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 Covid-19 Lockdowns Starting to Sting — Factories in manufacturing centers in Yangtze River Delta halted production as local governments impose lockdowns.
- China’s Economy Needs More Help — November figures show consumers struggling; more fiscal and monetary support will be needed to avert an even steeper downturn next year.
- China-U.S. Tension Mars Biotech Giant BeiGene’s Shanghai Debut — Goldman-sponsored deal is the largest healthcare IPO of 2021.
- House Votes to Ban Imports From China’s Xinjiang on Forced-Labor Concern — Bipartisan agreement was reached with Senate on language of Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
- India Seeks Its Own Solar Industry to Counter China — The world’s third-largest carbon emitter wants to be a renewable-energy heavyweight, without becoming more dependent on its regional rival.
- Hackers Backed by China Seen Exploiting Security Flaw in Internet Software — Researchers call it one of the most dire cybersecurity threats to emerge in years and could enable devastating attacks.
The Financial Times
- China’s Sinovac offers inadequate protection against Omicron, study shows — Hong Kong researchers say two doses of the jab provided ‘insufficient’ antibodies against new variant.
- Kaisa offshore investors in talks to buy group’s distressed loans — Creditors seek inroads into Chinese developers’ opaque restructurings after Evergrande collapse.
- China struggles to shrug off weak consumer spending and property woes — New home prices decline at steepest rate since 2015 while retail sales come in below forecasts.
- US to blacklist eight more Chinese companies including dronemaker DJI — American investors will be barred from taking stakes in groups accused of involvement in Xinjiang abuses.
- Lithuania shows China’s coercive trade tactics are hard to counter — Beijing does not have to justify its actions under any laws and it is hard to prove government is behind punitive measures.
- China offshore listings clampdown threatens Wall Street — Didi’s switch from New York to Hong Kong suggests US banks may struggle to retain lucrative IPO work.
- Insights from China on the art of restructurings — Beijing is honing a homegrown approach to dealing with corporate distress.
The New York Times
- Two Doses of China’s Sinovac Inadequate Against Omicron, Hong Kong Study Suggests — Laboratory experiments suggest that the Chinese vaccine provides little protection against an Omicron infection.
- Putin and Xi Hold Video Summit — President Vladimir V. Putin and President Xi Jinping of China, meeting in a video summit, sought mutual support in their conflicts with the West but have not yet declared a formal alliance.
- Blinken, in Indonesia, Stresses Soft Power to Counter China — The U.S. secretary of state seeks to make the case that the United States is a better bet as a partner than China, even if it’s not spending so lavishly in the region.
Caixin
- In Depth: The Black Cloud Hanging Over Didi — China’s long-running cybersecurity review and other regulatory issues are hobbling the ride-sharing giant’s business.
- China Issues Local Government Borrowing Quotas Early — State Council seeks to accelerate spending on construction projects to bolster slowing economy, though some jurisdictions report lower-than-expected amounts.
- State-Dispatched Risk Managers Arrive at Evergrande Headquarters — Management of debt-laden conglomerate told to report to Guangdong government’s working team amid efforts to defuse risks.
- Carmaker Xpeng Deletes 430,000 Photos for Misuse of Facial Recognition — The EV-maker was fined by Shanghai for its indiscriminate use of the technology in its showrooms.
South China Morning Post
- Shanghai banks urged to lend to developers building rental homes in bid to increase affordable housing — A raft of developers in Shanghai have received a shot in the arm as the banking authorities encouraged local lenders to grant them fresh credit to build rental homes.
- Evergrande crisis: China auditing assets of distressed property developer and chairman Hui Ka Yan, sources say — Chinese authorities are scrutinising the assets of China Evergrande Group and its wealthy chairman Hui Ka Yan but expect no fire sale for now at the world’s most indebted property developer, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
- China urges ‘hardest-hit’ solar firms to fight against US, India trade restrictions — China is urging solar companies to fight against trade policies from countries such as the United States and India that are creating challenges for the industry.
Bloomberg
- Xi Told Putin China, Russia Are Better Than Allies, Kremlin Says — Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed relations with Russia as better than an alliance in a video call with President Vladimir Putin, according to the Kremlin, as the two leaders made a show of solidarity amid rising tensions with the West.
- Biden Team Mulls New Clampdown on China’s Largest Chipmaker — The Biden administration is considering imposing tougher sanctions on China’s largest chipmaker, according to people familiar with the situation, building on an effort to limit the country’s access to advanced technology.
- Hong Kong Court Orders Liquidation of Lai’s Next Digital — A Hong Kong court ordered the winding up of jailed media mogul Jimmy Lai’s Next Digital Ltd., the parent of defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.
- Hong Kong’s Property Tycoons Sacrifice Profit to Appease Beijing — One Hong Kong developer is offering half-price flats in the world’s most expensive residential market. Others have donated sprawling farmlands for public housing. And the scion of a property empire says it’s time to put the city’s betterment above profits.
Reuters
- China audits Evergrande, chairman’s assets, no fire sale for now – sources — Chinese authorities are scrutinising the assets of China Evergrande Group and its wealthy chairman Hui Ka Yan but expect no fire sale for now at the world’s most indebted property developer, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
- China EV, battery makers grapple with graphite squeeze — As they scour the globe for the lithium, nickel and cobalt resources needed to keep China on top in the electric vehicle (EV) stakes, Chinese battery and EV makers are fretting about supply of another mineral closer to home – graphite.
- Uber looking to sell Didi, China market has little transparency, CEO says — Uber Technologies Inc is looking to sell stakes in non-strategic assets including its holding in Beijing-based Didi Global Inc, its CEO said on Tuesday, who also described the China market as a tough one with little transparency.
Other Publications
- The Verge: Delivery Failed — How an EV startup and its charismatic CEO nearly cornered the market for electric delivery vans — until it all fell apart.
- The Guardian: China’s troll king — How a tabloid editor became the voice of Chinese nationalism Hu Xijin is China’s most famous propagandist.
- Rest of World: How Shein beat Amazon at its own game — and reinvented fast fashion — By connecting China’s garment factories with Western Gen-Z customers, Shein ushered in a new era of “ultra-fast” shopping.
- Quartz: Why China is becoming a top choice for Ghanaian PhD students — The wide availability of Chinese government scholarships has fueled this trend, as has the relatively straightforward university application process.
- Protocol: Chinese nationalists have a new target: Lenovo — The PC giant’s low-key success abroad has influencers asking whether it’s betrayed its home country.
- MIT Technology Review: This huge Chinese company is selling video surveillance systems to Iran — A new report sheds light on a shadowy industry where authoritarian states enthusiastically export surveillance technologies to repressive regimes around the world.
