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
- BlackRock Raises $1 Billion for First Chinese Mutual Fund Run by Foreign Firm — U.S. money managers’ ambitions in China come at time of escalating U.S.-China tensions.
- Chinese Authorities Drop Case Against Former Alibaba Manager Accused of Sexual Assault — Fired executive is subjected to 15 days of detention for forcible indecency.
- Tiananmen Massacre Vigil Organizers Arrested by Hong Kong Authorities — Police accuse group that arranged mass candlelight remembrances of not cooperating with investigation into allegations it is a foreign agent.
The Financial Times
- China and Big Tech: Xi’s blueprint for a digital dictatorship — By controlling a huge volume of data, Beijing is conducting a grand experiment in 21st century authoritarian governance.
- BlackRock raises $1bn for first foreign-run China mutual fund — Asset manager presses ahead with expansion into savings market despite concerns over Beijing’s tech crackdown.
- Kids aren’t the only target of China’s tough gaming curbs — The new restrictions reflect Beijing’s increasing concerns about the reach of the country’s tech giants.
- Top Pfizer scientist defends booster push, Xi’s new China — Chief scientific officer Philip Dormitzer denied the company should have developed a more potent jab.
The New York Times
- Hong Kong Police Arrest Organizers of Tiananmen Square Vigil — The group, which holds annual events to remember those killed during the 1989 crackdown, had refused to hand over funding details.
Caixin
- China Powers Up Pilot Program for Trading in Green Electricity — Producers can sell clean electricity directly to end-users at exchange centers set up in Beijing and Guangzhou.
- In Depth: Huarong’s $3.4 billion Debacle on a South Korean Tourist Trap — The undeveloped plot of land bought by the state-owned bad-asset manager is now worth about one-third what it paid, underscoring its woeful history of bribery-fueled investments.
- China’s After-School Tutoring Companies Must Register as Nonprofits by Year-End — Private institutions that teach curriculum subjects cannot enroll new students or charge fees until they are registered as nonprofits.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese state media signal Beijing’s attempt to ease panic about its tech crackdown in unusual front-page editorial — People’s Daily published a front-page editorial on Wednesday, saying that the recent crackdown on private tutoring, data security and internet platforms is not intended to hurt any specific industry or business.
- Is China at its ‘Volcker Moment’ as real estate curbs spiral out of control? More economists are joining the chorus in saying yes — Warnings that China’s campaign to cool its property market will go too far are multiplying.
- Carrie Lam confirms Shenzhen government’s plan to sell offshore bonds in Hong Kong next month — The Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen will sell government bonds in Hong Kong next month, the first direct offshore debt sale by a local-level government in the city, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Wednesday.
Bloomberg
- China Eyeing Ways to Better Target Resources for EV Production — China is drafting measures to rein in overcapacity in the electric-vehicle sector and channel resources in a more targeted way to a number of key production hubs throughout the country, according to people familiar with the matter.
- ByteDance Is Said in Talks for $4 Billion in Loans as IPO Wavers — ByteDance Ltd. is in discussions for about $4 billion in bank loans, according to a person familiar with the matter, as a crackdown on China’s internet sector casts doubt over the timing of its much-anticipated initial public offering.
- Evergrande Crisis Means Suppliers Get Paid in Unbuilt Properties — Suppliers of China Evergrande Group are becoming casualties of its deepening liquidity woes.
Reuters
- China says it will maintain communication with new Afghan government — China said on Wednesday it is ready to maintain communication with the leaders of the new Taliban government in Afghanistan, calling its establishment a “necessary step” in reconstruction.
- Chinese FM to visit S.Korea amid stalled N.Korea talks — China’s foreign minister will visit South Korea next week amid stalled denuclearisation talks with North Korea, Seoul’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
Other Publications
- Associated Press: Broadcasters urged to cancel plans to cover Beijing Olympics — Some of the world’s largest broadcasters including American network NBC are being asked by human rights groups to cancel plans to cover next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.
- The Washington Post: Inside the Wuhan lab: French engineering, deadly viruses and a big mystery — This account of the WIV’s 65-year history, its coronavirus research and its P4 lab is based on interviews with visiting scientists, lab audit reports, satellite images, archival records and other documentation.
- The Diplomat: Mapping China’s Place in the Global Semiconductor Industry — China’s national interests and supply chain security for the most “core” of technologies.
