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.
Paid subscribers automatically have this list emailed directly to their inboxes every day by 10 a.m. EST. Subscribe here.
The Wall Street Journal
- Firms Warn of China Shipment Delays as U.S. Bans Xinjiang Imports — Companies say it will be difficult and costly to comply with law that aims to prevent shipping of goods using forced labor.
- One Price Dodging Inflation: China-to-U.S. Shipping Rates — Freight costs are down by a third since the start of the year as some importers cut orders.
- China Seeks to Expand Africa Trade Dominance With Role as Peace Mediator — Beijing pledges to resolve intractable conflicts, but skeptics call offer a photo op designed to bolster entrenched regimes.
- When Online Shoppers Feel Cheated, It’s Time to Go to Crab Court — Chinese e-commerce companies have found a way to outsource minor disputes: Let other users be the judge.
The Financial Times
- The corporate feud over satellites that pitted the west against China — How a clash of cultures — and geostrategic interests — sank a German-Chinese joint venture competing in the new space race.
- From nappies to cricket: China’s Alibaba targets South Asia — Tech giant steps up global push as domestic operations suffer slowing economy and tech crackdown.
- Hong Kong exchange sets terms for Evergrande to avoid delisting — Chinese property group under pressure as investors dump bonds from junk-rated developers.
- China food inflation: pork is the make or break factor in controlling prices — It will not be easy for food companies to quickly pass on rising costs to consumers.
The New York Times
- Companies Brace for Impact of New Forced Labor Law — Billions of dollars could be at stake as a law banning imports of products from China goes into effect.
- To Pressure Taiwan, China is Now Targeting its Grouper Exports — Taiwan’s lucrative grouper industry is bracing for heavy losses after China’s recent ban on imports of the fish from the island.
- How Russia Is Making More in Oil Sales Now Than Before the War — With China and India buying the Russian oil shunned by the West in an effort to force an end to the Ukraine invasion, Moscow is earning more now than it did before the war.
- Opinion: On a Divided Mount Everest, Climate Cooperation Is Being Tested — China and Nepal have both established unmanned weather stations high on the world’s tallest mountain. By Freddie Wilkinson
Caixin
- Evergrande Says Debt Restructuring Plan Is on Schedule for End of July — Debt-ridden property giant, with more than $300 billion of liabilities, issues update in a filing to allay creditors’ concerns.
- Sacked Head of Chinese Property Firm Claims Conspiracy Amid Insider Trading Allegations — Ex-chairman of Gree Real Estate claims he’s been set up and accuses local police in Shangrao of illegal conduct.
- TikTok Wins Rights to Stream FIFA World Cup — China’s state broadcasting behemoth has picked the short video app as a partner to deliver the tournament to Chinese fans online.
South China Morning Post
- Shenzhen recruits Japanese semiconductor heavyweight as China moves to challenge US, Korean dominance in memory chips — A Shenzhen memory chip start-up has named Japanese industry veteran Yukio Sakamoto as its chief strategy officer, the latest sign of China’s ambitious efforts to challenge US, Korean dominance in DRAMs.
- US business group calls for ‘urgent’ talks on Taiwan free-trade deal — Aim should be to present completed text for passage in 2024, American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan says in annual policy paper.
- Joe Biden’s Asia-Pacific trade framework to be handled with ‘caution’, Beijing advisers say — Former Chinese officials say Beijing must ‘consider’ neighbouring nations who have signed onto Washington’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, despite growing rivalry with the United States.
Nikkei Asia
- Former Xinjiang chief’s ‘demotion’ in China sparks speculation — Move could be part of a Chinese push to ease tensions with Washington.
- Inside Shanghai’s COVID lockdown nightmare — China’s zero-COVID policy devastated the commercial capital.
Bloomberg
- China Approves Plan for ‘Healthy’ Development of Fintech Sector — Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting Wednesday that approved promoting the “healthy” development of the payment and fintech sectors, a sign that a broad crackdown on tech companies like Ant Group Co. may be easing.
- Jack Ma’s Ant to Apply for Key License as Soon as This Month — Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. is poised to apply for a key financial license as soon as this month, according to people familiar with the matter, a sign that its lengthy overhaul following a squashed 2020 listing is getting closer to satisfying China’s financial regulators.
- Constant Cycle of Restrictions Is China’s Covid Future — Chinese cities that were in lockdown just a few months ago are imposing pandemic curbs again, as the country’s zero tolerance approach to Covid-19 plunges it into a constant cycle of unpredictable, stop-start restrictions.
- HKMA Buys Hong Kong Dollar at Record Pace as Peg Gets Tested — Hong Kong’s de facto central bank bought the local dollar at the fastest pace on record this month to defend its currency from crossing the weak end of its trading band.
Reuters
- U.S. ‘rallying’ allies against Xinjiang forced labor as import ban begins — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that the United States is rallying its allies against forced labor as it begins implementing an import ban on goods from China’s Xinjiang region.
- Ant, Alibaba plan for less intertwined future after China crackdown — Ant Group and Alibaba are untangling their operations from each other as the companies navigate China’s devastating regulatory crackdown, four sources familiar with the matter said.
- Two Chinese rights lawyers face trial for state subversion — Hearings for Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi were scheduled in Linshu county court in the northeastern province of Shandong on Wednesday and Friday, respectively, relatives and friends told Reuters.
Other Publications
- The Atlantic: Farewell to Hong Kong and Its Big Lie — Falsehoods, gaslighting, and endless fabrications in the city are equaled only by the cowardice of the people partaking in the insulting ruse that it is still free.
- The Economist: China’s mental-health crisis is getting worse — The government is partly to blame.
- MIT Tech Review: The world’s biggest surveillance company you’ve never heard of — Hikvision could be sanctioned for aiding the Chinese government’s human rights violations in Xinjiang. Here’s everything you need to know.
- BBC: BBC Africa Eye expose: Chinese man held over racist videos — A Chinese filmmaker wanted by Malawi as part of an investigation into allegations of racism and child exploitation has been arrested.
