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
- Why 2021 Promises a Fresh Wave of Defaults From Corporate China — Property developers, which are a big part of the Chinese offshore bond market, could be one source of stress.
- Iron Ore’s Rally Shields BHP From Pain of China Trade Dispute — Mining company reports $6.04 billion underlying profit as Chinese infrastructure spending drives the commodity’s price to nine-year high.
- China Nudges Accused Video Pirates Down the Plank, Stirring Frustration Over Censorship — Copyright investigation into Renren Yingshi casts spotlight on increasing controls under Xi Jinping.
- Hong Kong Trial of Nine Pro-Democracy Activists Begins — Martin Lee, newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai are among the veteran activists facing charges that carry possible prison sentences of up to five years.
The Financial Times
- America’s best hope of hanging together is China — Without an external foe to rail against, the nation turns on itself.
- Russia’s main bourse to open earlier to attract traders in China — Moscow and Beijing have struggled to gain momentum in effort to forge closer trading ties.
- The China challenge — The Biden administration is dialling back the rhetoric but needs allies on board to confront Beijing.
- China targets rare earth export curbs to hobble US defence industry — Beijing asks industry executives if proposed restrictions will harm western contractors.
- A tale of two very different Chinese new years — Contrasting celebrations in China and the US underline their relative success in fighting the pandemic.
Caixin
- In Depth: The 1,000 Kilometer Target Driving China’s Electric Car Industry Into a Frenzy — Critics say excessive focus on distance reflects weakness of country’s charging infrastructure, may undermine sector’s green credentials.
- China to Roll Out Provincial Renewables Targets — Plan aims to ramp up national share of renewables in total power consumption to 40% by 2030.
- TikTok Maintains Pole Position as World’s Highest-Earning Non-Game App — TikTok retained its crown as the world’s highest-earning non-game app in January, capitalizing on its growth in its home market in China.
South China Morning Post
- US-China relations: forced labour to keep pressure on Chinese textile firms as American firms cut orders — The trend of US companies reducing their exposure to China’s textile and clothing suppliers has become a shift that is unlikely to reverse under the Biden administration, with Washington remaining committed to combating forced labour issues, according to trade data and an industry expert.
- TikTok ‘fails to protect children’, says consumer group, as the Chinese app is hit with consumer law breaches complaints across Europe — Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok was hit with multiple complaints from EU consumer groups on Tuesday for allegedly violating the bloc’s consumer laws and for failing to protect children from hidden advertising and inappropriate content.
- NetEase spreads short video ambitions across entire ecosystem to take on incumbents, but insiders say chances of success are slim — 2021 is shaping up to be the year of short videos in China.
Bloomberg
- Hollywood Struggles for Fans in China’s Growing Film Market — With China’s box office takings expected to return to near pre-pandemic highs in 2021, the world’s largest movie market is becoming more attractive — and more tricky — for Hollywood studios.
- Imax Leads China Film Stocks Higher on Record Ticket Sales — Imax China Holding Inc. led a rally in Chinese entertainment stocks after data showed local box-office revenue hit a record high for the Lunar New Year.
- Hong Kong Developer CK Asset Sells Asia’s Priciest Apartment — Hong Kong tycoon Victor Li’s CK Asset Holdings Ltd. sold a luxury apartment for a record-breaking HK$459 million ($59 million), another sign that the city’s upscale housing market is recovering.
- Bangladesh Eyes Investment Gain as Japanese Firms Exit China — Japan incentivizing its companies to shift manufacturing facilities out of China and adding Bangladesh to a list of preferred destinations for relocating the factories may give the South Asian nation’s economy a boost.
- China’s Cryptocurrency Stocks Left Behind in Bitcoin Frenzy — China’s blockchain stocks are missing out on the cryptocurrency mania that has pushed their global peers to record highs.
Reuters
- Exclusive: India set to clear some new investment proposals from China in coming weeks – sources — India is poised to clear some new investment proposals from China in the coming weeks as frosty relations between the two neighbouring countries thawed amid an easing in border tensions, said three government officials with knowledge of the matter.
- Breakingviews – BHP boss gets extended Chinese honeymoon — Mike Henry can celebrate an unexpectedly happy anniversary. He became chief executive of Australian mining giant BHP just in time for Covid-19. Higher iron ore prices driven by Chinese demand, however, have just helped pay for a record $5.1 billion dividend. They also buy him extra time to grapple with difficult strategic decisions.
Other Publications
- The Atlantic: What the Fear of China Is Doing to American Science — A campaign against Chinese scientists threatens the openness that defines U.S. universities.
- The Diplomat: What Happened to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor? — Six months after a supposed revival, the project has been in headlines for all the wrong reasons.
- Axios: China’s political power grows with its capital markets — As more money flows to China’s markets, its political leaders will have a clear mechanism to increase the country’s political power, giving China another potent weapon to challenge the United States’ position as the world’s financial superpower.
- Foreign Policy: Biden’s Trade Plans Will Boost China’s Power in Asia — Supporting the middle class at home and reasserting leadership abroad may be mutually exclusive—especially in Asia.
- Nikkei Asian Review: China’s New Year digital yuan tests hasten Asia e-currency race — Central banks push projects amid COVID but first mover Cambodia sees slow uptake.
- Nikkei Asian Review: Indonesia’s investment race shaken up by China as Japan fades — South Korea also gains, with EV batteries seen as next FDI magnet.