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’s Covid Lockdown Leaves Thousands Sleeping in Its Streets — Many of the city’s newly homeless are food-delivery workers facing a difficult choice: locked in without income or locked out with a job.
- China Censors WHO Chief’s Call to End Covid-19 Strategy Dubbed Unsustainable — Move to muffle global health body’s criticism shows Xi Jinping’s zero tolerance for public debate.
- China Currency Crisis May Get a Sequel — China’s bulwarks against currency depreciation and capital outflows are stronger in some ways than in 2015, but the external environment is more threatening.
- China Consumer Inflation Accelerates Modestly — Consumer prices were up 2.1% in April, the fastest pace in five months, as growth took a hit from widespread Covid-prevention measures.
- Taiwanese Activist Says China Subjected Him to Mental Torture During Five-Year Prison Sentence — Lee Ming-che, a rare Taiwanese citizen to be sentenced in mainland China on political charges, returned home after serving five years in prison for state subversion.
- Opinion: Xi Jinping Scrambles as China’s Economy Stumbles — His recipe for stagnation: Hostility to the private sector, friendship with Russia, and ‘zero Covid.’ By Kevin Rudd
The Financial Times
- Global investment banks in China finally turn a profit — Wall Street and European banks reap rewards after Beijing scrapped foreign ownership limits.
- China early-stage fundraising slides to lowest level since 2009 — More than 90% drop in ‘time of uncertainty’ for foreign investment in world’s second-largest economy.
- WHO chief warns that China’s zero-Covid strategy is not sustainable — New modelling underscores country’s vulnerability because of faltering vaccination drive.
- China property/KE Holdings: Hong Kong IPO hedges risk of US delisting — Parent of real estate platform Beike rose as much as 8% on HK debut, but housing market is faltering.
The New York Times
- China Is the Next Worry as Food Prices Soar — Ukraine’s wheat exports have been mostly halted since Russia’s invasion, while drought has damaged crops in India and the United States. China’s upcoming harvest is another concern.
- As Shanghai’s Covid Cases Fall, China’s Restrictions Tighten — Schools are closed indefinitely in Beijing, while the last subway lines in Shanghai that were still running have ceased operation.
Caixin
- Former Everbright Bank Branch Chief Under Graft Probe — Su Shude, ex-president of Nanning unit, joins parade of Everbright officials ensnared in corruption investigations.
- Southeast Asian Exporters Step Up as China Locks Down — Vietnam and Indonesia are reopening their economies, giving local manufacturers the edge as foreign companies diversify their supply chains.
- BioNTech’s Covid Vaccine Safety Trial in China Completed Four Months Ago, Registry Shows — German developer’s mRNA-based Comirnaty shot is one of the most widely used worldwide, with data already showing its high efficacy.
South China Morning Post
- Cardinal Joseph Zen arrested by Hong Kong’s national security police — Zen was arrested along with former opposition lawmaker Margaret Ng and singer Denise Ho. The three were trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which helped protesters in financial need.
- China’s securities regulator pledges action to shore up region’s worst-performing stock market, says rout is an ‘overreaction’ — China’s securities watchdog joins chorus of voices trying to soothe the frayed nerves of investors, pledging a variety of measures to shore up confidence in the region’s worst-performing stock market.
- Beijing bans preschool learning apps as crackdown on private tutoring continues — The official regulation is the latest move by Chinese authorities to reduce screen time and addiction to smartphones among kids.
Nikkei Asia
- Macao bets on a new future as China cracks down on gambling — Pressure from Beijing and pandemic travel rules are forcing the gamer’s paradise to diversify.
- China’s EV investment drive risks veering into overcapacity — Factory usage could fall below 50% once new factories come online.
Bloomberg
- US Ban on China Tech Failed to Stop Use of Hauwei, ZTE Hardware — Rural telecom providers, corporate jets, even the Department of Defense retain gear made by Huawei and other banned companies
- Tesla, Sony’s Problems Show Shanghai’s Big Restart Is Faltering — The official line coming out of Covid-hit Shanghai is that business is returning to usual despite the ongoing lockdown, yet hundreds of manufacturers in the city aren’t operating at anywhere near to full capacity, if they’re up and running again at all.
- Videos of Ruined Wheat Fields in China Boost Food Security Fears — Videos showing acres of wheat in China being destroyed or cut down before they mature are going viral on social media, throwing doubts on the quality of the crop in some areas at a time when global prices are soaring.
Reuters
- Hong Kong police arrest Catholic cardinal for alleged collusion with foreign forces – media — Hong Kong’s national security police on Wednesday arrested Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Asia, and four others who helped run a now-disbanded humanitarian fund for protesters, media reported.
- China berates WHO chief for ‘irresponsible’ remarks on its zero-COVID policy — China’s foreign ministry called on World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to avoid making “irresponsible” remarks, after he said China’s zero-COVID policy was not sustainable.
- Marcos as Philippine president a boon for China, awkward for U.S — The decisive victory of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the Philippines’ presidential election on Monday is set to re-shape the Southeast Asian country’s relations with China and the United States as he seeks closer ties with Beijing.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: Many GOP candidates are bashing each other for ties to China — The rhetoric reflects the Republican Party’s increasingly negative views of China after two years of the coronavirus and Trump’s criticism of the country.
- The Guardian: Lifting zero-Covid policies in China could risk 1.6m deaths, says study — Authorities might let people isolate at home instead of quarantine centres but anger continues in Shanghai about heavy-handed tactics.