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. Threatens Ban if TikTok’s Chinese Owners Don’t Sell Stakes — TikTok says forced sale won’t resolve national-security issues; CEO set to appear before Congress next week.
- TikTok CEO’s Message to Washington: A Sale Won’t Solve Security Concerns — Shou Zi Chew goes to Capitol Hill next week, as Biden administration demands a divestiture from app’s Chinese owner.
- A Chinese Businessman’s Trek From Beijing Gadfly to Steve Bannon Confidant to Fraud Suspect — Prosecutors say Guo Wengui diverted investor money to buy a yacht, Ferrari and $36,000 mattress.
- Baidu’s ChatGPT Rival Ernie Bot Didn’t Go Live at Its Launch Party — Lack of live demo disappoints viewers and investors as Chinese tech giant launches chatbot it hopes will revive company fortunes.
- Getting Money Out of SVB Was Hard—For Chinese Customers, It Was Harder — International transfers from the U.S. bank are slowly resuming, but many Chinese tech companies and venture firms are still trying to get their money out.
- China’s Housing Prices Show Signs of Stabilizing — Continued policy-easing signals and an end to Covid restrictions have put a floor under the sector.
- Europe to Unveil Clean-Tech Plans in Bid to Rival U.S., China — Proposals aim to speed up permitting, boost access to materials used in wind turbines, solar panels.
- Submarine Deal Presents Test for Australia’s Balancing Act With China — Australia has been looking to reset ties with China, which buys much of its valuable iron ore.
The Financial Times
- Baidu shares fall after Ernie AI chatbot demo disappoints — Chinese search company plays safe with pre-recorded launch of rival to ChatGPT.
- TikTok faces potential US ban if Chinese owners do not sell stake — ByteDance-owned video app has faced drumbeat of bipartisan opposition from Washington.
- Brussels to curb imports of Chinese green tech — EU proposal to mark down public procurement bids with technology from countries with dominant market share.
- China bond trades hit by suspension of pricing data — Feeds are suddenly cut under new regulations, prompting traders to rely on chat rooms to set prices.
- Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui arrested on US fraud charges — Prosecutors allege he ‘led a complex conspiracy’ to bilk online followers out of more than $1bn.
- Opinion : Didi fights back in China — Ride-hailing group bounces back after 18-month ban on signing up new customers. By Eleanor Olcott
The New York Times
- China’s Answer to ChatGPT Gets an Artificial Debut and Disappoints — The promised “live” demonstration of the bot had, in fact, been prerecorded. Shares of Baidu, the company behind the technology, tumbled in Hong Kong.
- Exiled Chinese Billionaire Charged in New York With Financial Conspiracy — Guo Wengui, a fugitive financier and associate of Steve Bannon, is accused by federal prosecutors of engaging in a complex scheme to bilk thousands of online followers.
- China Wine Tariff Pushes Australia’s Grape Growers Into Crisis — Two years later, they’re suffering from a glut of red wine and plummeting grape prices with no overseas market big enough to fill the gap.
- A Hungarian Town Seethes Over a Giant Chinese Battery Plant — A $7.8 billion factory planned by a Chinese company in eastern Hungary has become divisive even within the party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who championed it.
Caixin
- In Depth: Solving China’s Soaring Youth Unemployment — The class of 2023 is entering the job market amid an economic slump following three years of strict Covid control measures and regulatory crackdowns on tech, property and private tutoring industries which are normally eager to hire young talent.
- HKEX Applies to Launch Yuan Counter for Hong Kong-Listed Shares — Bourse advances plan for dual-currency trading in HK dollars and yuan to support development of the Chinese currency in the stock market.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese Communist Party’s top corruption watchdog takes aim at ‘double dealers’ within its ranks — CCDI chief Li Xi has described campaign as an ‘important political task’ to ensure watchdog power is not abused.
- Baidu unveils China’s answer to ChatGPT with no live preview and limited beta, dashing hopes and sending stock tumbling — Baidu founder Robin Li spoke for 30 minutes, relying on slides and pre-recorded video to unveil Ernie Bot’s capabilities, which failed to impress investors.
- TSMC in advanced talks with Germany for new chip plant supported by government subsidies after Europe eased rules — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is in ‘serious and advanced’ talks with Saxony about subsidies for its first European plant, sources told Reuters.
Nikkei Asia
- TSMC founder Morris Chang backs U.S. on China chip curbs — Ex-chair also says Washington does not see Taiwan as part of ‘friendshoring’ push.
- Scholz warns China not to use force to alter Taiwan status quo — German leader to deepen relationships with Asian partners in policy shift.
- China decoupling spreads to software development — Fears grow that Chinese software components make apps open to attack.
Bloomberg
- Is TikTok Too Popular for the US to Ban? — The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban.
- Chip Globalization Is Over and Sanctions Work, Says TSMC Founder — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. founder Morris Chang declared globalization for the chip industry over and expressed support for US efforts to limit China’s tech advancement through export curbs and company sanctions.
- China Pauses GDR Approvals, Threatening Europe Share Sale Boom — China’s securities regulator is holding up approvals for new applications to sell global depository receipts, according to people familiar with the situation, potentially choking off a lucrative stream of listings in Europe.
- China Central Bank Heeds Xi Call to Fight US ‘Containment’ — China’s central bank echoed President Xi Jinping’s warning that the US is seeking to suppress the world’s second-largest economy, an unusual move that suggests the central bank could be looking for ways to safeguard against possible further sanctions.
- Billions Pumped Into Korea Battery City With China In its Sights — The city of Pohang built up a world class steel industry over decades. Now it’s turning to EV batteries.
Reuters
- Analysis: Chinese suppliers race to Vietnam as COVID let-up opens escape route from Sino-U.S. trade war — After China ended its zero-COVID-19 policy in December, Chinese firms spent the first 50 days of 2023 investing in 45 new projects in Vietnam, the most from a single country, Vietnamese government data showed.
- Canada appoints investigator to probe alleged China election meddling — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday appointed a veteran former official to investigate alleged election interference by China, fulfilling a commitment he made earlier this month.
- China’s answer to ChatGPT? Baidu shares tumble as Ernie Bot disappoints — Unlike ChatGPT, which last November launched as a free to use chatbot to the public, Baidu limited the presentation to brief videos that showed Ernie carrying out mathematical calculations, speaking in Chinese dialects and generating a video and image with text prompts.
Other Publications
- The Globe and Mail: China’s Vancouver consulate interfered in 2022 municipal election, according to CSIS — China’s diplomatic mission in Vancouver has actively interfered in the city’s politics, using proxies in diaspora community organizations and grooming politicians to run in last fall’s municipal election, according to Canada’s spy agency.
- PIIE: Five years into the trade war, China continues its slow decoupling from US exports — US exports to China, which cratered during President Donald Trump’s trade war of 2018–19, are continuing to suffer. China is now shifting some purchases of foreign goods away from the United States. By Chad P. Bown and Yilin Wang
- PIIE: Will China’s impending overhaul of its financial regulatory system make a difference? — China’s reshuffle of its financial supervisory architecture announced in March, like previous changes, appears incremental rather than radical. By Martin Chorzempa and Nicolas Véron
