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
- The Wuhan Lab Leak Question: A Disused Chinese Mine Takes Center Stage — It isn’t the predominant hypothesis for Covid’s origins, yet prominent scientists are calling for a deeper probe and clearer answers from Beijing.
- China’s Hostage Foreign Policy — By The Editorial Board. To punish Canberra, Beijing puts an Australian writer on trial.
- China’s Next-Generation Tech Firms Hit Hard by Market’s Pullback — Stock in former darlings such as Meituan, Pinduoduo and Kuaishou has dropped by more than one-third from highs reached earlier this year.
- Chinese Surveillance-Gear Maker Hikvision Has Ties to Country’s Military, Report Says — Company is blacklisted by the Pentagon but disputes U.S. claims of links to China’s military and research company’s findings.
- Goldman Targets China Wealth Management With ICBC Tie-Up — The New York bank’s asset-management arm will own 51% of the venture.
- Chinese Shoppers, Stuck in China, Revive Local Malls — With travel restrictions keeping people at home, many are spending at local shops with cash they might otherwise have dropped abroad.
- Don’t Bet Against Beijing’s Efforts to Smother Bitcoin — China has several reasons to further crack down on cryptocurrencies.
The Financial Times
- Goldman wins approval for wealth management deal in China — Beijing backs venture with ICBC as foreign asset managers rush to capitalise on China’s vast pool of savings.
- China’s renminbi hits three-year high against dollar — Strength of currency poses challenge as Beijing tries to maintain economic growth momentum.
- Shares in TikTok rival Kuaishou tumble as user spending falls — More than $14bn knocked off Chinese company’s market capitalisation.
- China needs allies, not isolation, to solve its chip shortage — Beijing wants to ‘de-Americanise’ its supply chains — that is why it welcomes competitors.
- Global investors get power to chase Chinese debtors into mainland — Courts in China to recognise Hong Kong insolvency proceedings under new deal.
Caixin
- ‘Fast and Furious’ Turbocharges China’s Box Office — The tenth edition in the car-chase and family-focused series saw weekly takings top 1 billion yuan.
- Energy Insider: Huayou Cobalt Invests in $2 Billion Indonesian Nickel Plant; Tianqi Lithium’s Stalled Project in Australia Resumes — China’s national carbon market moves closer to reality; Jinko Power to sell solar stations for $72.7 million; Huayou Cobalt in $2.08 billion Indonesia venture.
- Huawei Vows It Won’t Make Cars or Invest in Automakers — Chinese tech giant’s dismissal of speculation drives down shares of BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology, Chongqing Sokon Industry and Chongqing Changan Automobile.
- Pony.ai Becomes Eighth Firm Allowed to Test Driverless Cars in California — Pony.ai, an autonomous vehicle startup that splits its operations between China and the U.S., has received approval to test its driverless cars in three Californian cities, winning another vote of confidence for technology that it is still exploring how to make money off of.
South China Morning Post
- Coronavirus: Tsai’s approval rating slips as Taiwan reports around 500 cases for fourth day — Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has seen her approval rating drop below 50 per cent for the first time in a year as the island grapples with a worsening Covid-19 outbreak.
- Huawei to roll out self-developed Harmony OS for smartphones next month, ending its reliance on Google’s Android — Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co will deploy its HarmonyOS operating system on smartphones early next month in the latest move to shield its core smartphone business from US trade sanctions.
Bloomberg
- Goldman Forms Wealth Venture With China’s Largest Bank — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. received approval from Chinese regulators to set up a wealth management joint venture in the world’s second-largest economy to go after an asset pool it estimated will surpass $70 trillion by the end of this decade.
- Fast & Furious Star Apologizes for Calling Taiwan a Country — U.S. actor and former World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. champion John Cena apologized for describing Taiwan as a country in a promotional video for his latest movie, saying sorry in Mandarin after the comments triggered a backlash in China.
- Obese Pigs in China Are Fueling Relentless Slump in Pork Prices — Obese pigs in China are being blamed for worsening a sudden rout in the country’s pork prices.
- China’s Largest Listed Property Manager Raises $2 Billion — Country Garden Services Holdings Co. raised $2 billion, paving the way for more acquisitions as China’s largest listed property services manager seeks to reach an ambitious revenue goal.
- South Korea to Use AI, Drones to Track Illegal China Trawlers — Chinese fishing is increasing security risks near South Korea’s tense nautical border, said a top cabinet member in Seoul, pledging to deploy advanced technology to crack down on illegal trawling.
Reuters
- Tesla sets up China site to store data locally — U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc said on Tuesday it had established a site in China to store car data locally, as automakers come under growing scrutiny over how they handle information collected by vehicle cameras and sensors.
- Exclusive-China launches antitrust probe into Tencent-backed property broker KE -sources — China’s market regulator has begun an investigation into suspected anti-competitive practices by KE Holdings, the country’s biggest housing broker whose top backer is Tencent Holdings, two people who know of the matter said.
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asian Review: China learns to stop worrying and embrace GMO crops — State issues permits to grow genetically modified corn to ensure food security.
- Nikkei Asian Review: Uniqlo says ‘no direct deal’ with entity in China’s Xinjiang area — Clothing retailer challenges import ban by US customs over human rights issue.
- POLITICO: China bill amendment targets seafood slavery [Weekly Trade Newsletter] — U.S. seafood imports from China and more than two dozen other countries would face increased scrutiny under an amendment on track to be approved this week as part of a larger package to increase U.S. competitiveness against the world’s second-largest economy.
- Foreign Affairs: Iran Needs the Nuclear Deal to Keep Russia and China at Bay — Geopolitical Gains Will Last Longer Than Military Concessions.
