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 Faces Growing Pressure to Address Mortgage Protests — Home buyers in Wuhan demonstrated Wednesday outside a bank regulator’s office, as some people threaten to stop mortgage payments on delayed housing projects.
- Chinese Regulators Refund More Customers Caught in Alleged Rural Bank Fraud — Investigation finds collusion between Henan New Wealth and staff at five lenders to skim off deposits.
- China Fines Ride-Hailing Giant Didi $1.2 Billion, Citing Cybersecurity Breaches — The Cyberspace Administration of China said Didi flouted the country’s cybersecurity, data security and personal information privacy laws.
- U.S. Military Concerned About Possible Trip to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, Biden Says — A report earlier this week said that the House speaker was considering making the trip next month.
The Financial Times
- HSBC installs Communist party committee in Chinese investment bank — Lender is highly exposed to escalating geopolitical rivalry between China and west.
- Biden says Pentagon does not support Pelosi visit to Taiwan — Comments by US president follow reports that House Speaker planning trip to Taipei in August.
- China reckons with its first overseas debt crisis — The Belt and Road Initiative has seen a surge in loans going bad, prompting Beijing to issue countries with emergency credit.
- Didi fined over $1bn by Beijing for ‘vile’ breaches of data laws — China’s leading ride-hailing app hopes to relist in Hong Kong after botched New York IPO.
- Why Xi Jinping changed tack in his crackdown on Didi — Economic slowdown in China made president’s approach to the ride-hailing group harder to maintain.
- China’s Comac reliant on ‘captive domestic market’ for sales — New C919 is less fuel efficient than Boeing and Airbus jets and may struggle to attract international buyers.
The New York Times
- China Fines Didi $1.2 Billion as Tech Sector Pressures Persist — The fine will likely clear the way for Didi to list in Hong Kong, but a recovery for China’s internet sector remains elusive.
- Senate Advances Bill to Bolster U.S. Competitiveness With China — A bipartisan group of senators supported a $52 billion package of subsidies for semiconductor makers, lending momentum to an effort to enact a major industrial policy bill.
- Tesla’s Second-Quarter Earnings Hurt By Supply Chain Problems and Bitcoin — The world’s largest maker of electric cars struggled with production problems in China.
- An An, World’s Oldest Giant Male Panda in Captivity, Dies at 35 — The animal was euthanized in Hong Kong on Thursday because of his deteriorating health, a statement said.
- Thomas Friedman: I Was Wrong About Chinese Censorship — Why was I so sure that economic growth required a free flow of information?
Caixin
- Exclusive: U.K. Bank Seeks Investors for Stalled Chinese-Backed London Development — The city’s government seized the stalled project from embattled Chinese developer ABP.
- Tomorrow Holding’s Bankrupt Insurance Unit Seeks Investors — E An Property & Casualty Insurance’s bankruptcy administrator posts recruitment notice, putting priority on large and medium-sized institutions.
- Suning Founder’s Son Loses $255 Million Lawsuit in Hong Kong — Zhang Kangyang’s claim his signature was forged on loan documents wasn’t credible, a High Court judge ruled, ordering him to repay China Construction Bank.
South China Morning Post
- TikTok owner ByteDance spends record US$2.14 million on US lobbying amid scrutiny over app’s privacy and security practices — The Beijing-based company’s lobbying spending has increased, as US lawmakers and officials intensify scrutiny over the popular short video app’s privacy and security practices.
- Baidu’s live-streamed annual tech conference briefly cut off on WeChat service amid China’s tightened online content rules — The sudden interruption reflects how internet platforms are deferring to Beijing’s tightened grip on all online content.
- How China’s rare earth dominance spurs US and its allies to diversify supply chain of critical minerals — The US is taking a harder line in efforts to end its dependency on China for critical minerals, but the erosion of China’s world-leading market share cannot happen overnight, despite rising geopolitical tensions.
Nikkei Asia
- Analysis: Xi’s entourage to Hong Kong, Xinjiang likely core of new team — The select officials who joined the leader on recent trips are set for promotions.
- ASML warns chip gear ban against China will disrupt supply chain — Europe’s top producer of chipmaking tools likely to hike price amid inflation.
- China’s first full-scale air cargo hub opens for business — Ezhou Huahu Airport to become world’s No. 4 mover of freight.
Bloomberg
- China’s Top Chipmaker Achieves Breakthrough Despite US Curbs — Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. has likely advanced its production technology by two generations, defying US sanctions intended to halt the rise of China’s largest chipmaker.
- Starbucks China Rival Said to Seek Funds at $1.2 Billion Value — The China operator of coffee chain % Arabica is weighing a new funding round and could seek a valuation for its business in the country of as much as $1.2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
- China’s $1.2 Trillion Wealth Fund Reorganizes Key Investment Arm — China’s sovereign wealth fund is merging a unit overseeing billions of dollars in private equity and infrastructure investments into its main operations, according to people familiar with the matter, seeking to boost efficiency after a talent exodus and as offshore investing grows more complex.
- Overseas Funds Cut China Bond Holdings for Record Fifth Month — Overseas investors cut holdings of China’s bonds for a record fifth month in June as rising US Treasury yields and a weak local currency reduced the attractiveness of yuan-denominated debt.
Reuters
- Exclusive: U.S. probes China’s Huawei over equipment near missile silos — The Biden administration is investigating Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei over concerns that U.S. cell towers fitted with its gear could capture sensitive information from military bases and missile silos.
- Biden plans talks with China’s Xi soon, casts doubt on Pelosi Taiwan trip — U.S. President Joe Biden plans to speak with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, by the end of the month at a moment of simmering tensions between the countries over Taiwan and trade.
- China censors strive to filter or erase details of mortgage protests — Censors have gone into overdrive with social media messages blocked, videos of demonstrations wiped and key word searches coming up blank.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Fresh woe for China’s property sector: mortgage boycotts — Homebuyers’ protests could push risk on to banks
- Politico: How Congress’ dream of a China confrontation got gutted — Lawmakers set out to overhaul U.S. policy toward Beijing. They’re settling for billions of dollars for domestic computer chips, with scientific research add-ons.
- Politico: Why the U.S. can’t break up with Chinese telecom behemoth Huawei — In an already hectic year, Congress is now on the hook to find billions of dollars to help some 200 small U.S. telecom carriers finally rip out risky Chinese equipment.
- Quartz: China’s next recession may be lurking on its balance sheets — The turmoil in Chinese markets has sparked debate among some economists over the possibility of a “balance sheet recession.”
