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’s Top Nuclear-Weapons Lab Used American Computer Chips Decades After Ban — State-owned institute continued buying Intel- and Nvidia-made chips despite inclusion on a U.S. export blacklist in 1997.
- Russia Boosts China Trade to Counter Western Sanctions — China has become a supplier of key technologies that can have a military purpose.
- Japan, Netherlands Agree to Limit Exports of Chip-Making Equipment to China — Deal with U.S. comes as President Biden seeks to slow China’s military development.
- U.S.’ Tripartite Chip Alliance Should Spook China — Deal with Japan, Netherlands sends strong signal on allied unity, and could complicate further expansion plans in China.
- China’s Baidu Developing Its Own ChatGPT, Joining Latest Global AI Race — Search giant plans to release AI-powered chatbot and integrate it into search in March.
- Private-Equity Funds Turn to Yuan Offerings, Defying Wider Slowdown in China — Global firms eye deeper foothold in China with yuan-denominated funds.
- TikTok’s Chief to Testify Before Congress in March — Republicans are expected to use hearing to highlight security and privacy concerns over video app.
- TikTok Ban Faces Obscure Hurdle: The Berman Amendments — Decades-old measures protect free flow of content internationally, even with hostile nations.
- China’s Displeasure With a Bookseller Follows Him to Florida — Yu Miao was forced to close his Shanghai store. Now his wife is stuck in China.
- Opinion: Telling the Truth About Possible War Over Taiwan — Gen. Minihan shocks Washington by telling his troops to be ready to fight against China.
The Financial Times
- What China’s reopening means for markets — As the country pivots from zero-Covid, traders are betting on a surge in demand.
- China targets consumption in bid to drive growth — Analysts hope abandonment of zero-Covid policies will unleash flood of consumer spending.
- China’s film industry shoots for post-Covid recovery — Falling investment and censorship damp revival hopes after ticket sales fell behind US in 2022.
- China’s comeback turbocharges base metal prices — Industrial commodities, led by tin, have surged more than 20 per cent in three months.
- Japanese companies step up intelligence gathering as US-China tensions mount — More businesses cite geopolitics, economic security or regulatory change as key risk.
- US air force general predicts China conflict in 2025 — Leaked memo from Mike Minihan comes as tension remains high over Taiwan.
- Three ways to read the ‘deglobalisation’ debate — Proponents of business as usual and the new cold warriors are too confident of their ability to predict the future.
- Industrial policy is so hot right now — Lord make me a free-marketer, but not yet.
The New York Times
- Netherlands and Japan Said to Join U.S. in Curbing China’s Access to Chip Tech — A new agreement is expected to expand the reach of U.S. technology restrictions on China issued last year.
- China’s Oil and Gas Use Fell in 2022 for First Time in Decades — Pandemic lockdowns curbed Chinese energy demand, but the International Energy Agency expects a rebound this year.
- Chinese Travel Is Set to Return. The Question Is, When? — The country has dropped restrictions on overseas journeys for its citizens, but once-popular destinations are still waiting for the flood of vacationers to arrive.
Caixin
- China’s Provinces Target Household Spending in Plans for Post-‘Zero Covid’ Recovery — The priority is in line with a State Council directive that emphasized the need to make consumption a main driver of an economy that had one of its worst showings in decades in 2022.
- Losses Blow Out at China’s Airlines as Passengers Dip to 12-Year Low — Total industry losses in 2022 were more than the previous two years combined as Covid restrictions shut down international travel.
- iFlytek Jumps by Daily Limit as AI Arouses Investor Interest — The tech company stock rises 10% despite warning its 2022 profit fell by an estimated 60% to 70%.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese economist calls for review of rigid cryptocurrency ban as digital yuan fails to take off — Huang Yiping, a former adviser to China’s central bank, said Beijing should consider the long-term effects of its cryptocurrency ban, as related technologies could benefit financial systems.
- Czech president-elect Petr Pavel risks Beijing’s anger with phone conversation with Taiwan’s leader Tsai Ing-wen — The former general said he was planning to talk to the island’s president following his landslide election victory.
- Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com pulls the plug on Indonesia and Thailand sites in Southeast Asia logistics pivot — JD Central and JD.ID in Thailand and Indonesia, respectively, will cease operations in March, as parent JD.com refocuses on logistics and China growth.
- Multimedia: Economic deciders — Beijing is reshuffling its economic leadership team after the ruling Communist Party held its twice-a-decade national congress in October. These are the current and new faces.
Nikkei Asia
- China resumes visas for Japanese on apparent economic concerns — Business travel viewed as essential for smooth transition after Lunar New Year.
- China Railway expands high-speed network as profits take back seat — State-owned operator’s debt rises to 5% of national GDP.
- Sony separates production of cameras for China and non-China markets — Devices for Japan, U.S. and Europe to be made in Thailand.
- U.S. pushes Vietnam on union rights, Xinjiang forced labor — Envoy acknowledges issues in America, too, where employers are said to resist unions.
Bloomberg
- TikTok CEO to Testify in Congress on Privacy, Kids’ Access — TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the company’s privacy policies, the app’s impact on children and the company’s relationship with the Communist Party in China, Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers said.
- China Urges Kevin McCarthy Not to Repeat Pelosi Visit to Taiwan — China called on US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy not to visit Taiwan, raising the specter of a repeat of the showdown last year when his predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, made her own trip to the democratically run island.
- China Dismisses US Claims of Support for Russia as ‘Paranoia’ — China hit back at a report that the US has confronted it with evidence suggesting some of its state-owned firms may be helping Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying Washington should stop sending weapons if it wants the conflict to end.
- Huawei Spinoff Is Lone Winner in Dire Year for China Smartphones — Honor Device Co. was the only major phone manufacturer to eke out growth in China shipments last year, defying a double-digit slump that delivered a decade low for the market.
Reuters
- U.S. four-star general warns of war with China in 2025 — A four-star U.S. Air Force general said in a memo that his gut told him the United States would fight China in the next two years, comments that Pentagon officials said were not consistent with American military assessments.
- Japan’s chip equipment makers in the dark about new China export restrictions — Japanese makers of semiconductor manufacturing machinery and materials used to make chips said on Monday they had yet to hear from Japan’s government about export restrictions that could directly or indirectly affect their business in China.
- China contacts Prague over Czech president-elect speaking to Taiwan president — Pavel is due to speak with Tsai on Monday, Pavel’s spokeswoman said, a highly unusual move given the lack of formal ties and a diplomatic coup for Taipei that is likely to anger China.
Other Publications
- The Guardian: China owns vast network of UK real estate, offshore records reveal — Land Registry records suggest that CIC has spent at least £580m on UK properties, although the true figure is likely to be significantly higher because some records are incomplete.
- The Economist: A new threat to relations between America and China — As Xi Jinping tries to ease tensions, a congressional committee risks exacerbating them.
- The Los Angeles Times: Burned out by COVID, Chinese professionals take up nomadic life: ‘I wasted so much time’ — The growing aversion to conventional expectations — build a career, get married, buy a home, have children — is discouraged by the ruling Communist Party, which prizes social stability.
- Stanford DigiChina: Is China’s Tech ‘Crackdown’ or ‘Rectification’ Over? — Is the sun setting on two years of regulators targeting China’s digital economy? A DigiChina Forum.
