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
- Walmart’s China Dilemma is Every Western Company’s, Too — If relations—and Chinese consumption—don’t improve, more foreign companies might decide to focus on greener pastures.
- Ant Group to Close Its Crowdfunded Medical Coverage Program — Xianghubao online mutual-aid program to cease operations after Jan. 28.
- Didi Shares Slide to Another Record Low as Post-IPO Lockup Ends — The Chinese ride-hailing company’s shares are now 62% below their IPO price.
- China Scholar Jonathan Spence Dies at 85 — Yale historian’s evocative retelling of Chinese history reached a broad audience and influenced generations of Sinologists.
The Financial Times
- Japan and China agree to launch military hotline — Tokyo’s defence minister confirms planned link amid rising tensions over Taiwan and disputed islands.
- Chinese social media users blast Elon Musk over near miss in space — Criticism comes after Beijing’s UN mission says SpaceX Starlink satellites nearly hit space station.
- Beijing loyalists stalk Hong Kong civil society leaders — Bar Association election seen as test of political climate after more than 50 organisations have closed.
- China’s social media influencers play safe with wholesome content — Beijing’s efforts to control online culture have increased since Xi’s ‘common prosperity’ drive.
- Data: attempts to trade information like any other commodity fall short — Products on Shanghai Data Exchange are not only limited but also have multiple restrictions.
- China sportswear: Fujian Tigers earn their stripes in Nike fight — Sales and shares of the country’s homegrown brands have further left to run.
The New York Times
- Delta Says Flight to Shanghai Was Turned Round in Midair Because of Cleaning Rules — The carrier said that it ordered the plane back last week because of sanitation requirements that were “not operationally viable.”
- Jonathan Spence, Noted China Scholar, Dies at 85 — His classes at Yale and well-regarded books explored China’s vast history through details that illuminated bigger pictures and themes.
Caixin
- Caixin Explains: What China’s New Investment Rules Mean for Foreign Investors — Companies in businesses that are closed to foreign investment will be allowed to sell shares abroad as long as they win approval and cap foreign ownership.
- China’s Land Sales Still Sluggish Despite Relaxed Auction Rules — Local governments have been trying to coax cash-strapped developers back to the market after they were hit in the wallet by an ongoing deleveraging campaign that saw prices slump.
- China to Scrap Last Foreign Ownership Cap on Car Manufacturing JVs — Beijing delivers on promise to ditch 50% limit on ventures making passenger vehicles, leaving global automakers free to set up wholly owned companies from Jan. 1.
South China Morning Post
- China asks US to stop Elon Musk’s satellites approaching its space station — China’s foreign ministry has urged the United States to prevent its satellites approaching the Chinese space station Tiangong again, following two close encounters.
- Hong Kong prosecutors hit tycoon Jimmy Lai, 6 former Apple Daily employees with fresh sedition charge — The new charge alleges that the defendants conspired to print, publish, sell, offer for sale, distribute, display or reproduce seditious publications.
- Xinjiang’s new party chief calls for efforts to boost supply chains and improve international business — Xinjiang’s new Communist Party secretary Ma Xingrui called for efforts to modernise the region’s supply chains and improve the international business environment, as he made his first tour of the capital, Urumqi, on Monday.
Bloomberg
- Ant Group Shuts Mutual Aid Platform Xianghubao Amid Crackdown — Ant Group Co. said it will shutter its “mutual aid” health-care platform Xianghubao, following similar moves by other internet giants including Meituan and Waterdrop Inc., amid China’s crackdown on the once-booming fintech business.
- Hong Kong to Make Air Cargo Crew Do 3-Day Hotel Quarantine — Hong Kong will mandate three-day hotel quarantines for air cargo crew, as the Asian city steps up efforts to prevent any local transmission of the contagious omicron Covid-19 variant.
- China’s Risen Plans $7 Billion Solar Factory Run On Clean Energy — Risen Energy Co. is planning to build a 45 billion yuan ($7 billion) integrated solar power factory in Inner Mongolia that’ll run on clean energy.
- Delta Says China Service Remains ‘Fluid’ as Plane Turns Back — Delta Air Lines Inc. service to China “remains very fluid” after a flight to Shanghai from the U.S. was turned back because of the procedures needed to clean and disinfect the airplane, the carrier said.
Reuters
- Hong Kong Apple Daily founder and staff face new sedition charge — Hong Kong prosecutors on Tuesday filed a “seditious publications” charge against jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai who already faces charges under a tough national security law that critics say has stifled freedoms in the Asian financial hub.
- China’s Zijin starts production at giant Tibet copper mine — Zijin Mining , on Monday said it had started production at its Qulong copper mine in Tibet, one of the largest in top metals consumer China, adding a new source of supply to the market for next year.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: — U.S., China squabble over whether lower-level officials attending Olympics constitutes ‘diplomatic boycott’ — U.S. officials said that Washington’s “diplomatic boycott” of the Beijing Olympics will remain in place, with no high-level official spectators, though there are plans to send consular and diplomatic security support staffers. China’s Foreign Ministry on Monday had derided the boycott as a “farce.”
- Associated Press: Nicaragua seizes former Taiwan embassy to give it to China — Before departing, Taiwanese diplomats attempted to donate the properties to the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Managua. But Ortega’s government said late Sunday that any such donation would be invalid and that the building in an upscale Managua neighborhood belongs to China.
- Nikkei Asia: China scraps foreign investment curbs in auto sector — Overseas carmakers can have wholly owned units in the country in 2022.