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 Refused U.S. Call After Downing of Suspected Spy Balloon, Pentagon Says — Washington and Beijing already face a relationship strained by trade and Taiwan tensions.
- Republicans Home In on China Policy Following Balloon Shootdown — Lawmakers look to counter economic, military challenges from Beijing.
- China Has More ICBM Launchers Than U.S., American Military Reports — While the U.S. leads in intercontinental missiles and warheads, China’s gains are fueling debate in Congress.
- Chinese Consumers Hoard Cash After Confidence Takes a Hit — Economists believe spending will be slow to bounce back after the end of zero-Covid.
- TikTok’s Secret Sauce Poses Challenge for U.S. Oversight, Researchers Say — Concerns mount over TikTok’s plan to address potential Chinese influence over what videos Americans see.
- China Responds to Being Called Out — After President Biden personally called out Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the State of the Union address, China said it seeks improved relations with the U.S. but that it wouldn’t allow Washington to smear it in the name of competition.
The Financial Times
- Popeyes re-enters China to take on KFC in fried-chicken fight — Fast-food chains hope to capitalise on cheap rents for retail space left vacant by Covid casualties.
- Allure of abroad palls for Chinese MBA students — An overseas MBA was part of many professionals’ plans before Covid. Will demand recover?
- Biden warns China over threats to US sovereignty in State of the Union address — President delivers defiant message to Beijing amid rising tensions and defends economic record at home.
The New York Times
- Biden Focuses on Domestic Issues in State of the Union Despite Global Tensions — Mr. Biden is proud of reshaping foreign policy to focus on superpower conflict, but knows it is jobs and energy prices that voters want to hear about.
- After Spy Balloon Incident, China Rejects Pentagon’s Request to Speak — Chinese officials rejected a request from the U.S. defense secretary to speak with his counterpart after an American fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon.
- After Spy Balloon Clash, U.S.-China Tensions Loom Over Biden’s Speech — The president has taken steps meant to limit China’s technological advancement and bolster military forces in the Asia-Pacific region.
- China’s Bid to Improve Food Production? Giant Towers of Pigs. — High-rise hog farms have sprung up nationwide as part of Beijing’s drive to enhance its agricultural competitiveness and reduce its dependence on imports.
Caixin
- Huarong Rescue Moves Forward With 6.15 Billion-Yuan Trust Unit Sale — The debt-stricken state-owned asset manager is in the midst of a restructuring that involves offloading some of its subsidiaries to raise money.
- China Speeds Up Approval of Wholly Foreign-Owned Fund Managers — With Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan rulings, authorities have cleared four such ventures already this year compared with just one last year.
- In Depth: Why Medical Students in China are Faking Their Way to a Doctor’s License — So-called “registration institutions” help people forge various necessary credentials, such as academic and work certificates, and conspire with the examiners who check these credentials’ authenticity before the exam.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese factories fret over potential Japanese chip equipment ban, swarm second-hand dealers with enquiries — After Japan reportedly agreed to a US request to tighten its export controls of chip-making equipment, Chinese factories are preparing for the worst.
- US firms in Taiwan revising contingency plans amid ‘continuum of increased concerns’ over mainland China conflict — An American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan survey found 47 per cent of respondents have changed ‘business continuity plans’ or intend to make changes.
Bloomberg
- Biden Taunts Xi Days After Shooting Down Chinese Balloon — US President Joe Biden taunted Xi Jinping in his State of the Union address, saying autocracies had grown weaker around the world and no one would want the Chinese leader’s job.
- GOP House Panel Chair to Lead Taiwan Trip as China Tensions Rise — House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul said he plans to lead a bipartisan delegation to Taiwan this spring, despite renewed tensions with Beijing over China’s alleged spy balloon incursion over the US.
- Hong Kong Targets Prized Aramco Listing With Xi’s Backing — Two months after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong’s leader John Lee has followed in his footsteps by taking a sizable entourage to the kingdom.
- Xi Rejects Westernization in Show of Faith in Self Reliance — China’s successful development shows there is another way to modernize, President Xi Jinping said, rejecting any need to “westernize” and doubling down on his goals of increased self reliance and improved social justice.
Reuters
- HSBC putting China’s interests above exiled Hong Kong customers, UK lawmakers say — The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong said the lender had blocked some overseas residents of the former British colony from withdrawing pension contributions made to the island’s Mandatory Provident Fund.
- Japan may opt for milder chip-equipment curbs on China than U.S, says lawmaker — Japan last month agreed with the Netherlands and the United States to halt exports of equipment that China could use to manufacture advanced chips.
- Australia to remove Chinese-made security cameras from national war memorial – reports — Eleven surveillance cameras manufactured by Hikvision, partly owned by Chinese state investors, will be removed from the Australian War Memorial in Canberra by mid-2023.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: Chinese balloon part of vast aerial surveillance program, U.S. says — Spy balloon effort operates in Hainan province off China’s south coast and has for years collected information on military assets in several countries, officials said.
- The Economist: The lessons from the Chinese spy balloon — Sino-American mistrust is morphing into a new cold war.
- Associated Press: Navy divers begin pulling up Chinese spy balloon debris — Navy divers began pulling pieces of the downed Chinese spy balloon from the depths of the ocean floor on Tuesday, using sophisticated reconnaissance drones dubbed the Kingfish and the Swordfish to locate the debris.
- Foreign Policy: China’s Balloon Could Be America’s Awakening — An alarming blunder may convince the U.S. public to take Beijing’s threats seriously. By Richard Fontaine
- CNN: ‘Everyone’s trying to row in the same direction’: Spy balloon saga tests bipartisan China committee — After House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced his Democratic appointments to a select committee on the threat posed by China, the top Republican chairing the panel, GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, gave Jeffries some surprising feedback: his stamp of approval.
