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 Legacy: Confusion, Despair, Departure — Diaries of residents who lived through the city’s unprecedented battle against Covid-19 reveal their journey from complacency to shock to a growing disillusionment with the government.
- Xinjiang Law Shows Reach—and Limits—of U.S. Economic Power — The impact of the new U.S. law, meant to penalize forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, is very different on two key industries.
- U.S. and G-7 Allies Detail Infrastructure Plan to Challenge China — The initiative would offer countries around the world an alternative to China’s Belt and Road program.
The Financial Times
- Covid in China: Xi’s fraying relationship with the middle class — The new buzzword for Chinese people sick of being locked down is ‘runxue’: the study of leaving the country completely.
- US and allies launch initiative to help Pacific Island nations — ‘Partners in Blue Pacific’ scheme created on Friday after several days of talks with Indo-Pacific countries.
- Xi Jinping to make first trip outside mainland China for Hong Kong ceremony — President will attend swearing in of new leader on 25th anniversary of city’s handover to Beijing.
- Chinese banks lend Pakistan $2.3bn to avert foreign exchange crisis — Support from ally seen as step toward resuming IMF package as Islamabad imposes fresh corporate tax.
- Prosus/Tencent: reducing stake further would close valuation gap — There were plenty of missed opportunities to sell at higher prices last year.
The New York Times
- How China Is Policing the Future — Vast surveillance data allows the state to target people whose behavior or characteristics are deemed suspicious by an algorithm, even if they’ve done nothing wrong.
- ‘Wild Swimming’ in Restricted Beijing Offers Refreshing Break From Rules — China’s congested and highly regulated capital is not known for either its natural refuges or its rule-bending. But swimming in the city’s lakes and waterways is a cherished, if contested, tradition.
- If the U.S. Ignores Island Countries Like Mine, China Is Waiting in the Wings — If the U.S. ignores the Pacific, China will step right in.
Caixin
- Cover Story: How Bad Is China’s Manufacturing Exodus? — With low labor costs and surging domestic demand, Southeast Asia and India have become the most popular destinations.
- Goldman’s China Wealth Management Venture Gets OK to Launch Business — Goldman Sachs ICBC Wealth Management will offer a series of products for the Chinese market, including quantitative investment strategies and cross-border wealth management products.
- After Stepping Back From JD.com, Richard Liu Sells Down His Stake — The Chinese e-commerce giant’s founder unloads shares worth an estimated $279 million after a company under his control made 26 similar sales between May 23 and June 16.
South China Morning Post
- Taiwan, US to hold first trade talks under new initiative — Taiwan’s top trade negotiator John Deng and deputy US trade representative Sarah Bianchi will meet virtually after Deng tested positive for Covid-19.
- China to extend yuan trading hours in bid to boost global use of its currency — Regulators led by the People’s Bank of China have told some banks to prepare for an extension of onshore yuan trading hours, according to sources, a move analysts say will help meet increasing demand for yuan transactions.
- Britain’s pensions agency to remove Chinese-made security cameras, ban new purchases — Britain’s Department of Work and Pensions is the second government agency to ban new purchases of Chinese-made cameras this year.
Nikkei Asia
- G-7 infrastructure investment to target Indo-Pacific’s clean-energy transition — India, Indonesia and Vietnam stand to benefit from Belt and Road alternative.
- Hong Kong press freedom bruised a year after Apple Daily shutdown — Other newspapers meet same fate as self-censorship spreads.
- Brain drain: Hong Kong political crackdown sparks scholar exodus — Professors fear arrest in ‘worsening climate’ for academic freedom.
Bloomberg
- China Said to Ask Banks to Prepare for Longer Yuan Trading Hours — China plans to extend the yuan’s trading hours as it seeks to increase global investor participation in onshore currency trading as part of its internationalization push.
- Profits at Foreign Firms in China Plunge Despite Easing in Covid — Profits at foreign industrial businesses in China showed no sign of rebound in the first five months of the year even as an easing in Covid restrictions allowed companies to resume production and improve logistics and sales.
- Chinese Firms Are Dominating Key Parts of Hong Kong’s Economy — Half way to the point when Hong Kong will officially be enveloped by China, Beijing is not just calling the shots politically, but in vast swathes of the city’s $344 billion economy.
Reuters
- China proposes rules to regulate private pension investment via mutual funds — China’s securities regulator proposed rules to regulate private pension investment via mutual funds, setting the criteria for qualified products and sales agents under a scheme that will channel fresh savings into the country’s capital markets.
- China Evergrande faces winding-up lawsuit in Hong Kong — It is the first winding-up petition known to have been filed against Evergrande, which is reeling under more than $300 billion in liabilities and whose offshore debt was deemed to be in default after missing payment obligations late last year.
- China regulator proposes new rules to improve anti-monopoly governance — China’s market regulator published on Monday draft rules and provisions aimed at improving its ability to govern antitrust behaviour, as the country prepares to implement a revised anti-monopoly law in August.
Other Publications
- Politico: G-7 unveils $600B plan to combat China’s global reach — Beijing is increasing its reach through major investments in Africa and Asia.
- The Guardian: Alarm in Beijing after announcement zero-Covid policy may last five years — Communist party official posts notice saying mass mandatory testing and travel curbs will continue.
- The Guardian: ‘My career is finished, my friends are in prison and I’m an alien in my city’: life after Hong Kong’s Apple Daily — When the city’s largest pro-democracy newspaper was forced to close, Norman Choi got a new job in McDonald’s. Many of his colleagues were not so lucky.
