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
- Taiwan Holds Military Drills as Tensions Escalate With China — President Tsai Ing-wen draws parallels between the threat from Russia and China at a regional security forum.
- Biden to Speak With Chinese President Xi on Thursday — The planned phone call between the two leaders comes amid rising tensions over Taiwan, Ukraine.
- Companies Shift to Remove China From the Supply Chain — Inter Parfums is among a collection of companies rethinking low-cost importing and moving operations back to the U.S.
- The Free-Trade Case Against Subsidies and Tariffs Changes When China Is Involved — Congress hopes aid to U.S. semiconductor industry will reduce Beijing’s potential leverage over American and allies’ economies.
- LVMH Buoyed by Big Spenders in Europe and U.S. — Louis Vuitton, Tiffany owner reports rise in sales and profit despite disruptions in China.
- India’s Crackdown on Chinese Phones Is Divorced From Market Realities — Allegations of money laundering and tax evasion show Delhi’s scrutiny is intensifying. What is not clear is what the endgame is.
The Financial Times
- Chinese retailer Miniso’s shares plunge after short-seller report — New York-listed discount store says allegations of financial mismanagement are ‘without merit.’
- Country Garden shares suffer 15% hit on $360mn share sale discount — Chinese property group’s capital raise is the latest sign of liquidity problems in the sector.
- Biden and Xi to hold call as tensions grow over Pelosi visit to Taiwan — US president to speak with Chinese counterpart on Thursday for fifth time since taking office.
- European recovery helps LVMH weather China lockdowns — French group warns ‘no miracle cure’ for lockdown fallout in market which is one of sector’s biggest.
- Top Republican accuses China of infiltrating Fed to access US data — Senator Rob Portman alleges Beijing has network of informants within central bank.
- Tech experts need defence training for Nato’s race against China — Innovation is found in the start-up community, but these companies have minimal interest in national security.
- US and China are entering a trap of their own making — The costs of miscalculation by either side would be lethal, and the risks are only growing.
The New York Times
- For Hong Kong’s Beijing-Backed Officials, Xi’s All That — The city’s leaders are rushing to embrace Xi Jinping, China’s leader, a performance of devotion that is a jarring shift for Hong Kong’s once rambunctious political culture.
- Senate Advances Expansive Industrial Policy Bill to Counter China — The vote indicated bipartisan support for the legislation, which had been at risk of being scaled back substantially until Republicans rallied around a more extensive bill.
Caixin
- Weeks After Hong Kong Offering, Miniso Shares Tank on Short-Seller Attack — Retailer says the allegations that it lies about its business model are ‘without merit.’
- Former Everbright Executive Under Anti-Graft Probe — Chen Shuang is being investigated for ‘serious disciplinary violations,’ according to Communist Party’s graft busters.
- Analysis: Dutch Carmaker Stellantis and State-Owned Guangzhou Auto Go Their Own Ways — The duo is shutting down their money-losing Jeep JV, which recorded a more than 84% drop in first-half sales.
South China Morning Post
- US aircraft carrier group heads towards Taiwan as tension over Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit continues to grow — The USS Ronald Reagan and its escorts left Singapore on Monday sailing northeast, according to ship tracking information.
- Will Chinese President Xi Jinping be given the formal title of ‘the people’s leader’? — The increasing use of the phrase by state media and senior officials has fuelled speculation it will be made official later this year.
- Beyond China: US’ Xinjiang cotton ban has far-reaching implications, even for Asian alternatives — US’ boycott of Xinjiang cotton looks to reshape the global textile supply chain by isolating China, but suppliers in places such as Vietnam and Bangladesh could face setbacks as they shift away from such a major source of cotton.
- Binance’s founder CZ sues Modern Media for libel as the richest man in the cryptocurrency world steps up action to defend his reputation — Modern Media is the publisher of the Chinese edition of Bloomberg BusinessWeek in Hong Kong under a licensing agreement.
Nikkei Asia
- The resilience myth: Fatal flaws in the push to secure chip supply chains — From China to the U.S. to Europe, semiconductor makers are being showered with subsidies, but to what effect?
- Creation of China chip supply chain key for Tsinghua Unigroup revival — Embattled Chinese chipmaker to build synergies with newly related companies.
- China’s Alibaba and Ant Group ax staff transfers as duo split ties — Halting intercompany transfers part of wider Beijing-ordered restructuring.
- Disappearance of deposits triggers distrust in Chinese banks — Scandal at a regional bank undermines confidence in entire system.
Bloomberg
- Beijing Reopens for International Flights After Covid Isolation — Beijing is welcoming back direct inbound passenger flights from overseas for the first time in more than two years as China eases parts of what is still the toughest pandemic border regime in the world.
- Synopsys-Backed China Chip Firm Accused of Poaching TSMC Talent — Taiwan is investigating whether a Chinese chip firm backed by US-based Synopsys Inc. is illegally poaching engineers from local giants including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., underscoring growing concern about Beijing’s economic ambitions.
- Adidas Issues Profit Warning Amid China Lockdown Woes — Adidas AG issued a profit warning after its sales were hit by lockdowns and consumer boycotts in China, offsetting strong momentum in its key western markets.
Reuters
- Hong Kong should ditch China-imposed national security law: UN panel — “The committee urged Hong Kong to take action to repeal the national security law and, in the meantime, refrain from applying it,” Christopher Arif Balkan, committee vice chairperson, told journalists.
- China will focus on ‘unbalanced and inadequate’ development in next five years – Xi — China must focus on addressing the problem of “unbalanced and inadequate development” in the next five years, Chinese President Xi Jinping told senior leaders this week.
- China closely tracking debris of its most powerful rocket — China is closely tracking the remnants of a Long March 5B rocket launched over the weekend, but the chances of debris causing damage are very slim, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Other Publications
- Politico: Biden and Xi to tackle deadlocked agenda during call — President Joe Biden is balancing Beijing’s ire with a bid for an in-person meeting with China’s Xi Jinping in November.
- Foreign Policy: What Does Nancy Pelosi Think She’s Doing in Taiwan? — A risky trip seems more about dramatic gestures than actual help. By Mike Chinoy
- The Los Angeles Times: Hong Kong protesters are leaving prison as pariahs under China’s tight grip — The city’s jailed protesters who cast an indelible image with their yellow hard hats, gas masks and black clothing have begun trickling back into a society where many of the freedoms they fought to preserve have vanished.
- ChinaFile: Can a New U.S. Law Prevent Uyghur Forced Labor? — A ChinaFile Conversation.
- MIT Tech Review: A day in the life of a Chinese robotaxi driver — We spoke to Liu Yang, who has one of the strangest jobs around: to sit in the passenger seat and monitor how self-driving cars cope with Beijing’s streets.