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 Xi to Visit Hong Kong, a City of Dashed Democracy Dreams 25 Years After Handover — Debate over the city’s electoral systems dominated much of the quarter-century under Chinese rule, until Beijing moved to end it for good.
- China Lowers Quarantine Time for Visitors in Move to Boost Economy — Travelers from overseas and anyone who has had a close Covid contact will need to isolate for 10 days, down from 21 days previously.
- China Is Updating Its Formula for Building Itself Out of a Slump — Beijing pivots to new types of public-works projects; data centers, a space station.
- For Tencent’s Anchor Shareholder, a Bad Run Sparks a Better Strategy — Technology investor Prosus plans to sell Tencent shares and buy back its own stock.
- G-7 Meeting Concludes With Focus on China — Several leaders from the rich nations’ club travel on to Madrid for highly anticipated NATO meeting.
The Financial Times
- China slashes quarantine restrictions as Covid cases fall — Hotel confinement for international visitors cut by half as Beijing tries to revive the economy.
- Evergrande vows to oppose Hong Kong lawsuit from small creditor — World’s most indebted property developer is facing pressure from investors cut out of its restructuring.
- Stocks edge higher as China eases quarantine restrictions — German bonds under pressure as Lagarde pledges to tackle inflation ‘in a determined and sustained manner.’
- China’s pivotal role under scrutiny as Zambia seeks debt relief — Restructuring closely watched by other countries for signs of how Beijing will respond to defaults.
- Nato to confront China risk alongside Russia threat at leaders’ summit — Western alliance set to agree 10-year ‘strategic concept’ that labels Beijing as ‘challenge to our security.’
- ‘Digital handcuffs’: China’s Covid health apps govern life but are ripe for abuse — Officials used health code system to stop depositors from protesting over failing rural banks.
- Foreign business in Hong Kong looks to the long term — Despite erosion of freedoms, companies and investors prioritise access to capital markets oasis.
- 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
- China Halves Covid Quarantine Time for International Arrivals — The time will be cut to seven days in a facility, followed by three days of home isolation.
Caixin
- Analysis: More Chinese Cities Drop Regular Covid Testing as Cost Concerns Mount — Hefei in Anhui province is among the latest to join a growing list of cities rolling back costly testing campaigns.
- In Depth: Local and National Interests Clash in China’s New Green Power Market — The system has at times suffered from opaque pricing, obstacles to interregional trading, and confusion about the corresponding mechanism for obtaining carbon credits.
- China Sees Rebound in Travel, Leisure Sectors as Covid-19 Lockdowns End — Recovery in consumer spending in June may not be enough to prevent GDP growth slowdown in second quarter.
- Chinese Automakers Face Persistent Chip Shortage — GAC executive projects shortfall will continue into 2023 and 2024 as smart and electric cars need lots of advanced integrated circuits.
South China Morning Post
- Which tech firms qualify as ‘little giants’? Beijing releases criteria for the ideal industrial enterprise — China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has published detailed criteria for determining which industrial enterprises qualify as ‘little giants’, the term given to small tech firms that dominate their niche.
- US-led rare earths pact satisfies South Korea’s ‘definite need’ to cut China dependency — South Korea joined the US-led Minerals Security Partnership earlier this month alongside the likes of Germany, France, Britain, Australia and Japan in a move designed to reduce its dependency on China for key resources, including rare earths.
- China’s vice-president to attend Marcos inauguration in Philippines — Wang Qishan will be Xi Jinping’s special representative at event on Thursday.
- Africa would welcome G7’s US$600 billion infrastructure push – if it happens — Mega spending plan Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment aims to counter influence of China’s belt and road strategy.
Nikkei Asia
- Biden and Xi to engage within next few weeks: White House official — The U.S. and Chinese leaders will talk for the first time since a March video call.
- Evergrande rejects creditor petition in favor of own restructuring — Chinese developer to ‘vigorously’ oppose windup request over uncompleted deal.
Bloomberg
- Tencent Leads China Tech Losses as Prosus Sale Plan Sours Mood — Chinese technology stocks fell as a plan by Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s major backer to further cut its stake in the company fueled concerns more investors may look to take profits following a strong rally.
- China’s Xi Jinping Names Police Ally, Wang Xiaohong, to Head Security Ministry — China installed Wang Xiaohong as minister of public security, handing a former colleague of President Xi Jinping control of the nation’s hard power before a twice-a-decade leadership congress.
- Taiwan’s GlobalWafers to Build $5 Billion Chip Plant in Texas — GlobalWafers Co. plans to build a $5 billion semiconductor silicon-wafer facility that will be the biggest of its kind on American soil, as the country contends with the fallout from a global shortage of chips.
Reuters
- Australia commits to Pacific islands defence training as China plans rival meet — Australia will set up a defence school to train Pacific island militaries, Canberra’s new Pacific minister said, amid mounting competition for security ties in the region and as China lays plans for a rival meeting to next month’s Pacific Islands Forum.
- Africa’s dream of feeding China hits hard reality — Watching workers poke avocados from the treetops in an orchard owned by Kenyan agriculture firm Kakuzi, managing director Chris Flowers revels in the thought some might soon go to the crown jewel of emerging consumer markets: China.
- Shanghai’s Disneyland theme park to re-open on Thursday — The Walt Disney Co’s Shanghai Disney Resort said on Tuesday it would reopen the Disneyland theme park on June 30, a month after the Chinese economic hub lifted a two month-long COVID-19 lockdown.
Other Publications
- WIRED: China Built Your iPhone. Will It Build Your Next Car? — Gadget manufacturers are getting into the car-making business. That could shake up the auto industry, global trade, and geopolitics.
- The Economist: The rise of China’s VC-industrial complex — The state is reshaping one of the world’s biggest startup scenes—not necessarily for the better.
- The Economist: As censorship in China increases, VPNs are becoming more important — Even the government finds the software useful.
- PIIE: Export controls against Russia are working—with the help of China — After the European Union, China is the second-largest contributor to Russia’s import decline since the invasion, despite President Xi Jinping’s promise of “no limits” cooperation; the pro-Russia slant of Chinese media.
