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.
Paid subscribers automatically have this list emailed directly to their inboxes every day by 10 a.m. EST. Subscribe here.
The Wall Street Journal
- Ecuador Reaches Deal With China to Restructure Debt — Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso says restructuring $4.4 billion of outstanding debt will save the country $1 billion from 2022 to 2025.
- Chinese Firms Flee U.S. Commercial Real-Estate Market After Big Property Bets Sour — Investors from China who once snapped up American office buildings and hotels have sold a net $23.6 billion of U.S. commercial properties in recent years.
- Chinese Cargo-Data Network Poses Growing Risks, U.S. Analysis Says — Beijing’s Logink gathers insight into global shipping that could harm American security and commercial interests, says report.
- Tencent Considers More Stake Sales to Fund Share Buybacks, Future Growth — The Chinese internet company recently reviewed a group of likely candidates for divestment.
The Financial Times
- Ecuador reaches $1.4bn debt restructuring deal with China — Beijing is increasingly offering bailouts to countries at risk of financial crises.
- China EV maker seeks $1bn in Hong Kong’s biggest IPO of 2022 — Leapmotor set to be rare highlight in sluggish year for exchange’s listings market.
- Hong Kong pins hopes on rugby Sevens to rejuvenate city — City leaders stoke speculation on full reopening as financial hub struggles to recapture allure.
The New York Times
- How a Quebec Lithium Mine May Help Make Electric Cars Affordable — The project also illustrates how difficult it is to get lithium out of the ground and break China’s dominance in processing the metal and turning it into batteries.
Caixin
- In Depth: How China’s Insurance Industry Is Slowly Opening to the Ill — Increasing numbers of Chinese insurers are launching health insurance policies targeting people with chronic illnesses, which make up as much as one-fifth of China’s population.
- European Demand for Chinese Solar Panels Soars as Russia Withholds Natural Gas — Chinese exports of solar panels to Europe have surged this year as countries hunt for alternative energy sources to fill the gap left by Russian natural gas.
- Exclusive: Graft Busters Target Booming Shipping Finance Sector — Arrest of Citic Financial Leasing chief Guo Fangmeng adds to growing list of detained executives as authorities cast a wide net over $77 billion industry.
South China Morning Post
- Senior Beijing official calls suggestion of emigration wave from Hong Kong ‘inappropriate’, attributes population dip to multiple factors — ‘Hong Kong’s population drop is caused by various factors and there is no way to suggest that it is a result of an emigration wave,’ senior official says.
- Beijing may use Anti-Secession Law to seek Taiwan reunification, Chinese foreign minister says — Chinese foreign minister says if the law is violated, Beijing will take ‘resolute actions to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity’.
- Hong Kong plans to launch trial of e-HKD in fourth quarter, paving way for full digital currency roll-out — The city’s de facto central bank will start testing out a digital coin called the e-HKD, paving the way for a virtual currency the public can use in the future to shop, dine out and make money transfers.
Nikkei Asia
- China builds global media muscle to amplify its message — Study shows how country with dismal press freedom record sways reporting abroad.
- China slows foreign lending as Belt and Road problem loans triple — Sri Lanka falls into debt crisis while Pakistan is strapped for cash.
- State-backed companies emerge as ‘winners’ in China real estate crisis — Bleak overall outlook for sector as sales tumble and losses mount.
Bloomberg
- Hong Kong Arrests Man Mourning Queen Under Colonial Sedition Law — Hong Kong police used a colonial-era law intended to protect the British monarchy to arrest a man near a memorial for Queen Elizabeth II.
- Hong Kong to Cut Hotel Quarantine as China Shows Support — Hong Kong wants to relax Covid rules like mandatory hotel quarantine that have made travel difficult for nearly three years, Chief Executive John Lee said Tuesday, as mainland officials signaled their approval.
- US EB-5 Visa Program Draws Rich From China to India After Reset — The EB-5 visa program coveted by many wealthy overseas investors is being revived after changes aimed at curbing abuses.
- China’s LVMH Wannabe Unravels After Tycoon’s Failed $3 Billion Bet — A Chinese LVMH wannabe spent billions buying up global luxury fashion brands, but its deal spree is now unraveling.
Reuters
- U.S. Treasury official criticizes China’s ‘unconventional’ debt practices — A top adviser to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will warn on Tuesday that China’s foot-dragging on debt relief could burden dozens of low- and middle-income countries with years of debt servicing problems, lower growth and underinvestment.
- Rejecting Chinese bid would put Hamburg port at disadvantage, mayor says — Germany would put its port of Hamburg at a competitive disadvantage if it quashed a bid from China’s Cosco to buy a stake in a container operator, the port city’s mayor said.
Other Publications
- Associated Press: On sidelines of UN, a push for China’s abuses to be punished — The United Nations will be judged by how it addresses China’s persecution of ethnic minorities, diplomats and human rights advocates charged Monday on the sidelines of the body’s General Assembly.
- Politico: Biden leaves no doubt: ‘Strategic ambiguity’ toward Taiwan is dead — The president’s remark that the U.S. would defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack “doesn’t really have the hallmark of an off-the-cuff remark,” one expert said.
