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
- Biden, China’s Xi Jinping Hold First Call in Months — The American president initiated the call as recent high-level U.S.-China meetings have been unproductive, U.S. officials say.
- Federal Judge Acquits Professor Accused of Hiding China Ties — Judge Thomas Varlan said the U.S. government failed to make its case in a bellwether trial over alleged research grant fraud.
- No Level-Up for Chinese Game Companies Yet — Report of a full stop on game approvals—later corrected—punished Chinese game shares. It still looks early to buy the dip, however.
The Financial Times
- Joe Biden calls Xi Jinping in bid to reset strained relations — US and Chinese presidents speak for first time since February after unproductive talks between lower-level officials.
- China’s Xi faces off against fan armies in crackdown on celebrity culture — Beijing purges social media accounts over fears of mass mobilisation and supposedly effeminate men.
- China to sell oil from state reserves in bid to contain prices — Beijing announces move days after Opec+ resisted calls to increase output faster.
The New York Times
- Biden Speaks With Xi Amid Low Point in U.S.-China Relations — The call was only the second time the leaders had spoken since President Biden’s inauguration. The lack of communication was a measure of the rising tensions between the two countries.
- Articles Involving Chinese DNA Research Are Retracted — The rare retractions come after several scientists raised questions about how Chinese researchers obtained the full consent of their Uyghur subjects.
Caixin
- Exclusive: Alibaba’s Philanthropic Head Talks ‘Common Prosperity’ Plans — Former Ant CEO Hu Xiaoming lays out how Alibaba will invest $15.5 billion over five years ‘on making a bigger pie’ for China.
- Central Bank Vows More Support for Hengqin and Qianhai Cooperation Zones — Deputy PBOC chief Pan Gongsheng outlines financial pilot projects bolstering the zones’ role in China’s Greater Bay Area project.
- China Set to Start Cross-Border Investment Trial in Greater Bay Area — Long-awaited test will commence shortly, and the Hong Kong-mainland bond connect program will expand, top foreign exchange regulator says.
South China Morning Post
- Blackstone abandons US$3.05 billion offer for Soho China amid regulatory review of takeover — The parties cited lack of progress in meeting the deal conditions by its December deadline.
- Wealth Management Connect: China’s US$46.5 billion cross-border channel gives Hong Kong a leg up in the Greater Bay Areas — China’s regulators will expand the cross-border investment channel with Hong Kong and Macau to encompass wealth management products.
- China-Australia relations: Beijing lobbies Canberra for help to join CPTPP regional trade pact despite spat — China is lobbying the Australian government for its support to join a multilateral regional trade pact – despite the two nations being in a worsening geopolitical dispute that’s spilled over into economic reprisals.
- China coal-fired power companies on the verge of bankruptcy petition Beijing to raise electricity prices — The Beijing Electric Power Industry Association has joined 11 coal-fired power companies in petitioning authorities to raise electricity rates to avoid bankruptcy amid surging coal prices.
Bloomberg
- Hong Kong Hits Tiananmen Activists With Powerful Security Charge — Organizers of an annual vigil in Hong Kong to mark the Tiananmen Square crackdown were in court after being charged with offenses under a Beijing-imposed national security law, as authorities push ahead with a campaign to silence a group known for its support of freedom of speech.
- Biden Calls Xi Over U.S. Frustration With Dead-End Talks — President Joe Biden urged China’s Xi Jinping to cooperate on key issues even as they spar on other topics, as his administration grows frustrated over what it perceives as a lack of seriousness in Beijing’s engagement with American officials.
- Xi Jinping Hasn’t Set Foot Outside China for 600 Days — Xi Jinping hasn’t left China for one year, seven months and 22 days, the longest such stint of any Group of 20 leader. The question is whether his absence from major events will hinder progress on everything from climate change to disputes with the U.S.
Reuters
- Talks with China on ending its German pork ban remain difficult -minister — Talks with China on lifting its ban on German pork imports after the pig disease African swine fever (ASF) was found in Germany remain difficult, German junior agriculture minister Uwe Feiler said on Friday.
- Xi says China to donate 100 million vaccine doses to developing countries – CCTV — President Xi Jinping on Thursday said China would donate 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to developing countries this year, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Other Publications
- The Economist: A provocative blog post stirs up a firestorm in China — No one knows how far Xi Jinping’s campaign against inequality will go.
- The Economist: A new book looks behind Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign — And shows that princelings are still exempt.
- The Atlantic: How Hollywood Sold Out to China — A culture of acquiescing to Beijing’s censors is now the norm, and there’s little sign of it changing.
- Nikkei Asia: China tells delivery, ride-hailing companies to pay workers more — Meituan, Didi, Alibaba and Tencent among 10 told to improve labor conditions.
- Brookings: Assessing China’s “common prosperity” campaign — Evidence has been mounting in recent months that the Chinese leadership may be implementing a hard pivot toward asserting greater state control of society and the economy.
- The Intercept: NIH Documents Provide New Evidence U.S. Funded Gain-of-function Research in Wuhan — U.S.-funded experiments in China posed biosafety risks but did not cause Covid-19 pandemic, scientists say.
