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’s Top Diplomat Warns Biden Against Meddling in Hong Kong, Xinjiang — Yang Jiechi’s firm statement on ‘red line’ came as U.S. secretary of state criticized Beijing.
- Wood-Pulp Prices Surge as Speculators Pounce in China — Demand rises for premium napkins and toilet paper, with more people home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Europe’s Economy Falls Further Behind U.S. and China. ‘It’s Getting Desperate.’ — Eurozone GDP fell nearly twice as much as the U.S.’s last year, as China powered ahead.
- Alibaba’s Quarterly Sales Lifted by Extended Shopping Event — Results came after the abrupt halt to blockbuster IPO of affiliate Ant Group in November and launch of Chinese probe for alleged anticompetitive behavior.
The Financial Times
- Beijing lays down a marker in South China Sea — PLA’s simulated attack on US carrier underscores determination to challenge American dominance.
- China warns Biden not to meddle in Hong Kong and Xinjiang — Top diplomat Yang Jiechi makes comments days after senior US officials criticise Beijing.
- Balkan nations turn to China and Russia for jabs — Shut out by Europe, aspiring EU members are looking east for coronavirus vaccinations.
The New York Times
- A Chinese Dissident Tried to Fly to His Sick Wife in the U.S. Then He Vanished. — Friends and family have lost contact with Yang Maodong, who was stopped at a Shanghai airport from joining a flight to San Francisco.
Caixin
- Developer China Fortune Defaults on 5.3 Billion Yuan in Debt — Company says it couldn’t come up with the cash to make the payments, but had reached a consensus with some creditors about a delay.
- China Hypermarket Leader’s Profits Slide as It Looks to Embrace Group-Buying — Sun Art moves to make its brick-and-mortar stores more group-buying friendly by putting more small and midsize stores in less developed cities.
- Fast-Fading Huawei Holds Onto Smartphone Crown — in China — Sanctions-hobbled telecom giant’s shipments plunged 34.5% in last year’s fourth quarter as it fended off challenge from Apple in the world’s largest market.
South China Morning Post
- China population: tumbling regional birth rates signal scale of country’s ageing crisis — Despite the delayed publication of national population data, a slew of local birth statistics in China has hinted at a growing population crisis in the world’s most populous country.
- China’s 2060 carbon neutral pledge ‘incompatible’ with expansion of oil and gas pipelines, study says — China’s expansion of its oil and gas pipeline network is putting it on a “collision course” with its ambitious target to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, according to a report published on Tuesday, while simultaneously raising the possibility of making billions of dollars of assets obsolete.
- Hong Kong retail sales plunge by record 24.3 per cent amid pandemic in 2020, marking worst performance since records began — Hong Kong retail sales plunged by a record 24.3 per cent year on year for 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic dampened consumer sentiment and kept big-spending tourists away.
Bloomberg
- Jack Ma’s Ant Posted $2.3 Billion Profit Before Halt of IPO — Billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. delivered about 14.5 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) in profit in the quarter right before Chinese regulators brought down the hammer on the financial technology giant’s record public offering and ordered it to scale back its sprawling business.
- Alibaba Sales Beat Estimates as Regulatory Headwinds Loom — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s sales rose at a faster-than-expected pace, offering a much-needed boost for the company grappling with a regulatory crackdown on Jack Ma’s tech empire.
Reuters
- ByteDance’s Douyin sues Tencent for monopolistic behaviour — ByteDance’s Chinese short video app Douyin has filed a complaint with a court in Beijing to sue Tencent Holdings for monopolistic behaviour and asked for 90 million yuan ($13.94 million) in compensation, ByteDance said on Tuesday.
- China mutual funds draw heavy inflows amid stock frenzy — China saw record monthly inflows into new equity and balanced funds in January, as retail investors scramble for exposure to the bullish stock market.
Other Publications
- SupChina: Webull: The Chinese-owned app that could rival Robinhood — Trading stocks using mobile apps is big business, and is only growing bigger after the GameStop affair pitted hedge funds against Reddit users. One of the leading players in the U.S. is owned by a Chinese company.
- Nikkei Asian Review: Coal-reliant China wades into nationwide carbon trading — Beijing aims to fight climate change but wary of choking economy.
- Foreign Policy: Is Beijing Backing the Myanmar Coup? — The Biden administration needs clarity from China as the new U.S. president acts on his first major crisis.