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
- U.S. Says Chinese Tried to Obstruct Huawei Prosecution — Failed scheme included an effort by two alleged Chinese intelligence officers to bribe a U.S. law-enforcement official, prosecutors say.
- China’s New Guard Bodes Change for Beijing’s Interaction With the West — Pro-market pragmatists are gone as Xi Jinping picks apparatchiks known for their loyalty.
- Markets Are Right to Fear Xi’s Dream Team — Hong Kong stocks swooned after China unveiled a new leadership team packed with Xi Jinping’s protégés.
- China’s Xi Jinping, Secure in Power, Faces Deepening Economic Challenges — Easing Covid rules and aiding the property sector could boost growth, but economists worry larger state role will be priority.
- Shares in Chinese Companies Crash After Xi Jinping Stacks Party With Allies — The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell to lowest level since 2013.
- Two Entrepreneurs Lived Through China’s Tumultuous Tech Decade. Only One is Staying. — Both benefited from China’s tech boom. When the atmosphere changed, each had to make a decision.
- China Signals Easing of Covid-19 Restrictions for Foreign Businesses — Beijing issues framework to spur investment and lure overseas talent without providing details of timing.
- Intel CEO Calls New U.S. Restrictions on Chip Exports to China Inevitable — Intel Corp. Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger said recently imposed U.S. restrictions on semiconductor-industry exports to China were inevitable as America seeks to maintain technological leadership in competition with China.
- HSBC Posts Profit Decline, Names Georges Elhedery as Finance Chief — Bank sets aside $1.1 billion of provisions for expected credit losses.
The Financial Times
- US charges Chinese officers with trying to interfere in Huawei probe — Action by Department of Justice comes as Washington takes aim at Beijing’s ‘violation of international laws’.
- Renminbi hits 2007 low after Xi unveils harder line leadership — China’s central bank sets midpoint of trading band at lowest level since global financial crisis.
- China bulls hammered by stock rout as Xi consolidates power — Tiger Global and Baillie Gifford among investors of companies hit by Monday’s market tumble.
- China’s limitless presidency means limited diplomacy — Communicating with foreign audiences will become more difficult as internal party discipline hardens.
- China’s wealthy activate escape plans as Xi extends rule — Rich citizens fearing high taxes and personal safety move capital out of country and arrange residences overseas.
- Global equity markets issue sceptical verdict on Xi’s third term — Chinese tech shares sell off in Hong Kong and New York after Communist party conference wraps up.
- Xi Jinping consolidates hold on China’s levers of power — Loyalist hierarchy dominated by the president will mean more divergence from the west.
- Xi’s men: Why China’s new politburo has spooked markets — President stacks elite political body with loyalists as he tightens grip on power.
The New York Times
- Why People Are Flocking to a Symbol of Taiwan’s Authoritarian Past — At a museum dedicated to Taiwan’s not-so-distant authoritarian past, Taiwanese see China’s present, and a dark vision of one possible future under autocratic rule.
- Justice Dept. Charges 2 Chinese Citizens With Spying for Huawei — Huawei has been a persistent target of the United States government since the administration of President Donald J. Trump.
- Tesla Cuts Prices in China in Sign of Slowing Demand — Shares of the company slumped as investors worried about increasing competition.
Caixin
- Rule Change Unlocks Billions for Property-Related Companies — Energy China, Fujian Dongbai and Xinjiang International set to raise capital as regulators ease financing curbs.
- In Depth: The World’s No. 1 EV-Battery Maker Juices Up Global Expansion — CATL is setting up factories around the world as competition grows at home, but it will face formidable, more experienced rivals.
- CATL Aims to Mass Produce Sodium-Ion Batteries in 2023 — Chinese giant says it’s been setting up a supply chain and has started negotiating deals with carmakers.
South China Morning Post
- US-blacklisted Chinese AI giant Megvii said to carry out fresh lay-offs amid escalating tech war between Washington and Beijing — Speculation about retrenchment of workers in China’s AI industry reflects the uncertainties brought by US trade sanctions and further restrictions imposed by Washington.
- US officials said to start talks with Chinese chip equipment maker Naura Technology Group over new export restrictions — US officials and Naura Technology Group held talks in Beijing weeks after a subsidiary of the firm was added to Washington’s trade watch list.
- What are China’s major infrastructure projects in an economically fraught 2022? — From large-scale transport and water-conservancy projects to renewable energy efforts, China is splashing out trillions of yuan on critical infrastructure.
Nikkei Asia
- Beyond chips, U.S. lawmakers urge tougher line on Chinese deals — Democrats and Republicans seek probes into transactions in rail and land.
- Samsung and SK Hynix face China dilemma from U.S. export controls — Memory chipmakers have 1-year waiver for Chinese operations, but what then?
- Australia draws Chinese, U.S. lithium processors in EV supply chain shift — New investments close to mines diversify production away from top refiner China.
Bloomberg
- Scholz Rebuffs Cabinet to Allow China Bridgehead at Hamburg Port — The German government is close to reaching a compromise over a disputed sale of a stake in a Hamburg container terminal to China’s state-owned shipping conglomerate Cosco Shipping Holdings Co.
- Chinese Hackers Exploit Gaps in US Intel Sharing, Senator Says — Senator Wyden wants FTC officials to have access to US secrets.
- China’s Budget Deficit Nears Record $1 Trillion as Economy Slows — China’s broad fiscal deficit hit an all-time high in the first nine months of the year as Covid outbreaks and a housing market slump continue to erode government income.
- The Two Contenders to Be Next Governor of China’s Central Bank — Two younger officials promoted to the Communist Party’s ranks are standing out as the most likely candidates to be tasked with steering the People’s Bank of China through challenging economic times.
Reuters
- Exclusive: Former U.S. military pilot who worked in China arrested in Australia, faces extradition — A former U.S. military pilot and flight instructor who worked in China was arrested in Australia and faces extradition to the United States, Australian court documents and company records show.
- Analysis: China’s newly empowered Xi faces a daunting to-do list — China’s Xi Jinping kicks off his third leadership term with more power than ever, but a mountain of problems to tackle, from a dismal economy to his own COVID-19 policy that has backed the country into a corner, and deteriorating ties with the West.
- Germany unlikely to block China port deal but offer smaller stake – sources — Germany may allow China’s Cosco to take a smaller stake than originally planned in a Hamburg port terminal, in what a ministry source on Tuesday described as an “emergency solution” to approve the deal but mitigate the impact.
Other Publications
- The Economist: The end of Apple’s affair with China — Covid-19, costs and geopolitics are driving the iPhone-maker to manufacture and sell its gadgets elsewhere.
- The Economist: Xi Jinping provokes a spectacular sell-off in China’s markets — Investors must now choose between value and values.
- Associated Press: Pro-democracy publisher Lai found guilty on fraud charges — Pro-democracy Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai was found guilty Tuesday on two fraud charges related to lease violations, the latest in a series of prosecutions apparently aimed at punishing him for his past activism.
- The Guardian: ‘We need to get China’: John Kerry calls for return to bilateral climate talks — Negotiations between world’s biggest emitters have stalled since House speaker’s visit to Taiwan.
- PIIE: China has few options to revive lagging economic growth — Many factors have slowed China’s growth outlook, some compounded by policy mistakes.
