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 Exports Rebounded in May as Covid Restrictions Eased — Overseas orders had piled up as pandemic measures shut factories and port traffic collapsed.
- U.S. Considering Reducing Tariffs on China to Ease Inflation, Yellen Says — Treasury secretary also tells House members she expects progress on global tax agreement.
- Nike to End Run Club App in China — U.S. businesses have restructured digital services in the country amid toughening rules and competition.
The Financial Times
- China digs in for permanent zero-Covid with testing and quarantine regime — Shanghai district prepares for new lockdown as authorities build infrastructure to extend approach.
- Runs on Chinese local banks spur fears over health of regional lenders — Depositors in Henan province have been fighting for nearly two months to retrieve frozen funds.
- Apple to shift some iPad production to Vietnam amid China supply chain woes — US tech group asks suppliers to build up extra inventory as contingency plan.
- Opinion: Time to lift Trump’s tariffs on China to fight inflation — The Biden administration should end a trade war that has made America worse off.
The New York Times
- Chinese Pilots Sent a Message. American Allies Said They Went Too Far. — Australia and Canada said Chinese jets harassed their military planes, though Beijing says it was defending its security. A mishap over Pacific waters could have ominous repercussions.
Caixin
- Alibaba, Bilibili Extend Gains as China Approves More Games — The Chinese e-commerce giant was among the top gainers, with its shares advancing 15% to their highest price since early February.
- Sunac Seeks Payment Extension for $345 Million of Debt — China’s fourth-largest developer, mired in a cash crunch, is negotiating with creditors on delaying repayment by two years.
South China Morning Post
- Xiaohongshu, dubbed China’s Instagram, tests Web3 waters with investment in US start-up Shil.me — Xiaohongshu has invested in a US$1.2 million pre-seed fundraising round of Shil.
- Alibaba, Meituan paid the bulk of China’s US$3 billion antitrust fines in 2021, report shows — The State Anti-Monopoly Bureau says it has achieved “important results” in disciplining monopolistic behaviours and will now focus on restoring market confidence.
- Will China’s rail link between Xinjiang, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan change the great power rivalry in Central Asia? — The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is likely to bring enormous economic benefits to Central Asia and western China, but it could also stoke geopolitical rivalry between Beijing, Moscow and Washington.
- Hong Kong’s top officials could be put under week-long ‘closed-loop’ arrangement ahead of 25th handover anniversary celebrations — Chief Executive Carrie Lam, ministers among those to be prevented from meeting outsiders for a week before possible mainland Chinese state leader’s visit.
Nikkei Asia
- Analysis: Xi shushes party elders as he marches toward 3rd term — New expression ‘Eternal leader’ emerges ahead of Beidaihe summer conclave.
- China, India and Turkey to siphon more Russian oil ahead of EU ban — Extra crude finds eager Asian buyers for now but scale of future demand is uncertain.
- Didi to exit NYSE on June 10 amid uncertainty about China restart — Group readies apps for relaunch but Beijing undecided on penalty for ride-hailer.
Bloomberg
- China Weighs Reviving Jack Ma’s Ant IPO as Crackdown Eases — Chinese financial regulators have started early stage discussions on a potential revival of Ant Group Co.’s initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter, one of the clearest signs yet that authorities are dialing back a crackdown on the tech industry that began with the scuttling of the world’s biggest listing almost two years ago.
- Yellen Says Biden Team Is Looking to ‘Reconfigure’ China Tariffs — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Biden administration is looking to “reconfigure” tariffs imposed on Chinese goods under former President Donald Trump to make them more “strategic.”
- Xinjiang Scholars Urge UN Rights Chief to Publish China Report — A group of prominent Xinjiang scholars is demanding that a long-awaited United Nations report on China’s alleged human rights abuses in the region incorporate their views and be published without further delay.
- China Ban on Foreign Coal Investment Leaves Zimbabwe Scrambling — Zimbabwe’s plan to refurbish two idled coal-fired power stations has been thrown into disarray by China’s decision to ban investment in plants burning the dirtiest fossil fuel outside its borders.
Reuters
- U.S. says there is ‘extraordinary’ lack of transparency over Chinese activity in Cambodia — A decision by Cambodia to expand its biggest naval base and allow the Chinese military exclusive use of a portion of it shows an extraordinary lack of transparency, a senior U.S. defense official said on Thursday.
- Parts of Shanghai return to lockdown, Beijing district shuts entertainment venues — Shanghai and Beijing went back on fresh COVID-19 alert on Thursday after parts of China’s largest economic hub started imposing new lockdown restrictions while the most populous district in the Chinese capital shut entertainment venues.
- BYD executive says it will supply batteries to Tesla ‘very soon’ — China’s BYD is preparing to supply Tesla Inc with batteries “very soon”, a senior company executive told a state media anchor in a video released early on Wednesday.
Other Publications
- The Economist: The Communist Party resuscitates Didi Global — Will investors forget about its near-death experience?
- The Economist: Mighty Asian financial institutions are reshaping global capital flows — The response to rising American interest rates is becoming less predictable.
- Associated Press: 3 US companies sanctioned over blueprints sent to China — The Commerce Department leveled the allegations as it blocked the three companies from exporting items to foreign countries for 180 days.
- Foreign Affairs: China’s Southern Strategy — Beijing Is Using the Global South to Constrain America.
- MIT Tech Review: Chinese hackers exploited years-old software flaws to break into telecom giants — A multi-year hacking campaign shows how dangerous old flaws can linger for years.