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
- Saudi Arabia Invites China’s Xi to Visit Kingdom Amid Strained U.S. Relations — Trip could happen as soon as May, as alliances shift in the Middle East and Washington’s regional partners seek out new security and economic ties.
- China Tries to Shift Attention as U.S. Presses It on Ukraine — Beijing’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi emphasizes China’s commitment to de-escalation in meeting with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
- China’s New Covid-19 Cases More Than Double as Outbreak Spreads — Beijing’s top pandemic official spearheads fight in worst-hit province as businesses shut down, millions ordered to stay home.
- Lockdowns Spread Across China as Race to Contain Covid-19 Outbreak Intensifies — Authorities impose anti-Covid restrictions on Jilin province, while businesses and daily life shut down in Shenzhen and Shanghai.
- China’s Factories, Consumers Make High-Speed Start to Year, but Roadblocks Lie Ahead — Industrial output, retail spending and investments blow past expectations, but lockdowns and Ukraine war threaten to hit the brakes on growth.
- Chinese Stocks Imploded. It’s Too Early to Buy the Dip. — Shares—particularly overseas-listed ones—are getting pummeled for good reason. Investors are better off steering clear for now.
- Banks to Keep Talking on Nickel Trading Losses, Tsingshan Says — Chinese metals producer says JPMorgan, others will continue talks, while nickel trading remains suspended on the London Metal Exchange.
- Video: China Could Help Russia Amid Ukraine Crisis – But There Are Limits — As the West sanctions Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, China could help, but only to a certain extent.
The Financial Times
- US tells allies China signalled openness to providing Russia with military support — Moscow requested equipment including surface-to-air missiles, according to diplomatic cables.
- China warns of retaliation if hit by Russia sanctions fallout — Beijing slams what it calls US efforts to spread disinformation and ‘distort and smear’ its position on Ukraine.
- China shares fall sharply on concerns over Covid outbreak and Ukraine war — Threat of widespread lockdowns sends Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbling to six-year low.
- Investors in Taiwan seek to hedge against risk of conflict with China — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forces rethink of geopolitical tensions in Asia.
- Hong Kong Omicron deaths expose limits of fraying zero-Covid policy — World’s worst spike in coronavirus fatalities shows impact of lower vaccination rates than regional peers.
- Hong Kong threatens British campaigner with national security law — Head of UK-based group ordered to take down website or face possible prison sentence.
- Hong Kong brain drain intensifies city’s economic woes — Unending Covid restrictions, compulsory quarantine and lockdown threat spark exodus from territory.
- British publishers censor books for western readers to appease China — References to Taiwan, Hong Kong and other subjects deemed sensitive by Beijing are excised.
The New York Times
- The U.S. warns China not to give Russia military or economic aid. — The national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, met in Rome for seven hours with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Communist Party’s Politburo and director of the party’s foreign affairs commission.
- China’s Covid Lockdowns Set to Further Disrupt Global Supply Chains — A surge in Omicron variant infections has prompted Chinese authorities to lock down residents, close factories and stop truck traffic, snarling already frayed supply chains.
- Chinese Blogger Challenges Beijing’s Version of the War in Ukraine — Wang Jixian has become one of the boldest voices confronting the Chinese state-controlled media’s narrative, drawing hundreds of thousands of viewers.
- Diplomacy Quickens to Halt Ukraine War or Stop Its Expansion — Ukraine and Russia held a new round of talks and agreed to resume them on Tuesday, as the United States warned China about helping an increasingly isolated Kremlin and expanding the conflict.
Caixin
- Chinese Nickel Giant Secures Deal to Avoid Further Margin Calls — Billionaire Xiang Guangda’s Tsingshan Holding gets breathing space while it unwinds massive wrong-way bets on the strategic metal.
- Guinea Suspends Iron Mine Crucial to Helping China Cut Reliance on Australia — The massive project in Simandou, the world’s largest known untapped iron ore reserve, has been plagued by delays over a variety of issues, despite China’s push for its development to reduce dependence of the resource from Australia.
- With Alibaba Looming, JD.com’s Courier Arm Moves to Take Over Peer — JD Logistics plans to invest $1.4 billion to boost its stake in Deppon to 99.99%, as its parent looks to buttresses itself against a potential move by its e-commerce rival.
South China Morning Post
- London to resume trading after Chinese ‘Big Shot’ Tsingshan lines up bank credit to forestall market chaos over its short positions — The London Metal Exchange will resume trading nickel on Wednesday after its controversial weeklong halt, confident that funding lined up by the largest short-seller of the metal can avert the catastrophic price surge that threw the bourse into chaos.
- China holds off on policy rate cut despite concerns over economic slowdown, but it’s ‘only a matter of time’ — China held off on an anticipated cut to its policy interest rates on Tuesday as headline economic data beat expectations, but it is “only a matter of time” before policymakers take action to support the cooling economy, analysts said.
- Struggling Huawei loses ground in global telecoms equipment market, but remains sector’s top vendor on back of China demand — Huawei Technologies Co lost some ground last year in the US$100 billion global telecommunications equipment market, according to a new report, but remained the industry’s top vendor on the back of strong demand from mainland China’s mobile network operators.
Nikkei Asia
- China scrambles as COVID exposes cracks in Hong Kong leadership — Deadly omicron wave dents city’s global status, while mainland fights spillover.
- In 7-hour talks, U.S. raises concerns about China aligning with Russia — Sullivan meets with Yang after reports about Moscow’s request for war assistance.
- China’s ZTE in federal court for possible probation violation — FBI agent testifies on alleged visa fraud by former employee.
Bloomberg
- Relentless Selling in China Stocks Evokes Memories of 2008 Crash — A selloff across Chinese stocks deepened on Tuesday, with concerns about the nation’s ties to Russia and persistent regulatory pressure sending a key index to the lowest level since 2008.
- U.S. Warns Europe That Russia Wants Armed Drones From China — The U.S. has warned European allies that Russia asked China for armed drones in late February as it was beginning its invasion of Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Hong Kong Dollar Faces Pressure to Drop as Fed Hike Nears — The Hong Kong dollar is coming under pressure to fall further as its interest-rate gap with the U.S. widens ahead of an expected Federal Reserve rate hike and as the city endures its worst Covid outbreak.
- Jack Ma’s Ant Sells China Media Firm Shares as Scrutiny Persists — Billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. sold its entire stake in the tech outlet 36Kr Holdings Inc., the latest asset disposal in its bid to comply with demands by China’s regulators.
Reuters
- China denies U.S. claim that Russia asked for help in Ukraine — China denied on Tuesday claims by U.S. officials that Russia had sought military assistance in Ukraine and accused Washington of spreading “malicious disinformation” that risked escalating the conflict.
- Russia fires official who said China refused to supply aircraft parts — Russian aviation authorities have fired an official who said last week that China had refused to supply Russian airlines with aircraft parts in the wake of Western sanctions, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Tuesday.
- With eye on China, EU sets rules to force open tenders — The European Union agreed on Monday new rules to limit access to its 2 trillion euros ($2.2 trillion) worth of public tenders in a move designed to pressure countries such as China to open up their markets.
Other Publications
- The Economist: America returns to containment to deal with Russia and China — Strategists are relearning the lessons of the cold war.
- Associated Press: Explainer: How plausible is Chinese military aid for Russia? — Smaller items such as bullets and meals are more likely than fighter jets and tanks, experts said.
