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
- Lee Teng-hui, Who Guided Taiwan on Its Path to Democracy, Dies at 97 — Lee Teng-hui, who as Taiwan’s first native-born president steered the island’s transition to democracy, became its first popularly elected leader and championed a sense of Taiwanese identity separate from mainland China, has died.
- China’s Corn-Market Pop Could Lift American Farmers — Prices for the grain are soaring in China—with front-month futures up 27% this year, to levels not seen since the summer of 2015—which could be good news for U.S. farmers.
- Huawei Rides China Recovery to Top of Smartphone World — In the second quarter Huawei achieved its goal of becoming the world’s top seller of smartphones, fueled by the rapid economic recovery in its home market of China.
- Report Sheds Light on China’s Use of Military-Linked Researchers — Researchers in the U.S. have engaged in extensive collaboration with counterparts affiliated with the Chinese military, potentially boosting China’s potency as a rival, according to a new report.
- Qualcomm Inks Licensing Deal With Huawei Despite U.S.-China Tensions — U.S. mobile phone chip giant Qualcomm said it resolved a licensing dispute with Huawei Technologies and inked a long-term deal with the smartphone maker despite heightened tensions between the U.S. and China.
- Treasury to Make TikTok Recommendations to Trump This Week — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said a review led by his department into whether the popular Chinese video-sharing app poses national-security threats would present its recommendations to President Trump.
The Financial Times
- A cold war does not answer China’s challenge — Guarding the west’s interests and values should not mean an ideological confrontation with Beijing.
- Will Covid-19 tame China’s wildlife trade? — Under global scrutiny over the pandemic’s outbreak, the state is now clamping down on the market in exotic species.
The New York Times
- China Tries Its Favorite Economic Cure: More Construction — Strong sales at China’s biggest construction equipment maker show Beijing’s strategy for recovery after the virus. But while the company, XCMG, is prospering, the rest of the economy is struggling.
- Hong Kong Moves Against Opposition With Arrests and Disqualifications — Twelve candidates, including several prominent democracy advocates, were barred from an upcoming legislative election, and four activists were arrested over online posts.
- Report: N.B.A.’s Academies in China Abused Athletes — The report said athletes were struck by coaches, housed in crowded conditions and not given schooling as promised.
Caixin
- In Depth: China’s Exporters Find 1.4 Billion Domestic Consumers Are a Tough Sell — While the government urges companies to find new markets at home, a mountain of obstacles stand in their way.
- Haier Restructuring Smooths Path for Internet Unit’s Potential Listing — Home appliance giant distances tech manufacturing spin-off by changing share structure.
- Education Giant New Oriental Reports Plunging Profits — Company’s core overseas study preparation business has been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in second quarter.
- Former Head of Bankrupt Coal Giant Probed for Corruption — Investigation into Jing Hongnian comes as the struggling Sichuan Coal Industry Group he headed for seven years goes through court-led bankruptcy restructuring.
- Xiaomi Hires Former ZTE Executive to Lead Mobile Business — Zeng Xuezhong to succeed co-founder Lin Bin as Xiaomi continues management overhaul of core business unit.
- Chinese Community E-commerce Firm Nice Tuan Nets $80 Million in Third Funding in 2020 — Nice Tuan, a Chinese community e-commerce platform also known as Shihuituan, has secured $80 million in a Series C2 round of financing led by the country’s alternative asset management firm CDH Investments, bringing the total capital raised by the startup to nearly $300 million.
South China Morning Post
- National security law prompts more mainland firms to bid for Hong Kong land as China Vanke unit wins residential plot in Tai Po — Mainland Chinese developers, emboldened by the new security law, will become more active buyers of Hong Kong land as local firms back off amid political turmoil and recession, surveyors predict.
- China’s Huawei loses out to Japan’s NEC on Chile-Asia trans-Pacific cable project — Chile has picked Japanese firm NEC ahead of rival bidder Huawei to build the first fibre-optic undersea cable between South America and Asia, according to Japanese media, as the Chinese tech giant continues to face opposition around the world.
- US mask and ventilator imports plummet despite soaring coronavirus cases, as China’s PPE engine loses steam — The United States’ imports of personal protective equipment and medical supplies appear to have fallen in July, at a time when policymakers are pushing to reduce dependence on China, even as new coronavirus cases skyrocketed.
- Former top banker in China pleads guilty to US$12 million corruption after being caught in Xi’s sweep — A former top banker in China pleaded guilty on Thursday to illegally receiving more than US$12 million after being caught last year in President Xi Jinping’s sweeping campaign against corruption.
- Australia becomes China’s top source of coking coal as stimulus stokes construction boom — Australia became the largest exporter of coking coal to China in the first half of the year due to a strong rebound in steel production used to supply the country’s post-Coronavirus infrastructure and property building boom.
- Coronavirus vaccine developer CanSino offers shares in China’s second-most expensive initial public offering — CanSino Biologics, the Tianjin-based pharmaceutical producer that is conducting human trials on its coronavirus vaccine, has set the second-highest price in its secondary listing on the Shanghai Star Market.
- WeLab takes its virtual banking battle to Hong Kong’s bricks-and-mortar lenders with higher rates, rebates in opening salvo — Hong Kong’s newest virtual bank is seeking a slice of the city’s banking business by stirring up competition at a time when the Covid-19 outbreak is driving more consumers and businesses to online platforms.
- China urged to develop its own international payment system to counter risk of US financial sanctions — Chinese researchers and former officials have increased the urgency of their calls for Beijing to insulate the country from the potential risk of being cut off from the US dollar payments system, as new US government sanctions are expected to punish officials involved in the implementation of Hong Kong’s new national security law, and the financial institutions that do business with them.
- Italy urged to treat China fairly and positively as Beijing escalates its charm offensive in Europe — Beijing attempted to reassure Europe that China would not create division in the bloc while calling on the continent to remain independent of “particular countries” in handling its foreign relations.
- Li Auto electrifies Nasdaq with US$1.1 billion IPO, the largest by a Chinese company in the US since 2018 — Li Auto, a Chinese electric vehicle maker backed by mainland online services delivery giant Meituan Dianping, has priced its American depositary receipts at US$11.5 each in an initial public offering on Nasdaq that will raise about U$1.1 billion for the firm to expand in the world’s biggest car market, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg
- Xi Eyes Taiwan and a Place in China’s Pantheon — Hong Kong wasn’t the Chinese Communist Party’s first target. And it won’t be its last.
- Covid Weighs on Two of Hong Kong’s Biggest Retail Landlords — Two of Hong Kong’s biggest landlords reported lackluster results Thursday, early evidence of how deep the retail pain extends in the city.
- StanChart’s Biggest Advantage? It Isn’t HSBC — The bank has escaped the scrutiny of its heftier rival at a testing time for their most important market, Hong Kong.
- China Researcher Left Consulate Expecting Arrest, Lawyer Says — A Chinese researcher left the protection of her country’s San Francisco consulate expecting to get arrested by U.S. authorities, her lawyer said, in the latest wrinkle in a case that has helped fuel historic tensions between the two sides.
- Ant IPO Bonanza Looms for Silver Lake, Carlyle, Warburg — A raft of U.S. private equity firms backed by the country’s largest endowment and pension funds stands to reap big gains from Ant Group’s highly anticipated initial public offering, even as U.S. lawmakers push funds to halt investments in China.
- China Set Its Sights on Taiwan After Hong Kong Crackdown — The leader wants to continue on the path of Mao and Deng by bringing more territory under Beijing’s control.
- Wanda Sells Chicago Property for $270 Million to Reduce Debt — Wanda Hotel Development Co., a unit of Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin’s business empire, has agreed to sell its 90% stake in a Chicago property project for $270 million to help cut debt, according to a filing. Shares surged in Hong Kong.
- China Finally Makes Its Peace With ‘Foreign Garbage’ — After years of trying to ban recycling imports, the central government seems to be coming to its senses.
- China Has Amassed $1 Billion Glut of U.S. Cotton It Doesn’t Need — China has bought more than $1 billion worth of American cotton in the past three months. And it doesn’t even need it.
Reuters
- China’s monetary policy to be more flexible and targeted: politburo — China’s monetary policy should be more flexible and targeted, and its fiscal policy more proactive, as its economy still faces relatively big uncertainties, the country’s top decision body said on Thursday in a quarterly meeting.
- China orders regular coronavirus tests at wholesale markets — China asked local authorities to carry out regular coronavirus tests at wholesale markets, the country’s health authority said on Thursday, part of an all-out effort to control the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic.
- Goldman expects new tech indexes to bring China $25 billion passive inflows in five years — Mainland China and offshore hub Hong Kong’s latest indexes representing technology companies are likely to attract $25 billion in five years from passive investors, according to a Goldman Sachs report released on Thursday.
- China needs ‘explosive’ buying to meet U.S. farm import target — With nearly seven months gone, an ambitious $36.5 billion target for Chinese imports of U.S. farm goods this year may not be quite out of reach, but it’s looking like a big, big stretch.
- China’s Sinopharm to test potential COVID-19 vaccine in Brazil — Chinese drug company Sinopharm and Parana state have agreed to launch the fourth major COVID-19 vaccine trial in Brazil and will seek regulatory approval in the next two weeks, the Brazilian partners said on Wednesday.
- U.S. Republicans worry China might use TikTok to meddle in election — A group of top Republican U.S. senators on Tuesday ramped up pressure on TikTok, asking the Trump administration to assess the threat that the popular Chinese-owned video sharing app might meddle in U.S. elections.
- China denies harboring 1MDB fugitive Jho Low — China on Wednesday denied protecting fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, being sought by global investigators over his role in the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal.
Xinhua
- Beijing’s software, information services show strong performance in 2019 — The revenue of software and information services in Beijing exceeded 1.34 trillion yuan (about 192.4 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019, accounting for 23 percent of the country’s total, local authorities said Wednesday.
- China remains attractive to foreign investors — China remains attractive to foreign companies, as an overwhelming majority of them questioned in a survey have expressed a desire to continue to invest and operate in the country, a commerce official said on Thursday.
- Hong Kong sees capital inflows worth 14 bln USD since April: monetary authority — More than 109 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 14 billion U.S. dollars) have flowed into Hong Kong’s monetary system since April, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said Thursday, stressing the financial markets have remained stable.
- China’s mobile gaming industry expands rapidly: report — China’s mobile gaming industry gained momentum with a greater market share in the first six months of this year, according to an industry report released Thursday.
- China’s online retail sales hit 5.15 trillion yuan in H1 — China’s online retail sales reached 5.15 trillion yuan (about 736.7 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2020, up 7.3 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).
- Hainan reports surge in duty-free shopping after policy upgrade — China’s island province of Hainan has recorded 2.22 billion yuan (about 317.45 million U.S. dollars) in duty-free shopping by tourists from July 1 to 27, up 234.19 percent from the same period last year, the General Administration of Customs said Thursday.
- China pledges moves to stabilize foreign trade — China pledges more measures to stabilize foreign trade in the face of weakening global demand and rising protectionism, a commerce official said Thursday.
- Tencent partners with CIPSH to explore China’s digital cultural production — Chinese tech giant Tencent has teamed up with the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH), a non-governmental organization within UNESCO, to explore China’s experience in digital cultural production.
- China’s agricultural product wholesale prices edge up — The wholesale prices of China’s agricultural products edged up Thursday, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
- China’s central bank injects 50 bln yuan into market — China’s central bank Thursday pumped cash into the banking system via reverse repos to maintain liquidity.
Other Publications
- The Atlantic: China Has Squandered Its First Great Opportunity — The combination of China’s early coronavirus recovery, the catastrophic health and economic situation in the United States, an administration whose “America First” instincts have turned the country inward, and a mostly every-country-for-itself response to the global pandemic has put China in the geopolitical driver’s seat. So far, Beijing has squandered the opportunity in dramatic fashion.
- WIRED: Don’t Be Fooled by Big Tech’s Anti-China Sideshow — Tech companies have recently advanced the argument that regulation will only hinder the US’ ability to compete with Chinese firms. Much like wet clay, however, American tech giants have molded the specifics of this argument based on whatever suits the present circumstance.
- Al Jazeera: Nepal is walking a tightrope between India and China — This year, amid a raging pandemic, a looming global economic crisis and devastating floods and landslides, the Himalayan nation of Nepal has been in political and diplomatic turmoil over its disputed border with its much larger neighbour, India. The dispute has deepened strains within the current government and reignited debate over the future of Nepal’s relations with India and China.
