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 Eases Zero-Covid Rules as Economic Toll and Frustrations Mount — Top leaders relax stringent pandemic controls in bid to lessen economic and societal impact, even as daily cases surge past 10,000.
- President Biden, Xi Jinping to Meet During G-20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia — U.S. is hoping to elicit cooperation with China as distrust and tensions between the two powers run high.
- Chinese Stocks Surge as Beijing Eases Some Covid Restrictions — Market participants say Beijing’s updated Covid policy paves the way for a long-awaited reopening.
- TuSimple Co-Founder Ousts Board That Fired Him Last Month — Turmoil at self-driving trucking company comes as FBI, SEC probe TuSimple’s ties to Chinese startup.
- SoftBank Posts Profit of More Than $21 Billion After Selling Alibaba Shares — Share sale more than offsets losses at SoftBank’s Vision Funds.
The Financial Times
- Baillie Gifford’s Scottish Mortgage cuts China exposure — UK’s largest investment trust warns of ‘challenging’ environment and reduces stakes in Alibaba and Tencent.
- China cuts Covid quarantine rules while Guangzhou nears lockdown — Mandatory isolation for close contacts and overseas arrivals reduced by two days after rumours of reopening.
- Global carbon emissions hit record despite China slowdown — Seven years after the Paris climate accord, pollution levels are still rising.
- US warns Europe a conflict over Taiwan could cause global economic shock — Sharing of research comes amid rising concern about military action in the Indo-Pacific.
- Biden and Xi to hold first in-person summit ahead of G20 — High-stakes encounter comes amid rising US-China tensions.
The New York Times
- China Adjusts Some Pandemic Policies, While Sticking to ‘Zero Covid’ — Investors cheered the changes, although officials emphasized that measures “must not be relaxed.”
- On Alibaba’s Singles Day, Shopping Baskets Are Filled With Chinese Brands — As geopolitical and economic pressures mount, homegrown businesses are increasingly the preferred choice over Western competitors in a more insular China.
- Biden and Xi to Meet as Tensions Grow Over Taiwan — Setting a meeting gives the two leaders an opportunity for face-to-face time, but President Biden said he would deliver no “fundamental concessions” over Taiwan.
Caixin
- China Revises Rules to Boost Contributions to State Insurance Bailout Fund — On top of mandatory rates, insurance companies will have to pay fees related to their risk levels as authorities beef up the $25.2 billion fund.
- Fitch Downgrades Zijin Mining Amid Debt-Fueled Spending Spree — The ratings agency cut the Chinese miner’s rating from investment grade to junk after the company announced $4.5 billion in acquisitions and investments this year.
- China Outlines Carbon Peaking Roadmap for Building Materials — Industry accounting for 13.2% of China’s carbon dioxide emissions is the first with a specific plan for meeting climate goals.
South China Morning Post
- China’s easing of some coronavirus rules ‘encouraging’, but economic impact seen as limited — China’s decision to ease coronavirus containment measures has been welcomed by foreign business groups, but many say the positive impact will be limited and have urged further relaxation.
- China and Hong Kong firms see greatest growth in whistle-blower reports in Asia-Pacific, but fail to act adequately, Baker McKenzie survey shows — Mainland China and Hong Kong firms have seen the greatest growth in whistle-blower reports but have failed to respond adequately, a survey of five major Asia-Pacific markets by law firm Baker McKenzie has found.
- China offers ‘friendly countries’ radar system that can detect enemy satellites — Radar system made by state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation could offset the battlefield reconnaissance advantages of Western satellites.
- Boeing commits to China for the long haul, but no word on when 737 MAX will ‘safely return’ to service — Boeing’s business has not been the same since the US-China trade war kicked off four years ago, but the company is looking decades down the line, and it expects the embattled 737 MAX to remain important.
Bloomberg
- It’s Too Early to Celebrate Covid Zero’s End in China, Experts Say — After China announced a sweeping set of changes easing quarantine and testing requirements on Friday, investors across asset classes rejoiced like the controversial Covid Zero playbook had been all but declared over.
- Plane Ticket Bookings Double in Hour as China Eases Covid Rules — Bookings for flights into China doubled in the hour after the government announced an easing of restrictions for inbound travelers, including shorter quarantine, Ctrip.com said.
- Euphoria Sweeps China Stocks as Signs of Covid Zero Pivot Emerge — Chinese markets rallied as a move by authorities to ease some rules related to quarantine and flight bans intensified bets that a shift away from the stringent Covid Zero policy may finally be underway.
- Here’s What Changed in Top China Leadership’s Covid Language — China’s top Communist Party leaders on Thursday held the first publicly known gathering on handling Covid-19 since speculation of a shift in Beijing’s strategy went viral, stoking gains in the nation’s stocks.
Reuters
- Exclusive: U.S. blocks more than 1,000 solar shipments over Chinese slave labor concerns — More than 1,000 shipments of solar energy components worth hundreds of millions of dollars have piled up at U.S. ports since June under a new law banning imports from China’s Xinjiang region over concerns about slave labor, according to federal customs officials and industry sources.
- Biden seeks to build ‘floor’ for China relations in Xi meeting — U.S. President Joe Biden hopes to limit deterioration of ties with China when he meets its leader Xi Jinping next week, but will be honest about U.S. concerns, including over Taiwan and human rights, a senior administration official said on Thursday.
- China shortens COVID quarantine times, eases flight curbs — China on Friday eased some of its COVID curbs, including shortening by two days quarantine times for close contacts of cases and for inbound travellers and scrapping a penalty on airlines that bring in infected passengers.
The Economist
- No contest is too obscure in Taiwan’s quest for global recognition — International attention is always welcome, even if it is for cup-stacking.
- America and China must talk — Refusing to speak is what children do when they are angry.
- Why Chinese players of Go aren’t winning any more — Another reason to dislike the zero-covid policy.
- Xi Jinping amends the Chinese Dream — As the economy slows, the social contract between party and people changes.
- Can Joe Biden and Xi Jinping stabilise Sino-American relations? — Domestic politics on both sides will make it hard.
- How Xi Jinping is mobilising the masses to control themselves — A low-tech arm of a high-tech police state.
Other Publications
- Associated Press: 3 charged with sending defense-related data to China — Three people and a business have been charged in federal court with participating in an illegal scheme to export controlled data to China and to defraud the Defense Department.
- Foreign Policy: Will U.S. Midterm Results Affect Washington’s Foreign Policy? — A Republican-led House could mean a more hawkish stance on China and less aid for Ukraine—or more of the same.
- MIT Tech Review: A wrongfully terminated Chinese-American scientist was just awarded nearly $2 million in damages — “The settlement makes clear that when the government discriminates, it’s going to be held accountable,” said Sherry Chen’s lawyer.
