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
- Chinese Tech Stock Selloff Deepens — Investors’ concerns about Beijing’s crackdowns put tech shares under further pressure.
- China’s Tech Regulator Orders Companies to Fix Anticompetitive, Security Issues — Country continues crackdown on large technology companies with new six-month rectification program.
- Chinese Property Titan Teeters as Investor Confidence Fades — China Evergrande Group’s debt-fueled growth powered its ascent, before problems started to mount.
- Beijing Gives Tech Investors a Brutal New Tutorial — The pain for Chinese internet technology firms will be long-lasting—and the crackdown isn’t over yet.
- Hong Kong Man Found Guilty in First Verdict Under National Security Law — A 24-year-old who collided with three police officers while riding a motorcycle last year was convicted of inciting secession and terrorism.
The Financial Times
- Xi cracks down on education sector to assert Communist party’s supremacy — A fight for ideological control and concerns about social pressures underpin effort, say analysts.
- US and China face bumpy ride as talk of decoupling intensifies — Geopolitical tensions are juxtaposed with record levels of Chinese exports to US.
- Chinese tech stocks sink as regulation fears hit Tencent — Internet group falls most in decade as investors sell on concerns of widening regulatory crackdown.
- Tiger Global: the technology investor ruffling Silicon Valley feathers — The firm’s swift decisions, high valuations and backing of rival start-ups sets it apart from typical venture capitalists.
- China says US relations at a ‘deadlock’ in high-level talks — Beijing’s vice foreign minister urges Washington to change ‘extremely dangerous’ policy.
The New York Times
- China’s Tencent Suspends New Registrations for WeChat — The company attributed the suspensions to a technical update of security features, but fears of new regulatory pressure sent its shares sharply down.
- ‘They Have My Sister’: As Uyghurs Speak Out, China Targets Their Families — Activists overseas who denounce China’s repression in Xinjiang have found that relatives back home were imprisoned, or worse.
- Hong Kong Protester Is Convicted in First Trial Under Tough Security Law — Tong Ying-kit, 24, who struck police officers with his motorcycle while carrying a banner, could be sentenced to life in prison.
- A 2nd New Nuclear Missile Base for China, and Many Questions About Strategy — Is China scrapping its “minimum deterrent” strategy and joining an arms race? Or is it looking to create a negotiating card, in case it is drawn into arms control negotiations?
Caixin
- China Crackdown Wrecks Demand for Loans to Finance Overseas Deals — Foreign currency-denominated borrowing by Chinese firms to finance outbound M&A is on track to fall to a seven-year low.
- Evergrande Cancels Special Dividend, Gripes About S&P Downgrade — Investor confidence in the debt-ridden Chinese developer takes a one-two punch as its stock plunges more than 13%.
- Meituan Shares Plunge 14% as New Regulations Threaten Higher Costs — China issues sweeping new guidelines for online delivery platforms, ordering them to pay social insurance and minimum wages for drivers following reports of abuses.
South China Morning Post
- China’s state media moves to reassure rattled investors after rout wiped US$574 billion off stock market — China’s state media are on a mission to talk up the battered stock market and reassure rattled investors after a rout on Monday that erased more than US$570 billion from Chinese stocks listed at home and abroad.
- China population: plunging regional births drive home ‘severity’ of demographic crisis — The number of newborn babies in China fell sharply in the first half of the year, according to select local government data, amid growing warnings the world’s most populous nation is hurtling towards a demographic crisis.
- China jobs: is Beijing’s retreat from state-owned enterprise reform holding back job growth? — This is the second in a series of stories on China’s job market, looking at its history, the role of migrant workers, inequality and the future for its graduates entering the workforce.
Bloomberg
- Chinese Tutoring Firm New Oriental Downgraded to Cusp of Junk — A bellwether for China’s listed tutoring firms suffered a credit rating downgrade, following a recent crackdown on the nation’s private education firms.
- Billionaire Lee, Called the ‘King of Oyster Sauce,’ Dies at 91 — Billionaire Lee Man Tat, nicknamed the “King of Oyster Sauce” for his role as chairman of Chinese-style condiments maker Lee Kum Kee Group, has died. He was 91.
- Australia Urges Wine Industry to Find New Markets Amid China Ban — Australia has warned that Chinese tariffs on bottled wine exports could cost the industry at least A$2.4 billion ($1.8 billion) over the five years through 2025 if there are no efforts to expand in other markets.
- China Avoids Coal Projects in Belt and Road for First Time Ever — China didn’t finance any coal projects via its Belt and Road Initiative in the first half, the first time that’s happened since the plan was launched in 2013, the International Institute of Green Finance said in a report.
Reuters
- How China Evergrande’s debt woes pose a systemic risk — The financial troubles of China’s most indebted property developer, China Evergrande Group, have raised fresh concerns about credit defaults in the country’s highly-leveraged real estate sector and wider contagion.
- Private equity firms to scramble for exit after China’s new tutoring rules — China’s move to ban private tutoring firms from making a profit from teaching core school subjects and raising capital is set to trigger a scramble among venture and private equity investors to find an exit after pouring billions of dollars into the sector.
- New Chinese ambassador Qin Gang heads to Washington, sources say — China’s yet-to-be-announced new ambassador to the United States Qin Gang headed to Washington on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter, amid worsening relations between the world’s two largest economies.
Other Publications
- The Diplomat: During Latest Exchange, China Presents US With 2 Lists of Grievances — Based on the official read-outs from both sides, it seems Wendy Sherman’s trip to China didn’t go much beyond repeating lengthy lists of concern.
- Nikkei Asia: China launches 6-month intensive campaign to set Big Tech straight — Enforcement action follows sweeping investigation into Didi
- Foreign Policy: Hong Kong Has Gotten Seriously Risky for International Business — The national security law is a direct threat to foreign firms.