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.
Paid subscribers automatically have this list emailed directly to their inboxes every day by 10 a.m. EST. Subscribe here.
The Wall Street Journal
- U.S. Says It Is Realigning Its China Trade Policy — U.S. Trade Representative’s annual report promises to consider all possible tools to combat Beijing’s practices, but offers few details.
- U.S. Moving to Confront China on Trade, Industrial Policy — Biden administration weighs potential new probe under Section 301 among efforts aimed at protecting America’s edge in new technologies.
- China Weighs Methods for Relaxing Zero-Covid-19 Grip: Bubbles, Drugs and New Messaging — The world’s strictest pandemic-control regime likely won’t be relaxed until next year, but experimental opening measures could come as soon as summer.
- China’s Outreach to Russian Economy Extends Only So Far — Beijing could support Moscow as it faces punishing Western sanctions, but there are limits to how much it can do.
- Can Russia’s Sanctions Pain Be China’s Gain? — Concerted Western action has set a tough precedent for any potential future crisis in the Taiwan Strait.
- China Won’t Take Part in Western Financial Sanctions on Russia: Bank Regulator Chief — China opposed unilateral financial sanctions and won’t participate in such sanctions imposed by Western nations on Russia, Guo Shuqing, the head of China’s banking and insurance regulator, said Wednesday.
- Chinese in Ukraine Fend for Themselves as Beijing Takes a Careful Stance on Russia’s Invasion — China is struggling to evacuate its citizens, while fighting a perception in Ukraine that it has sided with Moscow.
- China, Eying Taiwan, Gets Lesson From Ukraine’s Stiff Resistance — Beijing hasn’t ruled out taking democratically-ruled island by force, but Russia’s struggles show potential military hurdles.
- U.S. Panel Finds No National-Security Concerns With Chinese Plane Deal — American shareholders in Icon Aircraft had alleged improper tech transfer to China and urged U.S. investment-screening panel Cfius to intervene.
- Hot-Pot Billionaire Steps Down as CEO as Investors Stew About Overexpansion — It comes as Haidilao warned it expected to record an annual loss following its decision to close or suspend operations at hundreds of restaurants.
The Financial Times
- Hong Kong top lawyer leaves city abruptly after police questioning — Former bar association head Paul Harris was outspoken on territory’s tough national security law.
- Xi unlikely to ditch his ‘best friend’ Putin despite Ukraine pressure — China changes tone on peace talks but remains reluctant to abandon ‘no-limits’ alliance with Russia.
- Chinese people stranded in Kyiv become target of Ukrainian anger — Backlash over Beijing’s failure to criticise Russia comes as China offers to mediate peace talks.
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine leaves China facing a difficult balancing act — Beijing’s stress on the importance of sovereignty suggests strains in a special relationship.
- China ready to ‘play a role’ in Ukraine ceasefire — Shift in Beijing’s public position comes after call between Chinese and Ukrainian foreign ministers.
The New York Times
- Chinese Company Removed as Operator of Cobalt Mine in Congo — A court has given the Congolese control of one of the world’s largest sources of cobalt while allegations against the mine’s Chinese owners are investigated.
- Hong Kong, Buckling Under Covid, Leaves Its Most Vulnerable in the Cold — Poor residents have been forced to choose between infecting their families or sleeping outdoors because of cramped living quarters and a lack of isolation facilities.
Caixin
- Analysis: China’s CIPS Won’t Rescue Russian Banks From SWIFT Ban — While the homegrown Chinese international payment system may take up some of the slack, it lacks the capacity to fully offset the banks’ exclusion from the global mechanism, analysts say.
- In Depth: China’s Fintech Plan Part Two Puts Data, Risk Control in Driving Seat — Governance, real-world application of core technology, and strengthening regulation are also at the heart of the roadmap.
- Ant Group’s Self-Inspection Almost Done, Banking Regulator Says — Trend of a real estate bubble has basically been reversed, CBIRC chief Guo Shuqing also says.
South China Morning Post
- ‘Taiwan stands with Ukraine’: President Tsai pledges month’s pay for relief efforts — Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Vice-President William Lai and Premier Su Tseng-chang will each donate a month’s salary towards humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine, as its fight to repel a Russian military invasion entered a seventh day.
- China’s TikTok does a delicate dance to keep Brussels, Moscow and Beijing happy — TikTok, the short-video app popular for showing off new dance moves, is now performing a delicate balancing act itself to comply with varying requirements from Brussels, Moscow and Beijing over content related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the challenges of operating a global platform in a divisive world.
- Russia’s US$140 billion of Chinese bond holdings are ‘major foreign assets’, could be used to skirt sanctions — Russia’s central bank and sovereign wealth fund probably own a combined US$140 billion worth of Chinese bonds, assets that they may seek to access given global sanctions, according to estimates by Australia & New Zealand Banking Group.
Nikkei Asia
- Ukraine foreign minister asks China to mediate ceasefire — In phone call, Beijing says it supports negotiations to end war.
- Jet leasing companies race to pull planes from sanction-hit Russia — Questions swirl over how Asian plane suppliers can recover aircraft, unpaid bills.
- Hong Kong pro-democracy activist convicted over protest slogans — Former radio host Tam Tak-chi in custody for 541 days since sedition charges arrest.
- Hong Kong fights lockdown panic as COVID count hits record — City leader rules out lockdown, calls for calm ahead of mass testing plans.
Bloomberg
- China Moves to Secure Commodities Rocked by Ukraine War — China’s top government officials have issued orders to prioritize energy and commodities supply security, sparked by concerns over disruptions stemming from the Ukraine-Russia war.
- Pompeo Heads to Taiwan as Rival U.S. Groups Offer Backing — Taiwan’s government is juggling competing high-profile visits from the U.S. in a busy week of diplomacy as Washington sends a delegation to democratically run Taipei just before a trip by former secretary of state Michael Pompeo.
- Russia May Own $140 Billion Worth of Chinese Bonds, ANZ Says — Russia’s central bank and sovereign wealth fund probably own a combined $140 billion worth of Chinese bonds, assets that they may seek to access given global sanctions, estimates by Australia & New Zealand Banking Group show.
- Ex-Hong Kong Radio Host Is First Convicted in Sedition Crackdown — A Hong Kong radio host has been found guilty of sedition, local media reported, the Beijing-backed government’s first conviction in a wave of prosecutions under a long-dormant colonial-era law.
Reuters
- China set to approve 3rd batch of localities for digital yuan trials – state media — Applicants include Henan, Fujian and Heilongjiang provinces, and the cities of Guangzhou, Chongqing, Fuzhou and Xiamen.
- As sanctions target Russia, FESCO says customers can pay yuan — Russia’s FESCO Transportation Group accepts Chinese yuan from customers, it said this week, as businesses struggle to cope with international sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Ex-chief of Hong Kong barristers says he left city after police interview — Harris confirmed to Reuters in a phone message that he had left the city, but gave no further details. “Yes, on way to see my mother in England,” he said.
Other Publications
- Global News: Over $154M tied to detained Chinese-Canadian oligarch invested in GTA real estate — A Global News investigation has found Unexus Group and WinnerMax Capital are at the centre of a Byzantine network of corporations connected to Xiao Jianhua’s family, including his wife and brother-in-law, which have invested over $154 million in real estate across the Greater Toronto Area since 2015.
- Global News: Where is Xiao Jianhua? Officials mum on abduction of Canadian-Chinese tycoon in 2017 — Five years later there have been no official updates from the federal government on his whereabouts, or whether Xiao, who holds a Canadian passport, has even received consular visits.
- Foreign Policy: Putin’s War Has Killed China’s Eurasian Railway Dreams — The iron silk road was a key part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
- Quartz: A Chinese firm is giving up on its long delayed US-Hong Kong undersea cable — More than five years after an initiative to pioneer a US-Hong Kong submarine cable connection was initially announced, the Chinese firm that has majority ownership of the project has called it quits.
