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.
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The Wall Street Journal
- U.S. Stock Futures Rise on Stimulus Talks, China’s Growth — Continuing talks among top Democrats and Trump administration officials, as well as evidence of China’s economic rebound, are boosting investors’ optimism.
- China Acceleration May Not Rescue World From Coronavirus Slowdown — Hopes are rising that China can pull the globe out of its coronavirus-induced funk, much as it did during the global financial crisis more than a decade ago—but economists offer a long list of reasons to be skeptical.
- China Adds New Export Restrictions in Latest Trade-Dispute Move — The new law will allow China to ban exports to protect national security, adding a versatile weapon to Beijing’s arsenal as it fights a war over trade and technology with the U.S.
- China’s Economy Is Almost Over Covid-19 — Third-quarter growth slightly missed economists’ estimates of around 5.3%, but China’s economy still has good momentum under the hood.
- Alibaba Takes on Walmart in China With $3.6 Billion Investment in Hypermarket Chain — The e-commerce giant plans to double its stake in Sun Art Retail Group, which operates more than 480 supermarket-department stores in China under the RT-Mart and Auchan brands.
- The Aircraft Trade War Makes Even Less Sense in 2020 — The 16-year-long legal battle over commercial planes between the U.S. and the European Union didn’t make much sense to begin with. It is even more absurd amid the rise of China as an aerospace power and 2020’s bailout of the entire aviation industry.
- Hong Kong’s Exchange to Hold Hearing on Ant IPO After Green Light From Chinese Regulator — The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong will hold a listing hearing Monday to determine whether Ant Group can proceed with its planned initial public offering in the city, people familiar with the matter said, after the financial technology giant received a notice from the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
- China Economy Grows 4.9% as Rest of World Struggles With Coronavirus — The third-quarter results put China’s economy back toward its pre-coronavirus trajectory half a year after the pandemic gutted it.
- U.S. to Offer Loans to Lure Developing Countries Away From Chinese Telecom Gear — The U.S. government is embarking on a push to persuade developing countries to shun Chinese telecommunications equipment, offering financial assistance to use alternatives that Washington says are safer and have fewer strings attached.
- U.S.’s China Hawks Drive Hard-Line Policies After Trump Turns on Beijing — After focusing on a trade deal, President Trump has toughened his stance toward China, raising the prominence of hard-liners in his administration.
- Chinese Fintech Is Hot. Regulators Could Still Cool It Down — Having conquered smaller rivals and evolved around skeptical Chinese regulators, the country’s finance heavyweights face a new and different set of risks.
The Financial Times
- Taiwan accuses Chinese officials of beating up diplomat in Fiji — Violent clash at event to celebrate national day leaves staff member with head injury.
- Beijing gives green light for Hong Kong leg of Ant’s $30bn IPO — Chinese payments group’s listing could be the world’s biggest stock market debut.
- Japanese pension funds may hold key to Chinese JGB puzzle — China has ramped up purchases of low-yielding Japanese government bonds.
- China’s crackdown on the Uighurs — A carefully researched study of Beijing’s repression in Xinjiang.
- Ant faces challenge in reviving global expansion — Chinese fintech controlled by Jack Ma seeks to tap funds from blockbuster IPO for overseas push.
- Transparency offers way out of Zambia debt crisis — The African state and its Chinese lenders must come clean on borrowings.
- Philippines to restart oil and gas exploration in South China Sea — Move to resume activity in disputed waters comes after years of arguments with Beijing.
The New York Times
- With Covid-19 Under Control, China’s Economy Surges Ahead — Exports jumped and local governments engaged in a binge of debt-fueled construction projects. Even consumer spending is finally recovering.
- China Threatens to Detain Americans if U.S. Prosecutes Chinese Scholars — American officials said China had insisted that the Justice Department not proceed with cases against the arrested scholars, who are in the Chinese military and face charges of visa fraud.
- In Hong Kong, Communist Party Officials Stride Out of the Shadows — The growing power and profile of the Chinese government’s liaison office has brought the party’s playbook into the open.
Caixin
- China Unveils Major Revamp to Commercial Bank Law — Revisions to 25-year-old statute expand application of law and lay out mechanism for managing risk and liquidating troubled institutions in wake of Baoshang failure.
- In Depth: China’s Anbang Salvage Operation Runs Aground — Company created to take over a significant portion of the conglomerate’s assets has failed to complete its restructuring on time.
South China Morning Post
- China’s September passenger car sales rise for third straight month, as consumers put Covid-19 firmly in their rear-view mirrors — China’s passenger car sales grew for a third straight month in September, and industry insiders said they foresaw a sustained increase in sales during the remainder of the year after the country successfully contained its Covid-19 outbreak.
- What does China’s September loan data mean for the economy and the yuan? — China’s central bank published its monthly money supply and bank lending data on Wednesday, showing the People’s Bank of China’s efforts to walk a delicate balance between facilitating an economic recovery and avoiding excessive stimulus.
- Japan, Vietnam to step up defence and economic ties amid China’s growing influence — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc have agreed to step up security and economic cooperation – with Tokyo set to export defence equipment and technology to Hanoi – amid China’s growing influence in the region.
- Midea, Gree and Haier make up 80 per cent of the value of China’s top 10 appliance makers in industry that out sells the world — China’s top 10 appliance makers, which are also the world’s largest by market capitalisation, are a highly concentrated lot.
- China’s demand for 5G iPhone 12 Pro strong as Huawei faces chip supply issues, analyst Kuo Ming-chi says — Strong demand for the new iPhone 12 Pro in China is helping to boost sales of the new Apple smartphone model to better-than-expected levels, according to a new report by TF Securities International analyst Kuo Ming-chi.
- China’s uneven coronavirus economic recovery stirs protest in Beijing — A rare protest erupted in Beijing on Monday, with hundreds of parents taking to the streets of the capital to demand their money be returned after a private tutoring company collapsed in a sign of ongoing economic stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
- China must loosen capital curbs to boost international use of yuan, says former bank executive — China needs to increase international use of its currency so that it can lift the yuan’s share of international payments, according to a former senior executive at one of China’s big four banks.
- China’s economic rebound shows upside to ‘stringent lockdowns, testing, tracking’, analysts say — Powered by an early and severely enforced spate of lockdowns, nationwide test-and-trace campaigns, and a huge domestic market that has finally started to deliver a rebound in consumption, China’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic continued in the third quarter – albeit at a slower pace than economists had expected.
- China’s rapid GDP growth shows why coronavirus controls must trump reopening economy — China’s economic growth acceleration in the third quarter confirmed a strong recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy when many other countries are still struggling to balance growth and coronavirus control.
- Greater Bay Area: Hong Kong leader floats joint policies with Shenzhen to create hi-tech and innovation regional hub — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has suggested joining forces with Shenzhen authorities to lure overseas talent and investors under a “joint policy package” aimed at creating a regional hi-tech and innovation hub.
- China reports surge in long-term investment inflows despite talk of decoupling from US — Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into China surged in September by nearly a quarter compared to a year ago, underlining the confidence international investors have in the world’s second biggest economy long-term prospects, despite threats of decoupling from the United States.
- Belt and Road Initiative: Chinese workers leave Africa as lending slows — Tens of thousands of Chinese contractors left the continent between 2015 and 2018, a number that correlated with a decrease in spending from Beijing.
- Chinese state body lands US$54m Saudi surveying contract in latest sign of warming ties — A state-run Chinese organisation has landed a US$54 million surveying contract in Saudi Arabia, bringing Beijing a step closer to a key energy supplier.
- Coronavirus: Hong Kong tourism almost non-existent, with visitor numbers for September down 99.7 per cent from last year — Hong Kong tourism remained nearly non-existent in September, down 99.7 per cent year on year – a reality one lawmaker said would likely continue until cross-border travel had resumed with mainland China and Macau.
- Will Shenzhen swallow Hong Kong as booming mainland city wins more economic freedoms? — Hong Kong should align its policies with Shenzhen to remain instrumental in building the Greater Bay Area, observers said after the central government unveiled fresh measures to give the mainland Chinese city more autonomy on Sunday.
- Alibaba Group to pay US$3.6 billion to take control of China’s biggest hypermarket operator Sun Art from French billionaire Mulliez family — Alibaba Group is taking control of China’s largest hypermarket operator Sun Art Retail Group from the French billionaire Mulliez family, boosting its stranglehold on e-commerce as the Covid-19 pandemic intensified efforts to integrate online and offline shopping. Both stocks rallied.
- US-China tech war: Beijing counters restrictions with new law to curb sensitive exports — China’s national legislature passed a new law controlling the export of sensitive goods, services and technologies on Saturday in the latest move to counter escalating restrictions on Chinese technology companies by the United States.
- Hong Kong has nothing to fear from surging Shenzhen, officials say, though city must remain proactive, seize opportunities — Hong Kong still has a significant role to play in China’s future goals, senior officials have declared, even as surging Shenzhen has been marked as an innovation powerhouse and model of economic reform by the country’s leader.
- Shenzhen given new powers to attract key foreign workers and develop new financial market tools under plans to develop role as China’s tech hub — Shenzhen will be granted autonomy to make its own laws on artificial intelligence and big data, relax visa restrictions to attract foreign talent, and start a stock futures index under the latest plans to boost its role as tech and finance hub.
- China moves to shield its own advanced tech in fight with US by expanding arsenal of export restrictions — China is set to pass a new law that would restrict sensitive exports vital to national security, expanding its toolkit of policy options as competition grows with the US over access to technologies that will drive the modern economy.
- Do electric cars have the range to go the distance in China’s rural towns and villages as they battle for buyers’ hearts and wallets? — This is the first of a three-part series on the push for electrification in the world’s largest vehicle market, looking at the challenges of selling so-called new energy vehicles in rural China where manufacturers must balance between performance and price in a market of limited charging infrastructure.
Bloomberg
- China’s Big Fashion Problem Is Recycling 26 Million Tons of Used Clothes — The world’s biggest fashion buyer is running out of room for all its used garments.
- Who Has Most Power in Asia? U.S. Leads, China Closes in and India Falls Behind — China is closing in on the U.S. as the most powerful country influencing the Asia-Pacific, as America’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic tarnishes its reputation, a study showed.
- Chinese Firm Says Work Still Needed on Drug After Shares Surge — Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., whose stock surged the most in two years Friday on reports one of its medicines could potentially inhibit Covid-19, said more studies are needed on the treatment.
- China Gives Shenzhen Greater Autonomy to Attract Investment — China announced measures that will grant its southern boomtown Shenzhen more autonomy as Beijing seeks to raise the profile of the region as a tech and financial hub amid tensions with the U.S.
- China’s National Carbon Trading Market Deserves a Cheer — Its long-awaited national carbon trading market has deficiencies, but at least it’s (nearly) here.
- China Passes Amendments Outlawing Insulting National Flag — The Standing Committee of China’s congress on Saturday passed amendments to a law that will criminalize the intentional insulting of the national flag and emblem, after anti-government protesters in Hong Kong last year desecrated the Chinese flag.
- Asia’s Money Managers Buy Gold, China Stocks to Hedge Election — Money managers in Asia are deploying a range of traditional and unconventional strategies to cushion any losses as they brace for turbulence in the lead-up and aftermath of the U.S. presidential election.
Reuters
- Tesla to export China-made Model 3 vehicles to Europe — U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc said on Monday it would start exporting China-made Model 3 cars to more than 10 European countries this month.
- Detecting slave-made goods from China is growing harder, U.S. says — Major brands face a growing challenge to root out forced labor in Chinese supply chains, the top U.S. anti-human trafficking official said Friday, as the United States stepped up the blocking of imports of goods made in Xinjiang.
- Explainer: How does China’s digital yuan work? — China on Sunday concluded its largest pilot project to date for a central bank-backed digital yuan, with analysts saying the trial extended its lead in the global race to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
- China’s $1.5 million digital currency giveaway impressed analysts. Shoppers, not so much — China’s experimental $1.5 million (1.16 million pounds) giveaway of digital yuan to Shenzhen citizens ended on Sunday with acclaim from currency analysts – and scepticism from some users saying they preferred existing shopping tools like the ubiquitous Alipay app.
- German econ minister tells firms to diversify beyond China in Asia — German companies should diversify to other Asian markets beyond China to be less dependent on single supply chains which the pandemic has shown were vulnerable to interruption, economy minister Peter Altmaier said.
- China expected to keep benchmark LPR unchanged for sixth month — China’s benchmark lending rate is likely to remain steady for a sixth straight month at its October fixing on Tuesday, after the central bank left rates on its medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans unchanged last week, a Reuters survey showed.
- China denies report it may detain Americans, says U.S. mistreats its scholars — China denied on Monday that foreign nationals are under threat of arbitrary detention, following a newspaper report that Beijing had warned Washington it might arrest Americans in China.
- China aluminum output hits daily record in September — China’s aluminum production rose in September from a year earlier as prices recovered and new smelters came on line, official data showed on Monday, with daily output reaching a record high.
- Japan PM opposes any step to heighten South China Sea tension — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Monday Tokyo opposes any steps to raise tension in the South China Sea, and that disputes should be resolved through peaceful means.
- China third-quarter pork output jumps 18% year-on-year but supplies still tight — China’s third-quarter pork production rose 18% from a year earlier to 8.4 million tonnes, according to Reuters calculations based on official data, pointing to the first signs of recovery in the world’s top producer.
- China September industrial output rises 6.9% year-on-year; retail sales up 3.3% — China’s industrial output in September rose 6.9% from a year earlier, data showed on Monday, expanding for the sixth straight month in a boost to an economy recovering from the coronavirus shock.
- China’s central bank head says economy to expand about 2% this year — China will see its economy expand by about 2% this year as it has got the coronavirus pandemic under control, central bank governor Yi Gang said on Sunday, signalling confidence about the prospects of a domestic demand-driven recovery.
- China gives Shenzhen more autonomy for market reform, integration — China on Sunday detailed steps to grant more autonomy to Shenzhen, letting the southern financial and technology hub pilot reforms in market development and economic integration.
- China revises laws to strengthen protection of minors online — China has revised laws to strengthen the protection of under-18s online, state news agency Xinhua reported late on Saturday, forcing internet product and service providers to take action when necessary.
- China passes biosecurity law to prevent infectious diseases — China’s top legislative body passed a new biosecurity law aimed at preventing and managing infectious diseases, state news agency Xinhua reported late on Saturday.
- China passes export-control law following U.S. moves — China passed a law restricting exports of controlled items, allowing the government to act against countries that abuse export controls in a way that harm’s China’s interests, state media said.
- Amid tensions with China, India warns Amazon, Flipkart over country of origin rule — The Indian government has warned Amazon.com’s local unit and Walmart’s Flipkart that sellers on their platforms are not complying with a rule requiring that a product’s country of origin be specified.
- Chinese banking regulator fines China Construction Bank $1m for violations — The Chinese banking regulator said on Saturday it had fined a branch of the China Construction Bank (CCB), the country’s second-largest lender by assets, 7,313,511 yuan ($1.09 million) for rule violations.
- Indonesia sees China firms lead ‘commitment’ for $35 billion nickel investments — Indonesia expects to see investment in nickel processing, as well as petrochemicals, double to $35 billion by 2033, led by investors from China seeking to expand their businesses in Southeast’s biggest economy.
- ‘Something close’ to genocide in China’s Xinjiang, says U.S. security adviser — The U.S. national security adviser said on Friday that China was perpetrating “something close to” a genocide with its treatment of Muslims in its Xinjiang region.
- FCC asks Justice Department to weigh in on China Unicom U.S. operations — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asked the Justice Department and other U.S. agencies to detail if China Unicom’s continued U.S operations pose national security risks, according to a letter released Friday.
- Canada will continue to stand up against Chinese human rights abuses, PM Trudeau says — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said he will continue to stand up against China’s “coercive diplomacy” and human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang after being rebuked by Beijing for similar comments earlier this week.
- U.S. finds exporters from China dumped small vertical shaft engines — The U.S. Department of Commerce said in a statement on Friday that it has made a preliminary determination that exporters from China have dumped small vertical shaft engines in the United States.
- A millennials love affair: China’s second-hand luxury goods market booms — China’s love for luxury is spilling over into the once shunned second-hand goods sector, with online stores surfing a wave of pent-up demand from shoppers, led by millennials, who have been forced into belt-tightening by the coronavirus pandemic.
Xinhua
- E-retailing back to pre-COVID-19 levels in China’s poverty-stricken counties — Online retailing, an important force in fighting poverty, has basically returned to pre-COVID-19 levels in China’s 832 national-level poverty-stricken counties in the third quarter of the year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
- China Focus: China to build Shenzhen into global innovation-oriented city — China will turn the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in southern Guangdong Province into a global innovation-oriented city, a Chinese official said Sunday.
- China’s 5G network has over 600,000 base stations — China is stepping up the construction of its 5G network, and has now built over 600,000 5G base stations, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
- 2020 Global Industrial Internet Conference opens in NE China — The 2020 Global Industrial Internet Conference (GIIC) opened Sunday in Shenyang, capital of northeast China’s Liaoning Province.
- China’s consumer spending grows at faster pace — Chinese consumers stepped up their spending in September, a sign of an economic recovery gathering strength amid the effective containment of the COVID-19 epidemic at home.
- China’s surveyed unemployment rate drops in September — China’s surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas stood at 5.4 percent in September, 0.2 percentage points lower than that of August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.
- China’s major economic indicators turn positive in Q3 — China’s major economic indicators returned to the positive territory in the third quarter of this year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.
- China invests massively in energy projects in poor areas — China has invested over 2.7 trillion yuan (about 402.92 billion U.S. dollars) in large energy projects in impoverished areas since 2012, an official said on Monday.
- China’s fixed-asset investment up 0.8 pct in first 3 quarters — China’s fixed-asset investment went up 0.8 percent year on year in the first three quarters of 2020, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.
- China’s central bank injects liquidity into market via reverse repos — China’s central bank on Monday continued to pump cash into the banking system via reverse repos to maintain liquidity.
- Spotlight: Brunei continues efforts to attract foreign investment for economic diversification — To boost its economic diversification, Brunei is making further efforts to attract foreign investments, including from China.
- East China province to expand digital economy scale — East China’s Shandong Province plans to ramp up efforts to bring its digital economy to a world-class level by 2030, according to a press briefing held in the capital city of Jinan on Monday.
- China’s industrial output rises 5.8 pct in Q3 — China’s value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 5.8 percent year on year in the third quarter as factories stepped up production amid COVID-19 control, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.
- Made-in-China Tesla to be exported to Europe — U.S. carmaker Tesla announced on Monday that it would export the made-in-China Model 3 to Europe, marking another important milestone for its Shanghai Gigafactory.
- Xi’an handles over 3,000 China-Europe freight trains — Xi’an, capital city of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, saw a surge in China-Europe freight train trips this year, the city government told a press conference Monday.
- East China’s Zhejiang sees robust foreign trade — The foreign trade volume of eastern China’s Zhejiang Province rose 8.6 percent year on year to 2.44 trillion yuan (about 364 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of this year, according to Hangzhou Customs on Monday.
- China’s retail sales up 3.3 pct in September — China’s retail sales of consumer goods climbed 3.3 percent year on year in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday.
- Medical device maker Mindray sees profit surge in Q3 — Chinese medical device provider Mindray saw its profit rise in the third quarter (Q3) of this year amid high global demand for medical equipment to diagnose and treat COVID-19.
- British luxury retailer Harrods to open first private shopping space in China — British luxury retailer Harrods will open its first permanent private shopping space in Shanghai in December, its managing director Michael Ward told Xinhua.
- Chinese yuan strengthens to 6.7010 against USD Monday — The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 322 pips to 6.7010 against the U.S. dollar Monday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
Other Publications
- OilPrice: How Long Will China Continue To Prop Up The Oil Market? — However, with demand recovery in the rest of Asia still wobbling and refining margins in the region still depressed, the oil market and oil analysts have one primary concern about demand on their minds. How long can China support the fragile global oil market, when backlogged cargoes are finally processed and demand outside China is still weak, with the outlook getting weaker as the second wave of coronavirus infections is sweeping across major developed economies?
