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
- How Too Many Boys Skew China’s Economy — The government’s fight to control housing prices and insulate the economy is bound up with some very fundamental human impulses — and decisions made decades ago.
- Chinese Economist Suggests China Spend More to Boost Its Birthrate—and Is Blocked From Social Media — Ren Zeping’s Weibo account was locked down after he suggested that China’s central bank print $314 billion to spur population growth.
- China’s War on ‘Shadow Education’ Leaves Parents in Distress — Rules banning tutors were meant to reduce anxiety for families and inequality in the education system, but instead have led to workarounds.
- China Evergrande Averts First Onshore Public Default — Troubled developer’s domestic bondholders agree to six-month reprieve.
- Chinese Bad-Debt Manager Cinda Backs Out of Ant Unit’s Capital Raise — China’s big four ‘bad banks’ are experiencing volatile times.
- China’s Export Machine Notches New Record as Pandemic Grinds On — The world’s second-largest economy cemented its place as the world’s factory floor last year, even as relations with the West grew more tense.
- Elon Musk-Backed EV Battery Technology Rises to Dominance in China — Tesla, Chinese makers take lead over rivals in using less-expensive iron in place of nickel.
- Iran Seeks Closer Ties With China as Nuclear Talks Drag On — Iran’s foreign minister is in China to discuss a wide-ranging economic and security agreement.
- China Bans Flights From U.S. as Covid-19 Measures Intensify — Flight bans shut off access to country ahead of the Lunar New Year and the Winter Olympics.
The Financial Times
- Jack Ma’s Ant faces restructuring obstacle as state investor withdraws — Government asset manager’s capital was needed to help fintech group meet new financial risk rules.
- China’s trade surplus hits annual record as exports soar 30% — Global demand offsets challenges for economy grappling with property slowdown and Covid restrictions.
- Naval association rejects Taiwanese members after pressure from China — Washington-based group reverses decision on membership after threats from Beijing.
- Hong Kong has no ‘timeline’ for easing tough international border controls — Omicron chaos abroad bolsters commitment to zero-Covid policy despite isolation, commerce secretary says.
- Hong Kong’s own ‘partygate’ exposes territory’s tensions — From blaming Cathay Pacific to Carrie Lam, frustration is spreading among an increasingly isolated population.
The New York Times
- China’s Trade Surplus Surges to New Heights — The country’s trade surplus broke records for December and for all of last year, as the pandemic continued to generate demand for its goods.
- Britain’s Security Agency MI5 Warns Lawmakers of China’s Political Interference — An unusual alert by the agency named a Chinese lawyer who was “knowingly engaged in political interference activities” on behalf of Beijing in the U.K. Parliament.
Caixin
- Ant Group’s Consumer Finance Restructuring Hits Speedbump as State Firm Decides It Won’t Invest — Cinda Asset Management has pulled out of its planned $944 million investment into a unit of the fintech giant.
- Financial Veteran Looks Set to Take Over for China Life’s Fallen Chairman — Bai Tao’s appointment as chief of the insurer’s Communist Party committee signals he has been tapped to replace Wang Bin, who recently came under investigation for corruption.
- Ant Group Ordered to Remove New Fund Investment Advisory Service — Alibaba-backed fintech giant halts the service merely a week after it was launched. A source says the firm is not licensed to run the service.
South China Morning Post
- ‘No money from mainland China’ behind Hong Kong bid for Taiwan-based Apple Online — A Hong Kong businessman who wants to buy Taiwanese news website Apple Online said the potential acquisition did not involve any funding from mainland China.
- China says Britain’s political interference claims are ‘groundless’ and may be down to ‘binge-watching 007 movies’ — China has accused British intelligence of making groundless and alarmist claims after it accused a lawyer of conducting political interference campaigns on behalf of Beijing.
- China’s taxpayers on edge as Beijing tightens oversight with big data and artificial intelligence — Anxiety is spreading across China’s business community as authorities gear up to introduce a powerful new tax surveillance system that some have likened to a “giant X-ray machine”, capable of hoovering up huge amounts of personal and financial data.
Bloomberg
- China’s Bid to Punish Hospitals Over Covid Prompts New Confusion — Residents of a Chinese city locked down for three weeks are voicing concern about health risks after two hospitals were closed because their strict enforcement of virus rules led to patient deaths.
- China’s Q&A Site Zhihu Said to Plan Hong Kong Second Listing — Chinese online Q&A service Zhihu Inc. is planning a second listing in Hong Kong that could raise about $300 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
- Hong Kong to Extend Curbs, Flight Ban Until After Lunar New Year — Hong Kong extended social distancing measures and the city’s flight ban on eight countries to stem an outbreak of the infectious omicron variant, while announcing economic relief to help businesses cope.
- Chaos at Hong Kong Quarantine Camp Trapped Dozens of Detainees — Hours without electricity or mobile-phone reception. No food for an entire day. Dozens unable to leave because of missing documents.
Reuters
- Exclusive: U.S. bill would block defense contractors from using Chinese rare earths — A bipartisan piece of legislation to be introduced in the U.S. Senate on Friday would force defense contractors to stop buying rare earths from China by 2026 and use the Pentagon to create a permanent stockpile of the strategic minerals.
- Analysis: With Evergrande debt relief deal, China signals stability trumps austerity — If this week’s developments at China’s most indebted property developer are anything to go by, 2022 might see Beijing soften its attempts to purge the sector and make more allowances for economic stability.
- In photos: Inside Taiwan’s brutal navy frogmen bootcamp — Entry into the Taiwan navy’s elite Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol unit or ARP, its answer to the U.S. Navy SEALs or Britain’s Special Boat Service, is not for the faint of heart.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Xi Jinping’s job is safe but China’s leadership is being shaken up — A five-yearly churn is affecting decisions on everything from the economy to covid-19.
- The Economist: China does not have it all its way in the South China Sea — South-East Asian countries are increasingly wary of their giant neighbour.
- The Economist: America and China are one military accident away from disaster — Lessons from a Chinese jet’s fatal collision with a US spy plane, 21 years ago.
- Nikkei Asia: Macao to cut length of gaming concessions in half — City to keep casino operators at six, but reduce license term to 10 years.
- Foreign Affairs: Washington’s Missing China Strategy — To Counter Beijing, the Biden Administration Needs to Decide What It Wants. By Richard Fontaine
- PIIE: Tariffs on Chinese imports have only marginally contributed to US inflation — Tariffs on Chinese imports have raised costs for US consumers and firms, but to a modest degree compared to the current rate of inflation.
