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
- U.S., China Diplomats See Chance to Clear the Air Over Balloon — Two sides have discussed possible meeting of Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China’s Wang Yi at security conference in Munich.
- China Puts Lockheed, Raytheon on Trade Blacklist Over Taiwan Arms Sales — Sanctions come amid escalating tensions with the U.S. following the shooting down of Chinese balloon.
- U.S. Forced Labor Crackdown Is Tough, But Opaque — Companies and researchers have found it difficult to determine who exactly is in the crosshairs of an anti-forced labor campaign targeting China.
- Hundreds Protest in China as Government Cuts Medical Benefits — Demonstrations involving hundreds of seniors in Wuhan and Dalian coincide with China’s fiscal strains.
- Single Mothers in China Face Fewer Hurdles as Beijing Tries to Boost Births — In a demographic bind, the Communist Party becomes more accepting of out-of-wedlock births.
- U.S. and EU Advance Buyers’ Club for EV Battery Minerals — West aims to rely less on China and promote clean-energy technology.
- TikTok Parent’s Work-Collaboration Tool Feishu Hit $100 Million in Revenue — ByteDance is seeking new sources of growth.
The Financial Times
- China’s top diplomat visits Rome, uncertain of his welcome — Also in this newsletter: in the scandal-hit European parliament, politicians are rushing to declare their freebies.
- Spy balloons, sky clutter and UFOs: what flies in the ‘forgotten space’? — Objects in the upper stratosphere are used for science, surveillance and communications.
- Xinjiang governor cancels Brussels and London visits after outcry — Meetings with EU and UK officials axed amid protests over treatment of Uyghurs in north-west Chinese region.
- Saudi Arabia-backed group to invest $265mn in Chinese esports company VSPO — Savvy Games Group secures deal as part of kingdom’s push to become top gaming hub.
- Munich Security Conference charts new role after uninviting Russia and Iran — Some officials worry defence forum could turn into a western echo chamber.
The New York Times
- Senate Unanimously Condemns China for Spy Balloon, Joining the House — With the Senate’s bipartisan action on Wednesday night, both chambers of Congress have officially taken China to task for the episode amid questions about the Biden administration’s response.
- Thousands of Chinese Retirees Protest Government Cuts to Benefits — The protest in Wuhan highlights the strain on the finances of local governments, made worse by heavy spending on “zero Covid” measures.
- How Questions Over a Spy Balloon and U.F.O.s Fed a Crisis Between the U.S. and China — U.S. officials now suspect that the balloon was sent to spy on bases in Guam and Hawaii and that other downed objects were not surveillance machines. Washington’s evolving view reflects U.S. and Chinese difficulties in discerning each other’s intentions.
Caixin
- In Depth: China’s Rural Covid Wave Exposes Flaws in Plan to Prevent Hospital Overcrowding — Across China’s vast countryside, where the health care system has fewer resources at its disposal, an earlier-than-expected surge in Covid infections stretched local health care staff to the limit last month.
- Developer Evergrande Vows to Fix Internal Controls in Wake of $2 Billion Deposit Debacle — An investigation reveals that the money was pledged as collateral for loans taken out by third-party firms.
- Chinese Provinces Plan to Ask Developers Not to Sell Homes Until They Are Built — Pilot programs to kick off in Henan, Shandong, Anhui and Sichuan amid industrywide liquidity crunch.
South China Morning Post
- China targets foreign and ‘unauthorised’ media in extended crackdown — News outlets that release ‘fake news’, engage in illegal activities or that are operating unregistered will be shut down, according to Xinhua.
- Hong Kong’s population drops for 3rd straight year, while city posts net outflow of 60,000 residents in 2022 — City’s record low 32,500 births marks sixth consecutive year of decline, which Professor Paul Yip from HKU suggests will not be reversed any time soon.
- How should Hong Kong’s TV, radio broadcasters present mandatory national security shows? Just be lighthearted, funny and creative, experts say — Suggestions follow government’s new requirement for free-to-air broadcasters to feature content promoting topics such as national identity for 30 minutes every week.
Bloomberg
- Key Biden Adviser on China Policy to Leave Administration — Laura Rosenberger, special assistant to the president and the NSC’s senior director for China and Taiwan, will depart next month, according to White House officials.
- Ex-Employee for Chip Machine Maker ASML Stole Data From Technical Repository — A China-based former employee of ASML Holding NV — a critical cog in the global semiconductor industry — stole data from a software system that the corporation uses to store technical information about its machinery.
- China Detains Ethnic Kazakh Activist in Xinjiang, Scholar Says — Zhanargül Zhumatay, an ethnic Kazakh musician who advocated for the rights of herders, was taken by state security police from her sister’s house in the outskirts of Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi on Friday.
- Opinion: Buffett’s TSMC Selloff Backs Apple Over Its Supplier — The world’s most famous investor could be forgiven for dumping shares of the chip giant while holding on to those of the iPhone maker. By Tim Culpan
Reuters
- Exclusive: China rolls out GMO corn planting, starts small — China has studied GMO food crops for decades but has never permitted them to be planted because of opposition to the technology, although it allows imported GMO soybeans and corn for use in animal feed and the planting of GMO cotton.
- Analysis: Why China’s reopening isn’t inflationary — Economists see no challenge to global inflation, pointing instead to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s new blueprint for self-sufficiency, broader prosperity and a socialist ideology as checks on big-ticket shopping.
Other Publications
- CNN: ‘The darkness of not knowing disappears’ — How a China data leak is giving Uyghurs answers about missing family members.
- The Washington Post: TikTok’s CEO launches aggressive push to fend off a ban of popular app — In an exclusive interview, Shou Zi Chew said he’s working to persuade lawmakers that TikTok poses no threat. Things aren’t going exactly to plan.
- WIRED: Didi’s Revival Shows China Can’t Live Without Big Tech — The government has used fines, bans, and golden shares to control tech companies. Now it needs them to drive economic growth.
- Foreign Affairs: China’s Hidden COVID Catastrophe — How Xi Obscured a Lethal Viral Wave—and What It Means for the Future of His Regime. By Yanzhong Huang
