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 Blocked Jack Ma’s Ant IPO After Investigation Revealed Likely Beneficiaries — Well-connected Chinese power players, including some with links to political families that represent a potential challenge to President Xi, were behind layers of opaque investment vehicles. The information added to concerns about financial risk and anger at Ma’s outspoken criticism.
- U.S. vs China: The Battle for Bitcoin Mining Supremacy (Video) — Chinese bitcoin miners have long dominated the global processing power that runs the bitcoin network with sophisticated equipment and access to cheap electricity. But now, a group of U.S. miners with deep pockets wants to conquer a greater share of the industry. Photo illustration: Clément Bürge
The Financial Times
- Taiwan accuses China of blocking efforts to buy Covid vaccines — Health minister says German group BioNTech was put under ‘political pressure’.
- Virtual control: the agenda behind China’s new digital currency — The planned ‘e-yuan’ could boost Beijing’s surveillance state and create competition for private fintech groups.
- China’s rare earth minerals, Amsterdam Spacs, Hong Kong trading — China is exploring limits on exports of rare earth minerals needed for American F-35 fighter jets.
- Myanmar protesters accuse China of backing coup plotters — Activists allege Beijing setting up ‘great firewall’ and call for boycott of Chinese products.
- Decoupling denied: Japan Inc lays its bets on China — Trade rift between Beijing and Washington creates havoc and opportunity for Asia’s economic giants.
- Commodity boom: supercycle me — Even if post-pandemic recovery improves commodity demand, it will not spur another boom.
The New York Times
- The Auto Industry Bets Its Future on Batteries — Carmakers, government agencies and investors are pouring money into battery research in a global race to profit from emission-free electric cars.
Caixin
- JD Logistics Prepare for IPO as Company Continues to Bleed Money — The prospectus filed for a Hong Kong IPO did not specify how much money the company, which is currently valued at $13.9 billion, hopes to raise.
- Chinese Wearable Device Maker Huami Invests in U.S. Medical Imaging Firm — Chinese wearable high-tech device maker Huami has recently invested $5 million in U.S.-based Hyperfine Research, which aims to widen access to its portable, wheeled magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system known as Swoop.
- Xiaomi Leads Indian Smartphone Market Despite Falling Numbers — Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi retained its status as the biggest smartphone vendor in India last year despite a modest contraction in shipments.
South China Morning Post
- China-US relations: Xi knows there will be ‘repercussions’ for human rights violations, Biden says — US President Joe Biden said there would be “repercussions” for China’s human rights abuses, saying he made the message clear to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in their first phone call.
- Soaring EU-Xinjiang trade in textile machinery, tomatoes piles pressure on Brussels to act on alleged forced labour — From the ancient ports of southwest Italy to the industrial heartlands of Germany, European companies are enjoying strong trade with China’s Xinjiang region amid increasing pressure on Brussels to act against allegations of forced labour and other human rights abuses there.
- Chinese flying taxi maker EHang denies short seller’s fraud claims after US shares plunge 63 per cent — EHang Holdings, one of China’s largest drone makers, has dismissed fraud allegations levelled against it by activist short seller Wolfpack Research, which resulted in the company’s US share price shedding nearly two-thirds of its value on Tuesday.
Bloomberg
- China E-Commerce Platform Dmall Said to Plan U.S. IPO This Year — Beijing DMall E-commerce Co., an online retail service provider backed by Chinese supermarket Wumart Group, is planning an initial public offering in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.
- Baidu’s Back With an $80 Billion Rally and Electric Car Ambition — For two decades, Baidu Inc. has largely been viewed as an online marketing company selling ads within its web search results. Now, the internet company is ready to make the case that it has more to offer.
- Biden Builds Out China Team With Staff Who Reflect Tougher Tone — President Joe Biden is filling out his China policy team with staff whose past writing and speeches align with the tough tone toward Beijing that emerged under his predecessor Donald Trump, adding to evidence that the new administration won’t revert to an earlier era of conciliation.
- Even With Recovery, China’s Bad Loan Season May be Really Bad This Time — The amount of bad debt is staggering at a time when the economic recovery hasn’t benefitted all provinces and companies in the same way.
- Masayoshi Son Just Pushed SoftBank Shares Past Dot-Com Peak — For Masayoshi Son, these days are even better than the dot-com bubble.
Reuters
- Chinese buyers help push Bentley orders up by 50%, CEO says — Bentley began the year with 50% more orders than the start of last year and built more luxury cars in January than the same time in 2020 as China boosted demand despite challenges from the pandemic, its boss told Reuters on Wednesday.
- 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.
Other Publications
- Diálogo China: A dream deal with China that ended in nightmarish debt for Venezuela — China wired US$1 billion to Venezuela tied to astronomical sales of iron ore as debt grew and ambitious projects never materialised.
- Axios: Biden’s Iran envoy Rob Malley quietly reaches out to China — U.S. special envoy to Iran Rob Malley had an “in-depth exchange of views on the Iranian nuclear issue” with a Chinese vice minister on a call initiated by Malley, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Feb. 10. The Biden administration has not spoken publicly about the call.
- Defense News: The China threat is being inflated to justify more spending — If the Senate confirmation hearings for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks were any indication, Congress will be happy to rubber-stamp increased military spending to address the threat of China.
