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
- Dozens of Americans Are Barred From Leaving China, Adding to Tensions — Californian Henry Cai, who got into a business dispute, has been targeted by exit bans for nearly five years.
- President Biden, Xi Jinping Underscore Opposition to Use of Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine — U.S., Chinese leaders agree to restore regular communication across issues ranging from climate change to food security.
- U.S. Official Says China Is Uncomfortable With Russia’s Rhetoric, Activity in Ukraine — The comments came ahead of a meeting between President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit.
- Xi Jinping Steps Back Onto Global Stage After Three-Year Absence — A question is whether Chinese leader will try to calm fears among his most powerful international critics at summits this week.
- China Dials Back Property Restrictions in Bid to Reverse Economic Slide — Partial easing of housing-sector rules comes as Beijing also seeks to lessen economic toll of strict Covid controls.
- China Throws Developers a Lifeline, but Buyers Might Stay Cautious — Shares of Chinese property developers soared after Beijing’s plan to support sector, but reviving home buyers’ faith will be tougher.
- Macau Under Spotlight Amid U.S. Inspections of China-Based Audits — Investors seek more disclosure on public companies’ exposure to uninspected audit work.
- China’s Global Port Investments Give Rise to Security Worries — The expanding network could make it easier for Beijing to service its navy, U.S. analysts say.
- ‘The Cashless Revolution’ Review: They’ve Got Your Number — When payments are made in digital currency, the chances of state surveillance increase. Chinese fintech is a case study.
- Video: How China’s Radical Economic Pivot Could Affect U.S. Investors — The Chinese Communist Party is revamping the country’s economy through crackdowns on tech, real estate and other growth industries.
The Financial Times
- China’s elite seek safety abroad — Wealthy look to Singapore for personal and financial protection as Xi Jinping tightens grip on power.
- Biden meets Xi in Bali as US-China tensions mount — US president says he is committed to keeping personal communication lines open with Chinese leader.
- Emboldened Xi steps back on to world stage with G20 summit — China’s president faces US antagonism over tacit support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- China property: sucker’s rally is belied by savings cash piles — Investors who once saw the sector’s shares as bulletproof now view them as among the riskiest assets.
- Chinese property stocks soar on hopes of turning point for sector — Financial measures from Beijing offer relief for cash-strapped developers struggling to complete projects.
- China extends bank deadline for capping property sector loans — Decision offers relief for cash-strapped developers struggling to complete projects.
- China’s chip tool makers struggle to profit at home from US export controls — Orders rise in short term, but domestic suppliers lag in supporting advanced semiconductor technology.
- US tries to enlist allies in assault on China’s chip industry — Some experts say Washington’s export control campaign will suffer without Japan and Netherlands on board.
- Biden and Xi try to steady collapsing US-China relations in first meeting — Beijing and Washington at odds over issues including trade, Taiwan, nuclear weapons and Russia.
- BlackRock shelves China bond ETF — Deteriorating relations between Washington and Beijing and less attractive yields blamed.
- Cathay’s pilot exodus persists as pandemic curbs hit morale — Quarantines and demanding schedules prompt flood of resignations, with 30 to 50 pilots leaving each month.
The New York Times
- Live Updates: Biden and Xi Meeting Ends as U.S.-China Tensions Rise — Amid growing disputes over Taiwan, Ukraine, technology and divergent visions of the world order, the leaders of the two superpowers are held their first face-to-face presidential talks.
- Iran and China Use Private Detectives to Spy on Dissidents in America — The U.S. investigators are hired under false pretenses by authoritarian governments to do their “dirty work,” the F.B.I. says.
- In an Era of Confrontation, Biden and Xi Seek to Set Terms — Their first in-person presidential meeting, coming after both warned of deepening military, economic and diplomatic rivalry, will show how they address a range of U.S.-China tensions.
- For Biden and Xi, a Long Relationship With Rising Mutual Suspicion — The men, who first met as vice presidents, plan to hold face-to-face talks for the first time as national leaders, and at a time when animus defines U.S.-China relations.
- Yellen Encourages Vaccinations in China as Covid Restrictions Slow Growth — With China’s strict pandemic policies stalling the economy at home and globally, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said American mRNA vaccines are at the ready.
- Surrounded by Threats, Japan Rethinks Decades of Military Dependency — As it pushes to significantly increase defense spending and develop more of its own hardware, the country may nudge the balance of power in Asia.
- North Korea Sees New Opportunities in ‘Neo-Cold War’ — Kim Jong-un has launched a record number of missiles this year, hoping to leverage the tension between the United States and China, and to exploit hostilities toward Moscow.
- Yellen Calls for ‘Stabilizing’ U.S. Relations With China Ahead of G20 — The Treasury secretary said in an interview that the United States was not trying to “paralyze China’s economy and stop its development.”
- U.S. Seeks Closer Ties With India as Tension With China and Russia Builds — Treasury Secretary Yellen wants India to be part of the Biden administration’s “friend-shoring” agenda, but trade tensions linger.
Caixin
- Cover Story: Will Europe Pour More Money Into China? — As dramatic geopolitical changes alter the calculus, foreign investment from Europe more than doubles this year after three years of decline.
- China’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Posts 14.27% Investment Return Overseas — Performance for 2021 by $1 trillion CIC beat previous year despite economic slowing, but this year will be more challenging, fund warns.
- Lithium Price Climbs to Record on Tight Supply — EV battery makers rush to lock in supply ahead of winter production slowdown, driving lithium carbonate price to $83,700 a ton.
South China Morning Post
- Xi-Biden talks: Blinken to visit China in push for open lines of communication — Presidents cover thorny issues from Taiwan to Ukraine in 3½-hour meeting in Bali.
- China sends more students to US universities than any other nation, survey finds, despite bilateral unease — Over 290,000 came to American institutions of higher education in 2021-2022 academic year, down 8.6 per cent compared with previous year.
- Australia open to ‘off-ramps’ talks with China to fix long-standing trade spat without WTO arbitration — Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said Canberra is willing to talk to Beijing instead of forcing a World Trade Organization (WTO) decision on the current trade disputes with China.
Nikkei Asia
- China gives 1st close-up glimpse of cutting-edge stealth fighter — J-20’s design reveals potential development issues, expert says.
- China’s CATL to help Indonesia build ‘green’ battery industry — Japan’s Toyota ‘bullish’ on nickel-rich country, but stresses decarbonization.
- BYD takes commanding EV patent lead among Chinese rivals — Automaker gains recognition for its innovative ‘blade batteries’.
Bloomberg
- Biden, Xi Chart Path to Warmer Ties With Blinken China Visit — Joe Biden and Xi Jinping agreed to a series of goodwill gestures intended to improve ties between their countries after the first in-person meeting between the leaders of the US and China since the pandemic began.
- HSBC Opens New Singapore Office With Substantial Growth Plans — HSBC Holdings Plc has big plans to ramp up in Singapore to build up international corporate and wealth banking as it expands its Asia footprint outside its regional hub in Hong Kong.
- China Names SARS Fighter Yin Li as New Beijing Party Boss — China has named former SARS firefighter Yin Li the new Communist Party leader of Beijing, as President Xi Jinping begins recalibrating the Covid Zero policy that’s slowed the world’s second largest economy.
- China Mulls Emergency Approval of BioNTech Vaccine for Foreigners, COO Says — China is considering a potential emergency approval of BioNTech SE’s Covid-19 vaccine to make it available to foreigners living in the country, the company’s Chief Operating Officer Sierk Poetting said.
Reuters
- New China COVID rules spur concern as some cities halt routine tests — Several Chinese cities began cutting routine community COVID-19 testing on Monday, days after China announced an easing of some of its heavy-handed coronavirus measures, sparking worry in some communities as nationwide cases continued to rise.
- As world population hits 8 billion, China frets over too few babies — The anguish of the coronavirus pandemic and China’s strict measures to stamp it out may also have had a profound impact on the desire of many people to have children, demographers say.
- Ant’s consumer finance unit to more than double capital to $2.62 bln — The consumer finance unit of China’s Ant Group will increase its registered capital to 18.5 billion yuan ($2.62 billion) from 8 billion yuan previously, in part by taking on new investors, an exchange filing released on Monday said.
Other Publications
- The Economist: The dynamics of distrust around the G20 summit — As Joe Biden and Xi Jinping prepare to meet, South-East Asia contemplates with alarm a deterioration in relations between America and China.
- The New Yorker: A Dangerous Game Over Taiwan — For decades, China has coveted its island neighbor. Is Xi Jinping ready to seize it? By Dexter Filkins
- Foreign Affairs: Why China Will Play It Safe — Xi Would Prefer Détente—Not War—With America. By Christopher K. Johnson
- Foreign Affairs: The Real China Hands — What Washington Can Learn From Its Asian Allies. By Michael J. Green
