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
- U.S. and Chinese Bombast on Taiwan Masks Effort to Ratchet Down Tensions — Taipei diplomats were encouraged by U.S.-Chinese defense meeting; ‘nobody wants to have a war with another country.’
- Prices for New Homes in China Slide Further — Government support measures for the industry have yet to take hold after a regulatory campaign aimed at reining in developers’ debt levels.
- Chinese Slowdown Pushes Youth Unemployment to New Highs — Joblessness among youth rose to 18.4% last month, the highest rate since before the pandemic and far above that of the U.S. or Europe
- Hong Kong Sells More U.S. Dollars to Defend Currency Peg — The city’s de facto central bank has spent $7.24 billion this year shoring up the Hong Kong dollar.
- Video: China Builds Thousands of Testing Booths to Live With Covid-19, but at What Cost? — As Beijing struggles to contain a resurgence of new Covid-19 cases, the city has rolled out more than 9,000 testing stations to regularly screen people.
The Financial Times
- Chinese courts flex intellectual property muscle across borders — Anti-suit injunctions in telecom cases reflect growing assertiveness by rising superpower.
- China to set up centralised iron ore buyer to counter Australia’s dominance — Beijing hopes bulk purchases will secure lower prices for steel sector that is world’s biggest ore consumer.
- ‘Let it rot’: China’s tech workers struggle to find jobs — Beijing’s assault on Big Tech has led to mass dismissals as Covid-19 lockdowns batter economic growth.
- New Hong Kong school textbooks say city was not a British colony — Recasting of Chinese territory’s history is part of intensifying nationalist clampdown on education.
- Switzerland/China IPOs: brand, not depth is the lure of ‘new New York’ — Alpine nation has relaxed audit requirements and a reputation for financial sophistication.
The New York Times
- A Chinese City May Have Used a Covid App to Block Protesters — People from across China had set off for the city of Zhengzhou to protest the freezing of their savings. Then they were prevented from moving freely.
- In New Textbooks, Hong Kong Was Never a British Colony — The books are part of China’s effort to instill a particular historical narrative and to stress patriotic education in a city where a pro-democracy movement was crushed.
Caixin
- In Depth: Why Relocating Mainlanders See Singapore as a Safe Haven for Their Businesses and Property — With its flexible immigration policies and stable financial environment, Singapore has attracted Chinese entrepreneurs to relocate and set up family offices as they see the country as a safe haven for their wealth and business expansion plans.
- Ex-Deputy of Anbang Takeover Task Force Falls Under Graft Probe — Investigators could be potentially looking into Fu Fei’s role in the takeover of financial conglomerate Anbang, sources say.
- Covid Shocks Cut China’s Power Consumption for Second Month — Electricity usage dropped 1.3% in May as pandemic restrictions continued to restrain economic activity.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese shipyard ready to launch Type 003 aircraft carrier, satellite images show — The dry dock has been flooded so the vessel can be floated, and banners with political slogans and flags can be seen on the warship.
- China vows to crack down on online racism, spurred by new details of video featuring Malawi children — Malawian foreign minister says her country feels ‘disgusted, disrespected and deeply pained’ by video in which children repeat demeaning words in Chinese.
- Hong Kong braces for capital outflow after 75-basis point base rate increase in lockstep with US Fed — The Hong Kong Monetary Authority raised its base rate by 75 basis points to 2 per cent, following the Fed’s most aggressive hike since 1994.
Nikkei Asia
- Biden freeze on solar tariff puts green agenda over China tensions — Clearer path for Southeast Asian imports angers American panel makers.
- Analysis: China feels slight unease in intimidating Japan with Russia — Struggles in Ukraine make Beijing think twice about following Moscow’s playbook.
- Zero-COVID kicks Xi’s goal of hosting China World Cup out of play — Sporting bodies unable to entrust nation to host flagship events.
Bloomberg
- Tianqi Lithium Said to Win Nod for $1 Billion Hong Kong Listing — Tianqi Lithium Corp., a Chinese supplier of the key material used in batteries, has won the Hong Kong stock exchange’s approval for its planned listing in the city, people with knowledge of the matter said.
- Shanghai to Mass Test Whole City Weekly to Keep Covid at Bay — Shanghai, which reported just 16 Covid-19 cases for Wednesday, will conduct mass testing drives every weekend until the end of July in the latest display of the lengths authorities are going to in order to maintain a zero-tolerance approach to the virus that’s disrupting its economy and leaving it isolated.
- Top China Law Firm for Tech Giants Plans Singapore Expansion — Han Kun Law Offices, a top Chinese law firm, is weighing expansion in Singapore to find new deals and support its existing clients’ growth in the region, according to people familiar with the matter.
Reuters
- China bank protest stopped by health codes turning red, depositors say — A protest planned by hundreds of bank depositors in central China seeking access to their frozen funds has been thwarted because the authorities have turned their health code apps red, several depositors told Reuters.
- Baidu video sale hints at a China tech plot twist — Big ticket mergers in China’s battered technology sector are overdue but a new twist has emerged. Search engine giant Baidu may divest its 53% stake in iQIYI, a Netflix-like streaming service, in a mooted $7 billion deal per Reuters. It could attract an unconventional queue of bidders.
Other Publications
- The Economist: In stamping out covid, China has stomped on confidence — China is able to make and distribute more things again. But will consumers buy them?
- Quartz: The international companies refusing to leave Russia — Nearly 1,000 corporations have left the country, according to Yale University’s extensive database. However, that data show more than 400 major companies remain in the Russian market.
- Rest of World: What Chinese media reveals about Shein’s secretive operations — A glimpse into the e-commerce giant’s ruthless efficiency.
- CSET: China’s State Key Laboratory System: A View into China’s Innovation System — China’s State Key Laboratory system drives innovation in science and technology. These labs conduct cutting-edge basic and applied research, attract and train domestic and foreign talent, and conduct academic exchanges with foreign counterparts.
