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
- Steve Wynn May Face Justice Department Action for Role in China’s Push to Expel Businessman — Prosecutors are preparing to sue the casino mogul, citing his 2017 efforts to get the U.S. to expel Guo Wengui, people familiar with the matter say.
- U.S., China Trade Officials Hold First Virtual Meeting — Call between U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He marks first high-level talks since March.
- Biden Calls for Intelligence Report on Origins of Covid-19 — Move comes as scrutiny persists over a possible laboratory leak in Wuhan, China.
- China Bars Diplomats from Australian Writer Yang Hengjun’s Espionage Trial — Australian officials are concerned about transparency in case of blogger and spy novelist who has been detained for more than two years.
- A Fleeting Opportunity in Chinese Stocks — Foreign investors are piling into Chinese shares, but those betting on a further jump in the yuan might be disappointed.
- The Virus Lab Theory’s New Credibility — By The Editorial Board. The evidence catches up to Fauci and other Wuhan Covid deniers.
The Financial Times
- Chinese business under pressure from rising commodity prices — Authorities warn of ‘uneven’ recovery as industrial growth continues but consumer confidence lags behind.
- Australia’s ambassador to China barred from citizen’s spy trial — Pro-democracy writer Yang Hengjun has been held for two years amid diplomatic spat.
- Beijing faces scrutiny over clout at Latin American development bank — Lender’s chief calls on US to boost financial support as Chinese companies hoover up contracts.
- Fall in Pinduoduo shares adds to $100bn drop since February — First-quarter revenues beat expectations but Chinese ecommerce company also reports $454m loss.
- China deploys hulking sand dredgers to crank up pressure on Taiwan — Beijing accused of ‘psychological warfare’ as vessels threaten marine environment in Matsu Islands.
The New York Times
- Hong Kong Police Block Tiananmen Events, Citing the Pandemic — The city has recorded just 24 infections over the past two weeks. It is the second straight year that the authorities have blocked the memorial observances.
- Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Activists Face Jail and Cynicism — Hundreds of protesters, many students or college-educated, face potentially stiff sentences after Beijing’s crackdown. Those behind bars already battle isolation and disillusionment.
- U.S.-China Phase 1 Trade Deal Could Set Rules for Commerce — Last year’s deal could set the rules for global commerce for years to come, leaving the door open to lavish Chinese subsidies and unilateral American tariffs.
Caixin
- Yuan’s Strength Seen Continuing as Dollar Weakens — Citic Securities sees further upside for the Chinese currency, forecasting another 3% jump.
- State-Owned Capital Manager to Set Up Funds for SOE Reform — China Reform and its partners will create a series of funds containing a total $11 billion.
- China Oceanwide Holdings Defaults on $280 Million of Offshore Bonds — Troubled conglomerate of property tycoon Lu Zhiqiang wrestles with paying off $3.27 billion of debt coming due this year.
South China Morning Post
- US-China ties: competition, not engagement from now on, Kurt Campbell says — A senior US official on Asia said Washington is seeking to allay fears of the United States’ decline, as it rallies allies to defend the regional order against greater competition from a more aggressive China.
- China’s digital economy: network of data centre hubs to address infrastructure imbalance between east and west — China will launch a new national data centre strategy to further expand the country’s digital economy, while meeting Beijing’s ambitious green targets, according to a report by state media China Central Television (CCTV) on Wednesday.
Bloomberg
- World Faces Longer Supply Shortage as China’s Factories Are Squeezed — Surging commodity prices curbing manufacturers’ profits. Uncertainty is restraining companies from expanding capacity.
- China’s Sinopharm Publishes Awaited Covid Vaccine Study Details — Vaccines from China’s Sinopharm successfully contained Covid-19, according to a study published in a prestigious U.S. medical journal.
- From Iron Ore to Corn, Commodities Cool With China in Focus — Wild swings in commodities ranging from farm products to industrial metals are here to stay as traders brace for more market volatility.
- Republicans Threatening to Delay Action on Senate’s China Bill — Senate Republicans are threatening to hold up a vote on a sweeping bill to bolster U.S. economic competitiveness and confront China’s rise unless Majority Leader Chuck Schumer allows them to offer more changes.
- China Tech Giants Spend Billions to Fuel Growth After Crackdown — China’s largest internet corporations are digging deep into their pockets to open up new avenues of growth as Beijing curtails their most lucrative businesses.
Reuters
- Taiwan says request to drop word ‘country’ preceded BioNTech vaccine deal collapse — TAIPEI (Reuters) -Germany’s BioNTech asked Taiwan to remove the word “country” from their planned joint announcement on a COVID-19 vaccine sale to the island, its health minister said, as he outlined the collapse of the deal which Taipei blames on China.
- China hands Alibaba-backed Nice Tuan new 1.5 million yuan fine — The Chinese market regulator has asked Alibaba-backed Nice Tuan to suspend its operations in Jiangsu province for three days and fined it 1.5 million yuan ($235,302) for failing to take action over product dumping practices and pricing fraud.
- U.S. senators want review of Chinese donations to U.S. universities — U.S. senators offered legislation on Wednesday that would require national security reviews of major Chinese gifts and contracts to U.S. universities. They hope limiting such reviews to China alone would ease concerns in academia that reviews of foreign funding could threaten research.
Other Publications
- Economist: Assessing the theory that covid-19 leaked from a Chinese lab — The evidence so far is circumstantial.
- Axios: Schumer’s litmus test — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is forcing Republicans into a corner as he tries to pass his China-focused global competition bill.
- Defense News: Expand Pentagon’s Chinese investment blacklist, says new report ― Though Washington has restricted trade against more than 40 companies identified by the Pentagon as linked to the Chinese military and operating in the United States, they’re just the “tip of the iceberg,” according to a report the Foundation for Defense of Democracies published Thursday.
- Nikkei Asian Review: Carlyle CEO sees China opportunities from decoupling as it raises $130bn — Lee highlights Chinese economy’s consumer pivot amid US friction.
