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
- Vast Cache of Chinese Police Files Offered for Sale in Alleged Hack — Leak would be one of largest in history if confirmed, covering a billion people; some data is verified as real.
- China Starts Trial of Vanished Canadian-Chinese Billionaire — Canada says Tomorrow Group founder Xiao Jianhua, who went missing in 2017 from Hong Kong, is due to stand trial on Monday.
- China Imposes Fresh Restrictions as Covid-19 Cases Rise — New outbreaks in Anhui and Jiangsu have prompted authorities to suspend businesses and keep residents indoors.
- Biden Might Soon Ease Chinese Tariffs, in a Decision Fraught With Policy Tensions — White House wants to take steps aimed at easing inflation while still looking tough on China.
- Janet Yellen and China’s Top Trade Negotiator Discuss Tariffs on Call — U.S. Treasury Department describes conversation as ‘candid and substantive’.
- China’s Covid Isolation Spurs Beijing-Based Development Bank to Open Overseas Office — Abu Dhabi is among the top candidates for Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s interim hub, as lender grapples with China’s strict Covid travel rules.
- China’s Fast-Fashion Giant Shein Faces Dozens of Lawsuits Alleging Design Theft — Rapid rise of company valued at more than $100 billion has been accompanied by copyright complaints; Shein says any infringement isn’t intentional.
- Companies Face Compliance Challenges Under U.S. Forced-Labor Law Targeting China — A strict new law is prompting businesses to look deep into their supply chains to show they aren’t tainted by forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region.
- Tesla Vehicle Deliveries Tumble After China Factory Shutdown — A string of record quarterly deliveries came to an end in the second quarter, when Tesla handed over 254,695 vehicles to customers.
- Tesla’s Bumpy Quarter Might Be About More Than Lockdowns in China — Second-quarter earnings later this month offer investors a chance to quiz Elon Musk on a bewildering run of news, from job cuts to ‘money furnaces’.
- China Auto Maker Geely Ventures Into Smartphones — Geely subsidiary has acquired a 79% stake in one of China’s earliest but smallest smartphone makers, as Alibaba makes exit.
- China’s Big Airbus Order Isn’t an All-Clear for Airline Stocks — The big three Chinese carriers have just placed their first significant order since the pandemic began. But there are still some obvious squalls brewing.
- China’s Slowdown Could Tamp Down Global Inflation — While weak growth in China will weigh on the global economy, it could also relieve pressure on some prices.
The Financial Times
- China censors news of alleged hacking of Shanghai police database — Purported leak of personal information of more than 1bn people offered for sale for $200,000.
- Sequoia targets $9bn China fundraising despite tech crackdown — Funding round comes as global investors retreat over country’s zero-Covid policy and regulatory onslaught.
- Warren Buffett-backed Chinese group BYD overtakes Tesla in global EV sales — Shenzhen-based carmaker and battery group prepares for push into foreign markets.
- My garlic for a home: China struggles to revive property sector — The real estate market is struggling to recover as zero-Covid policies and developer debt sap buyer demand.
- Abducted Canadian billionaire Xiao Jianhua faces trial in Shanghai court — Dealmaker’s downfall serves as a cautionary tale for China’s business elite.
- Geely: premium smartphones could offer answer to falling profits — A majority stake in local smartphone maker Meizu is just what the Chinese group needs.
- Chinese Tesla lithium supplier probed for insider trading — Ganfeng Lithium shares hit after disclosing investigation but said it would not affect operations.
- Beijing announces interest rate swaps with Hong Kong after Xi visit — Scheme to deepen financial connectivity with mainland coincides with expanded currency agreement.
- Biden administration split on whether to remove China tariffs — Some officials hope the move could ease inflation but others fear political backlash in an election year.
- China’s rise pushes Asia-Pacific nations to embrace Nato — North Atlantic alliance to expand co-operation with Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
- China’s self-styled Warren Buffett haunted by Fosun’s $40bn debt — Guo Guangchang’s conglomerate increases global divestments after punishing rout on property bonds.
- Chinese hackers kept up hiring drive despite FBI indictment — Beijing-backed groups sought to recruit with job adverts from front companies that disguise nature of work.
The New York Times
- Covid Outbreak Emerges in China’s Anhui Province — The country recently began to recover from a surge that shut down Shanghai for two months.
- Zhang Sizhi, Lawyer Who Defended Chinese Dissidents, Dies at 94 — He shed tears over the challenge of defending clients in a system stacked against them. But even in defeat, admirers said, he set a lasting example.
- Xiao Jianhua, Chinese Canadian Billionaire, on Trial in China — The case against the financier Xiao Jianhua is widely seen as part of a crackdown on the debt-fueled excess that drove China’s economic growth.
- Tesla Sales Slow as the Pandemic Hobbles Production — The decline in deliveries by the electric carmaker in the second quarter was the first drop since the beginning of 2020. The main culprit was factory shutdowns in China.
- Labeled a ‘Challenge’ by NATO, China Signals Its Own Hard-Line Worldview — The alliance’s forceful declaration in its mission statement reinforced Beijing’s belief that hostile powers are bent on hobbling the country’s ascent.
- TikTok tells Republican senators how it plans to keep American data away from China. — “We know we are among the most scrutinized platforms from a security standpoint,” the video app’s chief executive wrote.
Caixin
- China to Expand Global Investors’ Access to Its Financial Derivatives Market — As offshore investors become more active in trading Chinese bonds, their demand for derivatives to manage the risks of fluctuating interest rates has grown.
- In Depth: How SoftBank Wrestled Back Control of Arm China — Chinese investors, including those backed by the state, have hoped that Arm China could achieve its own breakthroughs and contribute to the national goal of achieving self-reliance in semiconductors.
- In Depth: How Chinese Factories Are Finding Their Way to Mexico — Makers of furniture and appliances can dodge the effects of the U.S.-China trade war while avoiding pandemic-related supply chain disruptions.
- In Depth: How Law Professors Take Turns to Serve China’s Courts — The academic-court exchange has helped bring talent into the judiciary, build a bridge between theory and practice, as well as enhance mutual understanding among scholars, judges and prosecutors.
South China Morning Post
- Gap between China, South Korea is widening as Seoul pivots to Washington — It couldn’t come at a worse time for Beijing, as it prepares for a major leadership reshuffle amid an economic slowdown and global pushback over its pro-Russia stance and assertive foreign policy.
- Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi still awaits final ruling from Beijing, one year after it was put under cybersecurity review — One year on, there has been no official update from Chinese authorities about the progress of Didi Chuxing’s cybersecurity review, which remains shrouded in secrecy.
- NetEase’s William Ding and Xiaomi’s Lei Jun relinquish corporate roles at video gaming entities amid tightened regulation — The moves from part of a growing trend of Chinese Big Tech leaders moving away from front-office roles amid Beijing’s tightened scrutiny.
Nikkei Asia
- Macao casino king Alvin Chau ‘cheats’ government of $1bn in taxes — Indictment says his Suncity Group ran vast criminal conspiracy for years.
- China’s BOC Aviation warns of net loss as planes stranded in Russia — State-owned lessor writes down over $800m as recovery of aircraft ‘unlikely’.
- Pakistan’s Sharif woos China by targeting Belt and Road bottlenecks — Gwadar visits highlight new PM’s attempts to keep Beijing happier than predecessor.
Bloomberg
- US Factory Boom Heats Up as CEOs Yank Production Out of China — There has been a sense in financial circles that the fever among American executives to shorten supply lines and bring production back home would prove short-lived. As soon as the pandemic started to fade, so too would the fad, the thinking went.
- Hong Kong’s Lee Sidestepped Sanctions With $1.4 Million in Cash — Hong Kong’s new leader John Lee received more than HK$11 million ($1.4 million) in physical cash when he ran unchallenged for the city’s top job in May while under US sanctions, according to a filing.
- Sequoia China Raises $9 Billion as Investors Flock to Big Funds — Sequoia China, led by investment guru Neil Shen, has raised about $9 billion for investments in technology and healthcare, according to people familiar with the matter, overcoming the fundraising challenges that have beset the venture capital sector.
- China Slams NASA Administrator Bill Nelson as Race to the Moon Gets Heated — US wins support for effort to make rules for space as China pitches lunar plan to neighbors.
Reuters
- Wuxi Biologics takes step to getting off U.S. ‘unverified’ trade list — Wuxi Biologics, a Chinese company that makes ingredients for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, may be a step closer to being taken off a U.S. trade list that it landed on five months ago, wiping HK$77 billion($9.9 billion) off its market value at the time.
- Vatican envoy in Hong Kong warns Catholic missions to prepare for China crackdown — Monsignor Javier Herrera-Corona, the Vatican’s unofficial representative in Hong Kong, delivered a stark message to the city’s 50-odd Catholic missions before finishing his six-year posting in March: the freedoms they had enjoyed for decades were over.
- China plans $75 billion infrastructure fund to revive economy — China will set up a state infrastructure investment fund worth 500 billion yuan ($74.69 billion) to spur infrastructure spending and revive a flagging economy.
- China rejects NASA accusation it will take over the moon — China on Monday rejected as an irresponsible smear a warning from the chief of NASA that China might “take over” the moon as part of a military programme, saying it has always called for the building of a community of nations in outer space.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: Wary of China threat, Taiwanese join Ukraine’s fight against Russia — When Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky called in February for foreign volunteers to help repulse invading Russian forces, Chuang Yu-wei, a Taiwanese tour guide, signed up the next day.
- Buzzfeed News: China Destroyed Muslim Culture In This Ancient City — Then Turned It Into Disneyland — The government’s campaign in Kashgar began with CCTV cameras watching people pray. Now it features tourists taking Instagram selfies.
- MIT Tech Review: China wants to control how its famous livestreamers act, speak, and even dress — The lucrative livestreaming business has become the latest target in China’s new wave of censorship.