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
- China’s Xi Weighs Tapping Loyalist as Next Economic Czar — He Lifeng, a member of the ‘Fujian Gang,’ brings experience from the political trenches that could make him a better enforcer of Xi’s plans.
- Chinese Stocks Plunge After SEC Stokes Delisting Concerns — Index tracking U.S.-listed Chinese stocks has its biggest decline since the global financial crisis; selloff continues in Hong Kong.
- For U.S.-Listed Chinese Tech, One Minute to Midnight — U.S. markets will soon have fewer Chinese stocks. One big probable winner: Hong Kong.
- Huawei’s Software Business Booms, as Its 5G Sales Suffer — The U.S. has blocked the company’s acquisition of many advanced chips. So it has shifted its focus to products that don’t require as many foreign chips.
- Nickel Market Freeze Extended to Sort Out Big Trading Loss Amid Ukraine War — The pause until next week gives the London Metal Exchange time to resolve a crisis caused by a trade that originated in China.
The Financial Times
- China developers: record junk yields keep pushing limits — Collapses of local junk bond prices signal that even tougher times lie ahead.
- China struggles to rein in biggest virus outbreak since Wuhan — City of 9mn locks down after just 23 cases as Omicron surge challenges Xi’s zero-Covid strategy.
- China tech stocks set for worst week in a year on regulatory woes — US and Chinese authorities renew scrutiny of once high-flying sector.
- China’s tech platforms become propaganda tools in Putin’s war — Response to Ukraine invasion poses ESG problems for foreign investors in country’s social media companies.
- Ukraine invasion hardens stance of Washington’s Asia allies on China — War stokes internal debate in Japan’s ruling party over changing nuclear weapons policy.
- SEC sets clock for delisting Chinese companies over US audit demand — Regulator’s move to enforce law requiring accounting documents sends shares tumbling.
The New York Times
- Lockdowns Spread in China as Covid Cases Surge in Shanghai and Other Areas — Officials say that most of the recent cases are in people with no symptoms, but they are warning against complacency.
- China Has Tools to Help Russia’s Economy. None Are Big Enough to Save It. — Any financial lifeline that Beijing can offer Moscow involves taking on risk and won’t have the power to reverse the damage of sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies.
- Chinese stocks listed in U.S. tumble over fears of potential delisting — The S.E.C. specified five U.S.-traded Chinese companies required to turn over audit information to regulators. The news reverberated in Asian markets Friday.
- U.S. Fights Bioweapons Conspiracy Theory Pushed by Russia and China — The Biden administration says the two countries’ promotion of anti-U.S. conspiracy theories might be cover for lethal Russian military operations.
Caixin
- In Depth: Volkswagen’s EV Missteps in China — Once a leader in helping China create its modern auto industry, the German auto giant is stumbling with its electric transition in the world’s most dynamic EV market.
- Soho China Offers Properties at 30% Discount to Cover Debts — Real estate developer jacks up agents’ commissions to 4% from 1% as it races struggling competitors to dump assets and raise cash.
- Nio’s Hong Kong Homecoming May Inspire Other U.S.-Listed Chinese Companies — Companies are stepping up discussions on plans for floatation in the Asian financial hub through the introduction route.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese premier appeals to US to lift export bans on China — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has called on the US to lift export bans on China, despite widening differences between the two countries.
- Didi Global is said to halt its Hong Kong listing plan amid ongoing cybersecurity probe, sources say — Didi Global has suspended preparations for its planned Hong Kong listing after failing to appease Chinese regulators’ demands that it overhaul its systems for handling sensitive user data, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Shares of HutchMed and four others named by US SEC’s audit list tumble in Hong Kong, Shanghai in knee jerk reaction to regulatory risks — HutchMed, the pharmaceutical unit of tycoon Li Ka-shing’s flagship CK Hutchison Holdings, led declines among four Hong Kong-listed stocks on Friday after being named in a list of foreign companies liable to US accounting inspection law.
Nikkei Asia
- Chinese stocks tumble in Hong Kong after SEC delisting warning — Didi Global drops up to 20% in premarket trading after report of listing delay.
- As Xi forges own path, China plays down Deng’s economic policy — Government Work Report sees sharp reduction in phrase ‘opening up.’
- Nickel squeeze shines spotlight on China metals group Tsingshan — Billionaire co-founder and wife got start producing car doors and windows.
Bloomberg
- Absence of Common Prosperity Hints at a Lost Moment for China — For a while there, Xi Jinping’s favorite slogan was everywhere in China. Then growth slowed and Russia invaded Ukraine.
- China Shuts Shanghai Schools, Adds Hospitals on Covid Return — China is experiencing its most significant Covid-19 outbreak since the early days of the pandemic, igniting a flurry of new restrictions and mitigation measures as the country’s zero-tolerance approach to the virus is challenged like never before.
- China to Allow Rapid Tests for First Time as Covid Cases Surge — China will allow the use of rapid antigen tests to diagnose Covid-19 for the first time, as a fast-spreading omicron outbreak challenges its Covid Zero playbook, pushing cases to levels last seen in Wuhan at the start of the pandemic.
- Didi Said to Halt Hong Kong Listing on Cybersecurity Probe — Didi Global Inc. has suspended preparations for its planned Hong Kong listing after failing to appease Chinese regulators’ demands that it overhaul its systems for handling sensitive user data, according to people familiar with the matter.
Reuters
- Chinese premier Li confirms he will step down next March — The No. 2 in the hierarchy of China’s ruling Communist Party, Li has been premier since 2013, and is constitutionally limited to two terms.
- Italy annuls sale of military drones firm to Chinese investors, sources say — The government opened an investigation last year into the 2018 sale to the Chinese players of a 75% stake in Alpi Aviation, based in northern Italy.
- Aramco says China joint venture to develop refinery and petrochemical complex — The project, expected to be operational in 2024, combines a 300,000 barrel-per-day capacity refinery and ethylene-based steam cracker, with Aramco set to supply up to 210,000 barrels a day of crude oil feedstock.
Other Publications
- The Economist: To meet its ambitious growth target, China turns to stimulus — But it’s the stealthy sort.
- The Economist: Russia looks to Chinese financial plumbing to keep money flowing — It isn’t connected to the world well enough to help much.
- The Economist: China’s scientists are looking for a way out of the zero-covid policy — Politicians will have the ultimate say. Omicron may force them to act.
- The Economist: Chinese money is pouring into British universities — Critics claim it comes at the cost of free speech.
- The Atlantic: What China’s Social Media Is Saying About Ukraine — Our analysis of online comments shows that pro-Moscow posturing is a veil for expressing a deeper critique of U.S. influence.
- Protocol: How CAC become Chinese tech’s biggest nightmare — The Cyberspace Administration of China’s core functions have expanded from content control to data security and privacy, and they affect the entire digital economy.
- The Information: Jack Ma’s Ant Group Delays IPO as Beijing’s Tech Crackdown Goes On — Bankers who last fall talked to the Chinese company about a possible Hong Kong–based stock listing in the second half of 2022 or early 2023 say that an IPO is now off the table amid Beijing’s continued crackdown on the country’s tech sector.
- Recorded Future: Inside China’s National Defense Mobilization Reform: Capacity Surveys, Mobilization Resources, and “New-Type” Militias — This report examines China’s national defense mobilization system, the national and international resources that authorities account for in national defense mobilization planning, and the emergence of “new-type” militia forces.
