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’s Economy Appears to Be Stalling, Threatening to Drag Down Global Growth — While a traditional recession remains unlikely, economists see worrisome signs of a slowdown.
- Beijing, Shanghai Outbreaks Renew Debate Over China’s Covid-19 Strategy — With Covid-19 hobbling the country’s two largest cities, some public-health experts say the current approach is unsustainable.
- China Is Frequent Topic, Especially for GOP, in Midterm Campaign Ads — Mentions of the Asian economic giant are running most heavily in the Rust Belt states.
- Chinese Insurer Ping An, HSBC’s Top Shareholder, Turns Low-Key Activist — British bank is facing pressure to separate its lucrative Asian business from its operations elsewhere.
- Shanghai Residents Protest Lockdown With Marches, Smashed Vegetables and Art Projects — Frustrated residents are venting via public acts of disobedience as food distribution remains a problem.
- New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel Finds a Rocky Path to Condo Conversion — Costs now are expected to rise to more than $2 billion; American executive at Chinese owner Dajia leaves.
The Financial Times
- China meets banks to discuss protecting assets from US sanctions — Officials concerned that measures taken against Moscow could also be applied to Beijing.
- Triumphalism returns to haunt Xi Jinping — China’s leader risks being blamed for the failure of a zero Covid policy that once seemed successful.
- Beijing teeters on edge of Covid lockdown — Gyms and cinemas shut as data reveal consequences of restrictions on China’s economy.
- Cutting China tariffs will offer no respite from rising prices — US policymakers must stand firm on the need to confront Beijing and rebalance global trade.
- Western multinationals sound alarm over China’s Covid lockdowns — Extension of strict virus curbs dents US and European groups’ results and weakens outlooks.
- Zero-Covid pride of China’s ‘big leader’ Xi Jinping threatens economic fall — Officials and advisers fear president is blind to the impact of harsh anti-coronavirus measures.
- US holds high-level talks with UK over China threat to Taiwan — White House consults European allies over what it sees as more assertive activity by Beijing.
- China’s biggest insurer Ping An calls for HSBC break-up — Largest shareholder adds to pressure on UK bank struggling to balance Chinese and western interests.
The New York Times
- Inside China’s Zero-Covid Fortress, Xi Jinping Admits No Doubts — As the lockdown of Shanghai and outbreaks in Beijing and elsewhere batter the economy, China’s leader keeps a distance from the politically charged issue.
- Beijing Reopens Mass Isolation Center In Attempt to Avoid Broad Lockdown — While the Chinese capital has recorded only a few hundred cases in recent weeks, the move to reopen the facility appears to be aimed at avoiding the fate of Shanghai.
Caixin
- Analysis: Hard Line Quarantine and the Rule of Law — It is an understatement to refer to locking residents in their homes and forcing them to hand over their keys as “simplistic and radical means.” It is a direct violation of citizens’ property rights and personal freedom.
- Shanghai Eases Restrictions in Six Districts — Shanghai has relaxed lockdown conditions in six districts since Sunday, amid a decline in the financial hub’s daily local infections over the past few days.
South China Morning Post
- Weibo’s new policy to display user locations prompts some humour among netizens as Gates, Musk and Cook appear to be based in China — Weibo accounts of Western tech gurus are likely run by entities or teams based in China on their behalf, acting as one-way PR channels.
- PwC and Grant Thornton quit as auditors for R&F, Kaisa and Shimao as Covid-19 controls gum up accounting work, casting cloud over financial transparency — The resignations may reignite concerns about the financial transparency and accountability of China’s highly leveraged property developers.
- HSBC defends its global span to fend off Ping An’s break-up call as it doubles down on its Asia pivot — Ping An Insurance, one of HSBC’s biggest shareholders, recommended the London-based bank spin off Asia business and list in Hong Kong, according to reports.
Nikkei Asia
- China to tighten export controls on dual-use technology — Military application fears drive move, but critics worry about arbitrary rulings.
- India says it seizes $725m of Xiaomi funds over illegal remittances — Latest move signals widening scrutiny of the Chinese smartphone maker.
Bloomberg
- India Accuses Xiaomi of Forex Violations in Latest China Clash — India accused Xiaomi Corp. of breaching the country’s foreign-exchange laws and seized 55.51 billion rupees ($726 million) from a local unit of the smartphone maker, in India’s latest clash with a Chinese company over their activities in the market.
- China Analyst Hong Hao Has Social Media Accounts Frozen — The public social media accounts of Bocom International Holdings’ China strategist Hong Hao were suspended for unspecified violations following recent bearish reports on the country by the outspoken analyst.
- Macau Gaming Income Falls to New Low on China Omicron Outbreaks — Macau’s gaming revenue slump deepened in April, plunging 68% from a year earlier to the lowest level in about 18 months as the world’s biggest gambling hub suffers from a tourist drought amid China’s Covid lockdown measures.
Reuters
- U.S. FDA declines to approve two more China-tested drugs — The decisions could add pressure on Chinese stocks at a time shares of several U.S.-listed Chinese companies have been falling on the potential risk of being de-listed.
- China’s Xi vows stronger antimonopoly efforts, healthy capital market — Xi was quoted as saying China would crack down on corrupt behaviour related to disorderly capital expansion and platform monopolies, and would strengthen supervisions.
Other Publications
- Foreign Affairs: China’s Ukraine Conundrum — Why the War Necessitates a Balancing Act. By Yan Xuetong
- The Times: Who owns the Earth? The scramble for minerals turns critical — China controls the metals that are vital to the modern economy. Is the West’s fightback too late?