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
- Citing Coronavirus, Hong Kong Postpones Legislative Elections for a Year — Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she would postpone upcoming legislative elections for a year, citing a recent upsurge in coronavirus cases, in a move likely to fuel international furor over the city’s diminishing political freedoms.
- China Moves to Punish Luckin Coffee for Fabricating Sales — Chinese regulators are preparing punitive action against Luckin Coffee, less than four months after the company revealed that it had fabricated hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.
- China Won the First Leg of the Post-Covid Race. The Next One Will Be Harder. — China’s manufacturing purchasing managers index was boosted by a less steep decline in new export orders, but factory production is still bouncing back far faster than both foreign and domestic demand.
- Luxury Brands Get Hyperactive on Chinese Social Media — Fashion labels that depend on China’s overseas tourists for a huge chunk of sales must now follow them home.
- Chinese Property Giant Vanke Takes Stake in Ailing Rival Tahoe — A unit of one of China’s largest property companies agreed to buy 19.9% of Tahoe, offering hope to many households that have made big outlays on unfinished apartments.
- A Space Race for the 21st Century — China aims to land a Mars rover, something the EU hasn’t managed.
- U.S. Panel Expands Review of Business Deals With Foreign Money — A national-security panel in 2019 increased its review of business deals involving foreign money, the first year after Congress ordered it to scrutinize such transactions more thoroughly, according to a new report.
- China-Backed Infrastructure Bank Seeks to Win Over Countries With Western-Style Approach — The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will have to compete with perceptions that it is an extension of China’s foreign policy as suspicions grow in Western countries about Beijing’s rising overseas clout.
The Financial Times
- LinkedIn scandal shines light on China’s online espionage — PhD student admits using social network to target US military and government figures.
- Shares of China’s Tesla challenger soar on New York debut — ByteDance-backed Li Auto tests sentiment after Luckin fiasco and US-China tensions.
The New York Times
- Hope, Despair, Control: The 1950s China My Father Saw, Echoed Today — William Stevenson was one of the first foreign correspondents to visit the People’s Republic of China. Decades later, despite its transformation, I recognize the same country.
- Lee Teng-hui, 97, Who Led Taiwan’s Turn to Democracy, Dies — Its first popularly elected president, he transformed a police state into a vibrant country while angering Beijing by insisting that Taiwan be treated as a sovereign state.
Caixin
- Shenzhen Stock Exchange Names Veteran Regulator as New President — Sha Yan comes to the bourse from China Securities Regulatory Commission, where she headed department of fund and intermediary supervision.
- Covid-19 Vaccine Front-Runner CanSino Plans STAR Market Listing — Secondary flotation for Hong Kong-traded biotech aiming to raise $742 million sets the second-highest offering price on the new tech board.
- China’s Overseas M&A Deals Plunge to 10-Year Low — Pandemic and international political tensions pour cold water on foreign investments, driving down transaction values by 40% and number of deals by 17%.
- With Covid-19 Vaccines in the Pipeline, Attention Turns to Medical-Grade Vials — German heavyweight Schott is building a $70 million factory in eastern China to produce the glass needed to make the essential item.
- In Depth: Behind the Bet on China’s Pricey, Technologically Lagging Chipmakers — Investors are wagering that current industry trends will favor Chinese companies, but it could come back to bite them.
- Wind Powers China’s Latest Electric Investment Wave — The renewable source accounted for about a quarter of the $48.5 billion China invested in power generation and transmission projects in the first half of 2020.
- Video Streamer iQiyi Eyeing Southeast Asian, Middle East Expansion, Executive Says — Chinese video streaming giant iQiyi is deepening localization in Southeast Asia with plans to establish local teams in East Asia and the Middle East in future.
- Lawson Expands in China With Prefab Convenience Stores — Japanese convenience store operator Lawson will begin opening prefab outlets in China that will save money on construction and give rise to a more flexible expansion strategy.
South China Morning Post
- China’s 5G subscriber numbers to get a correction as carriers ordered to ‘clean up’ sales practices — When Guangzhou resident De De called up his network provider China Mobile last month wanting a cheaper mobile plan, he ended up following the advice of the customer service officer and signed up for a 5G plan.
- China’s economy continued strong recovery from coronavirus shock in July, but challenges remain — Buoyed by a construction boom, China’s economic recovery continued apace in July, new sentiment data suggested.
- Samsung to halt PC production in China in latest blow to manufacturing sector — Samsung’s last remaining overseas computer manufacturing facility in the Chinese city of Suzhou will halt production to instead focus more on research and development.
- Online shopping giant JD.com invests US$100 million for a stake in one of the world’s oldest and largest supply chain managers — Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has bought a stake in the century-old supply chain manager Li & Fung, in a strategic partnership that marries 21st century digital technology with one of the world’s largest logistics and supply chain networks.
- China’s ministry at the forefront of US technology rivalry gets a new chief — China has appointed a new head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the government agency on the front line of its technology rivalry with the United States.
Bloomberg
- L’Oreal Considers Cut to Ad Spend on TikTok Over Privacy Issues — L’Oreal SA said it may review how much money it spends on TikTok depending on how privacy concerns regarding the app’s links to China play out.
- Resilient Hong Kong Dollar Shrugs Off Death of Carry Trade — The once red-hot long Hong Kong dollar trade is fading, but so much Chinese cash is flowing into the city that its currency is once again near the strongest it can be.
- Xi Speeds Up China’s Inward Economic Pivot in More Hostile World — President Xi Jinping is accelerating his push for a China that can stand on its own feet as mounting pressure at home and abroad exposes the vulnerability of Beijing’s economic model.
- Baltic Tunnel Plan in Limbo as China-Backed Developer Axed — A plan to build the world’s longest undersea rail tunnel suffered its biggest setback yet when the Estonian government rejected a Finnish developer, citing reasons that include national security.
- China Mulls Probe into Ant’s Alipay, WeChat Pay, Reuters Says — Chinese regulators are considering launching an antitrust investigation into Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat Pay, Reuters reported, citing unidentified sources.
- China Stocks Will Only Get Wilder After July Whipsaws Investors — Even by China’s standards, July was a wild month for its stock market.
- Goldman’s Asia Derivatives Sales Head Spitzer Dies in Hong Kong — Mark Spitzer, head of equities derivatives sales for Asia-Pacific at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., died in a “tragic accident” in Hong Kong, according to an internal memo.
- Apple Blockbuster Quarter Boosted by Strong Sales in China — Apple Inc. pulled off a strong quarter in China by switching up retail tactics and pushing a cheaper iPhone, becoming one of the few U.S. tech giants to ride the country’s post-pandemic recovery despite Washington-Beijing tensions.
- Justice Department Probe of TikTok, Zoom Urged by Two Senators — The Justice Department should investigate whether the popular video apps TikTok and Zoom have violated the constitutional rights of Americans by sharing private information with the Chinese government, two senators wrote in a letter to the agency on Thursday.
Reuters
- Exclusive: China-backed hackers ‘targeted COVID-19 vaccine firm Moderna’ — Chinese government-linked hackers targeted biotech company Moderna Inc, a U.S.-based coronavirus vaccine research developer, this year in a bid to steal data, according to a U.S. security official tracking Chinese hacking.
- Exclusive: TikTok owner ByteDance considers listing China business in Hong Kong or Shanghai – sources — Chinese tech giant ByteDance is considering listing its domestic business in Hong Kong or Shanghai, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, against a backdrop of rising Sino-U.S. tensions over its hit non-China video app TikTok.
- Exclusive: China’s central bank urges antitrust probe into Alipay, WeChat Pay – sources — China’s top antitrust agency is looking at whether to launch a probe into Alipay and WeChat Pay, prompted by the central bank which argues the digital payment giants have used their dominant positions to quash competition, sources with knowledge of the matter said.
- China securities regulator to set up clear framework to regulate overseas-listed firms — China’s securities regulator said on Friday it would set up a clear and complete regulatory framework to supervise overseas-listed Chinese companies, and strengthen cross-border cooperation.
- China to encourage foreign investment in livestock breeding, plant-based meat substitutes — China’s state planner said on Friday that it will encourage foreign investment in livestock and poultry breeding, as well as plant-based meats substitutes, from this year.
- China to add 56 drugs to price-slashing bulk-buy programme — China has added 56 medicines, including some global blockbuster drugs, to its state bidding programme aimed at procuring key treatments at big discounts in return for offering large-volume state contracts, a state agency said.
- Huawei, Apple gain bigger share of shrinking China smartphone market — Huawei Technologies and Apple both increased their share of the China smartphone market in the second quarter of 2020, bucking a broader trend as the overall market for handsets continued to contract.
- NBA re-evaluating training programme in China after abuse allegations — The National Basketball Association (NBA) said it was re-evaluating its training programme in China following allegations of abuse of young players by local staff and harassment of foreign staffers at a facility in Xinjiang.
- U.S. sells record amount of corn to China as tensions rise — Chinese buyers booked their single biggest-ever purchase of U.S. corn, extending their flurry of large U.S. purchases even as tensions between Washington and Beijing rise.
Xinhua
- China’s self-developed BDS officially opens for global users with upgraded services — China declared the official commissioning of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) on Friday, marking the formal launch of the newly completed BDS-3 system for global users.
- China calls for cooperation in aerospace development: spokesperson — China stands ready to work with other countries on the basis of mutual respect, openness and inclusiveness, equality and mutual benefit to carry out international cooperation in space and share the fruit of aerospace development, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.
Other Publications
- The Atlantic: Why America Is Afraid of TikTok — The company’s founder says in an interview that he wants it to be “a window” on the world. A Republican senator says it is a “Trojan horse.”
- The Economist: Why China’s answer to Nasdaq is going gangbusters — Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR Market is benefiting from Sino-American tensions.
- The Economist: Digging up China’s past is always political — Officials claim an archaeological site proves that China has 5,000 years of continuous history
- Agence France-Presse: Uighur group calls for China to lose 2022 Games over ‘genocide’ — An overseas-based Uighur group urged the IOC on Thursday to reconsider holding the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because of what it says is China’s “genocide” of the Uighur population.