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-Soros Feud Is a Microcosm of Wall Street’s China Dilemma — BlackRock is making a big bet on the hunger of China’s individual investors for professional asset management—and on the fraught politics of the U.S.-China relationship.
- Pro-China Online Network Used Fake Accounts to Urge Asian-Americans to Attend Protests, Researchers Say — Campaign is first known instance of China-linked actors fomenting real-world U.S. protest; ‘They’re copying the Kremlin’s playbook.’
- Commodity Boom Pushes China’s Factory Inflation to 13-Year High — Factory-gate prices rose in August at the fastest pace since the 2008 financial crisis, exacerbating cost pressure for manufacturers.
- Tencent-Backed Tech Giant Sea Taps Investors for About $6 Billion — Sea says some of the proceeds would help expand its business, while funds could also be deployed on investments and acquisitions.
- U.S. Puts $562 Billion Price Tag on Ramping Up Solar Power — The solar industry is highly dependent on materials and panels from China, which has been accused of using forced labor in its solar supply chain, which China has denied.
The Financial Times
- Tencent and NetEase shares fall as China urges end to profit focus in gaming — Beijing warns tech companies over ‘erroneous tendencies’ in latest assault on sector.
- Cathie Wood’s Ark cuts China positions ‘dramatically’ — Closely watched investor has switched to stocks ‘currying favour’ with Beijing after tech crackdown.
- Evergrande liquidity crisis: why the property developer faces risk of default — China’s most indebted real estate company struggles to escape vicious cycle as cash crunch mounts.
The New York Times
- China Increasing Rejects English, and Outside Ideas — A movement against Western influence threatens to close off a nation that succeeded in part by welcoming new ideas.
- Li Guangman’s Essay Ignites Guessing Over Xi’s Plans for China — After Communist Party websites shared Li Guangman’s fierce denunciation of private corporations, contention broke out over whether leaders share his views.
Caixin
- Four Things to Know About China’s New National Pension Insurance Company — After gaining regulatory approval, the $1.72 billion institution funded by big financial institutions is set to augment the third pillar of China’s retirement system.
- Sany Group’s Wind Power Unit Approved for Shanghai IPO — Sany Heavy Energy aims to raise $469 million to develop new technologies and upgrade facilities.
- China Railway’s Cargo Unit Surges 44% on Shenzhen Debut — Initial public offering raises $267 million for the freight business to invest in logistics and storage, cold chain transit and information platform.
South China Morning Post
- Shanghai reveals its pilot for internet teenage mode as government efforts to curb gaming addiction ramp up — Shanghai has revealed the pilot version of its teenage mode setting for tech companies, outlining the local government’s approach to protecting minors from gaming addiction amid a broader state crackdown on the country’s booming digital economy.
- China targets unlicensed ride-hailing drivers and vehicles amid Didi investigation — China’s Ministry of Transport, the country’s key ride-hailing regulator, warned platforms not to sign on drivers or vehicles that are unlicensed.
- China said to suspend approval for new online games, heating up Beijing’s campaign against gaming addiction — Chinese regulators have temporarily suspended approval for all new online games in the country, dealing a fresh blow to the video gaming businesses of industry giants Tencent Holdings and NetEase.
- Chinese government to crack down on underground private tutoring market — The Chinese Ministry of Education issued a decree on Wednesday that said it would close loopholes used by some companies to circumvent the recent crackdown on the private tutoring industry.
Bloomberg
- Nio’s Hong Kong Listing Is Said to Face Delay Into Next Year — Chinese electric-car maker Nio Inc. may delay its planned Hong Kong listing to next year, according to people familiar with the matter.
- The Industry Walmart Invented in China May Now Leave It Behind — In the months before the delta variant upended domestic travel in China, Walmart Inc. would regularly have employees fly to cities like Shanghai to observe and take photos of what its competitors were up to, according to people familiar with company’s practices. At times, they got caught and were asked to leave.
- China Lets Evergrande Reset Debt Terms to Ease Cash Crunch — Regulators in Beijing have signed off on a China Evergrande Group proposal to renegotiate payment deadlines with banks and other creditors, paving the way for a temporary reprieve as the cash-strapped developer struggles to come to grips with more than $300 billion of liabilities.
- Dozen Hong Kong Activists Plead Guilty Over 2020 Tiananmen Vigil — A dozen Hong Kong activists, including a former chief executive candidate and the former head of the city’s biggest protest group, have pleaded guilty to charges related to a vigil last year to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Reuters
- Pro-China social media campaign expands to new countries, blames U.S. for COVID — A misinformation campaign on social media in support of Chinese government interests has expanded to new languages and platforms, and it even tried to get people to show up to protests in the United States, researchers said on Wednesday.
- Chinese businessman gets 2 years in prison for exporting U.S. marine tech to China — A Chinese businessman was sentenced on Wednesday to two years in prison after admitting that he illegally exported marine technology with uses in anti-submarine warfare from the United States for the benefit of a Chinese military university.
Other Publications
- The Atlantic: Inside the Pro-Beijing Media Ecosystem — A small Hong Kong newspaper illustrates how China uses the tools of a free society to suppress freedom itself.
- The Economist: China turns to new stock exchanges to channel finance to innovative firms — As foreign listings become harder to pull off, Xi Jinping hopes to make domestic ones easier.
- Nikkei Asia: Analysis: Xi’s China floats dangerous trial balloon of ‘revolution’ — President’s new ‘common prosperity’ slogan puts some Chinese on edge.
- Quartz: Chinese businesses are at the forefront of environmental change in Africa — Are African countries incentivized to have lax environmental regulations to attract FDI from China – a major funder of the region’s large scale infrastructure projects?