capacity — China National Biotec Group (CNBG) said on Wednesday it has completed construction of a new plant for coronavirus vaccines, doubling its capacity to more than 200 million doses a year, as it prepares late-stage trials of its potential COVID-19 shots.
- China to cut or suspend subsidy for substandard waste-to-energy power plants — China will cut or suspend subsidy for waste-to-energy (WTE) power plants that violate emission standards, as part of its anti-pollution campaign, the country’s finance and environment ministries said late on Tuesday.
- China will not experience high inflation or deflation: central bank publication — China will not experience high inflation or deflation as its economy is gradually recovering, the central bank said on Wednesday.
- China’s factory activity expands, but job losses quicken amid weak exports: Caixin PMI — China’s factory activity grew at a faster clip in June after the government lifted coronavirus lockdown measures and ramped up support steps, but the health crisis continues to pressure exports and jobs, a private business survey showed on Wednesday.
- Britain and West urge China to scrap HK security law, open Xinjiang — Britain and some two dozen Western countries urged China on Tuesday to reconsider its new national security law for Hong Kong, saying Beijing must preserve the right to assembly and free press in the former British colony.
- U.S. Commerce OKs exports on goods in transit to Hong Kong through August 28 — The U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday it will allow exports of some goods to Hong Kong through August 28 under existing license exceptions after it announced it was suspending those exceptions.
- Pelosi urges U.S. sanctions after China passes Hong Kong security law — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for sanctions and other steps against China after Beijing on Tuesday passed its sweeping national security law for Hong Kong, saying the “brutal” law would “frighten, intimidate and suppress” those peacefully seeking freedom.
- China says India’s ban on Chinese apps may violate WTO rules — China said on Tuesday that India’s move to ban 59 Chinese-origin mobile apps could be a breach of World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, and urged New Delhi to create an open and fair business environment.
Xinhua
- China’s central bank skips reverse repos — The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank, skipped open market operations via reverse repos Wednesday.
- China’s e-commerce thrives, transactions exceeding 34 trillion yuan in 2019 — China’s e-commerce industry continued to thrive last year despite mounting downward economic pressures and lingering trade tensions, according to a report from the Ministry of Commerce.
- Sales of China’s iconic sedan brand Hongqi surge in H1 — China’s leading automaker FAW Group said that it has seen a 111-percent year-on-year growth in vehicle sales under its Hongqi brand in the first half of this year.
- Shanghai’s beef imports register strong rise in Jan-May — A total of 394,000 tonnes of beef were imported via Shanghai Customs in the first five months of this year, up 51.8 percent from the same period last year, data from the customs authorities showed.
- China’s benchmark power coal price remains flat — China’s benchmark power coal price remained flat during the past week.
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asian Review: Banks down, spirits up: Coronavirus reshapes China stock values — In the first six months of the year, the old economy sectors — finance, industry, property and energy — have all ceded ground to consumer staples, technology and health care, which have attracted customers and investors alike amid lockdowns to contain the virus.
- Nikkei Asian Review: China’s HiRain Technologies raises $30m for self-driving tech — Beijing-based automotive electronics supplier HiRain Technologies has raised 210 million yuan ($30 million) from investment bank and private equity investor China Renaissance.
- Nikkei Asian Review: Tencent-backed Momenta begins robotaxi trials this fall — Chinese startup Momenta will begin test runs by October of self-driving taxis.
- Forbes: What The Kennedy Act Is And How It Might Stop ‘The China Hustle’ — American money goes to China. China money doesn’t come to America. Not because the U.S. doesn’t want it, but because China doesn’t allow it. So now Washington, under the guise of both national security and securities fraud protection, is saying enough is enough, already. That’s what the Kennedy Act, officially known as the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, is all about.
- The Interpreter: China’s pipeline dream in Pakistan — The plan to transport oil across the Himalayas is a logistical nightmare. Post-Covid economics will make it even harder.
- S&P Global: China increases retail prices of gasoil and gasoline — China increased retail prices for gasoil and gasoline on June 29, the first change in prices since March 18, state planner National Development and Reform Commission said.
- Quartz: Supply chain leaders are itching to get out of China — China’s rising costs had companies looking to broaden their sourcing well before the trade war or coronavirus, but those events are increasing the urgency. In a recent survey of 260 global supply chain leaders across different industries and regions, research and advisory firm Gartner found 33% had already moved sourcing or manufacturing out of China or planned to do so within the next three years.
- Forbes: China Accounts For 94% Of U.S. Fireworks Imports — Despite the toned-down celebrations, the U.S. still imported a huge quantity of fireworks through April of this year — 40,700 tons worth $100 million.
