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
- Cyberattack on News Corp, Believed Linked to China, Targeted Emails of Journalists, Others — The attack, discovered on Jan. 20, affected publications including The Wall Street Journal, New York Post and the company’s U.K. news operation.
- Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping Put on United Front Amid Standoff With West — Facing threat of U.S. sanctions over Ukraine, Moscow offers new contract to supply natural gas to China.
- House Expected to Pass $350 Billion Bill to Help U.S. Compete Globally — Senate passed similar bill to address challenge from China, but House version includes climate and economic measures GOP opposes.
Olympics Coverage
- China’s Unspoken Winter Olympics Theme: ‘We’re Here, Get Used to It’ — Beijing in the 2008 Summer Games gave an open-arm welcome to the world—and the 2022 Games will demonstrate its power and prestige.
- Why the Beijing Olympics Are Awkward for Corporate Do-Gooders — U.S. companies are embracing social responsibility at home but sponsoring the Games in a country where the government is accused of atrocities. They may be underestimating the reputational risks.
- What to Know About the Diplomatic Boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics — American athletes are participating fully in the Games, but the U.S. isn’t sending lawmakers or other official luminaries.
- China’s Olympics Guest List Highlights Tensions With West — Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan are among the countries paying their respects to China’s Xi Jinping.
- An Uneasy Welcome to the Beijing Bubble — The Olympics begin, with ceremony and a sanitizing.
The Financial Times
- Xi backs Putin’s opposition to Nato expansion at summit that underlines closer ties — Russian and Chinese leaders rebuke US and present united front in talks at Beijing Winter Olympics.
- Chinese property group Shimao feels chill of sector’s liquidity crisis — Developer sucked into bond market sell-off following Evergrande collapse.
Olympics Coverage
- Latin American leaders target economic prizes during Beijing Winter Olympics — Argentina and Ecuador’s presidents to meet Xi Jinping to discuss debt and investments.
- Xi brushes off furore dogging Beijing’s ‘Genocide Olympics’ — Games will showcase Covid successes and embolden China’s most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong.
- Olympics chief rejects talk of ‘political issues’ on eve of Beijing Games — Western diplomats to boycott event over China’s persecution of Uyghur population.
The New York Times
Olympics Coverage
- Pelosi Warns U.S. Olympic Athletes Not to Anger China With Protests — The House speaker said protests could prompt reprisals from a “ruthless” Chinese government.
- What’s in a name? For Taiwan, a lot. — Officials from the self-governing island worry that China might use the Games as a linguistic opportunity to assert its claim over Taiwan.
- Once Again the Olympic Games Will Begin, Despite Everything — It seems that nothing — neither the pandemic nor the shadow of doping scandals nor concerns over China’s human rights record — will deter the International Olympic Committee from staging the Beijing Games.
- Who Will Light the Cauldron at the Opening Ceremony? — The New York Times has a pretty good record recently of predicting who gets the honor, so let’s try our hand at it again.
- One of China’s Picks for a Torchbearer Is an Army Commander Who Clashed With India — The selection of Col. Qi Fabao was swiftly denounced by the Indian government, which said that the top diplomat at its embassy in Beijing would not attend the opening or closing ceremonies of the Olympics.
- At Beijing Olympics, Question of Free Speech Looms Over Athletes — An Olympic rule and warnings from the Chinese government have made it risky for athletes to speak out at these Games.
Caixin
- Xiaomi’s Smartphone Chief Resigns — Chang Cheng, Xiaomi Corp. vice president and general manager of its smartphone department, has left after a two-year tenure that saw the electronics giant expand its global smartphone market share to at one time become the No. 2 seller.
- Exclusive: Japan’s Largest Utility Firm Starts Chinese Subsidiary, Eyes LNG Projects — JERA Co. Inc. will open a subsidiary in Beijing, as part of plans to expand its business in Asia and address the growing energy needs of the world’s second largest economy.
- China’s Winter Sports Sector Skates to Glory With Olympic Boost, Analysts Say — During the 2021 to 2022 winter season, 305 million domestic trips related to winter sports, leisure and tourism were made, up from 254 million in the previous year and 170 million in the 2016 to 2017 season.
South China Morning Post
- Top Chinese university pulls report that concluded China would suffer more from tech decoupling with US — A think-tank at China’s prestigious Peking University has pulled a report that concluded China would likely suffer more in a tech decoupling from the US.
- China’s fully cashless society a step closer after two private banks end services for banknotes and coins — Two small private Chinese banks announced last month that they would no longer provide services involving banknotes or coins, in the latest sign that the country is accelerating its march towards a totally cashless society.
- Veteran Hong Kong activist Koo Sze-yiu arrested for allegedly inciting subversion — A force insider confirmed the accusation against Koo, but it was still unclear what he had done that constituted the alleged offence.
Bloomberg
- Putin and Xi Close Ranks Against the West on Ukraine and Taiwan — China backs Russia’s demand for security guarantees from the U.S. and NATO as the two presidents see “no forbidden zones” in relations.
- Hong Kong Security Police Arrest 75-Year-Old Democracy Activist — Hong Kong national security police arrested a 75-year-old pro-democracy activist, according to a Chinese state media report that called him an “anti-China disruptor.”
- Chinese Sportswear Stocks Climb as Winter Olympics Boost Outlook — Shares of Chinese sportswear makers climbed as investors bet that Beijing’s Winter Olympics will help spur demand amid the government’s recent drive to increase health awareness.
Reuters
- JD offers generous warning to China tech investors — Richard Liu’s generosity is a warning to investors desperately looking for signs that Chinese tech giants are out of Beijing’s bad books.
- Evergrande to push ahead with sale of Hong Kong land after receiver appointment – source — U.S. asset manager Oaktree Capital Management, a lender to Evergrande to develop a vast land plot in the rural Yuen Long district, has sought to seize control of the asset by appointing a receiver.
- News Corp says one of its network systems targeted by cyberattack — The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on a Wall Street Journal report that said cybersecurity firm Mandiant’s investigation of the attack showed the hackers “likely meant to gather intelligence to benefit China’s interests”.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Nixon’s visit to China, 50 years on — Eye-witnesses from 1972 offer their views of a relationship in bad shape.
- The Economist/1843 Magazine: Cold warrior: why Eileen Gu ditched Team USA to ski for China — At the Beijing Olympics the superpower rivalry will be played out on the slopes.
- Associated Press: House to vote on bill to boost US computer chip production — House Democrats are poised to approve legislation Friday that they say positions the United States to better compete with China economically and on the global stage.
- Nikkei Asia: China’s Shimao fights to restore confidence as debt crisis spreads — Property market downturn hits Shanghai developer whose finances had not previously raised red flags.
- Protocol: China wants deepfake providers to be responsible for their creations — A new draft regulation from Beijing introduces more obligations for deepfake tools and platforms.
