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’s Frozen Factories Warm Up, a Little — Easing supply constraints boosted Chinese factory activity in November, but a durable recovery awaits more support for demand.
- Pentagon Plans to Improve Airfields in Guam and Australia to Confront China — A review of U.S. military forces and capabilities world-wide makes adjustments but includes no major reshuffling to take on Beijing.
- Appliance Business Cast Off by GE Thrives Under Chinese Ownership — Appliance maker bought by Haier Group in 2016 achieves its highest U.S. market share in at least a decade.
The Financial Times
- Macau gaming: Beijing junks the junkets and imperils local economy — Such betting trips are the backbone of Macau’s $30bn gambling market.
- Semiconductor nationalism is on the rise across Asia — The phenomenon has spread from China to Korea and Japan.
- Didi’s woes intensify as Beijing tightens ride-hailing rules — Measures increase pressure on SoftBank-backed platform already under investigation over data security.
- China factory activity picks up as energy crunch stabilises — Official PMI data show slight expansion in November after 2 months of contraction.
- Alibaba faces new crocodiles in the Yangtze — Video-sharing platforms Douyin and Kuaishou take market share from Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall.
The New York Times
- How Tesla Helps China’s Firms Compete With the U.S. — The electric car company is helping Chinese companies become global players in the emerging industry, posing a competitive threat to traditional rivals.
- China’s Silence on Peng Shuai Shows Limits of Beijing’s Propaganda — Officials have struggled to respond to a sexual assault allegation that hits at the heights of its buttoned-up political system.
- Opinion: China Is Winning the Big Data War, Thanks to Xi — Beijing is outmaneuvering the United States and its allies in at least one crucial domain: data.
Caixin
- Local Government Financing Vehicles Buy More Land to Fill Hole in Official Coffers — As cash-strapped developers retreat from the land market, state-owned entities step in to help ease budgetary pressure on their local owners.
- Faraday Future Refutes Delisting Concerns After Failing to File Earnings Report — Nasdaq-listed EV-maker had earlier received a warning letter from the bourse over the delay in filing its earnings, which the company blamed on a short seller report.
- ByteDance Ramps Up Push Into Property With 20% Stake in Real Estate Broker — The investment in Maitian could allow the TikTok owner to expand its real estate listings service Xingfuli.
South China Morning Post
- HKUST and other universities in the city team with US researchers to work on AI chips — The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has set up a chip research centre that is working with other universities in the city and the US to design advanced chips that power artificial intelligence applications, despite ongoing tensions between the US and China over semiconductors.
- Taiwanese tycoon ‘opposes independence’ after China fines firm US$74 million — The chairman of a Taiwanese conglomerate said on Tuesday he does not support independence from China after Beijing fined his company in an apparent warning to it and other businesses to toe the mainland’s line on its sovereignty claims.
- Macau casino junket magnate to await trial behind bars after being deemed flight risk in cross-border gambling, money-laundering case — Alvin Chau and 10 others stand accused of being part of syndicate that facilitated gambling in mainland China.
- Hong Kong Bar chief Paul Harris ‘removed’ from national security trial by legal aid officials against activist client’s wish — Legal Aid Department staff visited Ma at maximum-security Stanley Prison and warned him against hiring Harris, according to insiders.
Bloomberg
- China’s Biggest Crypto Exchange Picks Singapore as Asia Base — Huobi Group, the operator of China’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has picked Singapore as its regional headquarters while choosing to have another location for Europe, said co-founder Du Jun.
- Olympics Official Slams Critics of Peng Shuai Call as ‘Silly’ — Long-time International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound has dismissed claims the organization vouched for the safety of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai to avoid angering Beijing and credited it with getting in touch with her when others couldn’t.
- China Enshrines Ride-Hailing Curbs in Another Blow to Didi — China issued its most comprehensive set of guidelines yet governing the growth and expansion of its ride-hailing industry, dealing a fresh blow to leader Didi Global Inc.
- Suncity Group Plunges 48% on CEO’s Arrest as Trading Resumes — Suncity Group Holdings Ltd. plunged by the most since 2008 as the stock resumed trading in Hong Kong following the news of Chief Executive Officer Alvin Chau’s arrest.
Reuters
- China seeks better cross-border control of big data with new plan — China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)called for improved cross-border security management of big data till 2025, in a five-year plan published on Tuesday.
- China study warns of ‘colossal’ COVID outbreak if it opens up like U.S., France — China could face more than 630,000 COVID-19 infections a day if it dropped its zero-tolerance policies by lifting travel curbs, according to a study by Peking University mathematicians.
- U.S. Commerce chief makes pitch for chips funding in Michigan — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Monday made a pitch for Congress to approve $52 billion to expand U.S. semiconductor manufacturing in a visit to Michigan where she heard about auto sector struggles with the ongoing chip supply crisis.
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asia: China-Pakistan Belt and Road Initiative hits buffers — Disagreements, terrorism and COVID-19 stymie CPEC projects.
- Nikkei Asia: China-Laos high-speed railway set to roll through COVID cloud — Southeast Asian country’s rising infections reduce pomp of Friday’s launch.
- Rest of World: China’s queer internet is being erased — LGBTQI groups found rare freedoms online, but this year, many were shut by censors. It feels like slowly being sanded down, said one member.
- The Sentry: The Backchannel: State Capture and Bribery in Congo’s Deal of the Century — The largest-ever leak of African financial records and data now shows that Chinese state-owned enterprises had a few aces in the hole all along: a shell company, a slick intermediary with a network of companies, and BGFIBank DRC.
