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
- In a Troubled U.S.-China Relationship, Moments of Pragmatism Emerge — Deal for Huawei executive’s release follows other actions suggesting a willingness on both sides to grab at green shoots.
- China Evergrande’s Electric-Vehicle Business Warns of Cash Squeeze — Evergrande’s chairman had hoped the property developer’s EV unit would overtake Tesla and other rivals.
- China’s Electricity Curbs Risk Wider Damage This Time — Beijing’s latest crackdown in the energy sector could go further than investors expect.
- China Wields New Legal Weapon to Fight Claims of Intellectual Property Theft — A Delaware firm preparing to sue a Chinese smartphone maker for patent infringement was beaten to the punch with anti-suit injunction.
- Cryptocurrency Exchanges Curb Trading From China After Beijing’s Warning — Huobi Global said it stopped allowing new customers in mainland China to register accounts.
- China’s Cnooc Plans Big Share Sale at Home as U.S. Delisting Looms — Energy group aims to raise more than $5 billion while it appeals NYSE’s decision to kick it off the exchange.
- Covid-19 Panel of Scientists Investigating Origins of Virus Is Disbanded — Columbia professor says task force’s ties to nonprofit that worked with Wuhan Institute of Virology risked perception of bias.
The Financial Times
- ‘The Michaels’ and the truth about hostage diplomacy in China — While the 3-year saga over the detainment of the daughter of Huawei’s founder has ended, concerns over China’s tactics linger.
- China tightens abortion controls as population crisis looms — Efforts to boost birth rates comes as Beijing overhauls business, technology and culture.
- Cryptocurrency exchanges start cutting off Chinese users — Overseas operators restrict services after Beijing bans all digital currency activities.
- Evergrande electric car division cancels Shanghai listing — Hong Kong shares of Chinese property group unit fall by as much as a quarter as liquidity crisis broadens.
- Evergrande’s troubles show China is just as susceptible to capitalism’s ill effects — The question is whether Xi Jinping will intervene to bail out indebted companies or let defaults spike.
- China goes on an intellectual property offensive — Enhanced IP legislation means foreign companies need to be ready for lawsuits.
- Chinese cities seize Evergrande presales to block potential misuse of funds — State intervention gathers pace as second bond deadline looms for indebted property developer.
The New York Times
- To Get Back Meng Wanzhou, China Uses a Hardball Tactic: Seizing Foreigners — The speed at which Beijing returned two Canadians held seemingly tit-for-tat in exchange may signal comfort with the tactic.
- How China Plans to Avert an Evergrande Financial Crisis — Control of the banking system gives Beijing the tools to stop a broader collapse, officials believe, while censorship and police powers can stifle protests.
- How Record Rain and Officials’ Mistakes in China Led to Drownings on a Subway — The deluge in the city of Zhengzhou revealed how China’s years of go-go construction had left its cities vulnerable to climate change.
- Australia’s Costs for Its Harder Line on China — The country is wrestling with the political and economic consequences of its sharp turn in policy and tone — including an erosion of tolerance.
- Freed From Guantánamo, but Still in Limbo 15 Years Later — Abu Bakker Qassim, a Uyghur from China, was dumped in Albania after the U.S. concluded he was not a terrorist, as Chinese authorities had maintained. The only country that wants him is China.
- New Limits Give Chinese E-Gamers Whiplash — China has a complex relationship with video games. New government rules for minors have made it even more so.
- Jonathan Mirsky, Journalist and Historian of China, Dies at 88 — He brought a historian’s expertise to many decades of writing about China for The Observer of London, The New York Review of Books and other outlets.
Caixin
- Cover Story: China’s Assault on Big Tech’s ‘Walled Gardens’ — Business growth models of Tencent, Alibaba, ByteDance and rivals face risks as government presses them to quit blocking links to one another’s services.
- In Depth: Behind HNA’s Fall, a Web of Nepotism Spreading from New York to Hainan — Brothers of now-arrested Chairman Chen Feng and late co-founder Wang Jian wove a web of businesses that conducted secret dealings with bankrupt conglomerate.
South China Morning Post
- Kissinger’s ‘secret’ China trip recalled as Wall Street veteran meets key Chinese leaders, visits Xinjiang — John Thornton, China-US Financial Roundtable co-chair and Goldman Sachs ex-boss, given unprecedented access in Covid-19 era during six-week visit
- China seeks more curbs on gaming and live-streaming in 10-year plan on children’s development — China has imposed regulations on gaming and live-streaming in its newly published 10-year national guidelines on children’s development, a move that could translate to higher compliance costs for the country’s online entertainment giants such as Tencent Holdings and ByteDance.
- China’s home-grown C919 aircraft hit by tough US export controls, limiting threat to Airbus and Boeing — China’s C919 aircraft – a no-show at the country’s biggest air show this week – has found it harder to meet certification and production targets amid tough US export rules, according to three people with knowledge of the programme.
Bloomberg
- China to Reduce Abortions as Part of New Guidelines for Women — China will reduce the number of abortions for non-medical purposes while at the same time provide more support to women to raise children as the country tries to halt a declining birthrate.
- China Says Xi Personally Gave Orders on Handling of Huawei Case — President Xi Jinping handed down orders for handling the case of Huawei Technologies Co. executive Meng Wanzhou, China said, as Beijing seeks to cast her release as a diplomatic win over the U.S.
- U.K. Warship Transits Taiwan Strait for First Time Since 2019 — A U.K. frigate sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the first such passage by a British naval vessel since late 2019, as a group of nations led by Washington pushes back at Beijing’s military assertiveness.
Reuters
- China says Canada should ‘draw lessons’ from Huawei exec case — The release of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou shows China’s strength and Canada should “draw lessons,” China’s foreign ministry said on Monday, after state media called it an opportunity for a reboot of bilateral relations.
- Explainer – What is behind China’s power crunch? — China is in the grip of a power crunch as a shortage of coal supplies, toughening emissions standards and strong demand from manufacturers and industry have pushed coal prices to record highs and triggered widespread curbs on usage.
- China to reduce abortions for ‘non-medical purposes’ — China will reduce the number of abortions performed for “non-medical purposes”, the country’s cabinet announced in new guidelines issued on Monday.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: China’s release of ‘Two Michaels’ vexes country’s online nationalists — “The discussion online is that Meng was innocent, but the facts of Kovrig and Spavor’s crimes are irrefutable. The U.S. side releasing Meng was justified, but was China forced into this compromise?” one user wrote on Weibo.
- Quartz: An aging China is going to make it harder for women to get abortions — Abortion will continue to be a tool of state policy in China—it’s just that the policy has changed.
- Nikkei Asia: Hong Kong Tiananmen Square vigil organizer to disband after 32 years — Leading pro-democracy group dissolves under weight of national security law.