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
- Biden Tells ‘60 Minutes’ Covid Pandemic Over, Says U.S. Troops Could Defend Taiwan — In TV interview, president brushes off concerns about whether he is fit enough to run again in 2024.
- China Is Capable of Blockading Taiwan, U.S. Navy Commander Says — ‘If they want to bully and put ships around Taiwan, they very much can do that,’ said Vice Adm. Karl Thomas.
- Pentagon Pushes Defense Companies to Limit Use of Chinese Supplies — Finding China-made alloys in F-35 jets has put U.S. officials on alert as they seek to limit vulnerabilities.
- Fatal Bus Crash Underscores Costs of China’s Covid Measures — Accident that killed 27 people being bused to quarantine sparks anger at toll of Beijing’s commitment to quashing outbreaks.
- China’s Factories Accelerate Robotics Push as Workforce Shrinks — Industrial automation climbs as country tries to extend manufacturing dominance despite labor challenges.
- Supply-Chain Decoupling From China Gets Sharper Teeth — Breaking of links with China to start gaining steam as governments act to secure supply chains.
- Chinese Companies Alter Products, Strategies to Offset Rising Costs — Businesses across the country have been hesitant to increase prices despite the higher expenses they face.
- China’s EV Startups Suffer Widening Losses Despite Sales Boom — Rising battery prices and supply-chain delays this year have driven up costs for cash-burning auto makers.
- China Vanke’s Property Management Arm Plans Up to $783.6 Million IPO — Onewo’s profit rose in the first quarter even as the broader Chinese property market struggled.
The Financial Times
- Biden says US would defend Taiwan from Chinese attack — President’s warning follows Beijing’s military exercises after House Speaker Pelosi visited Taipei.
- China Vanke spin-off seeks $780mn in Hong Kong’s biggest IPO this year — Listing of property management unit to test investor appetite for developer-adjacent exposure.
- America needs a proper risk strategy for its relations with China — Raising tensions without understanding the full economic consequences is pure folly.
- UBS hires Chinese ‘content reviewers’ to vet research reports — Swiss bank aware of cultural and political sensitivities after ‘Chinese pigs’ controversy.
- China’s cooling economy hits hot chip sector start-ups and workers — Despite a talent shortage, cash-crimped companies are having to cut back hiring plans.
The New York Times
- Bus Taking People to Quarantine Crashes in China, Killing 27 — The deaths renewed an anguished debate over the price of China’s “zero Covid” policy.
- In South Korea, President Yoon Treads Fine Line Between U.S. and China — Yoon Suk Yeol has aligned his country more closely with the United States, but there are limits to how far he can go without angering China or provoking North Korea.
- China’s Discovery of Lunar Mineral Could Add to Fuller View of the Moon — Scientists found a single crystal of a new phosphate mineral while analyzing lunar basalt particles, which were collected from the moon two years ago by the Chang’e-5 mission.
- In Hong Kong, Mourning the Queen and the Past — A memorial for Elizabeth has given residents of the former British colony a rare platform for public, if quiet, political dissent.
Caixin
- Cover Story: The Double Squeeze on China’s ‘Sandwich Generation’ — Yin belongs to China’s first generation under the old one-child policy, those born between 1976 and 1985, also known as the “sandwich generation.” Now they are trapped with obligations for caring for their children and their aging parents, putting them in a financial and emotional bind.
- Facing Bribery Accusations, Former China Railway Czar Expelled From Party — An investigation found Sheng, 73, had abused his power in his former roles at the General Administration of Customs and state-owned China Railway Corp. by accepting a large amount of money and valuables in exchange for personal benefits.
- CDC Expert Warns of Potential Monkeypox Outbreak as First Case Hits Mainland — Wu said the risk of monkeypox-infected patients entering society will increase as the disease continues to spread globally, as China’s current seven-day centralized quarantine for inbound travelers is not long enough to cover monkeypox’s incubation period.
South China Morning Post
- Alibaba sets up AI labs with two prestigious Chinese universities as Washington ramps up tech restrictions — Alibaba is teaming up with Peking University and the University of Science and Technology of China to focus on frontier theories and cognitive intelligence.
- Leader of Hong Kong journalists’ group charged with obstruction days before flight to UK to take up prestigious Oxford University fellowship — Ronson Chan vows to apply for bail on Thursday so he can travel to Oxford University to start fellowship.
- US inspectors arrive in PwC, KPMG offices in Hong Kong to review Chinese companies’ audit records, sources say — Teams of inspectors arrived this morning at the Central offices of PwC and KPMG to start reviewing the audit records of US-listed, China-based companies.
Nikkei Asia
- Macao’s junket king Alvin Chau on trial: 4 things to know — Ex-Suncity Group boss and company executives accused of running criminal empire.
- Developer China Vanke unit eyes Hong Kong’s biggest 2022 IPO — Property services division Onewo Space-Tech Service set for $783 million offering.
- Opinion: U.S.-China accounting deal will merely mark a short truce — Neither side has much incentive to make a real effort at compromise. By Andrew Collier
Bloomberg
- Xi’s Heir Is Likely Among China’s Rising ‘Luckiest Generation’ — The spotlight at China’s leadership congress next month will fall on the elite line-up installed to steer the world’s No. 2 economy. But another lesser-watched group will also advance, and an eventual successor to President Xi Jinping is likely among them.
- H.K. May End Hotel Quarantine and Pre-Arrival Tests, Media Say — Hong Kong may scrap hotel quarantine and pre-flight Covid PCR test requirements for incoming travelers, local media reported, in what would be the financial hub’s most significant moves yet to end years of global isolation.
- Lululemon Billionaire Helps China’s Anta in Consumer Sales Push — Lululemon Athletica Inc. founder Chip Wilson, shorn of his influence at the apparel empire he started, says he’s devoting time to helping Amer Sports Group expand sales through direct-to-consumer channels.
- Professor Behind $12 Billion Empire Fuels China’s Tech Rise — Li Zexiang grew up in rural China during the Cultural Revolution, when capitalists were the enemy. Now the 61-year-old academic has quietly emerged as one of the country’s most successful angel investors, backing more than 60 startups including drone giant DJI.
Reuters
- Frugal is the new cool for young Chinese as economy falters — Almost 60% of people are now inclined to save more, rather than consume or invest more, according to the most recent quarterly survey by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China’s central bank.
- Don’t touch foreigners to reduce monkeypox risk, China health official says — A senior Chinese health official advised people to avoid contact with foreigners to prevent monkeypox infection after the first known case of the virus on mainland China was reported.
- China plans easier border entry rules for some foreign tourists — Travel groups organised by tour agencies in border areas in China can choose their port of entry and exit “flexibly”, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a statement, without giving specifics on locations and dates.
Other Publications
- Associated Press: China values UN relationship despite human rights criticism — Chinese diplomats are speaking out and lobbying others at an ongoing session of the Human Rights Council to thwart a possible call for further scrutiny of what it calls its anti-extremism campaign in Xinjiang.
- Politico: UK parliament U-turns on letting Chinese delegation view Queen Elizabeth’s coffin — Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle denies he has been ‘leant on.’