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
- Goldman CEO Calls China, Hong Kong Covid-19 Policies a ‘Headwind for Global Talent’ — David Solomon’s comments echo calls from the expatriate business community to ease border restrictions.
- U.S. Moves to Bolster Asia Trade Ties in Bid to Counter China’s Influence — Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo launch regional tours to discuss economic issues.
- Biden, Xi Open to Nuclear-Arms Talks, White House Says — A dialogue, if it happens, would be one of the few concrete outcomes from president’s meeting with Chinese leader.
- U.S. Names Leader for Australia Submarine Program Aimed at Countering China — James Miller will coordinate U.S. efforts to implement the AUKUS agreement.
The Financial Times
- Tsinghua Unigroup: China’s hopes of semiconductor self-sufficiency rest on a bailout — Alibaba’s interest in chipmaker makes some sense but it would not be a strategic acquisition.
- ‘Deep distrust’ clouds Xi-Biden agreement on nuclear talks — Building safeguards will be difficult despite breakthrough at virtual summit, warn analysts.
- Western brands aim for the sky in Xi Jinping’s China — As multinationals rush to benefit from the president’s drive to enlarge the middle class, pitfalls loom.
- US and China agree to hold talks on nuclear arsenals — Breakthrough came during Monday’s virtual summit between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.
The New York Times
- Covid Rules for Beijing Olympics Force Injured Athlete to Fly Home on Cargo Plane — A Polish luger, Mateusz Sochowicz, was told that coronavirus restrictions prevented him from boarding a commercial flight for another two weeks.
- U.S. and China Agree to Ease Restrictions on Journalists — The deal tones down a diplomatic confrontation that led Beijing to expel some American reporters during the last year of the Trump administration.
- Biden Sells Infrastructure Improvements as a Way to Counter China — Spending on roads, broadband internet and more will help revitalize U.S. competitiveness against its top economic adversary, the president says.
Caixin
- BeiGene’s $31 Billion Shanghai Share Sale Wins Approval — With listing on STAR Market, loss-making cancer-drug developer would be the first Chinese biotech to trade shares on the mainland and in Hong Kong and New York.
- Huarong Cleared to Raise 70 Billion Yuan via Bond Sale as Part of Rescue Plan — Fundraising will help replenish the distressed-asset manager’s balance sheet which is weighed down by 1 trillion yuan of debt.
- Battery-Maker CATL Cuts Fundraising Target After Questions From Shenzhen Bourse — The company, which wants money to double its capacity, is now seeking to raise 45 billion yuan rather than 58 billion yuan.
South China Morning Post
- China’s energy crisis is easing, but Beijing says ‘results must be consolidated’ as winter months loom — China’s efforts to secure energy supply have “achieved initial results”, but coal production must be ramped up to ensure power capacity ahead of the frigid winter months, the nation’s Vice-Premier Han Zheng has said.
- Evergrande’s fire sale continues as founder Hui Ka-yan disposes of corporate and personal assets to avert defaulting on debt — Hui Ka-yan, founder and chairman of China Evergrande Group, has stepped up the disposal of his corporate and personal assets to help the world’s most indebted developer stave off defaults as the company faces US$366 million of interest payments this year.
- China population: tumbling regional births underline crisis, could force Beijing to ‘double down’ on policies — Consistent falls in the number of births in some regions in China of more than 10 per cent this year have prompted further concerns of a deepening population crisis.
- FedEx shuts down Hong Kong pilot base, blames Covid-19 policies that have left ‘no clear timeline’ for return to normal — Package delivery giant becomes one of the first high-profile companies to shift strategy on the basis of Hong Kong’s tough pandemic regulations.
Bloomberg
- Goldman Sachs CEO Says Firm Is `Long-Term Committed’ to China — Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon discusses the company’s China business. He speaks with Francine Lacqua at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore.
- Alibaba-Led Group Said to Near $8 Billion Unigroup Takeover — A consortium led by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., has emerged as the frontrunner to take over Tsinghua Unigroup Co., a deal that could fetch more than 50 billion yuan ($7.8 billion) to help keep China’s indebted chip champion afloat.
- Xi Doctrine Downplays GDP Growth as Yardstick for China Success — Chinese President Xi Jinping baked his common prosperity drive into one of the most important documents in the Communist Party’s history, giving permanence to a spate of crackdowns that put equality over economic growth.
- U.S., China Reach Agreement on Visas for Journalists — China and the U.S. agreed to ease visa restrictions imposed during the Trump administration on each other’s journalists, Chinese state media reported, a development that would remove one of the irritants in the relationship between the nations.
Reuters
- Germany may have been naive on China at first, Merkel says — Germany may at first have been naive in some areas of cooperation with China, but should not sever all connections in reaction to growing tensions, Chancellor Angela Merkel has told Reuters.
- Australia toughens rules on foreign interference at universities — Australia says it has toughened foreign interference rules for universities to stop self-censorship on campuses and the covert transfer of sensitive technology, before hundreds of thousands of international students are expected to return as borders closed by the COVID-19 pandemic re-open.
- Off the grid: Chinese data law adds to global shipping disruption — Ships in Chinese waters are disappearing from tracking systems following the introduction of a new data law in China, frustrating efforts to ease bottlenecks that are snarling the global economy, according to three shipping sources directly impacted.
Other Publications
- Associated Press: Shocked tennis star Osaka posts: Where is Peng Shuai? — Other leading players including men’s No. 1 Novak Djokovic expressed shock at the situation, and the organizers of the women’s and men’s professional tennis tours have called for a full investigation into the allegations made by the two-time Grand Slam doubles champion.
- The Washington Post: China’s Xinjiang cotton is banned in the U.S. but still making it to store shelves, report says — Enforcement is proving challenging, with fashion brands sourcing from hundreds of factories around the world with little proof of where the cotton originated.
- The Diplomat: China’s Content Manipulation Reaches New Frontiers — Through a combination of industrial scale and technological clout, the CCP is increasing the reach of its influence operations.
- Nikkei Asia: China resolution enshrining Xi scraps ban on ‘personality cults’ — President’s achievements comprise over half of pivotal Communist Party document.
- Foreign Policy: Germany Can Learn From Japan’s China Strategy — Berlin should import policies from another economic power in a similar predicament.
- NPR: As U.S. spies look to the future, one target stands out: China — The U.S. intelligence community focused on the Soviet Union for decades. Then the priority was Middle East terrorism. Now, the intelligence community says, a new era has begun.