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
- China Aims to Outpace U.S. Militarily, American Commander Says — Beijing wants to match U.S. capabilities by 2035 and surpass them by midcentury, Gen. Milley says, echoing concerns in Pentagon report.
- China Sticks With Tough Line on Hong Kong After U.S. Bolsters Sanctions — Political observers say sanctions unlikely to force Beijing into easing crackdown on opponents.
- China Floats Covid-19 Theories That Point to Foreign Origins, Frozen Food — As WHO prepares probe into start of pandemic, scientists chafe at politicization of research.
- U.S. Steps Up Pressure on China Over North Korean Coal Exports — Sanctions are the latest action against Beijing for allegedly helping Pyongyang evade U.N. sanctions.
- Pompeo Warns Businesses Over Hong Kong as U.S.-China Tensions Rise — Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam says Beijing-backed national-security law has improved stability, making for better business climate.
- Chinese Covid-19 Vaccine Is 86% Effective, U.A.E. Trial Shows — Health experts caution that more information on the trials is needed.
- Luxury Brands Follow Chinese Shoppers Back Home — For the first time, designer brands opened more shops in markets like China and Japan than in Europe.
- China Hails Victory in Crackdown on Peer-to-Peer Lending — Central-bank official says, ‘by mid-November the actual operating P2P lenders had all been zeroed out’.
- Aging China Must Work Longer and Invest Smarter — An aging population may finally force the government to face long-needed reform challenges head on.
- Sinochem, ChemChina Consider Merger Plan That Won’t Raise U.S. National Security Concerns — Combination would create world’s largest chemicals conglomerate.
The Financial Times
- Chinese lithium producer sells minority stake in Australian mine — Tianqi Lithium agrees joint venture with IGO as heavily indebted group faces loan deadline.
- Xinjiang data platform deems people suspicious by association — Phoning relatives abroad or reading the Koran risks detention in the western Chinese region.
- Fall of China’s ‘most profitable’ coal miner is a cautionary tale — Renowned energy group’s decline shows dangers of reckless borrowing by state companies.
Caixin
- China Awards $9.02 Billion of Foreign Investment Quotas — Allocation under qualified domestic institutional investor program is part of a push to pour money into markets abroad amid a surge in the yuan.
- British Credit Rating Giant Experian Makes U-Turn on China Strategy — Government move to open up personal credit scoring sector prompts reversal of plan to pull out of mainland market.
- Update: China Reports First Consumer Deflation in 11 Years — CPI fell 0.5% in November on a drop in food prices, particularly for pork.
- China’s Grain Imports Surge 30% on Rising Livestock Demand — Prices of foreign wheat, rice and corn hold significantly below domestic costs, further supporting increase in inbound shipments.
- China Dangles $10 Billion to Spark Interest in SOE Mixed Ownership Reform — State-owned entities will back fund to bring in outside investors to reinvigorate the bloated sector.
- Off-the-Wall E-Commerce Player Hopes Sino-U.S. Headwinds Don’t Dampen IPO Enthusiasm — Trade tensions pose risk to Wish, a company that links Chinese suppliers of cheap goods with a Western clientele.
- Train Cargo Growth to Chug Higher for Fourth Straight Year — Beijing has sought to increase railway freight volume since 2017 in a bid to reduce pollution caused by road transportation.
- Germany Shoots Down Satellite Tech Maker’s Sale to Chinese Buyer — China’s satellite-building aspirations have come crashing back to earth, at least for one company that was trying to buy a German space technology firm.
South China Morning Post
- China’s first Type 075 ship to be based in Hainan amid South China Sea tension — China’s first Type 075 landing helicopter assault dock is expected to be deployed in the South China Sea rather than the East China Sea, highlighting its potential use in confrontations in the disputed waters as well as the potential Taiwan missions for which it was designed.
- Professor’s claim China’s friends ‘at the top’ influence US policy goes viral after Donald Trump and Fox News seize on it — Claims by a Chinese professor about China’s influence over the “inner circle of power” in the US have gone viral after they were seized on by Donald Trump supporters and the outgoing president himself.
- China’s central bank plans to finance Xi Jinping’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2060. Here’s how — China’s central bank is mulling imposing mandatory requirements on the country’s sprawling state-owned financial institutions to help promote green economic activity as part of the country’s ambitious push towards carbon neutrality by 2060.
- China-Australia relations: iron ore price surges amid strong demand and souring ties — Strong demand from steel plants and growing concerns over a worsening relationship between China and Australia have helped send the price of iron ore to an eight-year high and forced Chinese regulators to step in to curb speculation.
- Beijing rises to world’s most competitive city as Covid-19 saps economies, curtails travel and upends connectivity, study finds — Beijing is the world’s most competitive city in the era of Covid-19, as the Chinese capital’s successful containment of the infectious disease amid a worldwide pandemic elevated it to the top of an annual ranking amid curtailed travelling and upended economic activities, according to the study’s author.
- Shanghai court’s nod to Hong Kong ruling on keepwell clause bodes well for offshore creditors of defaulting Chinese bonds — In November 2017, a little-known Chinese oil storage company made headlines when it won a HK$40.2 billion (US$5.15 billion) bid to buy one of Hong Kong’s tallest office towers, setting a record for what was then the world’s costliest real estate transaction.
- US sanctions on China send Taiwan tech exports to mainland, Hong Kong surging — Taiwanese exports of hi-tech goods to China have accelerated in recent months as Chinese companies look to end their reliance on American technology and replace components no longer available due to US sanctions.
- US-China decoupling: has China cast aside US threat with booming exports in 2020? — China’s significance in global trade has received a clear boost in 2020, with exports surging in defiance of speculation early in the year that it could be marginalised in a post-pandemic world, according to analysts.
- More than 500 subsidised Hong Kong homes remain unsold, economic downturn, small flat size blamed for poor reception — More than 500 new subsidised homes remained unsold after the Hong Kong Housing Authority’s offers expired on Wednesday, marking the first time such a cold response was recorded since the scheme was launched in 2016.
- Hong Kong eyes 2021 export rebound as trade group forecasts 5 per cent bump on back of China strategy shift, new US president — Hong Kong exports, a victim of US-China political fallout and the Covid-19 pandemic, are set to rebound next year, growing 5 per cent on the back of the mainland’s renewed focus on domestic consumption and a relatively more predictable trade regime brought by a change in American presidents.
- Hong Kong Covid-19 fourth wave: businesses call for aid, brace for ‘fatal blow’ from tougher social-distancing measures — Hong Kong businesses facing tough new social-distancing measures from Thursday are bracing for a “fatal blow”, with the catering industry estimating 1,000 restaurants would close down this month.
- Xiaomi, JD.com-backed firm on track to become China’s second personal credit ratings agency — China’s central bank is on track to set up the country’s second personal credit ratings agency, one that is backed by Xiaomi Corp, JD.
- Analyse this: AI faster at evaluating contracts than human lawyers in Alibaba contest — When a group of 16 lawyers and law students met in a small auditorium at Zhejiang University’s Guanghua Law School last week, they were facing a unique opponent: an artificial intelligence (AI) program designed by Alibaba Group Holding’s Damo Academy.
- Intel and Nvidia questioned over sale of tech to China used against Uygurs — Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic congressman Jim McGovern on Tuesday sent letters to Intel Corp and Nvidia Corp seeking information on the sale of advanced computer chips allegedly used by China to conduct mass surveillance on Uygurs in the country’s remote Xinjiang region.
- Beijing tightens grip on Big Tech titans in drive for ‘healthy’ internet economy — For a few weeks earlier this year, Chinese netizens’ favourite memes focused on a 69-year-old martial artist named Ma Baoguo. The self-proclaimed tai chi master went viral after an embarrassing public loss in May that resulted in Ma getting knocked out in his fight debut.
- Brazil looking for legal options to ban China’s Huawei from 5G, insiders say — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s government is looking for a legal way to exclude Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co. from 5G networks in Brazil, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg
- Zinc Hits 19-Month High Amid Supply Worries, Demand Recovery — Zinc rallied to the highest since April 2019, lifted by concerns over falling Chinese production and as hopes for a U.S. stimulus deal buoyed market sentiment.
- China EV Startup XPeng Raises $2.2 Billion in Upsized Share Sale — Chinese electric-vehicle maker XPeng Inc. has raised $2.16 billion from an upsized share sale, joining a rush of fundraising by firms in the sector seeking to capitalize on a rally in stock prices.
- Nestle Pushes Into China Faux-Meat Market to Spur Sales — Nestle SA is jumping into the fake-meat business in China, seeking to revive weakening sales there by grabbing market share in the world’s biggest pork-consuming nation.
- Stuck in China’s Gravitational Pull — Even as nations seek to extricate themselves from China’s economic grip, or at least limit their exposure, the reality of the global economy keeps pulling them back.
- China’s Credit Growth Shows Signs of Peaking in November — China’s credit remained robust in November, though growth eased slightly amid the economy’s strong recovery.
- STMicro Falls After Cutting Margin Target on U.S.-China Tensions — STMicroelectronics NV unexpectedly cut its operating margin estimates, blaming the uncertainty of U.S.-China trade tensions for limiting access to the large Asian market.
- China’s Yuan Drops at Close as Onshore Banks Seen Buying Dollar — China’s yuan weakened minutes before Wednesday’s official close, reversing an earlier gain that had pushed the currency to its strongest level in more than two years.
- U.S. Policy: Against China, ‘America First’ Is Becoming America and Others — A tech entrepreneur in the State Department is using network theory to counter Chinese pressure.
- China Loosens Grip on Top Lithium Mine After Boom-Time Stumble — Tianqi Lithium Corp.’s rush to dominate supply of lithium — the metal that’s key for batteries to power electric cars and back up renewable energy — has ended in the selldown of its majority stake in the world’s most coveted mine, a blow to China’s ambitions to exert control across the supply chains required for an electrified future.
- China Stocks Face $722 Billion Overhang as Share Lockups End — More than $722 billion worth of Chinese stocks will be unlocked for sale next year, testing a market where valuations are at a five-year high.
- Trump Set Record Sanctions Use That Biden Is Likely to Maintain — The Trump administration has imposed sanctions at a record-shattering pace of about three times a day during the president’s time in office: a slew of measures targeting companies, individuals and even oil tankers tied to Iran, North Korea, China, Venezuela and Russia.
- Japan Funds Snap Up China Bonds, Shun Rest of EM Debt — Japanese funds are ramping up China’s bond purchases while shunning most other emerging-market debt as the coronavirus pandemic led to worsening government finances and lower interest rates.
- China Set to Bail Out Iraq With Multibillion-Dollar Oil Deal — Iraq is poised to sign a multibillion-dollar contract with China ZhenHua Oil Co., a bailout from Beijing for the cash-strapped government which will receive money upfront in exchange for long-term oil supplies.
- PBOC’s Yi Lays Out New Priorities to Support China Green Finance — China’s central bank governor outlined a new set of measures to aid green finance so that the country can achieve its environmental goals.
- China’s Pork-Driven Deflation Unlikely to Push PBOC Off Course — China’s central bank is likely to look through the first deflation in consumer prices in over a decade, economists said, as it keeps its focus on bringing debt under control.
- A Dangerous Level of Dependence Binds China and U.S. Farmers — Measured by the bushel, the U.S.-China relationship has never been stronger.Through the trade war and open hostilities at the highest political levels, pig farmers in China and crop farmers in the U.S. have become increasingly interdependent. Already America’s biggest customer of soybeans and sorghum, for this season China bought an unprecedented 11.2 million metric tons of corn, up nearly 1,300% compared with pre-trade-war purchases.
- Robinhood Is Losing Thousands of Day Traders to China-Owned Webull — Webull offers free trades and has picked up users after outages at Robinhood this year.
- Lam Sees Hong Kong Crackdown Helping Business Outlook — Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said Beijing’s sweeping crackdown in the city she oversees has strengthened law and order and improved its business environment.
Reuters
- China will take measures to uphold rights of Chinese companies — China said on Wednesday that it will take measures to uphold the rights of Chinese companies, in response to the United States blacklisting companies and ships accused of breaking sanctions on North Korea.
- China’s new yuan loans expected to rebound in November on policy support: Reuters poll — China’s new bank loans are expected to rebound in November from a one-year low the previous month as the central bank maintains policy support for the economy amid the global pandemic.
- China to improve green finance standards to support carbon neutrality goal -c.bank head — China will improve its green finance standards to support carbon neutrality objectives and make it easier for foreign investors to enter the green finance market, central bank governor Yi Gang said on Wednesday via video at the Singapore Fintech Festival.
- Volkswagen explores new sales model for electric models in China — Volkswagen AG is launching another sales model in China that will see the automaker open showrooms in city centres for electric vehicles (EV) and offer fixed prices, departing from the conventional sales system used by the wider industry.
- China’s factory prices fall more slowly in November, food weighs on consumer prices — China’s factory gate prices fell at a slower pace in November, adding to signs that the world’s second-largest economy is rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic, but consumer prices unexpectedly declined for the first time in over a decade.
- Australia’s IGO to take 25% stake in Greenbushes lithium mine from China’s Tianqi — Australian nickel and gold miner IGO Ltd said on Wednesday it would invest $1.4 billion in a local unit of China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp for a stake in the Greenbushes lithium mine, as it looks to cash in on the lithium rush.
Xinhua
- Chinese yuan strengthens to 6.532 against USD Tuesday — The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 42 pips to 6.532 against the U.S. dollar Tuesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
- Private Chinese company exports refined oil products — A company in east China’s Zhejiang Province has started exporting refined oil products, becoming the country’s only private enterprise thus far to be allowed to engage in the export of such products, according to authorities.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: The Trump State Department’s Swan Song? A Strange, Flawed China Paper. — The U.S.-China conflict may be the defining 21st-century challenge, but the recommendations stand out by what they fail to address.
- Axios: Scoop: Mayor Pete may get China post — President-elect Joe Biden is considering a high-profile ambassadorship for Pete Buttigieg, possibly sending him to China, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.
- Nikkei Asian Review: Chinese chipmaker Tsinghua Unigroup warns of new default risks — Concern among investors rises with redemption deadline for $450m offshore bond.
- Nikkei Asian Review: China shadows the rise of Hong Kong’s next tycoons — Avoid politics, build trust: One dynasty heir speaks on a generation’s dilemma.
