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
- U.S. Drops Case Against MIT Professor Accused of Hiding China Ties — Gang Chen was one of around two dozen academics charged since 2019 with allegedly lying about their affiliations.
- A Covid Contact-Tracing Contrast Lays Bare China’s Inequalities — Itineraries produce starkly different pictures of life in Beijing; migrant worker’s tale sparks outpouring of sympathy.
- EV Makers’ Next Headache: Scarce Battery Chemicals, Made in China — Lithium used to make electric-vehicle batteries is getting dear; that is only leading edge of supply-chain problem.
- TikTok Owner ByteDance’s Revenue Growth Slowed Last Year Amid China Clampdowns — Facing challenges at home, the Chinese social-media giant is banking increasingly on TikTok to drive growth abroad.
- Biden Administration Makes Visa Tweaks to Retain Foreign STEM Students — Changes are designed to boost innovation in the U.S. while keeping pace with competitors such as China.
The Financial Times
- Jack Ma’s Ant Group implicated in corruption scandal by Chinese state media — Documentary on state broadcaster CCTV adds to pressure on billionaire’s internet empire.
- US wades into spat between China and Lithuania over Taiwanese office — Diplomats suggest renaming de facto embassy in Vilnius to ease Chinese pressure on Baltic state.
- UK foreign secretary calls on allies to curb rise of Russia and China — Liz Truss urges liberal governments to ‘face down global aggressors.’
- Kingdom of Characters — when China got lost in transliteration — Jing Tsu’s fascinating history reveals how traditional Chinese script was a hindrance to progress in an age of globalisation.
The New York Times
- Zero-Covid Policy Shakes Hong Kong’s Economy and Its ‘Soul’ — Businesses that held on through several outbreaks are now trembling as the highflying metropolitan hub struggles with supply chain issues and a relentless approach to the pandemic.
- China Holds the Line on ‘Zero Covid,’ but Some Wonder for How Long — More people are being caught up in the country’s virus-control dragnet. Some think the no-tolerance policy is unsustainable.
- U.S. Drops Its Case Against M.I.T. Scientist Accused of Hiding China Links — Gang Chen, a professor of mechanical engineering, was arrested a year ago, accused of concealing his affiliations with Chinese government institutions.
Caixin
- China’s New Rules on Overseas IPOs Could Make Life Tougher for Foreign Advisors — CSRC’s regulatory framework will subject foreign financial intermediaries to more supervision and fines
- One of China’s Richest Provinces Declares Victory Over Hidden Debt — Guangdong is the first to publicly state it’s converted all its off-balance-sheet liabilities into explicit debt
- China’s Graft Watchdog Says It Will Focus on Government-Business Collusion — In a renewed pledge to “cut ties between political power and capital,” China’s top graft-buster has vowed to tackle corrupt practices behind capital expansion and platform monopolies.
South China Morning Post
- China, Iran, Russia carry out joint naval drills amid rising US headwinds — China, Iran and Russia have carried out three days of joint naval drills in the Gulf of Oman, their second such exercise since 2019.
- China population: demographic window of opportunity ‘will shut soon’ as births drop, ageing crisis deepens — A demographic crisis arising from China’s unprecedented low number of newborns is being compounded by an elderly population that is ageing faster than ever, and experts warn that this might be an irreversible trend that could result in older people being relied on to drive consumption and even fill the labour pool.
- Hong Kong’s largest journalist group faces scrutiny from authorities, asked to justify activities amid media crackdown fears — Registry of Trade Unions demands Hong Kong Journalists Association to provide additional financial information and justify previous activities, social media posts.
Bloomberg
- Dropped MIT Case Shows the Perils of the U.S.’s ‘China Initiative’ — Racial profiling and an emphasis on disclosure and tax filings has investigators looking in the wrong places, to the detriment of American values.
- Bankers Turn Down High-Paying H.K. Jobs as Covid Rules Bite — Hong Kong’s status as a magnet for international financiers is cratering as firms struggle to coax traders and bankers to move to the once vibrant trading hub.
- Australia, U.K. Work on Security Ties as China’s Clout Grows — Britain’s top foreign and defense officials held talks with their Australian counterparts in Sydney on Friday, focusing on advancing a security pact involving nuclear-powered submarines and sharing notes on countering China’s growing clout.
- Sackler-Owned Mundipharma’s Sale of China Unit Said to Stall — The billionaire Sackler family’s plan to sell the China assets of its global pharmaceutical company Mundipharma International Ltd. for more than $1 billion has stalled over valuation, people familiar with the matter said.
Reuters
- Analysis: German big business piles pressure on Lithuania in China row — Lithuania is under pressure from German companies to back down in a dispute with China to end a blockade of the Baltic state, as European trade officials struggle to defuse the row, people familiar with the matter said.
- China state planner says to gradually remove curbs on NEV purchases — A number of large Chinese cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Tianjin impose license plate quotas to limit the number of new vehicles on roads and congestion, which also apply to NEVs.
- French parliament passes motion condemning China ‘genocide’ against Uyghurs — France’s parliament passed an opposition-led motion asking the government to condemn China for “crimes against humanity and genocide” against its Uyghur Muslim minority and to take foreign policy measures to make this stop.
Other Publications
- The Economist: How Chinese propaganda films became watchable — Patriotic blockbusters are so entertaining people willingly buy tickets.
- The Economist: A film in Shanghai dialect is a surprise hit in China — Local languages are generally discouraged.
- The Economist: The Communist Party revisits its egalitarian roots — Xi Jinping offers the stressed-out middle classes a dose of populism.
- Nikkei Asia: China’s state-linked investors backed 30% of top startup deals — Beijing competing with Washington for tech supremacy.