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
- Shanghai Has Recorded More Than 130,000 Covid Cases—and No Deaths — Health experts say determining the pandemic’s toll in China and elsewhere is complicated by a number of factors.
- China Inflation Rises as Lockdowns, Ukraine War Drive Up Prices — Inflationary pressure remains lighter than in other major economies, giving the central bank room to stimulate the slowing economy.
- China’s Latest Covid-19 Lockdowns Begin to Drag on the Economy — Stringent pandemic control measures result in falling car sales, rising prices of everyday items in March.
- Shanghai Residents Face Fresh Round of Mass Covid-19 Testing — U.S. Consulate in financial hub with more than 25 million population allows nonemergency staff to leave.
- China Is Accelerating Its Nuclear Buildup Over Rising Fears of U.S. Conflict — Beijing believes U.S. could turn to nuclear weapons in a war; Ukraine invasion underscores the value of a robust arsenal.
The Financial Times
- Chinese markets fall as Shanghai lockdown squeezes supply chains — Hong Kong-listed electric vehicle maker Nio leads declines as manufacturing pressure increases.
- The Chinese companies trying to buy strategic islands — Small businesses from China have scoured the globe for important strips of land. Are they trying to make money or are they a front for Beijing?
- Locked-down Shanghai residents demand food as Covid hits record level — Guangzhou starts mass testing as China tries to suppress Omicron outbreaks more quickly.
- John Lee, Hong Kong’s security tsar turned chief executive-in-waiting — The expected appointment shows that Beijing’s focus is on ensuring law and order, not financial recovery.
- US to send officials to Solomon Islands due to tensions over China security pact — Washington fears Beijing will gain strategic toehold in Pacific close to Australia.
The New York Times
- China’s Echoes of Russia’s Alternate Reality Intensify Around the World — China’s officials and state media are increasingly parroting Russian propaganda organs on the war in Ukraine, undercutting U.S. and European diplomatic efforts, even after the killings in Bucha.
Caixin
- Cover Story: Finding Jobs for China’s 10.76 Million New College Graduates — 10.76 million Chinese students are expected to leave college campuses this year, the largest group of graduates in China’s history and 1.67 million more than last year, according to the Ministry of Education.
- Guangzhou Residents Rush to Stockpile Food as Covid Cases Discovered — Consumers emptied shelves at some stores in the metropolis after it announced citywide mass testing and dozens of new cases.
- Highway Traffic Curbs Raise Concerns About Supply Chain Disruptions — China’s Ministry of Transport has urged local governments to avoid unreasonably strict restrictions on transportation as the country battles its worst Covid outbreak in two years.
South China Morning Post
- China’s foreign firms desperate for shift away from ‘old toolbox’ of mass testing, isolation to combat Omicron — Recent surveys by foreign business groups in China have recorded similar sentiments amid a growing public outcry over the nation’s zero-Covid strategy, and the EU Chamber of Commerce is imploring Beijing directly.
- Chinese delivery giant Meituan axes jobs at core departments as lay-offs in tech sector deepen — The wave of job cuts in China’s tech sector has reached Meituan, with the food delivery giant joining its peers in letting many of its employees go.
- Founder Ren Zhengfei urges Huawei to step up patent licensing as telecoms giant seeks to remake itself amid US sanctions — Huawei held a total of 110,000 active patents across 45,000 patent families by the end of last year, creating a potential pool of value as company tries to diversify sales.
Nikkei Asia
- Foreign cash flees China as investors shun autocracies — Net outflows surge as Ukraine war spooks markets.
- Hong Kong police arrest veteran journalist over ‘seditious material’ — Journalism school consultant Allan Au detained in dawn raid.
Bloomberg
- China Calls Charges Carmakers Have Ties to Forced Labor ‘Smears’ — China hit back at a U.S. research report that said major automakers such as BMW AG and General Motors Co. have links to controversial labor programs in the Asian nation, escalating a dispute over Beijing’s activities in Xinjiang.
- China Port Congestion Worsens as 477 Bulk Ships Waiting to Berth — Dotting the sea off Chinese ports are 477 bulk cargo ships waiting to deliver resources from metal ore to grain into the country.
- Harvard Endowment’s Debate Shows PE Funds’ China Struggle — China-focused private equity firms are struggling for new cash, hit by increased skepticism among U.S. pension funds and endowments about the growing political and market risks of Asia’s largest economy.
- Cascade of Allegations Threatens Future of Australian Casinos — Australia’s casino industry is facing an existential crisis, with allegations of brazen misconduct in courting Chinese gamblers threatening to upend one of the world’s most lucrative gambling markets — just as Blackstone Inc. buys the biggest player in town.
Reuters
- Shanghai eases lockdown in some areas despite record COVID infections — China’s financial centre of Shanghai started easing its lockdown in some areas on Monday despite reporting a record of more than 25,000 new COVID-19 infections, as authorities sought to get the city moving again after more than two weeks.
- Chinese oil giant CNOOC to raise $4.4 billion in Shanghai listing — Chinese oil giant CNOOC Ltd said on Monday it will raise $4.41 billion in a share listing in Shanghai, after setting the price for what will be mainland China’s 11th-biggest public stock offering.
- Hong Kong police arrest veteran journalist for alleged sedition — Hong Kong’s national security police arrested a veteran journalist and former contributing writer with the now-shuttered liberal media outlet Stand News, on Monday for alleged sedition.
Other Publications
- Associated Press: Guangzhou closes to most arrivals as China’s outbreak grows — Only citizens with a “definite need” to leave Guangzhou can do so, and only if they test negative for the virus within 48 hours of departure, city spokesperson Chen Bin said in a social media announcement.
- Quartz: China’s other oil security problem — We know about China’s energy security vulnerability in its dependence on Russia and the Middle East for oil. But China has another oil security problem. Specifically, cooking oil.
- MIT Tech Review: Inside the fierce, messy fight over “healthy” sugar tech — Yi-Heng “Percival” Zhang was a leader in rare sugar research. Then things got sticky.
