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 Evergrande Says Work on Some Residential Projects Has Resumed — Developer posted photographs showing workers on the job in cities including Shenzhen, Dongguan and Zhongshan.
- China Plans Property-Tax Trials as It Targets Speculation — Beijing, in the midst of reshaping its real-estate market, says it will launch a five-year property-tax pilot program.
- House Republicans Call for Tougher Controls to Keep U.S. Tech From China — In a letter to Commerce Secretary Raimondo, the GOP lawmakers urge action to protect semiconductors, aviation and emerging technologies.
- Covid-19 Sets Back China’s Plans to Rebalance Its Economy — Pandemic-era boom in demand for Chinese goods boosted exports but made the country even more reliant on trade.
- HSBC Says It Will Buy Back $2 Billion in Stock as Profit Jumps — Profit rises as bank releases funds it had set aside for potential pandemic-related loan losses.
- Xi’s ‘Common Prosperity’ in Theory and Practice — Newly released remarks warn about the dangers of ‘welfarism’ and government dependence.
- Amnesty International Exits Hong Kong, Citing National Security Law — Human-rights group says authorities’ crackdown on dissent makes maintaining operations in city unworkable.
The Financial Times
- Amnesty International to leave Hong Kong amid fears for staff safety — Departure of human rights organisation follows closure of more than 35 local civil society groups.
- Banks warn travel quarantine threatens Hong Kong’s international status — Financial lobby group that includes Goldman Sachs says ‘talent’ is deserting the territory.
- Evergrande resumes work on projects in southern China — Indebted Chinese property developer seeks to reassure investors with pictures of workers.
- China expands property tax trials in next step of ‘common prosperity’ drive — Xi Jinping backs plan to test levy that could alter country’s economic model.
- Luxury brands look to ride the storm of China’s policy shifts — Corporate strategists may draw comfort from President Xi’s recent remarks on citizens’ wealth.
- In the Camps: Life in China’s High-Tech Penal Colony — a damning account — Darren Byler’s field study of Xinjiang evokes the shadow of concentration camps — with the added cruelty of a 21st-century surveillance system.
The New York Times
- With New Conviction, Hong Kong Uses Security Law to Clamp Down on Speech — An activist, Ma Chun-man, was convicted of inciting secession after, he said, he chanted slogans to test the limits of the law.
- She Is Breaking Glass Ceilings in Space, but Facing Sexism on Earth — Sanitary pads and makeup: A Chinese astronaut’s six-month stay aboard the country’s space station has revealed conflicted cultural values toward gender.
- Biden Said the U.S. Would Protect Taiwan. But It’s Not That Clear-Cut. — After the president’s remarks at a CNN event, the White House quickly declared that the American policy of “strategic ambiguity” over the island’s defense had not changed.
Caixin
- China Wants Local Governments to Speed Up Annual Special Bond Borrowing — The directive from the Ministry of Finance could see cities and provinces issue the remaining 1.3 trillion yuan worth of special bond quota in the next five weeks.
- Joseph Lau Eats $18.3 Million Loss on Troubled Developer Kaisa Bonds — Billionaire’s Chinese Estates dumps securities at 35% discount, adding to losses racked up by bailing out of Evergrande shares.
South China Morning Post
- Beijing will never let Taipei participate in UN, former envoy to US says — “This totally went against the tide of history,” Cui Tiankai said on Monday in his first public appearance since he stepped down in June as China’s longest-serving ambassador to the United States.
- Former head of Chinese weapons giant to face corruption charges after formal arrest approved — The arrest of a former chairman of one of China’s largest weapons manufacturers on corruption charges was officially approved by China’s state prosecutor on Monday.
- China will set up a property tax pilot plan, taking small steps after years of dithering to tame home prices for common prosperity — China’s legislature will enact a property tax in selected regions across the country, rolling out the pilot plan as part of a wider “common prosperity” programme to enhance housing affordability and tame runaway prices.
- National security law: Hong Kong man convicted of inciting secession with pro-independence slogans — Former food delivery driver Adam Ma was accused of using slogans such as ‘Hong Kong independence, the only way out’ on at least 20 occasions.
Bloomberg
- Alibaba’s Value Drop Tops The World One Year After Ma’s Speech — Few people could have predicted the downward spiral for Alibaba Group Holding, when founder Jack Ma delivered a blunt criticism of China’s financial system last October.
- Huawei Employees Sing and Dance to Welcome Back CFO From Exile — Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies Co.’s chief financial officer and daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei, was greeted with choreographed dancing and a presentation of flowers by employees on her first day back in the office in Shenzhen, China.
- Hong Kong Widens Security Supervision With Request to Banks — Hong Kong banks will be obliged to report disclosures on clients suspected of violating the national security law imposed on the financial hub by Chinese authorities last year that has led to more than a hundred arrests and key civil society groups to disband.
- Germany’s Growing Dilemma Over China Puts Hamburg in Spotlight — The biggest German port risks being caught between trade and politics.
Reuters
- China strengthens land border protection with new law — China passed a law on Saturday to strengthen border protection amid a protracted standoff with India, worries about spillover effects from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and the spread of COVID-19 from Southeast Asia.
- China to investigate energy index providers in bid to tame coal prices — China said on Monday it will investigate energy price index providers as it urged coal industry participants to “strictly” meet contractual obligations, in its latest bid to tame prices that have hit record highs.
- HSBC rides out China property storm with 74% profit jump, $2 bln buyback — HSBC shrugged off concerns about pandemic-related bad loans and property problems in China on Monday with a surprise 74% quarterly profit jump and a $2 billion share buyback.
- Tesla opens new China research, data centers; will store data locally — U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc said on Monday it had built a research center and a separate data center in Shanghai, where it manufactures Model 3 sedans and Model Y sport-utility vehicles.
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asia: China Evergrande resumes work on more than 10 property projects — Moves come after debt-ridden developer averted default with last-minute payment.
- Nikkei Asia: China moves to ease rules on government procurement for CPTPP — Foreign suppliers not to be excluded, but national security exception remains.