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
- Cheaper Teslas Could Bump China’s EV Champions Off the Road — Tesla is cutting prices in China. That could spell big trouble for local competitors, which have become market darlings in 2020.
- U.S. Boosts Crude Sales to China, Forcing Saudis to Find Other Markets — The U.S. is quickly ramping up oil sales to China, the world’s biggest importer, forcing traditional suppliers in the Mideast to look for new markets or hold on to their crude in an already oversupplied world.
- U.S. Steps Up Efforts to Counter China’s Dominance of Minerals Key to Electric Cars, Phones — The U.S. government is ramping up efforts to secure minerals critical to modern technology but whose supply is dominated by China—a stranglehold that miners warn could take years to break.
- Fundraising Feud Spurs Anger Among a Chinese Exile, His Followers and His Detractors — Guo Wengui, a Chinese businessman allied with former White House advisor Steve Bannon, is in an increasingly volatile fight with investors over a fundraising plan that has drawn scrutiny from banks and investigators.
- China’s Economic Recovery Helps Drive Its Stocks Higher — Chinese stocks have fared better than their U.S. counterparts for much of this year, and more gains are likely as the country’s economic rebound gathers steam.
- U.S. to Investigate Vietnam for Currency Manipulation — The Trump administration is launching an investigation into Vietnam’s trade practices, faulting the country for currency practices and invoking the same trade law the U.S. used in imposing tariffs on China.
- Justice Department Appeals Injunction Against WeChat — The Trump administration filed court papers seeking to overturn a federal magistrate’s ruling that stopped a U.S. ban on China’s ubiquitous messaging and e-commerce app WeChat.
The Financial Times
- US, Europe and UK must unite to keep Chinese tech at bay — Great powers always triumph thanks to their technological edge. Today is no different.
- SMIC shares fall as Chinese chipmaker warns of hit from US curbs — Restrictions on exports a huge blow to Beijing’s semiconductor ambitions, say analysts.
- A new cold war: Trump, Xi and the escalating US-China confrontation — In the first of a series, Gideon Rachman explores how the rivalry between the two superpowers is starting to feel eerily familiar.
- Thousands of companies sue US over China tariffs — Analysts say number of lawsuits underlines pain caused by Trump’s trade war with Beijing.
- China’s geopolitics are pumped up by its economic success — Beijing’s increased assertiveness abroad is only to be expected, and more is coming.
- China rolls out experimental Covid vaccine as it eyes global market — Medical experts question safety of programme before phase 3 trials are completed.
- Ex-Chinese official ran TikTok’s content policy as app went global — Cai Zheng was diplomat in China’s embassy in Tehran before joining TikTok’s owner ByteDance.
The New York Times
- Corporations Must Do Their Part to Preserve Democracy — China does whatever it can to thrive economically, putting freedom and prosperity at risk for the rest of the world.
- In Wake of Recent India-China Conflict, U.S. Sees Opportunity — India’s border dispute with China has accelerated its relations with the United States. Others worry that warming ties ignore India’s persecution of Muslims.
- U.S. Appeals Injunction Against WeChat Ban — Trump administration officials claim the Chinese-owned app presents a security risk to American users.
Caixin
- Holiday In-Depth Reads — China’s Financial Opportunities and Challenges — 2020 has been a special year for U.S.-listed Chinese companies caught in crossfire of escalating political tensions between Beijing and Washington.
- Caixin New Economy Index Records Third Straight Monthly Drop — Fastest-growing part of China’s economy struggles with lower investment, employment and innovation as broader rebound from pandemic slows.
- China’s Newly Formed Oil Pipeline Operator Starts Operation — PipeChina combines $73.6 billion of assets from state-owned energy giants PetroChina, Sinopec and CNOOC to create national energy transmission system.
South China Morning Post
- China’s ‘golden week’ consumer spending fails to help Beijing put its best foot forward — At first sight, scenes from China’s “golden week” holiday at the start of October – traffic jams to and from major cities, massive crowds at tourist sites, and long lines at popular restaurants – seem to indicate a strong consumer spending rebound.
- Chinese chip maker SMIC says US is placing export restrictions on its suppliers — Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), mainland China’s biggest chip maker, said its US suppliers have been issued with letters telling them they are subject to additional export restrictions.
- Cartier closes boutique at 1881 Heritage as it consolidates retail network in Tsim Sha Tsui amid Hong Kong’s luxury sales slump — Cartier, the French luxury jeweller and watch maker, said it’s closing one of seven boutiques in Hong Kong to consolidate its sales network, reflecting the predicament of the city’s luxury retail industry amid a bruising recession and a collapse in tourist arrivals.
- China spent a record 2.2 trillion yuan on R&D in 2019 but needs to do more to escape US tech strangulation — Whatever the outcome of the upcoming US elections, most analysts agree that the tech rivalry between the US and China is unlikely to let up any time soon and therefore Beijing is expected to keep doubling down on its catch-up efforts.
- Taiwan prepares a weapons shopping list to hand US at defence conference — Officials and military experts from Taiwan and the United States will meet via video conference to discuss which weapons would be best for the island’s self-defence as tensions escalate between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
- China holiday spending improves from May, but still a third below last year’s ‘golden week’ — China’s consumer spending has recovered from the worst levels seen during the height of the coronavirus outbreak this spring but is still far below normal, as tourist spending in the first half of the “golden week” holiday plunged by nearly a third from the same period last year.
- Discord in Hong Kong’s ‘yellow economic circle’ as staff disputes, mistrust add to Covid-19 business woes — Gelato maker Chung Yiu-wa landed a bumper order worth HK$111,786 (about US$14,400) in the run-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival.
- Grim times for Hong Kong’s travel agencies as 71 companies fold, with more likely to go by year-end — The Covid-19 pandemic, which has halted international trips, took its toll on 71 Hong Kong travel agents this year, but the industry regulator has warned that the worst is yet to come.
- Kenya keen to renegotiate debt, fees with China as coronavirus hits unprofitable Mombasa-Naivasha rail line — Kenya’s debt troubles on its Chinese-built Mombasa-Naivasha Standard Gauge Railway line underline an endemic problem with large-scale Belt and Road projects that have been made much worse by the coronavirus pandemic.
- Chinese families shun Western universities as coronavirus, strained ties are ‘scaring middle-class families’ — After being inundated with news about the worsening coronavirus pandemic and rising tensions between China and the West for months, Beijinger Joe Gao was compelled to make a difficult decision regarding his six-year-old daughter’s future education.
- Macau Pass to expand cashless payment service to Hong Kong in 2021, a step towards greater convenience in Greater Bay Area — Macau Pass, the territory’s sole mobile payment provider, said it’s aiming to launch its MPay electronic wallet in Hong Kong by the second quarter of 2021, taking a step towards making financial services interoperable and daily life more convenient for people living within the Greater Bay Area.
- Hong Kong’s home rental market faces tough fourth quarter as recession makes redundancies more likely — Hong Kong’s residential leasing market will be under pressure in the last three months of this year as the traditional low season coincides with the worst recession in decades, property agents said.
- China says US and Indian bans on TikTok, WeChat broke WTO rules — At a closed-door meeting at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), China has accused the United States and India of breaking global trading rules over bans on Chinese-made apps, including TikTok and WeChat.
- Nike airs first major e-sports ad in China ahead of League of Legends World Championship — American athletic apparel giant Nike aired a glitzy e-sports commercial in China ahead of the popular League of Legends World Championship that just kicked off in Shanghai in a move to further capitalise on the e-sports mania in the world’s second-largest economy.
Bloomberg
- HSBC’s Wild Ride Pushes Hedging Costs to Highest in a Decade — Once one of Hong Kong’s steadiest stocks, HSBC Holdings Plc is now more than three times as volatile as the city’s benchmark. Investors are betting that will continue.
- Alibaba to Buy Up to 10% Stake in Duty-Free Retailer Dufry — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. agreed to buy as much as a 9.99% stake in Dufry AG, giving the Swiss duty-free giant a lifeline as the pandemic hammers the business.
- MBK Is Said to Revive $1 Billion Sale of China’s Apex Logistics — MBK Partners is reviving its plan for a potential sale of Chinese freight forwarder Apex Logistics International Inc. which is riding a surge in e-commerce during the Covid-19 pandemic, people with knowledge of the matter said.
- Hong Kong to Issue Inflation-Linked Bonds — Hong Kong plans to issue as much as HK$13 billion ($1.7 billion) of inflation-linked bonds and silver bonds to encourage residents to take part in the city’s financial development, according to Financial Secretary Paul Chan.
- U.S. Takes Stake in Battery-Metals Firm to Wean Itself Off China — The U.S. government has taken an equity stake in a battery-metals company in a move that undercuts dependence on China for a key material used in electric vehicles.
- U.S. Needs Smart Version of America First Against China, Russia — A Q&A with Charles Kupchan on the revival of isolationism.
- Triton Said to Pursue Stake in Creat’s Blood Plasma Unit Biotest — Private equity firm Triton has approached China’s Creat Group Corp. about buying a stake in German blood-plasma supplier maker Biotest AG, according to people familiar with the matter.
Reuters
- UK must be hard-headed in relationship with China: Sunak — Britain must take a hard-headed, transactional approach to its relationship with China, British finance minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday.
- Dufry to enlist Alibaba as shareholder, signs China JV — China’s Alibaba plans to acquire a stake of up to 9.99% in Swiss duty free group Dufry , Dufry said on Monday, as it announced a new Chinese joint venture with the tech giant.
- Taiwan hopes Trump gets better so he can keep resisting China — Taiwan hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump can get better from the coronavirus soon so that he can continue to lead the free world in resisting China’s “outrages”, the speaker of the island’s parliament said on Monday.
- New Zealand’s Fonterra to sell China dairy farms for $368 million to focus on home markets — New Zealand’s Fonterra said on Monday it has agreed to sell its farms in China for a total of NZ$555 million ($367.97 million) as the dairy producer continues to focus on the domestic market and reduce debt.
- SMIC has had ‘preliminary exchanges’ with U.S. over export restrictions — Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation has undertaken “preliminary exchanges” with the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security regarding export restrictions, the company said on Sunday in a filing.
- Former aide to Chinese vice president named in anti-graft probe — A long-time colleague of Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan is under investigation for corruption and suspected of “serious” violation of the law, Chinese authorities have announced.
- U.S. agriculture secretary says unsure if China will meet Phase 1 farm commitment — China may fall short of annual agricultural product purchasing commitments made in its Phase 1 trade deal with the United States due to “non-agricultural trade issues,” U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Friday.
Xinhua
- China publishes first insurance sector social responsibility report — The Insurance Association of China has published a 2019 social responsibility report, the first of its kind for the insurance sector.
- China’s catering sector warms up during holiday — China’s catering sector warms up as the country celebrates the first extended holiday since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, data showed.
- Infrastructure investment pillar of China’s economic recovery: report — China’s infrastructure investment will lead the economy’s recovery from the COVID-19 epidemic, as policy support continues to boost growth over the next two to three years, said a report by credit rating agency Moody’s.
- China sees 425 mln domestic tourist visits in first half of national holiday — China saw 425 million domestic tourist visits in the first four days of an eight-day national holiday, with a total tourism revenue of 312 billion yuan (about 45.8 billion U.S. dollars), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said Sunday.
- China publishes first insurance sector social responsibility report — The Insurance Association of China has published a 2019 social responsibility report, the first of its kind for the insurance sector.
- Fintech, green finance to boost transformation of banking sector: report — The development of fintech, green finance and new business forms will help boost the business transformation of the banking sector, a report released by the Bank of China said.
- China has 309 mln e-commerce livestreaming users: report — As of June, the number of e-commerce livestreaming users in China had hit 309 million, up 16.7 percent from March, according to the latest statistical report on China’s internet development.
- Chinese automakers’ profits rally in Jan.-Aug. — China’s auto manufacturing sector rallied in the first eight months of 2020 as the auto market maintained its recovery momentum, industry data showed.
- Chinese vehicle battery suppliers go global as competition heats up: Fitch — Leading Chinese battery suppliers have been seeking opportunities outside of China since the second half of 2017, and have secured large order backlogs from overseas clients as domestic competition heats up, Fitch Ratings said in a recent report.
- China approves two new IPO applications — China’s top securities regulator has approved the initial public offering (IPO) applications of two companies.
Other Publications
- Cointelegraph: Officials voiced privacy concerns over China’s blockchain-powered hospital — China’s first blockchain-powered hospital is set to launch sometime in 2021, but some government officials voiced concerns over data security.
- CNBC: China’s tech giants face ‘new business realities’ across the world — China’s technology giants — like their U.S. counterparts — have seen business thrive during the coronavirus pandemic. But the tech industry is at a crossroads, facing an uncertain economic and geopolitical environment.
