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.
Paid subscribers automatically have this list emailed directly to their inboxes every day by 10 a.m. EST. Subscribe here.
The Wall Street Journal
- Ant’s Halted IPO Takes the Shine off China’s STAR Market — Route to a listing on Shanghai’s once-hot answer to Nasdaq has become harder, prompting some startups to favor offshore IPOs.
- U.S. Allies Diverge Over Labeling China’s Treatment of Uyghurs as Genocide — American officials have pushed for collective action to counter Beijing.
- Biden’s China Policy Blends Obama’s and Trump’s, Top Aide Says — National Security Council’s Kurt Campbell says the Biden administration is looking to cooperate and compete with China.
- The U.S.-China Rivalry [Video] — The Biden Administration’s biggest foreign policy challenge remains America’s relationship with emerging rival China. How will the White House adapt the increasingly strained relationship when it comes to trade, technology and security issues?
- China Faces Tougher Rules on Its European Deals Spree — EU seeks to address concerns that Chinese businesses are competing unfairly around the world.
- Biden Wants Higher Taxes Than China’s — By Mark A. Bloomfield and Oscar S. Pollock. How can a communist country treat capital gains more favorably than the U.S. does?
The Financial Times
- Western companies in China succumb to Stockholm syndrome — Executives fearful of antagonising Beijing have adopted a hostage mindset.
- Washington shies away from declaration to defend Taiwan — White House official says shift to ‘strategic clarity’ would carry ‘downsides’ in face of China’s belligerence.
- US is misleading in its assessment of China’s Taiwan threat — Defence officials warn that Beijing has sped up its military modernisation goals when it has not.
- Blinken rejects claims of ‘cold war’ between US and China — Top diplomat says countries should not have to pick sides as Biden takes tough stance on Beijing.
The New York Times
- Biden’s Taiwan Policy Is Truly, Deeply Reckless — If the administration continues on this path, it will increase the odds of a catastrophic war.
- China Is Set to Rule Electric Car Production — Fueled with money from Wall Street and local officials, automakers plan to build eight million electric cars a year there, more than Europe and North America combined.
- Grim Image of India Prompts Debate Over China’s Swaggering Propaganda — An official social media post contrasting Beijing’s successes with its neighbor’s coronavirus woes drew a backlash from some, who called it callous.
Caixin
- Sinopec to Plow Cash Into Natural Gas as Climate Targets Loom — The Chinese state energy giant plans to double its LNG trading volume by 2025.
- Vivo and Oppo Claim Top Two Spots in China Smartphone Market as Huawei Falls — Vivo and Oppo became China’s largest and second-largest smartphone brands in this year’s first quarter, as embattled former leader Huawei has begun feeling the weight of U.S. sanctions that block its access to chips made with American technology.
- U.S. Urges TSMC to Prioritize Supplies to American Carmakers Grappling with Global Chip Shortage — The U.S. commerce secretary is pressuring TSMC and other Taiwanese chip foundries to play a bigger role in helping American carmakers deal with a global shortage of automotive semiconductors that has led to layoffs for many workers in the American auto industry.
South China Morning Post
- China’s opening of Hong Kong bond market for mainlanders signals Beijing hastening efforts to open capital account — Beijing is expected to loosen capital controls further to give mainland investors a new outbound channel to buy bonds in Hong Kong, providing investment alternatives for Chinese households and companies while boosting liquidity in the city and cementing its status as a global financial hub, analysts said.
- Why China’s intellectual property protection matters to Beijing and Washington — This is the third in a series of reports on Chinese intellectual property as Beijing seeks to make IP protection a central part of its new development strategy.
- Hong Kong exchange backs down on contentious plan to double profit qualification for IPOs after outcry — Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has decided to water down its proposal to drastically raise the profit qualification for a Main Board listing in the world’s third-largest stock market, yielding to strong opposition to the plan, according to a source close to the exchange.
Bloomberg
- European Union Freezes China Investment Deal Over Sanctions Spat — The European Union signaled it won’t ratify an investment agreement with China as long as its officials are sanctioned in a clash with Beijing over alleged human rights abuses, as the bloc set out strategies to counter state-funded Chinese takeovers.
- Australia-China Spat Opens Door for Grain Rival Argentina — Farmers in Argentina are pouncing on a trade feud between grain rival Australia and voracious crop buyer China.
- Biden Gets U.S. Into Vaccine Diplomacy Race as Stockpiles Rise — Through the early months of global vaccinations against Covid-19, the U.S. hoarded shots while China, Russia and others distributed doses to desperate nations throughout the world.
- Philippines Rejects China Fishing Ban, Wards Off Chinese Vessels — The Philippines said China’s unilateral fishing ban in the South China Sea doesn’t apply to areas within the Southeast Asian nation, in yet another sign of tension between the two countries.
- Biden Commerce Chief Calls for Surge in U.S. Chip Production — Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo called for a major increase in U.S. production capacity for computer chips whose current shortages are causing global manufacturing bottlenecks, saying the push could create jobs and wean the nation off over-dependence on China and Taiwan.
- China Tensions Spill Over as Europe Moves Toward Biden’s Side — The biggest shift could come later this year if Germany’s Greens take on a role in government after the September election.
Reuters
- New Zealand parliament says Uyghur rights abuses taking place in China — WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand’s parliament unanimously declared on Wednesday that severe human rights abuses were taking place against Uyghur people in China’s Xinjiang region, spurring the Chinese embassy to decry the move as interference in internal affairs.
- Defying Chinese surveillance, young Uyghurs abroad speak up online — LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Unwinding for the evening in her Washington, D.C. flat, Uyghur activist Jewher Ilham often has two thoughts as she turns on her laptop: What should I watch tonight? And will I be interrupted by Chinese hackers again?
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asian Review: US-China tech war: Beijing’s secret chipmaking champions — How Washington’s sanctions boosted China’s semiconductor sector.
- Economist: What does China’s latest space launch mean for international scientific research? [Podcast] — Our podcast on the science and technology making the news.
- Foreign Policy: Australia Draws A Line on China [Report] — Canberra’s had enough of trade embargoes and Chinese grievances—and is ready to draw a line.
- Defense News: Honeywell gets hit with $13M fine for defense export violations ― The U.S. State Department announced it reached a $13 million settlement with American defense firm Honeywell over allegations it exported technical drawings of parts for the F-35 fighters and other weapons platforms to China and other foreign countries.
- AP News: EU plans tightening foreign investment with eye on China — The European Union is planning to tighten the foreign investment rules in the bloc to make sure that local producers and industries are no longer undercut by non-EU investors that have faced slacker rules up to now.
