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
- Secret Chinese Port Project in Persian Gulf Rattles U.S. Relations With U.A.E. — Alarmed U.S. officials warned Emirati government, a Mideast ally, that Chinese military presence could hinder ties; construction has halted.
- Before Biden-Xi Talks, China Lifted Exit Ban, and U.S. Deported Chinese Nationals — U.S. sent home seven Chinese citizens who had served prison terms.
- Peng Shuai: What to Know About the Missing Chinese Tennis Star — A Chinese tennis star disappears from the public eye after a sexual-assault allegation against a powerful retired top official in China’s Communist Party.
- How Women’s Tennis Became the Sport to Take on China — WTA chief executive Steve Simon has threatened to pull the tour out of the country following the disappearance of Peng Shuai.
- Biden Says U.S. Is Considering Diplomatic Boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics — A diplomatic boycott could bar government officials from attending the games.
- Cargo Pilots Leave Hong Kong, as Covid Rules Collide With Supply Chains — Hong Kong has the world’s No. 2 air cargo hub—and one of the tightest quarantines.
- Chinese Developer Yango Agrees to a Bond Swap With Investors — New debt matures in September 2022 and pays a 10.25% coupon; investors will also get cash for the bonds they turn in.
The Financial Times
- America will never be free of the Middle East — If the US is serious about winning its contest with China, it needs a strategy for the whole world, not just the Indo-Pacific.
- Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai’s disappearance galvanises sporting elite — Athlete’s allegations of assault expose Communist party’s stance on women’s rights and censorship.
- Biden considers diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics — US president’s remarks could raise tensions just days after first meeting with Xi Jinping.
- China Oceanwide’s retail investors look to Blackstone deal for hope — Developer’s sale of US media group IDG to private equity firm seen as chance to recoup unpaid debts.
- Alibaba warns of slowdown in Chinese consumer spending — Tech group’s stock falls 10 per cent after disappointing results.
The New York Times
- The Question the I.O.C. Is Too Weak To Ask. Where Is Peng Shuai? — Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai went missing after publicly accusing a former government official of sexual assault. Tennis stars, led by Naomi Osaka, and the WTA have all asked #whereispengshuai?
- Ahead of Summit, U.S. Deported Chinese Nationals, and China Let an American Leave — The moves seemed aimed at untangling diplomatic knots as the two countries are clashing over human rights abuses, economic policies and much more.
- Biden Met With Xi. But Is His China Policy Right? — The truth is, America’s national security depends on cooperation a lot more than competition.
- U.S. Is ‘Considering’ Diplomatic Boycott of Beijing Olympics, Biden Says — A boycott would mean that government officials would not attend the Winter Games in February, though it would not prevent U.S. athletes from competing.
- Furor Over Peng Shuai’s #Metoo Accusation Challenges China — The tennis world is outraged over the latest twist in a star player’s complaint of assault and abrupt disappearance from public life.
Caixin
- China Names and Shames 353 Private Firms Pretending to Be State-Owned — Impersonating a Chinese SOE is one way that unscrupulous firms get the public and lenders to trust them.
- China Pledges $31 Billion of Credit to Back Clean Use of Coal — Central bank lending facility provides a second pillar supporting emission cuts along with cheap loans for carbon-reduction projects.
- CATL Loses Bid to Buy Millennial Lithium to Canadian Mining Company — Lithium Americas offered 22.1% more than CATL’s previous offer for the firm, as the market for the battery metal continues to heat up.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese Communist Party formally starts process of selecting delegates for next year’s congress — The Chinese Communist Party has released a directive telling members to prepare for the election of delegates to next year’s national congress, marking the official start of preparations for an event that will usher in major changes in the leadership.
- Alibaba’s era of exceptional growth is over as Chinese consumer spending power weakens, say analysts — Alibaba Group Holding is bidding farewell to its golden era of exceptional revenue and profit growth amid a broad weakening in consumer spending in the world’s second largest economy, analysts said.
- SenseTime gets green light from Hong Kong exchange to proceed with US$2 billion IPO, sources say — SenseTime has got the green light from the Hong Kong stock exchange to proceed with its flotation, according to people familiar with the transaction, taking the largest artificial intelligence (AI) company in China a step closer to its US$2 billion initial public offering.
Bloomberg
- Hong Kong Charges Consul, Former Lawmaker Over Listing Fraud — Hong Kong’s anti-graft body leveled charges at a former lawmaker and his son, who is the registered Consul of Papua New Guinea, as well as two additional individuals, for concealing a backdoor stock exchange listing and laundering HK$42 million ($5.4 million).
- Tennis Star’s Claims Strike at Heart of Chinese Political Power — President Xi Jinping sent shockwaves through China in 2014 when he took down a former member of the Communist Party’s most powerful body. Now, a tennis star’s allegations against another top retired official threaten to undermine his authority and tarnish the nation’s image.
- Hong Kong Pressured to Track Residents Like China to Open Border — City’s passive contact tracing app is sticking point in talks with Beijing.
Reuters
- WTA prepared to pull tournaments out of China over Peng allegation — The Women’s Tennis Association is prepared to pull its tournaments out of China if they are not satisfied with the response to the sexual assault allegation made by former doubles world number one Peng Shuai, chief executive Steve Simon has told U.S. media.
- Lithuania to get U.S. trade support as it faces China fury over Taiwan — Lithuania will sign a $600 million export credit agreement with the U.S. Export-Import Bank next week, Economy Minister Ausrine Armonaite told Reuters, days after China warned it would “take all necessary measures” after Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy.
- Report shows China’s growing clout at World Bank, global institutions — With over $66 billion in total capital, China has passed Japan to become the second largest contributor to the system of development banks that provide some $200 billion in subsidized loans to poor countries each year, a new report said Thursday.
- ASML sees around $2.3 bln of sales in China in 2021, 2022 — Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML said on Thursday the company sees demand for its products remaining strong in China, with around 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in sales in 2021.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Chinese officials help to cultivate a local graffiti scene — Street art has a devoted following, but is not as edgy as graffiti in Western cities.
- The Economist: Chinese propagandists court South-East Asia’s Chinese diaspora — They are winning converts for China’s worldview.
- Nikkei Asia: Chinese tutoring companies struggle to reinvent themselves — After crackdown, school operators venture into clothing and farm equipment.
- Protocol: VPNs are out, more security reviews are in: What’s in China’s new cyber rules — Beijing works on the practicality of its groundbreaking data laws.
- CSIS: Pulling Back the Curtain on China’s Maritime Militia — The most comprehensive study to date of the structure, subsidies, and ownership networks of China’s maritime militia in the South China Sea, as well as a methodology for identifying Chinese maritime militia vessels and a list of over 120 militia vessels thus identified.
