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
- Pentagon Refocuses Spending on Weapons to Deter China — Defense Department says it will buy more ships and submarines if industry can deliver them.
- Asian Startups’ Confidence in U.S. Banking Wanes After SVB Panic — Bank’s collapse underlines role of U.S. money in global tech financing.
- Smithfield Foods CEO Defends Pork Producer’s Chinese Ownership — Shane Smith points to sales growth since China’s WH Group acquired the Virginia company.
- How the U.S. Agreed to Provide Nuclear Sub Technology to Australia — Canberra intelligence official launched initiative in meeting with top White House aide.
- Missing Taiwanese Soldier Shows Up in Mainland China — Investigation seeks answers to how or why low-ranking army cook crossed into Communist-held territory.
- U.S. Skeptical of Middle East Deal Brokered by Beijing — Administration is hopeful pact will ease bloodshed, but officials fear Tehran won’t honor it.
- Fast-Fashion Giant Shein Faces South Africa Probe Over Import Practices — Textile workers and industry groups allege that Shein dodges import tariffs by sending goods in small packages.
- Volkswagen Plans $192 Billion Investment Focusing on EVs, New Tech — CEO Oliver Blume boosts long-term investment to target emerging ‘profit pools,’ new tech.
The Financial Times
- China casts itself as Middle East peacemaker with global ambition — Diplomatic deal between Riyadh and Tehran bolsters expectations in region of what Beijing can deliver.
- Brussels seeks new controls to limit China acquiring high-tech — EU plans mirror discussion in the US on outbound FDI screening.
- TikTok accused of mishandling sexual harassment allegations — Woman’s employment contract terminated after internal probe into complaint about advances made by senior manager.
- Siemens scours south-east Asia for deals to diversify from China — German group considers adding factories in Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand as it tries to reduce supply chain risks.
- China exerts control over internet cable projects in South China Sea — Beijing imposes strict permit requirements for access to underwater data infrastructure over spying fears.
- UK warns China poses ‘epoch-defining challenge’ to world order — Government’s updated integrated review of foreign and defence policy lists Russia as the most immediate challenge.
- China stocks: cross-border expansion widens everyone’s horizons — Expanded Stock Connect programmes should help reinvigorate valuations.
The New York Times
- Jiang Yanyong, Who Helped Expose China’s SARS Crisis, Dies at 91 — A retired military surgeon, he blew the whistle in 2003 on Beijing’s cover-up of the epidemic. He was later punished for denouncing the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
- To Rein in China’s Banks, Xi Uses Familiar Playbook — Xi Jinping is revamping China’s regulatory framework so the ruling Communist Party can assert more direct control over financial policy.
Caixin
- In Depth: The Role of China’s Newly Created National Data Bureau — China’s creation of a National Data Bureau to coordinate sharing and development of data resources is an effort to balance supervision with encouragement of the digital economy, industry experts said.
- Flight Service Rebound Between China and U.S. Remains Stalled — Pandemic-era limits hold flights to just over a 10th as many as before 2020 with little incentive or impetus to ramp services back up.
- China to Resume Issuing Range of Visas to Foreigners — According to the Chinese foreign ministry, the move includes allowing foreigners with visas issued before March 28, 2020, which are still valid, to enter China.
South China Morning Post
- China’s internet watchdog ramps up campaign against social media misinformation, silences Shanghai talk show star after post on Russia — The Cyberspace Administration of China has banned Shanghai comedian and talk show star Zhou Libo from ByteDance-owned microblogging platform Toutiao after his recent post on Russia.
- Pentagon bid to boost funding in Pacific seen as welcome move in region amid China ‘threat’ — US Indo-Pacific Command said to be seeking US$15.3 billion for operations next year, warning of rapid Chinese military expansion.
- Opinion: Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse hastens unravelling of long-standing ties between US venture capital and China’s technology start-ups — The likely impact of the US lender’s collapse is that China’s tech elite will look to banks in Hong Kong, Singapore and even Europe. By Zhou Xin
Nikkei Asia
- China tightens grip on emerging tech, spooking foreign investors — Communist party extends reach to innovative manufacturers amid U.S. sanctions.
- Coming to grips with China’s ‘wartime’ footing on economy — Lines between trade curbs and military moves blur in shifting fight for control.
- HSBC and Asian peers tumble after Silicon Valley Bank meltdown — Critics slam London-based lender’s purchase of SVB’s UK operations.
Bloomberg
- UK Probing TikTok’s Ownership, Security Minister Tugendhat Says — The UK is carrying out an “important” investigation into Chinese social media app TikTok, Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said, but he refused to be drawn on whether it would be banned from UK government mobile devices.
- China Removes All Remaining Curbs on Australian Coal Imports — China will allow all domestic companies to import Australian coal, signaling an end to trade restrictions imposed in late 2020.
- Hutch Ports $4 Billion Stake Sale Said to Draw China Giants — Chinese state-owned conglomerates China Merchants Group and China Cosco Shipping Corp. are among the firms expressing interest in PSA International Pte’s minority stake in the ports business of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.
- China’s Provinces Are Increasingly Reliant on Beijing for Money — China’s local governments are growing increasingly reliant on money transferred from Beijing to pay for public services, as a drop in tax revenue and jump in Covid Zero costs pushed them further into the red last year.
Reuters
- China battery giant CATL’s $5 bln Swiss listing delayed amid Beijing regulatory concerns – sources — Chinese battery giant CATL’s plan to raise at least $5 billion in Swiss global depository receipts (GDR) has been delayed as Beijing regulators raise concerns over the large scale of the offering.
- Russia’s Shoigu hails relations with China as pillar of global stability — Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday that relations between Russia and China were a major factor supporting global stability in the world today.
- China to raise retirement age to deal with aging population – media — China is planning to raise its retirement age gradually and in phases to cope with the country’s rapidly aging population, the state-backed Global Times said on Tuesday, citing a senior expert from China’s Ministry of Human Resources.
- Chinese start-ups scramble for alternatives to SVB — Some of them are turning to bigger U.S. banks, while a few Chinese lenders such as China Merchants Bank and the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China are also rushing to fill the gap.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: Biden seeks tension-easing call with China’s Xi Jinping — With relations frosty in the wake of spy balloon controversy and with allies’ plan to outfit Australia with nuclear submarines, the U.S. president looks to dial down tensions with Beijing.
- The Economist: The alliance between Australia, Britain and America is seriously ambitious — The Anglophone group will build, man and arm each other’s nuclear subs in Asia.
- CSIS: A Policy Agenda for Strategic Competition with China — There are several points the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party might consider as it looks to future hearings. By Jude Blanchette
- ChinaFile: ‘It Is Especially Scary to See Students’ — Professors in China React to New Levels of Control in Their Classrooms. By Jue Jiang
In Case You Missed It
- The Wire China: China’s Data Drive — Beijing is stepping up its efforts to both control and exploit Big Data.
- The Wire China: COSCO’s Many Port Calls — A look at the state-owned maritime giant: how it came to be, its influence over the maritime industry, and why its reach has elicited concern.
