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
- Hotel Collapse in Eastern China Kills at Least Eight — Hotel building collapsed Monday afternoon, Suzhou government says.
- China’s Export Engine Accelerates, Defying Expectations — Outbound shipments increased 32.2% in June from a year earlier in dollar terms, beating economist forecasts.
- China Clears Tencent-Sogou Deal — Regulator’s approval comes days after it blocked another deal in which Tencent was involved.
- China’s Monetary Policy Slips a Gear Into Neutral — Unexpected shift in monetary policy is raising questions on strength of China’s rebound.
- Commerce Department to Tap Former Pentagon Official for Export-Control Post — Alan Estevez to oversee a bureau at the forefront of dealing with heightened U.S.-China tensions over advanced technology.
- WHO Panel Issues Gene-Editing Standards Aimed at Averting DNA Dystopia — New framework aims to prevent unfair and potentially dangerous applications of experimental techniques, including altering DNA to enhance athletic ability.
- Huawei Settles Two Patent Lawsuits It Filed Against Verizon — Agreement reached amid broader geopolitical fight involving the U.S. and the Chinese company.
The Financial Times
- Biden to warn US companies of risks of operating in Hong Kong — President plans more sanctions in retaliation to Beijing’s policy in the territory and Xinjiang.
- Rivals rush to take advantage of security crackdown on China’s Didi — Competing ride-hailing groups boost attempts to lure users during probe into market leader.
- Hong Kong ‘doxing’ crackdown stirs further fears for business — Critics say data privacy law shake-up will cut access to information and hamper social media groups.
The New York Times
- China reports strong export numbers despite shipping delays. — Officials said the country’s exports surged 32.2 percent in June compared with the same month last year, surprising many economists.
- China Called Finance Apps the Best Thing Since the Compass. No Longer. — Beijing’s tech crackdown could imperil the innovation that brought modern finance to underserved people — but also led to concerns about reckless lending and borrowing.
Caixin
- Polysilicon-Maker Under U.S. Sanctions to List in Shanghai — Xinjiang Daqo New Energy aims to raise almost $1 billion.
- Suning.com Founder Zhang Jindong Resigns as Chairman — Billionaire lost control over retailing giant following $1.35 billion state-led bailout as aggressive expansion resulted in liquidity crisis.
- Chinese Solar Giants Seek Sunnier Valuations With Home Listings — CSI and Jinko Solar are aiming to raise a combined $1.5 billion through IPOs on China’s STAR Market to complement their U.S. listings.
- Chatbot Xiaoice Completes Hillhouse-Led Funding Round — Xiaoice, a Chinese-language anthropomorphic chatbot business spun off from Microsoft, has closed a series A funding round that gave it unicorn status.
South China Morning Post
- Greater Bay Area: Alibaba backs HK$2 billion fund for start-ups in and around Hong Kong — Alibaba Group Holding’s Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund (AEF) will be an anchor investor in a HK$2 billion (US$257 million) fund to support start-ups in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) of Hong Kong, Macau as well as parts of Guangdong province in a vote of confidence for Hong Kong’s role in promoting entrepreneurship in the region.
- China and Japan pledge mutual support as Olympic hosts — China has pledged to support Japan as host of the summer Olympics and said it would send a big team to the Games, but called for measures to ensure participants’ safety.
- Huawei and Verizon settle patent lawsuits mid-trial without disclosing terms — Huawei Technologies Co and Verizon Communications Inc agreed in the midst of a federal jury trial in Texas to end two patent-infringement lawsuits over royalties on telecommunications technology.
- Martial arts star Jackie Chan wants to join the Chinese Communist Party, but China doesn’t want him — Many have said on social media that he has cheated on his wife and that his son has used drugs, both of which would disqualify him from membership.
Bloomberg
- Lalamove Said to Eye Shifting IPO From U.S. Amid China Curbs — Chinese on-demand logistics and delivery firm Lalamove is considering shifting its planned $1 billion U.S. initial public offering to Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter said, as regulators in its home country crack down on the wave of firms chasing overseas listings.
- Chinese Tech Stocks Jump After Tencent Gets Deal Approval — Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech stocks rose the most in nearly three weeks on Tuesday as official approval for a Tencent Holdings Ltd. acquisition eased investor concerns about Beijing’s recent regulatory crackdown.
- Alibaba, State Firms Eyeing Unisplendour Stake, Reuters Says — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and several Chinese state-backed firms are weighing bids for a stake in cloud computing firm Unisplendour Corp. that could fetch as much as $7.7 billion, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
- Hong Kong’s Exodus Is Real, Diminishing Its Appeal as a Financial and Global Hub — The migration is accelerating and will likely be permanent. Officials and businesses are wrong to downplay the impact on a hub fast losing financial and global appeal.
Reuters
- China hotel collapse kills eight; rescuers search for nine missing — Part of a hotel collapsed in the Chinese city of Suzhou killing eight people and rescue workers were searching on Tuesday for nine people missing in the ruins, state media reported.
- China issues notice on cyber security loophole management — China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Tuesday issued a notice on cyber security loophole management.
- China launches first commercial onshore small reactor project — China has started construction of the first commercial onshore nuclear project using its homegrown “Linglong One” small modular reactor (SMR) design, the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said on Tuesday, about four years later than planned.
Other Publications
- Associated Press: Sinovac-dosed Thai health workers to get AstraZeneca booster — The National Committee on Communicable Diseases agreed Monday to give booster doses of AstraZeneca to front-line medical personnel who earlier received two doses of Sinovac vaccine.
- Nikkei Asia: Chinese companies corralling land around world — Acquisition of nearly 6.5m hectares over 10 years sets off alarms
- Nikkei Asia: China drugmakers to supply more than half a billion vaccines to COVAX — Provider of vaccines to poorer countries struggles with Indian supply disruptions
- Quartz: China’s Anta is about to become more valuable than Adidas — Anta’s shares have also risen sharply in recent months after the backlash against foreign companies in China over their comments on sourcing from Xinjiang.