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
- China Makes Preparations for Evergrande’s Demise — Beijing, reluctant to bail out the country’s most heavily indebted property developer, is asking local officials across the country to prepare for a ‘possible storm.
- Iron-Ore Prices Buckle as Evergrande Adds to China Concerns — The commodity’s price has fallen more than 50% since mid-July.
- Foreign Businesses Say They Feel Effects From China’s Turn Inward — Multinationals are grappling with closed borders and favoritism toward local companies, business lobbies say.
- Europe’s Balancing Act Between the U.S. and China Is Buffeted From Both Sides — Big EU countries want an independent path but are increasingly forced to choose between Washington and Beijing.
- Taiwan Applies to Join Pacific Trade Pact Days After China — Beijing filed its bid shortly after the U.S. struck a security deal with Australia and the U.K.
The Financial Times
- Evergrande deadline sends chills through $400bn Asian debt market — Traders fret over potential fallout if property developer misses payment due on Thursday.
- Collapsed Blackstone deal shows that ‘everything is political’ in China — Failed property bet has ‘chilling effect’ as overseas investors try to guess Beijing’s next target.
- China urges end to sanctions on Afghanistan underscoring divide with west — Taliban should be given access to foreign reserves to ease crisis, says foreign minister.
- US and China climate commitments raise hopes ahead of COP26 summit — Beijing coal financing announcement and funding pledge from Biden inject rare note of optimism.
- Taiwan follows China with bid to join transpacific trade pact — Rival CPTPP applications set to create regional dilemma at time of geopolitical tensions.
- Xi Jinping weighs future of Evergrande as he targets third term — China’s president fears bailout of property developer will set an expensive precedent.
The New York Times
- Who’s Buying Evergrande? — As fears of the fallout from the Chinese property developer’s potential collapse fade, some investors see an opportunity.
- Business groups are divided as China seeks self-reliance. — European companies warned on Thursday that China’s push to replace imports was harmful, but American companies are more eager to cooperate with Beijing.
- Uncertainty swirls around China Evergrande as a payment deadline passes. — Despite the uncertainty, shares in the big property developer, which is burdened with huge debt, jumped 18 percent Thursday.
- A Tour of China’s Tiangong Space Station — An illustrated guide to the different sections of China’s new space station.
Caixin
- In Depth: How a Liaoning Bank Got Sucked Into the Evergrande Vortex — Shengjing Bank’s biggest shareholder is Evergrande, and authorities are probing $15.5 billion of transactions between the property giant and the regional bank.
- Cosco Unit to Pay $116 Million for Hamburg Terminal Stake — Chinese shipping giant cuts a deal to acquire 35% of a German container operation, expanding its logistics network in Europe.
South China Morning Post
- China accelerates infrastructure investment plan as Evergrande woes add to economic slowdown fears — Infrastructure investment in telecommunication networks, satellite navigation, the industrial internet, smart logistics as well as transport will increase over the next five years, China’s cabinet has announced.
- China wants to be a ‘powerful intellectual property nation’ by 2035 amid tech race with the US — China has taken a new step towards its strategic goal of technological self-reliance, unveiling a bold plan to become a global leader in intellectual property (IP) protection by 2035 amid a protracted tech war with the US.
- Xiaomi denies censoring users after Lithuania recommends avoiding Chinese smartphones — China’s Xiaomi said on Wednesday that its devices do not censor users’ communications, a day after Lithuania’s Defence Ministry recommended that consumers avoid Chinese phones due to a censoring feature in the smartphone giant’s flagship phone.
Bloomberg
- China Banks Downplay Risks After Evergrande Missed Payments — A number of China’s publicly-traded banks rushed to assuage investors who are concerned about risks from the deepening crisis at China Evergrande Group.
- China Pumps $17 Billion Into System Amid Evergrande Concerns — China’s central bank net-injected the most short-term liquidity in eight months into the financial system, with markets roiled by concerns over China Evergrande Group’s debt crisis.
- Automakers Look to Hedge Against China Rare Earth Dominance — European automakers are in discussions with Australian rare earths explorer Arafura Resources Ltd. about sourcing elements that help power electric cars from outside China, which dominates global supply.
- Major Evergrande Backer Chinese Estates May Sell Its Shares — Chinese Estates Holdings Ltd. sold shares in China Evergrande Group and said it may exit all its holdings, a major withdrawal of support from one of the embattled developer’s long-time backers.
Reuters
- China senior diplomat says economic sanctions on Afghanistan must end — China’s State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the various unilateral sanctions or restrictions on Afghanistan should be lifted as soon as possible.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Evergrande’s crisis highlights China’s shortcomings — Can “common prosperity” lead to financial stability in China?
- Quartz: China is finally ready to test out its state crude oil reserves — China is selling its first ever batch of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserve tomorrow (Sep. 24).
- SupChina: The Fall of the Evergrande Boss — From ironworker to China’s richest man, Xu Jiayin personified the freewheeling, dealmaking China of former decades. But now he and his debt-ridden business empire must reckon with cooling growth, and a Chinese leader on a mission to root out decadence from society.