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.
Want this emailed directly to your inbox? Send us an email at contact@thewirechina.com to sign up.
The Wall Street Journal
- China, Once Germany’s Partner in Growth, Turns Into a Rival — An informal partnership that kept Germany’s economy tethered to China’s for decades is unraveling, threatening Berlin’s—and Europe’s—post-pandemic recovery as the Asian giant stages a powerful comeback.
- The Other Chinese Currency Manipulation Question — Last time the Taiwanese currency was climbing toward record highs, the island had a much smaller pile of foreign-currency assets.
- U.S. Threatens Sanctions for Arms Sales to Iran — The Trump administration threatened to impose an array of fresh sanctions to deter China and Russia from selling weapons to Iran, with details to be made public Monday.
- U.S. Set to Sell Taiwan $7 Billion in Arms — The complement of American weaponry to be sold includes cruise missiles, mines and other hardware, increasing pressure on Beijing.
- East Coast Ports Get More Shipping Volumes as Trade Routes Change — The trade rift with China and a boost in e-commerce are changing the way cargo comes into the U.S., with a greater share of goods flowing into East Coast seaports rather than the traditional gateways on the West Coast.
The Financial Times
- Nvidia/China: Armed and dangerous — Pushing ahead with deal in face of Chinese opposition could damage both Arm and Nvidia.
- TikTok rival prepares for blockbuster Hong Kong listing — Tencent-backed Kuaishou aims to raise $5bn at a valuation of around $50bn.
- Premier League secures 1-year China broadcast deal with Tencent — English football’s top tier moves to replace contract with PPTV that ended in dispute.
- Covid crisis has accelerated big trends in China’s favour — Recent renminbi rally underscores shift in the economic balance from west to east.
- China-US investment falls to lowest in almost a decade — Political tensions and coronavirus fallout hit commerce between world’s biggest economies.
- US plans $7bn arms deal with Taiwan as China ratchets up military threat — Washington moves to bolster Taipei’s defences as concerns grow about Beijing’s intentions.
- Sichuan Diary: a message for the emperor — Journalists are under pressure in Xi’s China — but valued in the provinces as a way of exposing local cover-ups.
- Beijing unlikely to block ByteDance deal with Oracle, say experts — Analysts believe ‘technical partnership’ will satisfy China since no data or code are being sold.
The New York Times
- China’s Communists to Private Business: You Heed Us, We’ll Help You — Party leaders have pledged to increase their influence over entrepreneurs even as they promise greater aid, reflecting Xi Jinping’s greatest — and sometimes conflicting — challenges.
- Trump Is Wrong about TikTok. China’s Plans Are Much More Sinister. — The West still doesn’t understand the scale of Beijing’s soft-power ambitions.
- Senate Democrats Present $350 Billion Strategy to Counter China — Democrats rolled out sprawling legislation that proposes substantial new funding over a decade in a bid to reinvest in the nation’s economy and challenge Beijing.
- China-Backed Hackers Broke Into 100 Firms and Agencies, U.S. Says — In indictments against five Chinese nationals, the Justice Department described sophisticated attacks to hijack networks and extort universities, businesses and nonprofits.
- Her Husband Abused Her. But Getting a Divorce Was an Ordeal. — A graphic video of a husband beating his wife has shocked China, shedding light on the prevalence of domestic violence and the difficulties of obtaining a divorce.
Caixin
- Liquor Behemoth Moutai to Bail Out Home Province With $2.2 Billion in Bonds — Parent of China’s most valuable listed company plans to use proceeds to help fellow Guizhou SOE repay its debts and replenish its capital.
- China Air Travel for Oct. Holiday Expected to Jump 10% to a Record — Projected 15 million trips over National Day reflects accelerating rebound for an industry that nearly ground to a halt during the pandemic.
- Disruptive New Telco Moves Closer to Prime Time — 46 stakeholders, including regional cable TV operators and e-commerce giant Alibaba, sign agreement formally setting up Unified National Network.
- Another Blacklisted Chinese Facial Recognition Firm Seeks Mainland IPO — U.S.-sanctioned Yitu follows several of its peers in seeking to tap Chinese investor interest.
- Cooking Oil Giant Gets Go-Ahead for Possibly Record-Shattering Shenzhen IPO — Yihai Kerry Arowana’s listing could make it the hottest stock since the Hong Kong debut of bottled-water maker Nongfu Spring.
- Kuaishou Logs 500 Million Online Shopping Orders in August — Chinese short video company Kuaishou is redoubling efforts to build its e-commerce empire in the hope of becoming a major online shopping platform able to take on bigger rivals like Alibaba and JD.com.
- U.S.-Listed Chinese Delivery Firm ZTO Express Plans to Raise Up to $1.6 Billion in Hong Kong Secondary Listing — Chinese delivery company ZTO Express is looking to raise as much as HK$12 billion ($1.6 billion) in a secondary listing in Hong Kong, joining a flurry of U.S.-listed companies selling shares in the former British colony amid mounting tensions between Beijing and Washington.
South China Morning Post
- Baozun, Zai Lab join march of New York-listed companies to raise more capital in Hong Kong as US-China ties deteriorate — Two New York-listed Chinese companies filed plans to raise more funds in Hong Kong this week, joining a steady march of secondary listings as they seek to bolster their finances closer to home to hedge against risks amid deteriorating US-China relations.
- Alibaba deepens push into enterprise services with cloud-enabled mini computer — Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has unveiled a compact device that promises the power of a high performance desktop in a package that weighs only 60gms.
- Hong Kong jobless rate unchanged at 6.1 per cent amid Covid-19 third wave but underuse of workers hits 17-year high — Hong Kong’s jobless rate remained unchanged at 6.1 per cent in August during the height of the city’s third wave of Covid-19 infections, but the number of people underemployed hit a 17-year high.
- US election 2020: Trump and Biden both vow to reduce reliance on China, but methods will be ‘night and day’ — Joe Biden may seek to work with allies to form a coalition to counter China dependency, while Donald Trump would likely go it alone, analysts say.
- China’s Xi Jinping calls for loyalty from private sector as Beijing readies for battle with US — President Xi Jinping has assured China’s private entrepreneurs they are a key part of the nation’s “socialist market economy”, as Beijing gears up for prolonged economic and tech rivalry against the United States.
- Uber Hong Kong driver numbers surge during Covid-19 crisis, as demand rises for ride-hailing firm’s trips, deliveries — The number of Uber food-delivery drivers operating in Hong Kong doubled during the Covid-19 crisis, the firm revealed on Thursday, as more cash-strapped residents turned to the ride-hailing app to make money.
- China looks to neighbours amid ‘new threats and challenges’ in the region — China’s foreign minister has emphasised the need for Russia, Mongolia and Central Asian countries to step up cooperation in the face of threats and challenges posed by an emerging US-led multilateral security bloc in the Indo-Pacific.
- Size does matter: Hong Kong’s smallest stockbrokers are going bust in record numbers as they miss out on IPO bonanza — A record number of Hong Kong’s smallest stockbrokers may shut this year, as their limited funding and dowdy e-broking websites put them at a disadvantage against bigger firms, causing them to miss out on the bonanza in the world’s favourite destination for initial public offerings (IPOs).
- China urged to flex long-arm jurisdiction to protect its companies from foreign hostility — China should learn from the United States and Europe and further develop its powers to protect Chinese law to cover actions by foreign entities — so-called long-arm jurisdiction — to counter sanctions and protect its companies abroad, a well-known finance professor said on Tuesday.
Bloomberg
- WeChat Users Won’t Be Targeted by Trump’s Order, U.S. Says — WeChat users who download the Chinese app for personal or business communications won’t be targeted by President Donald Trump’s executive order that will prohibit using the app for some transactions, the U.S. said.
- JD Health Is Said to Plan $1 Billion H.K. IPO Filing This Month — JD Health, the online health care unit of China’s No. 2 e-commerce giant JD.com Inc., is planning to file for a Hong Kong initial public offering as soon as this month, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Chinese HR Company 51job Gets $5.3 Billion Takeover Approach — 51job Inc. received a takeover approach from DCP Capital Partners that values the Chinese human-resources company at $5.3 billion.
- Taiwan Holds Interest Rate and Raises 2020 Growth Forecast — Taiwan kept borrowing costs unchanged and raised its growth forecast for the year in a rare display of optimism in a world grappling with the economic effects of the pandemic.
- China to Make Decision on WHO Vaccine Program Snubbed by Trump — China faces a major test in its vaccine diplomacy, with a deadline fast approaching on whether it will officially join a World Health Organization-backed effort to ensure everyone across the globe is inoculated against Covid-19.
- U.S. Diplomat Lands in Taiwan Amid Flurry of Chinese Incursions — One of the U.S. State Department’s most senior officials landed in Taipei amid increased tensions between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan, including a sustained series of Chinese military activities close to the island.
- Hong Kong’s August Jobless Rate Held at 6.1% Amid Recession — Hong Kong’s unemployment rate remained at 6.1% in August as the city’s businesses continued to struggle amid a prolonged recession and restrictions put in place to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
- World’s Most Stable Currency Shields Taiwan’s Vital Exports — As countries around the world struggle to shelter their economies from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Taiwan is seeing the opposite.
- Iron Ore Confronts ‘Turning Point’ as Futures Battered Yet Again — Iron ore is taking a beating amid mounting signals the tightness in the seaborne market that hoisted prices to multiyear highs is easing as leading miners boost shipments and stockpiles in China swell.
- Behind China’s Epic Dash for PPE That Left the World Short on Masks — The humanitarian campaign saved lives but has made foreign governments wary of the long reach of the organizer, the Communist Party’s United Front.
- China Considers Stronger Clean Energy Goals For Next Five Years — China is mulling proposals to accelerate its adoption of clean energy as part of its next five-year plan that begins in 2021, as the world’s biggest polluter takes steps to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gasses.
- Uber Is Said to Seek Partial Sale of $6.3 Billion Didi Stake — Uber Technologies Inc. is seeking to sell part of its $6.3 billion stake in China’s Didi Chuxing, as it begins to shed minority holdings to raise cash, according to people familiar with the matter.
- China’s Biggest Bank Falls Short in Bid to Replenish Capital — A massive push by China’s biggest banks to boost capital amid the worst downturn in at least a decade faltered out of the gate.
- Oracle Would Get Access to TikTok Code in Proposed Deal — Oracle Corp. will get full access to review TikTok’s source code and updates to make sure there are no back doors used by the company’s Chinese parent to gather data on the video-sharing app’s 100 million American users, according to people familiar with the matter.
- U.S.-China Mutual Investment Slumps as Ties Sour, Report Says — Two-way investment between the U.S. and China slumped to the lowest in almost nine years during the first half of 2020 as relations between the world’s biggest two economies deteriorated to their worst in decades.
- Burger King China Owner Said to Weigh Sale of $1.2 Billion Unit — TAB Food Investments, the largest global franchisee of Restaurant Brands International Inc., is exploring a sale of its China business in a deal that would value the asset at more than $1.2 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.
- China Tianying Said to Weigh Stake Sale in Spain’s Urbaser — China Tianying Inc. is considering a sale of a minority stake in Spanish waste management company Urbaser SA that could raise as much as $600 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Oracle’s TikTok Bid Leaves Open Some U.S. Security Concerns — Oracle Corp.’s bid for TikTok falls short of resolving concerns of Trump administration officials that the Chinese-owned video-sharing app poses a risk to U.S. national security, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Haven From U.S.-China Cold War: What’s in It for Singapore? — China’s business giants need a haven from the Beijing-Washington tensions. Singapore is willing — up to a point.
- What Happened to Mobike, Ofo, YUUE Bikes After Sharing Bust — After China’s bike-sharing boom went bust, some of the millions of discarded units ended up in unlikely places
- Food Exporters in Australia Struggle as China Relations Sour — Australia’s food exporters are facing a challenging year, with the value of shipments set to drop by 10%, as the country grapples with souring Chinese ties, shrinking meat sales and a virus-driven downturn in demand.
- GOP Senators Send Letter to Trump Opposing TikTok Deal — A group of Republican senators sent a letter to the Trump administration Wednesday outlining their opposition to a proposed deal between Oracle Corp. and ByteDance Ltd. that would allow the Chinese company to maintain majority ownership of TikTok, despite an order by the U.S. president that the popular video app sever its ties to China on national security concerns.
Reuters
- China will support participation of private firms in railway, oil and gas projects: state media — China will promote the opening up of oil and gas infrastructure to private firms and support their participation in railway projects, the country’s cabinet said on Thursday.
- China Hongqiao kicks off aluminium production in Yunnan — The world’s top private-sector aluminium producer China Hongqiao Group Ltd has started first phase production at a greener aluminium plant in the southwestern province of Yunnan, cutting its reliance on coal-fired power, a Hongqiao affiliate said on Thursday.
- China says will make ‘necessary response’ to U.S. official’s Taiwan visit — China will make a “necessary response” to a visit by U.S. Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Keith Krach to Chinese-claimed Taiwan, and has lodged a complaint with Washington, the foreign ministry said on Thursday ahead of his arrival.
- China-backed telecom firm says won’t spy on Philippines — A new Philippine telecoms firm with Chinese state investment on Thursday described as “truly misplaced” concerns that communications equipment it will install at military camps will be used for spying.
- GM faces unexpected bills as India-China tensions delay sale of India plant: sources — Delays to General Motors’ sale of its Indian plant to Great Wall Motor due to tensions between India and China are likely to result in hefty unplanned costs for the U.S. automaker, people familiar with the matter said.
- U.S.-China investment flows slide to nine year-low as bilateral tensions escalate — Investment between the United States and China tumbled to a nine-year low in the first half of 2020, hit by bilateral tensions that could see more Chinese companies come under pressure to divest U.S. operations, a research report said.
- Chip group to warn Trump administration against blacklisting China’s SMIC: document — Companies that supply the chip sector with sophisticated and expensive equipment plan to warn the Trump administration against a proposal to blacklist China’s top chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp , arguing it would be “detrimental” to U.S. industry.
- China’s Henan province to tackle mine waste disposal risks — China’s central Henan province has pledged to cut the number of tailings dams in the province by 10% by end-2022, aiming to reduce the risk of disasters and cut mine pollution, the province’s emergency management department said.
- Huawei phone prices rise in China on fears of chip shortage — Chinese consumers are rushing to buy smartphones from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] featuring its high-end Kirin chips, fearing curbs on the firm’s access to U.S. technology will soon cut off production of its premium handsets.
- China’s Sinovac to test coronavirus vaccine candidate in teenagers, children — Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech plans to start a clinical trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine with children and adolescents later this month, widening its test on a shot that’s already in the final stage of study with adults.
Xinhua
- China’s non-financial ODI down 2.6 pct — China’s non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) went down 2.6 percent year on year in the first eight months of the year, data showed Thursday.
- Chinese yuan extends gains against USD to 16-month high — The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, extended gains Thursday to hit a new high in 16 months against the U.S. dollar.
- China becomes EU’s top trading partner in first 7 months: Eurostat — In the first seven months of 2020, China became the top trading partner of the European Union (EU), a position previously held by the United States, said Eurostat on Wednesday.
- Ireland’s exports to China up 35 pct in July — Ireland exported over 1 billion euros (about 1.18 billion U.S. dollars) of goods to China in July, up 35 percent when compared with the same month last year, according to the latest figures released by the country’s Central Statistics Office (CSO).
- Chinese shares close mixed on Thursday — Chinese stocks closed mixed on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.41 percent at 3,270.44 points.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: Erdogan Is Turning Turkey Into a Chinese Client State — With few friends left in the West, Ankara is counting on Beijing for help.
- Plastics Recycling Update: Report: China clamps down on recycled pellet imports — Recycled plastic pellets are facing greater scrutiny upon import into China, international recycling stakeholders recently reported. The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) on Sept. 11 wrote that Chinese customs authorities “have been tightening the enforcement of the existing regulations regarding imports of recycled plastics pellets.”
