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
- ‘Industrial Policy’ Is Back: The West Dusts Off Old Idea to Counter China — An approach long criticized as inefficient, is being adopted by the U.S. to fund sectors such as semiconductors.
- China Tech Selloff Resumes, Adding to Month of Huge Losses — Investors are reeling from drastic moves against the after-school tutoring sector, one in a series of government salvos.
- China’s Tech Crackdown Could Backfire Badly — When a government comes to believe it can snap its fingers and create—or destroy—whole industries at will, things can easily go awry.
- Delta Variant Tests China’s Covid-19 Strategy — Infections are spreading quickly after cluster was detected in Nanjing on July 20.
- Hong Kong Protester, First to Be Sentenced Under China’s National Security Law, Gets Nine Years — The driver of a motorcycle that collided with police was the first to be convicted and sentenced by judges selected to enforce the new rules.
- Top EV Battery Maker Adds Sodium to Its Recipe Book — China’s CATL, a Tesla supplier, says cheaper element could lower vehicle cost.
The Financial Times
- China reaffirms plans to beef up oversight of foreign listings — Communist party politburo determined to ‘improve’ regulatory framework.
- Chinese hot pot stocks: market sell-off lifts lid on opportunities — China’s catering industry has historically carried low regulatory risk — and this is now a big draw.
- China tech stocks set for worst month since global financial crisis — Investors shun New York-listed internet groups and shift to mainland equity markets.
- US slams China over treatment of foreign journalists — Biden administration decries ‘intimidation’ of reporters after harassment covering Henan floods.
- China’s $100bn education sector fights to survive after crackdown — Industry groups such as Gaotu Techedu are desperately restructuring business models after regulatory assault.
- What is China’s ‘battle for data’ and who will be targeted next? — Experts warn of ‘extreme uncertainty’ with regulatory crackdown set to go far beyond tech sector.
- China flood response reveals Beijing’s need to prepare for extreme weather — Deaths in Henan expose shortcomings of emergency response system for sudden events.
- More questions than answers in a Hong Kong courtroom — The mystery of a mob attack on commuters and pro-democracy protesters is still under scrutiny two years later.
The New York Times
- China Targets Costly Tutoring Classes. Parents Want to Save Them. — Many families and experts say Beijing’s education overhaul will help the rich and make the system even more competitive for those who can barely afford it.
- Hong Kong Protester Is Sentenced to 9 Years in First Security Law Case — Tong Ying-kit, 24, who drove a motorcycle into police officers while carrying a protest flag, was convicted of terrorism and inciting secession.
- An outbreak of the Delta variant tests China’s zero-tolerance approach to the virus. — In the outbreak, centered in the eastern city of Nanjing, about 200 cases have been reported as of Friday.
Caixin
- Huawei Unveils New Smartphones Without 5G, Showing That U.S. Sanctions Still Bite — The Chinese tech giant delayed its P50 models by several months as it sweated over its dwindling stockpiles of chips.
- Incompetence Caused Archegos Bust That Wiped Billions From Chinese Edtech Firms, Credit Suisse Probe Reveals — A report commissioned by the Swiss bank found no illegality behind its $5.5 billion loss on Bill Hwang’s private wealth manager, just really poor management.
- Didi Denies Report That It Plans to Go Private — Shares bounce on NYSE after Wall Street Journal reports that reversing last month’s IPO may be one way of addressing China regulatory woes.
South China Morning Post
- China shuts nuclear reactor at Taishan plant over ‘minor fuel damage’ — A reactor at a nuclear plant in southern China was shut down for “maintenance” due to minor fuel damage, the operator said on Friday, after an increase in radioactivity levels previously sparked fears of a leak.
- ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming retreats from corporate roles as firm’s IPO plan remains in limbo — ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has resigned as legal representative of at least three affiliated companies, months after announcing he would step down as chief executive of the country’s biggest tech unicorn at the end of this year.
- Hong Kong’s US$700 billion July market sell-off evokes memories of China’s 2015 stocks rout — Cathie Wood’s US$25.5 billion flagship investment fund began 2021 as one of the most enthusiastic and biggest portfolio investors of Chinese technology companies listed in Hong Kong and the United States.
- BMW chases China car smugglers across Canada, their trail strewn with fake documents, bogus bank accounts — A series of court petitions reveal BMW’s battle against buyers whose cars are immediately sent to Vancouver for export, their leases and loans unpaid.
Bloomberg
- Hong Kong Arrests Man Over Booing China Anthem at Olympics Event — Hong Kong police have arrested a man on suspicion of insulting the Chinese national anthem at a shopping mall in the city during the broadcast of an Olympic gold medal ceremony for a local fencer.
- U.S. Accuses China of Provoking Harassment of Foreign Reporters — The U.S. expressed concern over harassment and intimidation of foreign correspondents in China, marking an escalation of the two nations’ dispute over the work of journalists.
- Hang Seng’s Worst-Performing Stock Is a Chinese Hotpot Chain — While Chinese technology giants have been stealing the headlines this week when it comes to stocks in Hong Kong, the biggest loser in the market is a popular hotpot chain.
Reuters
- U.S. regulator freezes Chinese company IPOs over risk disclosures – sources — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stopped processing registrations of U.S. initial public offerings (IPOs) and other sales of securities by Chinese companies while it crafts new guidance for disclosing to investors the risk of a new regulatory crackdown by Beijing, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Allianz gets approval for first wholly foreign owned insurance asset management firm in China — Allianz said on Friday that its local Chinese asset management unit had received regulatory approval and would be the first wholly foreign-owned insurance asset management company in the country.
- Samoa’s new leader confirms scrapping of China-funded port — The new prime minister of Samoa has confirmed she will cancel a China-backed port project, but hasn’t closed the door to China as she navigates a path for the Pacific nation against a backdrop of intensifying regional competition between Beijing and Washington.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Amid extreme weather, China avoids mention of climate change — A more informed debate might help to save the world.
- The Economist: China is rapidly building new nuclear-missile silos — Their purpose is unclear, but the Americans are worried.
- The Economist: Could sympathy for debtors help boost consumption in China? — Shenzhen becomes the first Chinese city to offer personal bankruptcy protection.
- The Economist: Hong Kong’s draconian new security law claims its first scalp — A court’s ruling has criminalised the most popular slogan of anti-government protesters in 2019.
- Associated Press: Lawyers say China using Interpol to seek dissident’s return — Attorneys are asking the Biden administration to release from immigration custody a Chinese democracy advocate who could be deported to his homeland to face what they say are false charges.
- The Washington Post: China built the world’s largest facial recognition system. Now, it’s getting camera-shy — China’s top court announced this week that consumers’ privacy must be protected from unwarranted face tracking.
