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
- Foxconn to Shift Some iPhone Production From Covid-Hit Plant to Other Sites — Executives expect impact on iPhone shipments from disruption at factory in central China to be limited.
- TuSimple Fires CEO Xiaodi Hou Amid Federal Probes — Self-driving trucking company faces investigations into possible improper ties to a Chinese startup.
- Chinese Property Bonds Set Record Lows as Investors Lose Faith — Bonds from some of the strongest developers trade below 10 cents on the dollar; ‘everyone is scared’.
- U.S. Plans to Send B-52 Bombers to Australia in Effort to Counter China — Beijing warns basing more aircraft in the region could trigger arms race.
- China Docks Final Module to Space Station — The joining of the Mengtian to the previous two modules marks a milestone on Beijing’s way to becoming a global space power.
- Video: China’s Space Station Takes Shape With Docking of Final Module — Mengtian can conduct experiments with ultra-cold atoms, one of the ingredients for potentially developing quantum computers.
The Financial Times
- European stocks jump following big rallies in China and Hong Kong — Traders also look ahead to this week’s US Fed meeting after October gains for Wall Street equities.
- Shanghai officials rush to trace Disneyland visitors after guest tests positive for Covid — Meanwhile in Zhengzhou, Foxconn offers workers bonuses to stay and assemble iPhones.
- China bars celebrities from endorsing products to boost ‘traditional virtues’ — Directive issued as Xi Jinping warns youth against ‘finicky lifestyle and complacent attitude’.
- Germany struggles with its dependency on China — Olaf Scholz’s government promised a tougher approach to Beijing. But Berlin is divided on how far it should try to decouple its economy.
- Apple/China: intricate supply chain makes hanging up hard to do — The iPhone maker remains overwhelmingly reliant on the Asian country.
- Why Chinese students are falling out of love with US universities — Geopolitical and financial tensions make parents think twice about sending their children to America.
The New York Times
- As Last Module Docks, China Completes Its Space Station — The Mengtian module was launched into orbit and docked with the Tiangong space station, the latest step in Beijing’s effort to surpass the United States in space exploration.
Caixin
- In Depth: Yuan Gets More International Love as Dollar Rivalry Grows — China and its trading partners are doing more business in yuan, Belt and Road investment is increasingly being funded in the Chinese currency, and ‘dim sum’ bond sales are booming.
- Digital Yuan Puts Priority on Privacy Protection, PBOC Chief Says — Central Bank Governor Yi Gang outlines e-CNY measures to protect personal data while combatting illicit activities.
- Geely Plans to Spin-Off, List Premium EV Unit — Zeekr’s first model rolled off the production line in October last year. Deliveries of the vehicle, which retail at 335,000 yuan, have topped 45,000 so far.
South China Morning Post
- Foxconn quadruples daily cash bonus for assembly line personnel in world’s largest iPhone factory after exodus of workers — Foxconn’s move to increase cash incentives comes after thousands of panicked workers fled from its Covid-19-hit iPhone factory in the central Chinese city.
- South Korea’s China exports plunge 15.7 per cent, underscoring drop in semiconductor demand — An overall drop in its critical computer chip shipments last month was reflected in the continued contracting of South Korea’s factory activity, even as exports to US and EU are on the rise.
- Hong Kong leader John Lee shrugs off absence of at least 3 top bankers from key financial summit, insists city ‘full of vigour and energy’ — Chief Executive John Lee, pointing to a packed schedule of events to be hosted by the city in the coming fortnight, says financial hub is ‘full of vigour and energy’.
- Hong Kong editors used Stand News to praise criminals and promote illegal ideologies, says prosecutor at sedition trial — Prosecutor says publications, comprising eight news reports and nine commentaries are manifestation of defendants’ criminal plot.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s Global Security Initiative: Xi’s wedge in the U.S.-led order — Beijing’s next big program ups pressure to take sides, rationalizes Ukraine war.
- Xi Jinping’s ’37-year plan’ for Taiwan reunification — Attacks on the mind and a looming crisis.
- Chinese shipbuilders chase South Korean rivals on LNG carriers — Investment spree spurred by war in Ukraine raises concerns of a supply glut.
Bloomberg
- Chinese Stocks Surge in US on Speculation of Covid Zero Exit — Chinese stocks listed in the US surged in New York premarket trading, fueled by speculation that Beijing is preparing to phase out Covid Zero policies — even as the nation’s Foreign Ministry said it was unaware of such a plan.
- China Cobalt Giant Says CATL Unit Will Take Almost 25% Stake — Top global battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. has agreed to take a stake in CMOC Group, a major cobalt producer, increasing vertical integration in China’s burgeoning EV supply chain.
- US Ban on Americans Aiding China Chip Firms Narrower Than Feared — Washington’s restrictions on US citizens assisting China’s chip industry will be more narrowly enforced than feared, suggesting a smaller-than-expected impact on semiconductor companies doing business in the world’s second largest economy.
- Private Equity Chases Rich Chinese Trying to Escape Market Chaos — From a posh Hong Kong office on a Saturday, a group of 20 ultra-wealthy investors dialed into a call with Carlyle Group Inc.’s head of private wealth management for Asia.
- Shanghai Disneyland Locked Visitors in Park on Covid Case — Visitors to Shanghai Disneyland were barred from leaving on Monday until tests cleared them of Covid-19 after an infected person was traced to the theme park, the second time people have been locked inside due to China’s zero-tolerance virus approach.
Reuters
- China foreign ministry: unaware of situation after unverified social media posts lift markets — “I’m not aware of the situation you mentioned,” foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in response to a question at a regular daily news conference.
- China’s Xi greets Vietnamese ally with ceremony, call for defiance — Chinese President Xi Jinping told the visiting leader of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party on Monday that both countries and parties should “never let anyone interfere” with their progress, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
- EU industry chief issues China warning ahead of Scholz’s Beijing visit — The European Union’s industry chief said on Monday that European governments and companies must realise China is a rival to the EU and they should not be naive whenever they approve Chinese investment.
Other Publications
- Associated Press: 50 countries urge China to release detained Uyghurs — Fifty mainly Western countries urged China on Monday to fully implement all recommendations in a U.N. report accusing the country of possible “crimes against humanity” against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups.
- The Washington Post: MAGA porn, hate for Trump: China-based accounts stoke division — A fake China-based account called MAGA ‘Hot Babe’ was among nearly 2,000 that sought to influence America’s midterms and were removed by Twitter.
- CEIP: Biden’s Unprecedented Semiconductor Bet — New U.S. government rules aim to fatally undermine China’s semiconductor fabrication capabilities. Whether they work will influence the balance of global economic and technological power. By Matt Sheehan
- The China Project: A response to baseless allegations — We have been accused by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of being unregistered agents of the CCP. Meanwhile, the CCP has blocked us in China and we are officially labeled as U.S.-backed “anti-China forces.” Here is our response to the absurd allegations being made about our loyalties and motivations.
