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
- WHO Caught Between China and West on Frozen-Food Coronavirus Transmission — Chinese officials have blamed frozen-food imports as one reason for the country’s new Covid-19 infections.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index Battles Midlife Crisis: Boring Stocks and Blacklists — The index and its mix of stocks will be getting a makeover.
- TikTok Rival Kuaishou Wants Your Attention—and Investment — The coming IPO of the Tencent-backed company in Hong Kong could be one of the city’s biggest.
The Financial Times
- Chinese vaping group RLX set to raise $1.4bn in US IPO — Investors rush to cash in on potentially the world’s biggest e-cigarette market.
- China imposes sanctions on Trump officials including Mike Pompeo — Beijing targets former US secretary of state and 27 others for violating its sovereignty.
- Pro-Beijing Hong Kong politicians to be vaccinated before city residents — Group will travel to mainland China as wider inoculation rollout delayed in territory.
- Chinese purchases of US exports fall far behind trade deal pledge — Beijing’s likely failure to meet terms of ‘phase one’ agreement poses challenge to Biden.
- China’s currency heads into Biden era on front foot — Renminbi’s future strength depends on cooling of US trade tensions and health of dollar.
- Crackdown on Jack Ma’s empire gathers pace despite reappearance — Beijing increases pressure on Ant Group hours after tech billionaire breaks public silence.
- The right answer to Xi Jinping is a one-China policy — To counter Beijing’s strategy of divide and rule, the US and its allies need consistent policies.
- Coronavirus drives retreat of Chinese VCs to safer deals — Investors lavish funds on known companies in favoured sectors at expense of tech start-ups.
The New York Times
- President Biden’s Tech To-Do List — The new administration will try to restrain Big Tech, manage China and expand internet access.
Caixin
- In Depth: Why China Ratings Agencies Didn’t See the Corporate Default Wave Coming — Meddling regulators and structural problems in the bond market contributed to the ratings inflation that left the country primed for last year’s wave of SOE defaults.
- China’s New Monopoly Rules Put Fintech Giants in the Crosshairs — Nonbank payment providers such as Alipay and WeChat Pay could find themselves a target of antitrust investigations.
- Chinese Telcos Look for More Sympathy Under Biden Administration — It didn’t take China’s three major telcos long to sense a chance to undo their imminent delistings from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
South China Morning Post
- China’s trade with US failed to meet phase-one deal targets last year, and 2021 is not expected to yield more success — China fell well short of meeting the lofty purchasing targets of its phase-one trade deal with the United States in 2020, with analysts sceptical as to whether it will get any closer in the second year of the agreement.
- As US economic clout diminishes, China and Europe work to cut dollar reliance — The European Union’s initiative to cut its reliance on the US dollar is the latest show of scepticism towards American efforts to rebuild multilateralism amid the emergence of new regional powers such as China, analysts said.
- Tencent is in talks with banks to borrow US$6 billion in Asia’s biggest syndicated loan for a Chinese firm since 2019 — Tencent Holdings, the creator of the messaging platform WeChat, is in talks with banks for a US$6 billion loan, according to people familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg
- How the U.S. Can Compete With China, Europe in Building Batteries — Raw materials? Yes. Demand? Yes. So what’s the problem?
- EV Startup Aiways Said to Seek Funds at $2 Billion Value — Aichi Automobile Co. is seeking to raise fresh funds that could value the Chinese electric-vehicle startup at more than $2 billion before its potential U.S. initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
- China Trade Row Has Cost Australia $3 Billion in Lost Exports — Australia’s trade fight with China cost it about $3 billion in commodities sales last year, and that relatively small impact suggests there’s little economic need for the country to bow to Beijing’s pressure.
Reuters
- Chinese phone maker Honor partners with key chip suppliers after Huawei split — Chinese budget phone maker Honor said on Friday it had signed partnerships with major chip suppliers such as Intel and Qualcomm after being spun off from parent Huawei Technologies in the wake of U.S. sanctions last year.
- FTSE Russell deletes CNOOC from global and China indexes due to U.S. ban — Global index publisher FTSE Russell said on Friday it will delete CNOOC Ltd from its global and China indexes due to the U.S. investment ban.
- Stock bubble worries push Chinese investors from home to Hong Kong — As China’s blue-chip index approaches an all-time high, growing fears about bubbles developing in some parts of the country’s stock market are prodding some investors to seek bargains in Hong Kong.
Other Publications
- Economist: China’s regional gap is worsening — While entrepreneurship flourishes in the south, a rust-belt malaise deepens in the north.
- Nikkei Asian Review: China’s BYD raises $4bn war chest to combat Tesla — EV maker’s stock sale bolsters R&D against competition in booming market.
- MacroPolo: Is the High Speed Rail Worth It? — For the past 65 years, the United States has maintained the world’s largest interstate highway system. For the next 65 years, China is likely to maintain the world’s most extensive high-speed rail (HSR) network. That enormous investment, with a long time horizon, has caused consternation both within China and outside of it.
