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
- U.S. and China Discuss Enhancing Beijing’s Climate Commitments — Climate envoy John Kerry says meetings with counterparts in Shanghai were productive.
- First Dose of Chinese Covid-19 Vaccine Offers Little Protection, Chile Learns — The country vaccinated at record clip with shots developed by China’s Sinovac, then cases and deaths rose. Health experts say Chile dropped precautions too soon.
- China Stresses Family Values as More Women Put Off Marriage, Childbirth — The emphasis on women’s role as caretakers comes as the country faces dire demographic trends; on social media, women’s-rights accounts are deleted.
- China’s Digital Yuan Poses No Threat to the Dollar’s Dominance — New payment methods won’t transform a currency that foreigners don’t want to hold into one that they do.
- Foreign Buying of Chinese Government Bonds Stalls — Global investors pare China holdings as yields rise elsewhere.
- Chinese Asset Manager’s Bonds Recover After Selloff — Huarong’s debt had tumbled in price after the state-backed firm delayed publishing its results.
- Tesla Faces New China Test After Woman’s Auto-Show Protest Goes Viral — Demonstrator draws wide sympathy after climbing atop Tesla Model 3 sedan and shouting allegations about faulty brakes, and videos show her being dragged away.
- Japan Wants U.S. Back in the TPP. It Will Likely Have to Wait. — Biden administration in no rush to rejoin Trans-Pacific Partnership as it reviews inherited trade policies and focuses on domestic agenda.
- Prison for Hong Kong Democrats — By The Editorial Board. Nine are sentenced, including Martin Lee and Jimmy Lai.
- U.S. Pressures Taiwan to Address Undervalued Currency — Treasury stops short of currency manipulator designation; removes label for Switzerland, Vietnam.
The Financial Times
- After Afghanistan, China and Russia will test Biden — The White House may have to handle crises over Taiwan and Ukraine at the same time.
- The limits of China’s taming of tech — Antitrust measures have not been extended to state-owned monopolies.
- US and China pledge joint action on climate change despite strained ties — Two sides to discuss steps to keep Paris Agreement targets ‘within reach’.
- Japan vows to support US in opposing ‘coercion’ from China — Prime minister’s blunt remarks after Biden meeting highlight worry over Beijing’s maritime moves.
- Hainan ‘on fire’ as luxury’s centre of gravity tilts to China — Western brands bet on Chinese shoppers staying at home beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.
- China ready for shot at snooker glory as it pushes to dominate sport — Big matches in world championship that begins this weekend will be followed by rapt audiences.
- China vies with US for lead in global climate diplomacy — Beijing officials promote European discussions as a summit ahead of rival Biden event.
The New York Times
- Despite Tensions, U.S. and China Agree to Work Together on Climate Change — The two countries said they would treat global warming “with the seriousness and urgency that it demands.”
- Biden and Suga Agree US and Japan Will Work Together on 5G — The subtext of the meeting was responding to China’s influence and its aggressive actions in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga resisted being drawn into a rivalry.
Caixin
- Citigroup Exits Consumer Banking in China as Part of Global Pullback — Bank says it remains committed to the country, with plans to set up brokerage and futures companies.
- First Car Equipped With Huawei Self-Driving System Goes on Sale — Telecommunications gear giant joins other China tech giants pushing into auto market as U.S. sanctions take bite out of core business.
- Trip.com Shares Jump More Than 4% in Hong Kong Debut — Online travel agent giant becomes the latest New York-listed Chinese tech major to make secondary offering in the former British colony.
- Record Profits at China’s Biggest State Firms Show Strength of Economic Recovery — Earnings of centrally administered SOEs more than tripled to $63.7 billion in the first quarter.
South China Morning Post
- New home prices in China’s big cities lose momentum as cooling measures bite, paving way for tougher restrictions in smaller ones — The growth of new home prices in China’s biggest cities slowed amid tighter regulation, potentially paving the way for more stringent cooling measures in lower-tier cities that saw higher growth, analysts said.
- China’s Star Market introduces new listing rules that could freeze out Ant Group for good — China has banned companies whose main business is financial activities or property investment from listing on the Nasdaq-style Star Market – a move that could potentially close the door on Ant Group floating shares there.
- China’s propaganda film department prevails against Tencent in copyright infringement cases — China’s propaganda department has won three out of four copyright infringement cases it brought against Tencent Holdings over unauthorised showing of movies, court documents showed.
- Chinese surveillance camera maker Hikvision warns of long-term chip shortage — Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, China’s top surveillance camera systems maker under US trade sanctions, is bracing for an extended global chip shortage, even as the company denies any immediate impact on its operations.
Bloomberg
- China’s $87 Billion Electric-Car Giant Hasn’t Sold a Vehicle Yet — The electric car upstart has one of the biggest booths at China’s 2021 Auto Show, which starts Monday, opposite storied German automaker BMW AG. Yet its bold presence belies an uncomfortable truth — Evergrande hasn’t sold a single car under its own brand.
- Tencent’s Ma Dangles Billions in Aid As Antitrust Scrutiny Grows — Tencent Holdings Ltd. founder Pony Ma pledged $7.7 billion toward curing societal ills and lifting China’s countryside out of poverty, echoing Xi Jinping’s priorities at a time Beijing is tightening its grip on internet giants.
- Yuri Gagarin: Russia, U.S. and China Are in a Deadly New Space Race — Sixty years after Yuri Gagarin’s orbit of the Earth, the militarization of the cosmos is heating up. A Q&A.
Reuters
- China’s Chifeng Jilong walks away from deal to buy Ghana gold mine — (Reuters) -China’s Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining on Monday cancelled an agreement to buy the Bibiani gold mine in Ghana, saying it had not received timely information from the seller about the termination of the mining lease.
- China’s market regulator investigates Alibaba-Minmetals JV — BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s market regulator is investigating a joint venture between e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and Minmetals Development, Minmetals said on Monday, amid a broad antitrust clampdown on internet firms.
- China to bring solar and wind power generation to 11% of total electricity use in 2021 — BEIJING (Reuters) -China has flagged it will seek to raise its power generation from solar and wind plants to around 11% of the country’s total power consumption in 2021, from 9.7% in 2020, said the National Energy Administration (NEA) in a draft rule on Monday.
Other Publications
- U.S. State Department: U.S.-China Joint Statement Addressing the Climate Crisis — U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and China Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua met in Shanghai on April 15 and 16, 2021, to discuss aspects of the climate crisis. At the conclusion of the discussion, the two Special Envoys released the following joint statement.
- Human Rights Watch: “Break Their Lineage, Break Their Roots” — China’s Crimes against Humanity Targeting Uyghurs and Other Turkic Muslims.
- The Diplomat: The Domestic Politics of Suga’s China Stance — At the Biden-Suga summit, strong language on China, including a notable mention of Taiwan, was tempered by Suga’s precarious situation at home.
- Nikkei Asian Review: China’s Meituan seeks firepower boost with $10bn of new capital — Delivery platform selling stock and convertible bonds for group grocery battle.
- Nikkei Asian Review: Bulls and bears tussle as China’s stock markets stumble — Long-term potential clouded by tighter liquidity and curbs on tech sector.
- Nikkei Asian Review: Huawei unveils HarmonyOS-based EV developed with BAIC — Premium cars to be mass-produced later this year, taking aim at Tesla.
