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
- Jack Ma’s Ant Moves Ahead With Credit-Scoring Firm — Fintech giant will partner with state-owned companies to establish Qiantang Credit Reporting.
- Taiwan Hosts Second U.S. Congressional Delegation in Two Weeks — The visit comes days after the White House invited Taiwan to a meeting of democracies, exacerbating tensions with Beijing.
- Japan Approves Extra Defense Spending and Sets a Record — With China in mind, Tokyo budget allots 1.14% of GDP for the military, erasing longstanding guideline.
The Financial Times
- Tesla to expand capacity at China plant — US carmaker to add a third more staff at Shanghai site.
- Taiwan’s UMC settles chip trade secrets dispute with Micron — Company was fined for stealing designs from US rival in case that highlighted China links.
- US commission calls for tighter controls on flows to Chinese markets — Annual report to Congress highlights surge of US positions in Chinese equity and debt securities.
- South Korea’s SK Hynix caught in US-China semiconductor battle — Washington’s curbs on technology transfers threaten chipmaker’s competitiveness.
The New York Times
- Solomon Islands: Here’s What’s Behind the Unrest — Protesters tried to storm the prime minister’s residence, and he blamed the central government’s 2019 decision to switch allegiances to Beijing from Taipei for the violence.
- Peng Shuai’s Accusation Pierced the Privileged Citadel of Chinese Politics — Zhang Gaoli was best known as a low-key technocrat. Then a Chinese tennis star’s allegations made him a symbol of a system that bristles against scrutiny.
- Do Sports Still Need China? — Global outrage, broken contracts and shifting politics could change the calculus for leagues and teams that once raced to do business in China.
Caixin
- Shanghai Data Exchange Launches Trading in Bid to Boost Digital Economy — The new platform has attracted interest from around 100 major domestic and foreign companies like China Mobile, JD Technology and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
- Six Employees at State-Owned Yunnan Energy Probed Within a Month — The energy investment firm’s senior executives are being investigated for ‘serious violation of discipline and law,’ a common euphemism for graft.
- Leo Group’s $50 Million SpaceX Investment Hits a Wall — After Shenzhen bourse challenges Chinese pump maker’s plan, American limited partnership sends Leo’s money back.
South China Morning Post
- Beijing condemns Solomon Islands violence and attacks on Chinese businesses — Beijing has offered its support to troubled Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and condemned violence in the capital.
- Beijing looks into setting up digital asset exchange to push the e-yuan — China is exploring setting up a virtual asset exchange, according to a blueprint published on the State Council website on Friday.
- China food delivery giant Meituan reports 10bn yuan loss after paying antitrust fine — Meituan reported a worse than expected loss in the third quarter, after swallowing a fine by China’s antitrust regulators.
- Chinese state media renews warning against NFT ‘zero-sum game’, flagging ‘fraud’ risks as digital collectibles gain recognition — The People’s Daily has spoken out against the investment fever around non-fungible tokens (NFTs), questioning whether it is another “zero-sum game hyped by cryptocurrency investors and capital”.
Bloomberg
- China Asks Didi to Delist From U.S. On Security Fears — The country’s tech watchdog wants management to take the company off the New York Stock Exchange because of concerns about leakage of sensitive data.
- Beijing Warns Germany’s Olaf Scholz New Government on ‘One China Policy’ — The warning shot came after Germany’s Chancellor-in-waiting Olaf Scholz unveiled a program for government that includes surprisingly strong language on China.
- China On Board With Oil Release, But Wants to Show Independence — China’s ambiguity on whether it will join the U.S.-led coordinated release of oil reserves is aimed at a domestic audience.
- German Greens Pick China Critic Baerbock as Foreign Minister — Germany’s Greens tapped their two co-leaders to run the foreign ministry and take charge of an influential portfolio overseeing economy and climate protection in the country’s next government under Social Democrat Olaf Scholz.
Reuters
- China adds e-cigarettes to tobacco monopoly law — China’s cabinet, the State Council, on Friday issued an order amending the country’s tobacco monopoly law to include new types of tobacco products such as e-cigarettes.
- United States, China tussle over Honduras as it weighs Taiwan ties — A pledge by a leading Honduran presidential candidate to embrace China and de-emphasize Taiwan ties if she wins Sunday’s election has prompted diplomatic jostling.
- Two Chinese nationals killed, others kidnapped in eastern Congo — Two Chinese nationals have been killed and an unknown number of other people kidnapped in an attack by the CODECO militia in eastern Congo.
- Australia considers diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics— Australia is considering not sending any government officials to the Winter Olympics to be held in Beijing next year following calls from lawmakers for an official diplomatic boycott.
Other Publications
- The Economist: China’s globetrotting students are getting back on the road — But Western universities worry that their numbers may dwindle.
- AP: Chinese fashion photographer in Dior controversy apologizes — A renowned Chinese fashion photographer has apologized for her past work after online critics called it insulting to the Chinese people and fashion house Dior removed one of her photos from a show in Shanghai.
- AP: Interpol elects United Arab Emirates official as president — Another contentious candidate, Hu Binchen, an official at China’s ministry of public security, was elected to join Interpol’s executive committee as a delegate from Asia.
- Nikkei: Chinese EV maker Nio to expand into five new European countries — Startup looks to strengthen brand with overseas foray.
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton says China considers Australia a ‘tributary state’ that should submit to its power — The Defence Minister declared that China sees other countries in the region as “tributary states” and is warning that Beijing would quickly dominate Asia if it succeeds in invading Taiwan.