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
- China Pushes Energy Reform With Pipeline Deals — China is moving to wean its economy off coal and boost use of cleaner natural gas, with two of the country’s energy giants set to pump nearly $56 billion of assets into a new national pipeline firm.
- China Orders U.S. to Close Chengdu Consulate as Payback for Houston Move — Beijing ordered the closure of the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu, a city in southwestern China, retaliating against Washington’s decision to shut down the Chinese Consulate in Houston.
- Here’s Why U.S. Officials Are Worried About TikTok — The popular video-messaging app with Chinese roots is facing global scrutiny as countries consider imposing restrictions on the company.
- Mike Pompeo Urges Chinese People to Change Communist Party — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is calling on the Chinese people to alter the ruling Communist Party’s direction in a sharp-toned speech explaining the Trump administration’s response to an assertive China.
- China Fortifies Hong Kong’s Role as Financial Powerhouse — Beijing is wagering that its crackdown on the former British colony won’t undermine foreign-investment flows, as business with the mainland flourishes. “I don’t think it means the death of Hong Kong, but it makes for a very different Hong Kong than the one we’ve known.”
The Financial Times
- India to curb Chinese bids for state contracts — New Delhi loosens economic ties with Beijing following fatal border clash in the Himalayas.
- French court rejects Chinese bid for former British Steel factory — Decision comes as tensions rise over trade and investments by Chinese groups in Europe.
- Consulate closure risks sending US-China relations to a new low — Former Obama aide warns the world’s most powerful nations are moving towards a new Cold war.
The New York Times
- China Is Harvesting the DNA of Its People. Is This the Future of Policing? — The Chinese police are systematically collecting genomic data from tens of millions of men and boys.
- A Chinese Tycoon Denounced Xi Jinping. Now He Faces Prosecution — The party accused Ren Zhiqiang, an influential property tycoon who criticized Xi Jinping, of being disloyal, took aim at his children and paved the way for criminal prosecution.
- Canceled Tournaments in China Are a Big Blow to Women’s Tennis — A move by the Chinese government to cancel international sporting events means the WTA Tour will lose its lucrative championships and six other tournaments.
- TikTok’s Parent Said to Weigh Selling a Majority Stake in the Video App — The move would reduce ownership by a Chinese company, ByteDance, amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.
- Beijing’s Tightrope: Stand Tough, but Avoid a Full Rupture With the U.S. — After the closure of the Houston consulate and other actions, Chinese officials are trying to respond without endangering the economy or inviting further global isolation.
Caixin
- China Launches 100 Billion Yuan Bond Bailout Fund for State Firms — Fund was created to supply emergency funding to centrally controlled SOEs short on cash so they can avoid defaults.
- Exclusive: Guangdong Government to Take Over Troubled Drugmaker Kangmei — Scandal-plagued, debt-ridden drugmaker’s shares suspended for two days in Shanghai pending major development to be announced by parent company.
- China Everbright Trust Suspended From Financing Trust Business — Clients have to turn to other trust companies as Everbright can’t meet demand, industry sources say, though Everbright denies suspension for exceeding regulatory limit.
- Guangzhou Metro to Break China Railway’s Monopoly on Intercity Links — Two railways, now undergoing final tests, will be the first in the country operated by a local company.
- China’s Biggest Solar Companies Just Keep Getting Bigger — Top 10 companies now hold three-quarters of the market, and plan to expand production further.
- Struggling iPhone Assembler Wistron Takes 3 Billion Yuan Stake in Upstart Peer — Taiwan-based company plans to purchase 0.81% of Luxshare, the largest manufacturer of Apple’s AirPods.
- China Has 66 Million Devices Connected to 5G, Official Says — Country has the world’s most extensive 5G network and is expected to have over 600,000 5G base stations by year end.
- California Inks Another Mask Deal With China’s BYD for $316 Million — New-energy vehicle maker backed by Warren Buffett taps into export market amid pandemic after quickly adding facemask production in early days.
South China Morning Post
- China-Chile MOU deepens trade ties as Beijing looks to cement relations with ‘stable markets’ — Fruit industry groups in Chile and China have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to deepen trade ties, as China looks to shore up its relationships with “pragmatic” countries amid growing geopolitical tensions with traditional trading partners such as the United States and Australia.
- China’s economic recovery from coronavirus impact set to signal dialing back of monetary stimulus measures — China has started to ease up on the emergency monetary measures it used to support its economy in response to the coronavirus outbreak, according to analysts.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping urges military to boost drone warfare capacity — Chinese President Xi Jinping has said the country’s military should accelerate its drone warfare research and training.
- ChinaJoy mega gaming event will go ahead, with face masks appearing alongside cosplay in 2020 — China is charging ahead with its biggest gaming expo ChinaJoy next week, going against the trend of recent tech and game show cancellations due to Covid-19 restrictions, including the demise of this year’s CES Asia in Shanghai.
- National security law: EU proposes cutting off Hong Kong’s access to goods used in surveillance and ‘internal repression’ — The European Union is preparing to restrict the sale of products that could be used for “internal repression, the interception of internal communications or cyber-surveillance” to Hong Kong, in response to the sweeping and controversial national security law.
- US-China tensions heighten terror threat in Indonesia, experts warn — Rivalry between the US and China could inadvertently be fanning the flames of terrorism in Indonesia, analysts say, as the increased focus on the treatment of Uygur Muslims and Beijing’s bid to expand its influence in Asia are tapping into existing anti-Chinese sentiment.
- China’s Greater Bay Area stymied by lack of coordination and research facilities, review finds — A review of the Greater Bay Area in southern China has identified shortcomings that have slowed progress on Beijing’s plan for the region to become a hi-tech hub, including not enough research facilities and poor coordination and flow of talent and capital between the cities.
- China to slash private lending rate cap from 24 per cent in effort to tackle ‘usurious loans’ — China’s Supreme Court will significantly lower the legal interest rate ceiling on private loans to reduce borrowing costs for businesses, but some analysts fear that rigid control over the cost of financing could suffocate the country’s private lending market.
- Douyin, China’s TikTok, bans thousands of accounts in crackdown against porn, prostitution — Popular short video app Douyin, the Chinese-language version of TikTok, has banned tens of thousands of user accounts to ramp up its campaign against pornography, prostitution and other related illegal activities on its platform.
- ‘Insurance connect’ will be next big step for Greater Bay Area, with two services centres expected to be set up by end of year — Hong Kong and mainland Chinese authorities are hammering out details for the introduction of an “insurance connect” scheme as the next major step in the financial integration of the Greater Bay Area (GBA), two separate sources told the Post.
- China warned to prepare for ‘big rise’ in bad loans as financial system braces against coronavirus, rising global tensions — China’s banking regulator has asked the country’s lenders to make preparations for a “big rise” in non-performing loans as part of Beijing’s efforts to brace its financial system for shocks from the coronavirus at home and a hostile environment abroad.
Bloomberg
- Pandemic Bolsters Case for Telemedicine Across Asia-Pacific — Overstretched health services and social-distancing measures to combat coronavirus are giving a boost to telemedicine across Asia, a phenomenon likely to continue even after the pandemic has been controlled.
- Oil Dives With Investors Fleeing Risk Assets Over Economic Fears — Oil’s afternoon attempt to hold a rally failed after a breakdown in U.S. equities added to growing negative sentiment spurred by signals of a global economic slowdown.
- World’s Hottest IPO Market Is Creating a Billionaire Each Week — Zhong Shanshan, whose schooling was interrupted during China’s cultural revolution, worked in construction, as a reporter and in the bottled-water business. Today, he’s worth $17 billion after his drug company went public in April and the shares surged 26-fold.
- SPACs Show Signs of Froth as Demand For Good-Story Stocks Grows — Even in this market, where speculative zeal has never been in short supply, the blind faith being bestowed on companies that go public by merging with blank-check companies stands out.
- TikTok Starts $200 Million Fund to Help U.S. Stars Make Careers — TikTok, the social media app owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., is giving its top U.S. talent a reason to stick around, even as President Donald Trump threatens a ban.
- Gold’s ‘Freight Train’ Rally Continues With Sights Set on Record — Investors continue to pile into gold as prices advanced for a fifth day, moving ever closer to the all-time high reached in 2011.
- China’s State TV Demotes English Soccer Amid Spat With U.K. — China’s state television broadcaster is relegating English Premier League football matches from its main sports channel to one that lures fewer viewers, a sign the lucrative world of professional soccer is being ensnared in the increasingly fraught relations between Beijing and the U.K.
Reuters
- Ahead of U.S. election, China braces for rocky ride, potential change — With bilateral relations in free-fall, Beijing is bracing for more turbulence in the run-up to the U.S. election in November, and the possibility that a Joe Biden presidency presents an opportunity to avoid a deeper conflict.
- China will not use property market as short-term stimulus: vice premier — China’s Vice Premier Han Zheng said on Friday that the government will not use the property market as a form of short-term stimulus to prop up the economy, state radio reported.
- Daily passenger flights in China rebound to 80% of pre-COVID levels — The number of daily passenger flights in China has rebounded to 80% of pre-coronavirus levels, China’s aviation regulator said on Friday, as the aviation industry recovers from the plunge in travel demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Alibaba Cloud helps Chinese students, foreign schools scale Great Firewall — China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is seizing on a new business opportunity thrown up by the novel coronavirus: helping foreign universities skirt China’s stringent internet controls to keep classes going for their mainland Chinese students.
- U.S. diplomats head to China despite row over Houston consulate — A flight bound for Shanghai carrying U.S. diplomats has left the United States as Washington presses ahead with its plan to restaff its mission in China a day after an American order to close the Chinese consulate in Houston sharply escalated tensions.
- Water wars: Mekong River another front in U.S.-China rivalry — The Mekong River has become a new front in U.S.-China rivalry, environmentalists and officials say, with Beijing overtaking Washington in both spending and influence over downstream countries at the mercy of its control of the river’s waters.
- ‘Not much hope’: Macau casinos see deepening losses as virus slams China travel — Casinos in the world’s biggest gambling hub Macau are staring at heavy losses for the second quarter, with “not much hope” for a near-term recovery as a resurgence in coronavirus cases muddies the outlook for when China will reinstate travel visas.
- PipeChina to take on $56 billion of pipelines to boost network access — China took a major step in the reform of its national oil and gas pipeline network, with newly formed PipeChina agreeing to buy pipelines and storage facilities valued at 391.4 billion yuan ($55.9 billion).
- FBI interviewing Chinese visa holders suspected of hiding military ties: Justice Department — The FBI has interviewed visa holders in more than 25 U.S. cities suspected of hiding their Chinese military memberships, the Justice Department said on Thursday, as part of what experts called the biggest known crackdown on the theft of U.S. know-how in more than 40 years of Sino-U.S. relations.
Xinhua
- China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to create new opportunities for growth, stability: Pakistani president — The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will create new opportunities for economic growth and stability as a number of developmental projects are currently in full swing in the country, Pakistani President Arif Alvi said on Thursday.
- 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 Friday.
- Across China: Ethnic Korean liquor-making craft revives in NE China — The combined aroma of wood and crop-based liquor suffuses a traditional Korean-style courtyard in a Chinese border county, where a wooden pot liquor-making craft has revived and awakened the memories of locals.
- China’s Guangxi posts 218-bln-yuan foreign trade in H1 — South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region saw its foreign trade decrease 4.1 percent year on year to 218.03 billion yuan (about 31.1 billion U.S. dollars) in the first six months of the year, local authorities said.
- China’s Jiangsu Province top foreign investment destination — Jiangsu Province received the most foreign investment among all provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland in the first half of 2020, local authorities said Friday.
- Tianjin sees over 15 mln cross-border e-commerce orders in H1 — The northern Chinese port city of Tianjin saw over 15 million import and export orders of cross-border e-commerce in the first half of the year (H1), according to local authorities.
Other Publications
- Defense News: Trump admin expected to ease drone export rules Friday — White House officials are expected to announce Friday a new interpretation of an export control agreement, which the defense industry hopes will lead to increased sales of military unmanned vehicles abroad, sources tell Defense News.
- Business Insider: Ant Group, Jack Ma’s little-known $200 billion Chinese fintech firm, is gearing up for what could be one of the largest IPOs in history. Here’s how the company went from an ant-sized startup to PayPal rival. — Here’s what we know about the Chinese fintech juggernaut, which is taking aim at PayPal as the leader in the digital payment market and is slated to overtake the world’s most famous banks with its IPO.
- The Economist: A state tobacco monopoly looms over China’s e-cigarette makers — Chinese like to quip that the electronic cigarette is China’s fifth great invention, after paper, printing, gunpowder and the compass. A Chinese pharmacist hatched the idea in 2003 to wean smokers off tobacco. But it was in America, home to brands like Juul and Blu, that vaping first took off. Although one in four Chinese adults smoke tobacco, sales of e-cigarettes in China amounted to $2.7bn last year, a tenth of those in America, according to Frost and Sullivan, a consultancy. Investors spy an opportunity.
- The Economist: TikTok’s Chinese parent is scrambling to hang onto its hit app — TikTok, a short-video app that has been downloaded 2bn times. The “last sunny corner” of the internet, as it is known thanks to jolly user-generated content, is China’s first worldwide internet sensation. For ByteDance’s 37-year-old founder, Zhang Yiming, it is part of an ambition to build a global software giant.
- Foreign Policy: Trump Wants China on Board With New Arms Control Pact — The Trump administration fears that China will more than double its nuclear arsenal over the next decade, senior defense officials said, as it is likely to move away from its traditional “minimum deterrence” approach toward a full array of nuclear-armed bombers, submarines, and ballistic missiles.
- Forbes: What Tension? U.S. Deal Lifts China Pharma Billionaire’s Shares, Wealth To Record High — Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group, led by China’s wealthiest pharmaceutical entrepreneur Zhong Huijuan, closed up 4.2% to a record high of HK$39.50 at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today after the company said it would license a cancer drug to a U.S. firm.
- Nikkei Asian Review: China’s ‘Little Africa’ shrinks 70% as coronavirus leaves its mark — In a district called “Little Africa” here in the capital of Guangdong Province, north of Hong Kong, more than 10,000 Africans reside in what is China’s largest African community. Or at least they used to.
