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
- Kamala Harris Tries to Improve Southeast Asia Ties as China Prods From Sidelines — The vice president made pointed statements against Beijing; Chinese officials responding in kind.
- Chinese Property Giant Warns of Losses After Cutting Apartment Prices — Shares of Evergrande, which were hovering near multiyear lows, tumbled more than 7% after profit warning.
- Didi Delays U.K., Europe Expansion Plans After Officials Raise Data Concerns — Chinese ride-hailing giant’s postponement is a sign of the uphill battle that Chinese tech companies face in Western markets.
- TikTok Rival’s Shares Tumble After CEO Says More Regulation Will Hurt Revenue — Beijing-based Kuaishou reported loss equivalent to $1.1 billion for second quarter.
- World’s Largest Chip Maker to Raise Prices, Threatening Costlier Electronics — TSMC to increase prices of most advanced chips by roughly 10%; less advanced chips will cost about 20% more.
The Financial Times
- China’s biggest lithium group seals deal for UK-listed Bacanora — Takeover is latest acquisition for Ganfeng Lithium as demand increases for electric-car battery material.
- UK minister backs Chinese investment only ‘to our advantage’ — Gerry Grimstone defends private equity takeovers and says foreign buyers drive productivity.
- China tech rally snaps as TikTok rival Kuaishou falls 12% — Short-video app’s disappointing quarterly results drag down battered sector.
The New York Times
- Spies for Hire: China’s New Breed of Hackers Blends Espionage and Entrepreneurship — The state security ministry is recruiting from a vast pool of private-sector hackers who often have their own agendas and sometimes use their access for commercial cybercrime, experts say.
- ‘Window Is Rapidly Closing’ to Gather Key Evidence on Virus Origins, Scientists Say — Further delays could make it impossible to recover crucial evidence about the beginning of the pandemic, say experts studying the origins of the coronavirus for the World Health Organization.
Caixin
- Private Equity Giant Hillhouse Launches New Fund Business to Invest in Stock Market — Shanghai Lingren Private Fund Management Partnership can manage up to 500 million yuan in assets including listed companies’ stocks and bonds.
- In Depth: Plight of China’s Gig Workers Poses Policymaking Dilemma — The government is walking a fine line between improving working conditions while minimizing the impact of added costs on an industry that employs millions.
- Alibaba Replaces Executive Who Botched Sexual Assault Scandal Amid Broader Reshuffle — Yu Yongfu, president of lifestyle services, will take over as CEO of local services and president of neighborhood retail.
South China Morning Post
- China’s privacy law borrows a page from Europe’s GDPR but it goes further as Beijing shores up data security — China’s new personal data law is one of the strictest in the world, drawing inspiration from Europe’s GDPR but going further.
- Chinese envoy speaks to Meng Wanzhou by phone, sends message for Canada to rectify ‘serious mistake’ — China’s ambassador to Canada has urged the country to rectify its “serious mistake” in the handling of the US extradition request for Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou during a phone conversation with Meng on Wednesday.
- China to address ‘plague’ of soaring shipping rates, insufficient capacity weighing on SMEs — With record high shipping rates and insufficient transport capacity set to “plague” companies in China into next year, Beijing is set to study targeted measures to help exporters.
- Hong Kong newspaper Sing Tao forced to register US arm as a foreign agent — It is the first media outlet from the city forced to make the registration after the Department of Justice ruled its operations constituted political activity.
Bloomberg
- One of Hong Kong’s Last Independent Politicians Loses Position — One of the last remaining independent members of Hong Kong’s legislature is losing his seat after a candidate vetting committee said he failed to uphold the former British colony’s mini-constitution, according to the city’s No. 2 official.
- Chinese Authorities Investigating Tax Evasion Among High Earners — Chinese tax authorities are investigating individuals who concealed their high incomes and failed to pay taxes.
- A 492% China Premium Shows Why Solar Firms Are Heading Home — When a Chinese solar manufacturer that had been traded in New York for a decade held an initial public offering last month on Shanghai’s Star Board, it priced the shares at about a 9.6% premium to their U.S. counterparts.
Reuters
- PetroChina aims for even split for oil, gas, green energies by 2035 — PetroChina aims to have oil, gas and green energies to each account for a third of its portfolio by 2035, it said on Thursday, as the Chinese oil major shifts toward a lower-carbon future.
- China’s iQiyi halts ‘idol competition’ programs amid criticism — Chinese video streaming platform iQiyi said on Thursday it would stop showing all “idol competition” programs, calling them unhealthy amid a regulatory crackdown that has seen Beijing criticise firms for encouraging celebrity worship.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: China’s covid lockdown led to an earlier, greener spring, a new study suggests — ‘I take comfort from a natural experiment like this that we can change the world,’ one author said.
- Nikkei Asia: Analysis: Xi’s leftward shift to a socialist China is for real — Purge of ally in power base Zhejiang Province sends shudders across country.
- Foreign Policy: How Biden Can Save His China Strategy After Afghanistan — Washington needs to give a visible sign of Indo-Pacific commitment.
- Protocol: WeChat and UnionPay will recognize each other’s QR codes — Starting this week, users have been able to scan a UnionPay QR code using the WeChat app and vice versa, marking a major step in the continuing consolidation of China’s mobile payment industry.
