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 Sportswear Giants Enjoy Big Market Run-Up — The Hong Kong-traded shares of both Anta and Li Ning have more than doubled in the past 12 months.
- Fears of Chinese Move on Taiwan Weigh on U.S.-China Relations [Video] — Taiwan and China have had an unstable coexistence for more than seven decades. But concerns are rising that China may move against Taiwan to force a unification. WSJ’s Gerald F. Seib explains some of the causes for worry.
- China’s Cosco Shipping Expects Profit Surge as Industry Flourishes — Freight rates have increased, with shipping groups reaping the benefits of earlier capacity cuts combined with stronger-than-expected demand.
- Suspected China Hack of Microsoft Shows Signs of Prior Reconnaissance — Investigators suspect personal data taken in earlier huge hacks or scraped off social-media sites aided breach of Microsoft Exchange Server.
- Biden’s Great-Power Test Begins — By The Editorial Board. China presses the Philippines at sea while Russia rattles Ukraine.
- Aramco Weighs Selling Stake in Oil Pipelines for More Than $10 Billion — Saudi Arabian energy giant’s deal transferring minority share to group including U.S., Chinese investors could be announced as soon as this week.
The Financial Times
- Biden should summon the courage to reverse course on China — Donald Trump’s hardline policies served only to strengthen Xi Jinping and the communist system.
- China reveals co-operation with EU on green investment standards — People’s Bank of China chief said the move was part of goal to be carbon neutral by 2060.
- Rethinking Supply Chains — From the US-China trade war, to Brexit, to pandemic-led delays to manufacturing and shipping, the global supply chain is firmly in the spotlight. How is the business of trade adapting in a changing world? This is the second of a three-part series.
- US broaches boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics — Biden administration floats idea with allies in response to China’s persecution of Uyghurs.
- Chinese private equity targets record fundraisings — Fast-growing Boyu and Primavera join flurry of recent US dollar fund launches.
- English pork processors seek help after China ban — Beijing slow to reinstate imports from meat plants that have suffered Covid outbreaks.
The New York Times
- With a Big Tax Break, Hong Kong Tries to Soothe the Rich — Beijing, which can’t afford to let its attack on civil liberties scare away global banks and financiers, is offering them a big tax break and other perks.
Caixin
- Newly Formed Agriculture Giant Syngenta Group Posts Modest Annual Gains — Company created last year by combining former Swiss giant with ChemChina’s Chinese and Israeli assets reported 5% revenue rise in 2020.
- Asian LNG Spot Price Is Down 80% From Record High — Price slid to $7.10 per million Btus after China’s winter heating season came to an end.
South China Morning Post
- Li Ruigang, the powerful Chinese media mogul in control of TVB, plots IPO in Hong Kong, US markets for US$10 billion of assets — Li Ruigang, arguably China’s most powerful media mogul, is aiming to list some of his businesses in Hong Kong and the US to compete with industry powerhouses, putting more than US$10 billion of assets under the spotlight amid fissures in US-China relations.
- NIO may fail to meet second-quarter output goal in its competition with Tesla as global shortage of chips hits home — NIO, one of three US-listed Chinese electric car makers that compete with Tesla, said its breakneck growth pace may be held back, as the global shortage of computer chips that have hobbled the global automotive industry hits home.
- China economy 2021: latest economic data about world’s second-largest economy — China’s economic data paints a comprehensive picture of the state of the world’s second-largest economy.
- China’s forex reserves fell US$34.97 billion to US$3.17 trillion in March — China’s foreign exchange reserves fell more than expected in March, official data showed on Wednesday, as the US dollar posted a gain against a basket of major currencies.
- China-Australia relations: China turns to US coal to fill void created by Australia import ban, offers trade deal boost — Coking coal exports from the United States has filled some of the void created in China by its unofficial ban on Australian exports of the commodity over the past five months as trade manipulation creates “winners and losers”, economists said.
Bloomberg
- Tencent Top Holder Prosus to Sell Up to $14.6 Billion Stake — Prosus NV plans to raise as much as $14.6 billion from the sale of shares in Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., further growing its war chest for new e-commerce deals.
- Tencent-Backed MissFresh Is Said to Weigh $500 Million U.S. IPO — Beijing MissFresh Ecommerce Co., an online grocery delivery startup, is considering a U.S. initial public offering that could raise at least $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
- JD Digits Plans Finance Holding Company as China Tightens Rules — JD Digits Technology Holding Co. is planning to set up a financial holding company to comply with regulatory rules in China’s fintech sector, according to people familiar with the matter.
- China Pulls Plug on Online Student Loans as Debt Curbs Spread — China’s 36 million university students are starting to learn what it’s like to live without easy credit.
- SPAC Bubble Fears Lead Hong Kong, Singapore Down Cautious Path — Hong Kong and Singapore are trying to get in on the boom in blank check company listings, while safeguarding investors from what some say is a bubble about to burst.
Reuters
- China-EU relations facing challenges, Xi tells Germany’s Merkel — China’s President Xi Jinping on Wednesday told German Chancellor Angela Merkel Sino-EU relations were facing “various challenges” and he hoped the 27-nation bloc could “independently” make correct judgements, Chinese state media reported.
- China’s electric scooter maker Niu launches kick-scooter models — China’s electric scooter maker Niu Technologies said on Wednesday it would roll out its first kick-scooter model in the United States and Europe and four electric bike models as it expands its product line-up.
- Oil gains 1% on strong U.S., China economic data — NEW YORK (Reuters) -Strong economic data from China and the United States helped lift oil prices by 1% on Tuesday, recouping some of the previous session’s losses.
Other Publications
- Axios: U.S. could consider boycotting 2022 Beijing Olympics with allies — The U.S. would discuss a joint boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China with its allies and partners, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during a press conference on Tuesday.
- Brookings: China as a ‘cyber great power’: Beijing’s two voices in telecommunications — External Chinese government and commercial messaging on information technology (IT) speaks in one voice. Domestically, one hears a different, second voice.
- Merics: CAI – looking beyond market openings — The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), agreed in the final hours of 2020, is now fully out of the woods since the details of market opening were published in mid-March. However, the complexity of this document both reflects the murky business environment foreign firms navigate in China, and the limits of what is on offer in terms of market opening.
- Foreign Policy: The U.S.-China Clash Is About Ideology After All — Claims that the rivalry is purely geopolitical don’t hold water.
- Foreign Policy: China Has an Image Problem—but Knows How to Fix It — Many in Beijing realize a declining international reputation won’t help the country achieve its goals.
- Foreign Policy: Will Australia’s New Defense Minister Play Bad Cop to China? — Peter Dutton stopped the refugee boats. His next job is stopping Beijing’s maritime militia.
- Foreign Affairs: China’s Shrinking Families — The Demographic Trend That Could Curtail Beijing’s Ambitions.
- Nikkei Asian Review: What drives West’s policy toward China: human rights or industry? — EU and US align against China’s state capitalism.
- The Diplomat: A First-Hand View of 70 Years of China-US Relations — Chi Wang relates his experiences as a Chinese American, charting the highs and lows of China-U.S. relations from 1949 to the present day.
