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 Sets 2021 GDP Growth Target at Over 6% — Premier Li Keqiang says nation aims to create more than 11 million new jobs this year.
- Americans’ Views on China Go From Bad to Worse — Nearly half of Americans in a new Pew survey said the U.S. should seek to limit China’s power.
- Short on Babies, China Wants People to Live and Work Longer — Beijing’s new economic blueprint calls for bumping life expectancy above 78 years and increasing the retirement age.
- U.S. Blacklisted China’s Xiaomi Because of Award Given to Its Founder — Defense Department cites award and Xiaomi’s technology ambitions as reasons for designating it a company with military ties in legal filing.
- WHO Investigators to Scrap Plans for Interim Report on Probe of Covid-19 Origins — U.S.-China tensions rise over investigation as group of scientists presses for fresh inquiry, including into lab escape theory.
- Container Ship Operators Are Betting on China’s Factory Resurgence — Suggestions about spreading out supply chains are going nowhere in the shipping world, where companies are ordering big vessels targeting China’s hefty exports.
- China’s Pursuit of Natural Gas Jolts Markets and Drains Neighbors — Beijing’s quest to run world’s second-largest economy on cleaner energy is reshaping global trade in the fossil fuel.
- China’s Crackdown on Hong Kong Tested in Trial of Pro-Democracy Politicians — The case is seen as a barometer of how officials will use the city’s national-security law against political opponents.
The Financial Times
- China targets 6% growth after reining in coronavirus — Beijing hails recovery from ‘extraordinary’ year but provides little guidance on climate goals.
- Hong Kong dropped from economic freedom index after crackdown — Decision highlights growing concern over China’s tightening grip on financial centre.
- China’s leaders focus on post-Covid economy at annual meeting — National People’s Congress set to be dominated by concerns over stability and rising debt.
- US vs China: Biden bets on alliances to push back against Beijing — The new administration believes it can develop a more effective China strategy if it can work closely with old friends.
- BlackRock Hong Kong-listed ETF hit by heaviest outflows in 2020 — The iShares FTSE A50 vehicle suffered net redemptions of $1.2bn despite A-share bull run.
- ‘Dependency’ of UK universities on China creates risks, report says — More than fifth of research in many high impact science and technology subjects involves collaboration with China.
The New York Times
- China’s Plan to Win in a Post-Pandemic World — The message at the National People’s Congress was one of optimism about the strength of its economy and of struggle against an array of internal and external challenges.
- A Confident China Promises Robust Growth and a Hard Line on Hong Kong — Officials said the economy would grow by more than 6 percent this year. They also pushed ahead with an electoral overhaul in Hong Kong that would cripple the opposition.
- Demanding Loyalty, China Moves to Overhaul Hong Kong Elections — China’s national legislature disclosed plans for a law that would make it extremely difficult for Beijing’s critics to hold elective office in Hong Kong.
Caixin
- Massive Merger Will Make Little-Known Cement-Maker a National Giant — Tianshan Cement plans to acquire controlling stakes in four peers in a $15.2 billion deal that would make it China’s largest listed producer by capacity.
- News App Qutoutiao Narrows Losses Despite Revenue Drop — Chinese news aggregator Qutoutiao posted smaller losses in the fourth quarter of 2020 despite a decline in revenue over the same period.
- Xiaomi Breaks Into Top Three Smartphone Brands in Latin America for First Time as Huawei Falls — Xiaomi rose to the third spot in terms of smartphone shipment in Latin America in the fourth quarter of 2020, capitalizing on the decline of its Chinese peer Huawei, which dropped out of the top five largely due to the U.S. sanctions triggering a supply shortage.
South China Morning Post
- C919: China’s home-grown aircraft on course to be certified by end of 2021, designer says — China’s home-built C919 aircraft is expected to finish flight testing and win airworthiness certification by the end of this year, the programme’s chief designer, Wu Guanghui, said on Friday on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting.
- China’s Shenzhen sees cross-border yuan use jump to record level in 2020 — Shenzhen saw a record level of yuan-denominated cross-border payments last year, an encouraging sign for Chinese authorities trying to reduce the country’s reliance on the US dollar amid uncertain relations with the United States.
- China’s 6 million ‘black lung’ workers living on just US$61 a month, with most struggling to survive — Chinese migrant workers suffering from incurable black lung disease lived on an average monthly income of just 393 yuan (US$61) last year, far below the national average of over 4,000 yuan a month for other migrant workers, according to an annual survey from a non-governmental organisation.
Bloomberg
- What Economists Are Saying About China’s Growth Target — Economists are parsing through China’s latest economic targets and seeing a greater determination to achieve higher-quality growth while withdrawing pandemic stimulus slowly.
- China’s New Green Target Still Means Pumping Too Much Pollution — China’s first road map to achieving net zero emissions by 2060 may be too slow to stop the world’s biggest polluter from hastening global warming.
- China Gives Nuclear Power a Fresh Push in Drive to Go Green — China is offering new backing for the development of nuclear power as a key tool in its drive to cut carbon emissions.
- China’s Emissions Increased by 1.7% in 2020: Report — China was the only major economy to increase greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 as most of the world experienced an economic contraction due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to research firm Rhodium Group.
- Baidu Said to Win Hong Kong Bourse Nod for Second Listing — Chinese search engine giant Baidu Inc. has secured approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange for a second listing in the city, according to people familiar with the matter.
- U.S. Needs a Strong Defense Against China’s Rare-Earth Weapon — Beijing is sending mixed signals on its strategy to maintain a monopoly on increasingly vital metals.
- China Test Makers See 6,500% Profit Gains, But Can It Last? — Demand for Covid-19 test kits has delivered a windfall for Chinese diagnostics firms, with one seeing a profit surge of as much as 6,500%.
Reuters
- Australian broadcaster suspends China’s CGTN citing human rights complaint — Australian broadcaster SBS said on Friday it would suspend its broadcasts of news bulletins from Chinese state television news services CGTN and CCTV after receiving a human rights complaint.
- FTSE Russell to drop Xiaomi, Luokung from indexes on U.S. order; scraps AMEC inclusion — Global index publisher FTSE Russell will drop Xiaomi and another high-tech firm from global and Chinese indexes, it said on Friday, and scrap inclusion of a semiconductor firm, in line with a U.S. executive order by former President Donald Trump.
- China tells banks to scale back lending to contain financial bubble risks: sources — China’s regulators are telling banks to trim their loan books this year to guard against risks emerging from bubbles in domestic financial markets, said people familiar with the matter on Friday.
- China to ‘strengthen management’ of strategic mineral resources, eyes green upgrade of steel — China will “strengthen management and control” of its strategic mineral resources, the government said on Friday as it set out a five-year development plan, without providing any details on how it plans to secure key supplies and boost self-sufficiency.
- China pledges to build ‘Polar Silk Road’ over 2021-2025 — China will construct a “Polar Silk Road” and actively participate in the development of Arctic and Antarctic regions, it said in its new 2021-2025 “five-year plan” published on Friday.
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asian Review: US to build anti-China missile network along first island chain — Exclusive: Indo-Pacific Command requests to double spending in fiscal 2022.
- Nikkei Asian Review: China treads lightly on Myanmar coup with billions at stake — Beijing needs stability to complete strategic Belt and Road projects.
- Nikkei Asian Review: European navies hold stronger China deterrent than first appears — Long-term engagement in Indo-Pacific changes Beijing’s military calculus.
- The Economist: Making sense of a purge of China’s security services — It signals both the depth and opacity of Xi Jinping’s power.
- The Economist: With growth on track, China starts to unwind stimulus — Its exit will offer a partial preview for others.
- The Economist: Are Galaxy Entertainment and MGM China a winning bet? — Investors think so, the casinos’ heavy pandemic losses notwithstanding.
- The Economist: Red tourism in Xi’s China — A Maoist shrine plots its comeback.
- Foreign Policy: Oh God, Not Another Long Telegram About China — U.S. strategists love grand proclamations—but ignore domestic political realities.
- Foreign Policy: The U.S. Doesn’t Have to Make Sacrifices to Get China’s Climate Cooperation — Beijing is sincere about fighting climate change—for its own best interests.
- Defense News: NATO grapples with grasping China’s transportation clout in Europe — NATO officials are scrambling to understand the extent to which Chinese investments in key transportation nodes throughout Europe could impede the alliance’s ability to move troops quickly in case of a conflict.
- China Media Project: The Spider Reweaves the Web — Aside from abiding by laws and upholding their “social responsibility,” platforms providing public account services must “adhere to correct guidance of public opinion” (坚持正确舆论导向), this being still the primary phrase the CCP uses to denote the need to set the agenda and control information in order to maintain the stability of the regime.