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
- Biden Says U.S. Wants Competition, Not Confrontation, With China — President says U.S. will join allies to pressure Beijing to adhere to international rules.
- H&M Is Erased From Chinese E-Commerce Over Xinjiang Stance — Apps block searches for clothing retailer after it stops sourcing from the region, escalating a clash between Beijing and Western companies.
- H&M’s Xinjiang Crisis: Manufactured Goods and Manufactured Outrage — The digital boycott of H&M in China after an online furor over its decision to avoid Xinjiang cotton could be a sign of things to come.
- Beijing’s Global Cancel Culture — By The Editorial Board. China punishes H&M and Nike for criticizing forced labor in Xinjiang.
The Financial Times
- China/baijiu: foreign investors snub local liquor maker — Declining share prices stick in the throat.
- Chinese apparel brands rally on support for Xinjiang cotton sourcing — Western groups including H&M and Nike face backlash after expressing concerns over forced labour in the region.
- Beijing targets British MPs for ‘gross interference’ over Xinjiang — China imposes sanctions and warns criticism of internment camps threatens to undermine relations.
- H&M and Nike face China backlash over Xinjiang stance — State media and consumers attack clothing groups over statements last year on forced labour.
- Chinese delistings: exodus will hurt US investors most — New rules may mean Americans missing out on a slice of Chinese groups’ growth.
- Turning the tables on China — A very small step has been made in the right direction.
- Chinese tech stocks fall sharply on rising regulatory concerns — Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu shares drop on fears of US delistings and control over data.
- Chinese stocks turn from leader to laggard on tighter liquidity — Country underperforms other big markets in 2021 as Beijing seeks to rein in risky lending.
- Iron ore tycoon pleads with west to mend its relationship with China — Andrew Forrest warns populist politicians they are ‘sacrificing humanity and the environment’.
- Jack Ma’s Ant demands bigger fees to rebuild valuation after pulled IPO — Chinese fintech boosts commissions to offset Beijing’s crackdown on lending business.
Caixin
- China Plans to Announces New Antitrust Policies by September — Several government departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Commerce, People’s Bank of China will roll out measures to take on monopolies.
- In Depth: China’s Long March to Become a Consumer-Driven Economy — Five-year plan seeks to reduce inequality, boost spending with a focus on driving long-standing urbanization policy.
- Chinese-Backed Self-Driving Truck Startup TuSimple Files for U.S. IPO — Firm has big backers on both sides of the Pacific, but that could be the problem.
- China to Pour $9 Trillion Into Green Energy by 2060, Bank Says — China International Capital predicts installed solar power capacity may jump 40-fold as Beijing goes all out to achieve carbon neutrality in world’s biggest emitter.
- China Oil Giant CNOOC’s Annual Profit Plunges 59% — SOE’s bottom line took a hit in 2020 from a fall in international crude prices that accompanied a drop-off in demand from the Covid-19 pandemic.
- China’s Hillhouse Picks Up Philips’ Home Appliance Unit in $5.2 Billion Deal — Deal comes less than two years after the private equity major bought 15% of domestic manufacturer Gree for an undisclosed sum.
South China Morning Post
- Food delivery giant Meituan posts 35 per cent quarterly revenue increase as pandemic-hit consumer spending recovers — Meituan, China’s largest food delivery platform, beat fourth-quarter revenue estimates, which rose 35 per cent to 37.9 billion yuan (US$5.8 billion), as both its online delivery service and offline businesses continue to recover from a drop in consumer spending during the pandemic.
- China-Australia relations: Beijing officially slaps import duties on Australian wine after concluding probe — China has officially slapped duties of between 116.2 per cent and 218.4 per cent on Australian wines in containers of up to two litres after concluding anti-dumping investigations on Friday.
- Suez Canal blockage could see goods being shipped to Hong Kong delayed by at least three weeks, industry figures warn — Goods being shipped into Hong Kong were likely to be delayed by at least three weeks and could potentially cost more as a result of the blockage at the Suez Canal, industry figures warned on Friday.
Bloomberg
- Xi’s Red Line on China Human Rights Makes Companies Pick Sides — For years China has sought to draw moral equivalence with the West over human rights, insisting that other countries have no standing to criticize its policies. Now Beijing is making companies pay if they disagree.
- China Developer Yuzhou’s Woes Deepen After Profit Warning — Concerns about Yuzhou Group Holdings Co.’s financial health are intensifying, after a profit warning from the Chinese property developer sent its bonds and shares tumbling this week.
- Tencent-Backed Linklogis Seeks $1.1 Billion in Hong Kong IPO — Chinese fintech company Linklogis Inc., backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd., is seeking to raise HK$8.3 billion ($1.07 billion) from an initial public offering in Hong Kong.
- SAIC and Haier Said to Unite in Latest Push Into Smart Cars — Chinese carmaker SAIC Motor Corp. and appliance giant Haier Group Corp. signed a preliminary agreement to jointly develop intelligent transportation systems and smart homes, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Reuters
- Exclusive: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi to make EVs using Great Wall’s plant – sources — China’s Xiaomi Corp plans to make electric vehicles (EVs) using Great Wall Motor Co Ltd’s factory, said three people with direct knowledge of the matter, making it the latest tech firm to join the smart mobility race.
- China rare earths extend surge on worries over Myanmar supply, inspection threat — Looming inspections and concerns over Myanmar supplies are adding fresh momentum to a rally in prices of the rare earth minerals used in industries from turbines to telecoms that are already at their highest in nearly a decade.
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asian Review: Chinese EV maker Nio calls 5-day work halt over chip shortage — Lack of supplies pushes quarterly delivery forecast down to 19,500 cars.
- Economist: Will countries boycott China’s Olympics in 2022? — Outrage about Xinjiang is fuelling calls to stay away.
- Economist: While India and China bicker, ethnic-Chinese Indians move away — Kolkata’s Chinese community is a shadow of its former self.
- Economist: Bilibili, China’s YouTube, wants to be its Netflix — And more.
- Foreign Policy: India Joins the Afghan Peace Negotiations — Long sidelined by Islamabad, Moscow, and Beijing, New Delhi is finally taking a seat at the table.
- Axios: Biden rallies old alliances behind new mission: Challenging China — President Biden has made it his mission to reinvigorate America’s alliances and mobilize them for a new purpose: competition with China.
- The Diplomat: China’s EU Sanctions Are the Latest Proof: Beijing Doesn’t Understand Democracies — Once again, Beijing has misunderstood the functioning of democratic institutions. It’s part of a long-standing pattern of missteps.
