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
- TikTok Parent’s Founder Is Latest China Tech Boss to Step Down Amid Government Crackdown — ByteDance’s Zhang Yiming hands the reins to co-founder, saying he wants to focus on innovation.
- To Cap Emissions by 2030, China Must Rein In Steel — As steel tends to follow housing demand, Beijing has to find a better way to shift the economy away from housing and construction.
- China’s Mars Rover Images Were Delayed for Days. Here’s Why [Video] — China’s space agency took four days to release images from Mars after its Zhurong rover landed. Here’s why the wait was longer than for NASA’s Perseverance rover, whose first photo was released the day it touched down.
- Taiwan: Three Places That Explain the U.S.-China Tussle Over the Island [Video] — Taiwan has long been a U.S.-China flashpoint, but its tech and military capabilities have come into sharper focus under the Biden administration. The WSJ travels to three places on the island to explain how both superpowers could determine Taiwan’s future.
The Financial Times
- China’s vaccine drive accelerated by free eggs, rap music and a rare outbreak — Millions flock to clinics after authorities highlight that newly infected citizens had not been inoculated.
- Shanghai and South Korea exchanges agree to cross-list ETFs — Link will allow providers to sell products directly to investors in the other market.
- Hong Kong artistic freedoms caught in Beijing’s tightening grip — Art fair highlights tensions between authorities and territory’s creative community.
- EU parliament declares China treaty ratification ‘frozen’ — Overwhelming majority among MEPs highlights hardening stance against Beijing.
- China’s tech chiefs in retreat — Cisco chip hit, ‘Dirty’ bitcoin, Big Screen gaming.
The New York Times
- China to Try Australian on Spy Charge, Adding to Diplomatic Tensions — The businessman-writer Yang Hengjun will face trial in Beijing next week, at a time when Australia and China have fallen out over detentions, accusations of political interference and the investigation of journalists.
- E.U. Lawmaker Block Investment Pact With China — The European Parliament voted to refuse to ratify an investment agreement with China until Beijing lifts sanctions on European critics.
- Hong Kong Protests, Silenced on the Streets, Surface in Artworks — Even as the authorities restrict speech in the Chinese territory, local artists are subtly rendering the 2019 pro-democracy demonstrations in paintings, installations and other media.
Caixin
- Court to Auction Shares Held by Unit of Fugitive Billionaire Guo Wengui — Nearly 1.1 billion shares in Founder Securities owned by Guo’s Beijing Zenith to be sold as part of ongoing disposal of tycoon’s assets.
- BYD Fleshes Out Plans to Sell Electric Cars in Norway — The EV-friendly Scandinavian kingdom is seen by many Chinese carmakers as the gateway to the EU market.
- With an Eye on HNA, Shanghai Asset Manager Pledges 4 Billion Yuan to Investment Pool — AJ Group plans to partner with Juneyao Airlines to amass 30 billion yuan for aviation industry acquisitions.
- CATL to Supply Batteries for Mercedes-Benz Electric Truck — China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) has intensified its partnership with Daimler Truck to supply lithium-ion battery packs to the German automaker’s Mercedes-Benz eActros LongHaul electric model, consolidating its position as one of the most influential vehicle-battery suppliers in the global auto industry.
South China Morning Post
- China pledges US$1 million in aid, Covid-19 vaccines to Palestinians — China has promised to provide US$1 million worth of emergency aid and 200,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines to besieged Palestinians and says it welcomes the ceasefire in Gaza.
- Who Zhang Yiming is and how he grew ByteDance and TikTok into a global sensation — Employees at Beijing-based ByteDance were taken by surprise on Thursday when Zhang Yiming, the soft-spoken founder of the world’s largest unicorn, announced he was giving up his role as chief executive to “be more impactful on longer-term initiatives”, less than one month after the company’s IPO plans were put on hold.
Bloomberg
- United Imaging Is Said to Weigh $1 Billion Hong Kong IPO — Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co., a medical imaging and radiotherapy equipment maker, is weighing a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise at least $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
- JD Logistics Said to Raise $3.2 Billion in Hong Kong IPO — JD Logistics Inc., the delivery arm of e-commerce giant JD.com Inc., has raised about HK$24.6 billion ($3.2 billion) after pricing its Hong Kong initial public offering near the bottom of a marketed range, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
- China Resources Said to Consider $2 Billion Supermarket IPO — China Resources Holdings Co. is weighing a Hong Kong initial public offering for its supermarket business CR Vanguard that could raise as much as $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
- China to Become Even More Dominant Oil Buyer on Tax Revamp — China is set to extend its dominance in the global oil market as planned tax adjustments spark a chain reaction, prompting processors to boost crude imports and raise refinery run rates.
- Hang Seng Index to Take First Steps in Biggest-Ever Overhaul — Details of a wide-ranging overhaul of Hong Kong’s equity benchmark is set to be announced on Friday, marking the first step to diversify the financials-heavy index.
Reuters
- China fund managers embrace robots as competition intensifies — Chinese fund managers, grappling with a rapidly-growing list of publicly-traded securities and mountains of data, are rapidly embracing machine learning and other types of artificial intelligence (AI) to boost efficiency and bolster returns.
- Between a rock and a hard place: China’s taming of hot commodities may be fleeting — BEIJING/SHANGHAI/HANOI (Reuters) -China’s recent measures aimed at cooling red hot industrial commodities prices will likely only have a temporary affect unless authorities take steps to curb consumption and potentially lower economic growth, analysts said.
Other Publications
- Axios: Scoop: Committee beef scuttles China higher-ed scrutiny — A dispute between two powerful Senate committees effectively scuttled an effort to step up federal scrutiny of foreign donations to U.S. research universities, Axios has learned.
- The Atlantic: Lessons for Joe Biden From China’s ‘State Capitalism’ — Beijing’s push to build an electric-vehicle industry from scratch helps inform how the White House should proceed.
- The Diplomat: The Case for a US-South Korea Digital Alliance in Southeast Asia — South Korea looms as an ideal partner for the U.S. in its efforts to check China’s dominance of the digital domain.
- Foreign Policy: U.S. Nears Extension on Philippine Basing Pact — But experts say Duterte isn’t done courting China.
- Economist: Chinese parents are keen on a more Confucian education — So is the government, hoping it will boost patriotism and fill a moral vacuum.
- Economist: Why wealthy Chinese families recruit poor graduates as sons-in-law — The practice draws on an ancient tradition.
- Economist: China lands a rover on Mars — The feat shows off the country’s growing capabilities in space.
- Economist: How disgruntled Chinese people talk about you-know-who — Are they quoting ancient poems or complaining about a modern emperor?
- Nikkei Asian Review: China’s capital inflows hit 7-year high on bond-buying bonanza — Sustaining the influx would help fuel Chinese lending to emerging economies.
- Nikkei Asian Review: Duterte says Philippines won’t take sides as US and China tussle — Malaysia’s Mahathir weighs in on vaccines, Taiwan and aging gracefully.
- Nikkei Asian Review: Japan’s World and Mizuno to stop use of China’s Xinjiang cotton — Companies face scrutiny over forced labor concerns in autonomous region.
