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
- Evergrande Asks Overseas Creditors for More Time — Embattled Chinese developer makes second attempt to placate frustrated global bondholders.
- TSMC Overtakes Chinese Tech Giants to Become Asia’s Most Valuable Stock — Taiwan-based company is the world’s largest contract chip maker.
The Financial Times
- China launches internet ‘purification’ campaign for lunar new year — Officials ordered to target celebrity fan groups and money worship in drive to clean up online content.
- Australian Open backtracks on Peng Shuai T-shirt ban after ejecting spectators — Tennis tournament organisers criticised for removing supporters of Chinese tennis player last week.
- Second supply chain ETF debuts in China despite Omicron lockdowns — Assets under management in the first logistics ETF have plummeted 85 per cent since its launch in June 2021.
- China trade surplus that can’t be fixed from outside — Attempts by the US to reduce current account imbalances with trade policy are futile.
The New York Times
- ‘In the End, You’re Treated Like a Spy,’ Says M.I.T. Scientist — Gang Chen was arrested a year ago on charges of hiding his links to China. The charges were dismissed, but he said the damage — to him, and to American science — has lingered.
- How Scott Morrison Lost Control of His WeChat Account — A Chinese electronics company said it had bought the WeChat account legitimately, but some Australian officials said it was hijacked, and urged a boycott.
Caixin
- Embattled Shimao Gears Up Asset Sales for Debt Relief — Chinese developer Shimao Group Holdings Ltd. is moving to offload 34 projects, joining a growing parade of developers seeking to ease liquidity crises by selling assets.
- Former Senior Chinese Banking Regulator Busted for Bribery — Cai Esheng has been booted from the Communist Party for taking bribes while working at the now-defunct China Banking Regulatory Commission.
South China Morning Post
- Tencent says its anti-graft campaign investigated 50 cases of bribery and embezzlement last year — Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings said it fired nearly 70 employees last year for behaviour that included accepting bribes and offering fake online internships for money, as the company continued its internal anti-graft campaign.
- China food security: new draft rules ‘open the door’ for gene-edited crops — China has published trial rules for the approval of gene-edited plants, paving the way for faster improvements to crops.
- China Mobile lays claim to Vancouver homes it says were bought with fraud funds — Telecoms giant China Mobile is suing a former senior executive it accuses of fleeing to Canada amid an investigation into alleged fraud that it says cost hundreds of millions of yuan, and is laying claim to Vancouver real estate it believes he bought with the proceeds.
Bloomberg
- China’s Government Spending Growth Weakest in Nearly Two Decades — China’s government spending rose at the slowest pace in nearly two decades last year, suggesting limited fiscal support for an economy that’s lost momentum sharply in recent months.
- Australian Open Flips Peng Shuai T-Shirt Ban After Criticism — Australian Open organizers reversed a ban on political slogans on t-shirts following criticism of the removal of some attendees for displaying messages supporting Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai.
- Taiwan Dangles Incentives to Strengthen Global Chipmaking Lead — Taiwan will push investment from foreign chip gear suppliers while offering incentives to attract overseas talent, part of a campaign to shore up its lead in making the semiconductors vital to future technologies.
Reuters
- China to allow gene-edited crops in push for food security — China has published trial rules for the approval of gene-edited plants, paving the way for faster improvements to crops as it seeks to bolster its food security.
- Exclusive: Chinese fashion retailer SHEIN revives plan for New York listing in 2022 – sources — The sources said SHEIN founder Xu was eyeing Singapore citizenship partly to bypass China’s new and tougher rules on overseas listings.
- ‘Solemn’ Hong Kong leader ditches mask to show how she feels about COVID — “Now I am very sombre, I am very solemn, because I am very worried. People need to understand and feel my feelings,” Lam said. “I’m not going to smile to you or look very relaxed or casual. This is a very solemn occasion.”
Other Publications
- Associated Press: Australian opposition leader: China relations won’t change — The opposition leader in Australia said Tuesday its relationship with China will remain difficult even if his center-left Labor Party wins power at elections for the first time in almost a decade.
- Nikkei Asia: Chinese TV dramas to label foreign actors in credits — Dual citizens risk losing work as Beijing tries to stoke patriotism.
- Vice World News: Cult Classic ‘Fight Club’ Gets a Very Different Ending in China — Viewers are told that the state successfully busted Tyler’s plan to destroy the world.
- CSIS: Two Years In, How Does the STAR Market Measure Up? — It’s been over two years since the launching of China’s version of NASDAQ, the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Science and Technology Innovation Board, known as the STAR market.
