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 Forgotten Premier Steps Out of Xi’s Shadow as Economic Fixer — Li Keqiang helps press the president to dial back policies that have contributed to the economy’s slowdown.
- Cardinal Joseph Zen Is Arrested by Hong Kong’s National Security Police — Retired church leader is among a group arrested as part of an investigation into a fund that supported protesters arrested in 2019.
- China’s Economic Slowdown Is Rippling All Around the World — The country’s crumbling economic growth is being felt everywhere from German factories to Australian tourist spots; Apple and General Electric warn of production problems.
- Foxconn Faces Covid Logistics Disarray in China — As China works to contain outbreaks, the world’s biggest iPhone assembler said most of its factories in the country are running under a bubblelike system.
- Chinese Dollar-Bond Defaults Mount as Another Large Developer Fails to Pay — Sunac China has missed an interest payment and is seeking state-owned strategic investors.
- Hong Kong Spends $722 Million to Defend Currency Peg — Longstanding link to the U.S. dollar has underpinned the city’s role as a major financial center.
The Financial Times
- Chinese property developer Sunac defaults as lockdowns hit house sales — Beijing’s pandemic restrictions have worsened a liquidity crisis in real estate.
- Can Xi vanquish Covid without crushing China’s economy? — In a crucial political year, a series of open-ended lockdowns have heaped pressure on struggling businesses.
- Hong Kong police arrest Cardinal Zen under national security law — Popular singer, scholar and barrister also detained amid crackdown in Chinese territory.
- Xi’s strongman tactics need flexibility to tackle Covid — The economic fallout of China’s lockdowns looks set to be profound.
- An American CBDC is not the way to fight China’s financial might — Introducing a Fed-backed digital currency will not be the game-changer many think.
- China attacks ‘irresponsible’ WHO criticism of its zero-Covid policy — Beijing censors silence online debate about health body’s claim that tough approach is unsustainable.
The New York Times
- Biden to Host Southeast Asian Leaders as He Tries to Return Focus to China — The leaders at the two-day summit in Washington will discuss a variety of topics, but the president plans to use it to show a united front against Beijing.
- Hong Kong Police Arrest Former Bishop in National Security Case — Cardinal Joseph Zen, 90, was among three held for their work with a legal aid group that helped protesters and that officials accuse of colluding with foreign powers.
Caixin
- Exclusive: China’s ‘Big Four’ Banks to Start Pilot Program for Retirement Savings Products — The state-run commercial banks will offer products in several regions, sources say.
- In Depth: Zero Covid Slams the Brakes on China’s Electric Car Industry — Lockdowns have disrupted manufacturing and hurt consumer confidence, while surging material costs have taken a bite out of margins.
- China-Developed C919 Jet to Cost Twice the Expected Price, Filing Shows — To fund its fleet expansion, the airline plans to raise capital by selling A-shares to a group of up to 35 investors.
South China Morning Post
- Hongkongers with ties to US-backed group slammed by Beijing report could risk censure, analysts warn — Warning from analysts comes after document issued by Chinese foreign ministry denounces National Endowment for Democracy for funding Hong Kong protests.
- China has gained nothing from Ukraine war and it will only prompt further breaches of international rules, says leading scholar — Yan Xuetong from Tsinghua University says ‘Russia is going to pay a huge price’ for the conflict, which has accelerated the reverse of globalisation.
- Hong Kong defends local dollar in first currency intervention in 18 months, as capital flows out in pursuit of higher US yields — US interest rate rises has led to carry-trade activities and capital outflows that weakened the Hong Kong dollar to the bottom of its trading range against the US dollar.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s Didi Global warns U.S. delisting key to restoring business — Beijing shut two dozen of ride hailer’s app services over cybersecurity concerns.
- Developer Sunac China admits default on $750m bond — Chairman offers ‘sincere apologies’ while warning it could miss more debt deadlines.
- Japan pursues greater Five Eyes intel-sharing amid China concerns — Despite push, Tokyo’s lack of spy agency may keep it on alliance’s sidelines.
Bloomberg
- China Denies Beijing to Lock Down as Residents Rush to Buy Food — Beijing officials denied the city will be locked down and urged people not to hoard food as residents flocked to grocery stores amid growing concern the Chinese capital’s response to a persistent Covid-19 outbreak is about to be intensified.
- Major China Developer Sunac Defaults as Debt Crisis Spreads — Sunac China Holdings Ltd. has defaulted on a dollar bond, becoming one of the biggest Chinese property companies to renege on its obligations amid a record-breaking wave of missed payments.
- China Gathers Private-Sector Firms as Markets Mull Crackdown — China’s top political advisory body plans to host a forum next week with some of the nation’s largest private-sector firms including Baidu Inc., an event that will be closely scrutinized by investors debating whether Beijing will dial back its clampdown on the technology industry.
- The SEC Is Now the Stuff of Chinese Investors’ Fever Dreams — Investors blame US regulators for triggering broad market declines with delisting announcements.
Reuters
- China to “strictly limit” unnecessary overseas travels by Chinese citizens to combat COVID — China would “strictly limit” unnecessary travel outside the country by Chinese citizens as part of its COVID-19 response, the National Immigration Administration said in a statement on Thursday.
- Exclusive-Biden eyes new ways to bar China from scooping up U.S. data — The Biden administration has drafted an executive order that would give the Department of Justice vast powers to stop foreign adversaries like China accessing Americans’ personal data, according to a person familiar with the matter and excerpts seen by Reuters.
- Chinese jet aborts takeoff, catches fire, causing minor injuries from evacuation — China’s Tibet Airlines said all passengers and crew had been evacuated from an Airbus A319 plane that caught fire after an aborted takeoff in the southwestern city of Chongqing on Thursday.
Other Publications
- The Economist: China’s zero-covid industrial complex — The biggest corporate winners from the country’s draconian pandemic strategy.
- The Economist: Shanghai’s covid-19 lockdown is not even close to over — Don’t believe what you read in the papers.
- The Economist: China’s extraordinary export boom comes to an end — Covid-related supply bottlenecks meet slowing foreign demand.
- Quartz: China’s internet platforms are revealing user location—and embarrassing nationalist bloggers — Some of the country’s most nationalistic online figures share one thing in common: They are all abroad.