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
- China Eastern Plane Crash: Rescuers Find Engine Parts, Hunt for Second Black Box — The box’s positioning signal couldn’t be detected at the scene, and its signal transmitter might have been damaged, state media says.
- Almost 22,000 Feet in 72 Seconds: Plunge of China Eastern Plane Puzzles Experts — Boeing 737 crash in southern China was among the fastest jetliner descents ever recorded.
- FDA Rejects Eli Lilly’s China-Developed Cancer Drug — Agency asked Lilly and its China-based partner to conduct another trial of the immunotherapy in multiple regions.
- China Looks to Salvage Relationship With Europe — With U.S.-China relations on shaky ground, Beijing’s alignment with Russia could harm its ties with EU.
- Australia Alarmed by Prospect of China-Solomon Islands Security Pact — Canberra says Pacific nations don’t need external security assistance after document suggests Solomons could allow Chinese military presence.
- Meituan Outperforms China Tech Peers With 31% Revenue Growth — While Tencent and Alibaba’s growth has slowed, Meituan’s sales were boosted by food delivery and new businesses.
The Financial Times
- China threat to Taiwan highlighted by Ukraine war, warns US admiral — Indo-Pacific military chief says Asian allies must take seriously the possibility of an attack on island.
- Rallying Chinese markets will not be a quick fix for Beijing — Top official makes rare intervention to reassure investors but progress to resolve problems will be difficult.
- China factories set up ‘bubbles’ to ride out Covid lockdowns — Workers isolated on site to maintain production during tough coronavirus restrictions.
- US says hopes of resolution of audit impasse with China ‘premature’ — Beijing’s ban on foreign access to audits could cause delisting of $2tn of shares in US-listed Chinese companies.
- China, Russia and the war in Ukraine — The FT’s James Kynge talks to Alexander Gabuev about how the invasion will impact China’s ‘no-limits’ friendship with Russia.
- China under pressure, a debate — Featuring Adam Tooze of Chartbook.
The New York Times
- China and Solomon Islands Draft Secret Security Pact — The leaked agreement, if signed, could help the Chinese Navy block shipping routes that played a vital role in World War II.
- A surge in cases in Shanghai is testing China’s ‘zero Covid’ strategy. — Shanghai, China’s largest city, has seen few cases until recently. Now, it is reporting more than 1,500 a day, and many residents are expressing anguish and dismay over China’s zero-tolerance approach to the virus.
- China, pummeled by an outbreak, adds Pfizer’s antiviral pills to its treatment protocol. — China has revised the country’s pandemic guidelines to include the use of antiviral pills made by Pfizer, as the country scrambles to contain its biggest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic.
- High Death Rate in Hong Kong Shows Importance of Vaccinating the Elderly — Covid has surged in a number of Asian countries that had once held the virus at bay. Vaccination levels have largely determined how deadly those waves would be.
Caixin
- Energy Security Vies With Green Goals in China’s New Five-Year Plan — The latest roadmap for the energy sector offers big boosts of support for hydrogen and nuclear, and forgoes any cap on coal
- Soho China Units Fined for Gouging Tenants on Electricity Prices — Market regulator hits 15 of the developer’s property services unitswith $18 million in penalties for overcharging their commercial clients for power
- Luckin Coffee’s Outlets in China Top Starbucks — Fourth-quarter revenue jumps and loss narrows as Chinese startup moves past 2020 fraud scandal and prepares to seek relisting of its stock in the U.S.
South China Morning Post
- TikTok owner ByteDance marks 10th anniversary without founder Zhang Yiming as firm’s IPO plans remain up in the air — TikTok owner ByteDance, the world’s most valuable unicorn, on Friday marked its 10th anniversary in a muted celebration that was broadcast online to its employees, an event where billionaire founder Zhang Yiming was conspicuously absent.
- China’s Xi Jinping plays up close ties with South Korea in Yoon Suk-yeol call — Chinese president describes the two countries as inseparable partners in conversation with Seoul’s incoming leader.
- Shanghai nurse dies of asthma after emergency department closed for Covid-19 disinfection — Zhou Shengni, who worked at Shanghai East Hospital, died on Wednesday after her family was diverted to another hospital.
Nikkei Asia
- Weibo put on notice by SEC for potential delisting from Nasdaq — Social media platform is China’s sixth company flagged for nondisclosure.
- China reaches out to India, but progress on border tensions slow — Foreign minister Wang visits counterpart Jaishankar in New Delhi.
- Shanghai becomes China’s COVID epicenter as cases surge — Financial hub denies ‘rumors’ of plans for a citywide lockdown.
Bloomberg
- China Electric Car Battery Leader CATL Is Mostly Welcome in U.S. — CATL is said to be scouting sites for a North American factory.
- Fresh Selloff in China Tech Stocks Sparked by Earnings Worries — Chinese tech stocks slumped Friday amid continued concern about the sector’s earnings and the risk of local firms being kicked off American exchanges.
- Meituan’s Revenue Slows in Latest Sign of China Crackdown Toll — Meituan’s revenue slowed for the third straight quarter after weakening Chinese consumer spending and regulatory pressures constrained its online food and travel businesses.
Reuters
- Australian journalist Cheng Lei to be tried in Beijing next week — An Australian journalist will face court in Beijing next Thursday on state secrets charges, after being detained for more than 19 months, sources close to the case said.
- Chinese minister seeks normal India ties, Delhi says ease border tension first — India said on Friday ties with China could not be normal until their troops pulled back from each other on the disputed border, but Beijing struck a conciliatory note during a meeting of their foreign ministers in New Delhi.
- India-China ties caught in cross-currents of border tensions, rising trade — China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday, the highest-level visit by a Chinese official to New Delhi since border clashes two years ago strained diplomatic ties between the nuclear-armed Asian giants.
Other Publications
- The Economist: China has honed its justifications for taking Russia’s side — Deflection and anti-Americanism underpin China’s argument.
- The Economist: The extraordinary manpower behind China’s zero-covid strategy — Millions of workers battle thousands of cases.
- The Economist: How narcissistic youth might help struggling Chinese booksellers — They like to be seen in pretty shops. They might even buy a coffee.
- The Washington Post: The worse things go for Putin in Ukraine, the more China will back him — Beijing will work to keep Russia as its key strategic partner, even at a greater cost. By Jude Blanchette
