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 Rattles a Much Bigger Saber as It Prepares Live-Fire Drills Around Taiwan — Combined use of ships, planes and missiles will highlight Beijing’s gains in weaponry and coordination of forces.
- Pelosi Vows ‘Ironclad’ Defense of Taiwan’s Democracy, as China Plans Live-Fire Drills — U.S. House speaker meets with Taiwan’s president, key lawmaker during a trip that has heightened tension.
- China Suspends Natural Sand Exports to Taiwan — China’s Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday that it would suspend natural sand exports to Taiwan, just hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taipei.
- Australia to Review Its Military as U.S.-China Tensions Rise — Review will be most significant reassessment in decades, official says.
- Chinese Investors Still Leery of U.S. Acquisitions After Oversight Changes — The number of Chinese companies filing for national security clearance remains depressed following a 2018 law.
- U.S. Generals, Diplomats Want Chinese Companies Out of Their Retirement Plan — Thrift Savings Plan added thousands of new funds, some of which invest in companies linked to China’s military.
- Video: Pelosi Vows to Defend Taiwan’s Democracy During Visit, Angering China — During a two-day trip to Taiwan, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with the Taiwanese president as China prepared live-fire military exercises around the island. She said Washington will not abandon its commitment to Taipei, stoking U.S.-China tensions.
The Financial Times
- Pelosi vows US support for Taiwan as officials warn of China military blockade — Beijing plans live-fire military drills near island’s largest ports in unprecedented escalation of tensions.
- How decades of clashes with China led to Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan trip — US House Speaker who unfurled banner in Tiananmen Square in 1991 is deeply distrusted by China’s leaders.
- China’s military response to Pelosi visit raises escalation fears — PLA’s ‘targeted military operation’ threatens to choke off export powerhouse.
- China ESG funds bleed $1.4bn in Q2 as Asian growth slows sharply — Decline in sustainable fund investment hits country harder than elsewhere in the region.
- China’s role at the heart of Kenya’s election campaign — Deputy president threatens deportations of Chinese nationals while veteran rival promises renegotiation of Beijing loans.
- China suspends 2,000 food products from Taiwan as Pelosi visits — Taipei perceives bans as retribution for US House Speaker’s trip.
- Samsung and SK Hynix rethink China exposure following US chips act — Leading Korean chipmakers re-evaluate further Chinese investments in wake of Washington restrictions.
The New York Times
- Where China Plans to Conduct Military Drills Circling Taiwan — China’s plans to conduct live-fire drills into Taiwan’s territorial seas could mark a new stage of brinkmanship.
- In Visiting Taiwan, Pelosi Capped Three Decades of Challenging China — From her first days in Congress, the future speaker was willing to confront China’s leaders. As she looked toward her legacy, the California Democrat was not about to back down this time.
- Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit Risks Undermining U.S. Efforts With Asian Allies — The Biden administration has built an economic and diplomatic strategy in Asia to counter China, assuring friendly countries that the U.S. is in the region for the long haul.
Caixin
- China-Designed C919 Jet Completes Test Flights, Paving Way for Commercial Use — The jet’s manufacturer will next need to obtain certificates for airworthiness and production reliability, an aviation industry insider says.
- Two More Unigroup Executives Placed Under Investigation — Former Co-President Diao Shijing and subsidiary Chairman Li Luyuan taken away as former Chairman Zhao Weiguo was probed.
- In Depth: How Tourism Lifted One County out of Poverty — and Left It Vulnerable to Covid — Xijiang, which is heavily dependent on ethnic minority-themed tourism, has been struggling to survive the fallout of the pandemic.
South China Morning Post
- China’s economic sanctions on Taiwan over Pelosi visit ‘symbolic’, but could hit billions if tensions escalate — China moved quickly to levy various trade sanctions on Taiwan in retaliation to the visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-ruled island.
- China ramps up trade sanctions on Taiwan in wake of Nancy Pelosi’s visit, bans sand exports, fruit and fish imports — China suspended natural sand exports to Taiwan, while also blocking imports of Taiwanese citrus fruits, chilled white scallops and frozen mackerel after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed on the self-ruled island on Tuesday.
- A fifth of US-listed Chinese firms probably not qualified for a Hong Kong listing, narrowing escape options: CMB Wing Lung analysts — CMB Wing Lung based its research on thresholds for the main listing methods on the Hong Kong exchange, and found that 52 US-listed Chinese firms are not eligible for listing in the city.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s livestreamer industry matures after clampdown on stars — Playing field starts leveling out in market seen reaching $11bn by 2025.
- SoftBank-backed Chinese robot maker to build plant in Toyota’s backyard — JAKA Robotics seeks Japanese production know-how for edge in home market.
- Pelosi and Tsai praise democracy as China drills form ‘blockade’ — Taiwan says exercises are act of locking down island’s airspace and sea space.
Bloomberg
- China Disappointment at Taiwan Response Puts Pressure on Xi — China’s failure to follow through on some of the more extreme measures proposed by nationalists to stop US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from visiting Taiwan has left some on the mainland disappointed.
- Pelosi’s Taiwan Trip Spurs Chinese Battery Giant to Pause Plant Debut — Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., the world’s biggest maker of batteries for electric vehicles, has been considering at least two locations in Mexico near the Texas border.
- Pelosi Visit Highlights TSMC and Taiwan’s Global Tech Import — One of Nancy Pelosi’s key meetings on her whirlwind tour of Taiwan reportedly is TSMC, the island’s most valuable company and world’s biggest contract chipmaker.
- Portugal Golden Visas: Rich Chinese Losing Their Favorite Escape Route to Europe — For the first time ever, more Americans are tapping Portugal’s golden visa program than their Chinese counterparts.
- China Real Estate Market: Mortgage Boycott May Spur Multi-Billion Dollar Rescue — Angry homebuyers have launched one of the most effective protests the country has ever seen.
Reuters
- Pelosi departs Taiwan, capping visit that infuriated China — U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan on Wednesday after pledging solidarity and hailing its democracy, leaving a trail of Chinese anger over her brief visit to the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.
- No plans for Blinken to meet Chinese, Russian counterparts in Cambodia this week – senior U.S. official — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the possibility of house speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan with his Chinese counterpart in Bali last month, a senior State Department official said on Wednesday.
- Chinese chip IPO is bet on double self-sufficiency — Hygon Information Technology is readying a $1.6 billion float – the largest so far on Shanghai’s STAR market this year. The company’s controversial joint venture with U.S.-based AMD formed back in 2016 gave it a leg-up in microprocessors.
Other Publications
- Associated Press: China blocks some Taiwan imports but avoids chip disruption — Two-way trade soared 26% last year to $328.3 billion. Taiwan, which produces half the world’s processor chips and has technology the mainland can’t match, said sales to Chinese factories rose 24.4% to $104.3 billion.
- ChinaFile: Pelosi in Taiwan — A ChinaFile Conversation.