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 Seeks to Write Its Own History of Battle With Covid-19 — Beijing is withholding data, censoring debate as it promotes narrative of triumph on how it handled the virus.
- France’s Macron Renews Call for a Sovereign Europe Less Reliant on Foreign Powers — French president’s remarks follow criticism over his warning that Europe should steer clear of U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan.
- China in Talks for Compromise on Poor Country Debt — If agreed, plan could see Beijing drop demand for World Bank and other multilateral lenders to take losses.
- China Moves to Censor AI — New rules would hold companies like Alibaba, SenseTime responsible for subversive content produced by their bots.
- China Is Facing a Moment of Truth About Its Low Retirement Age — A decades-old policy that lets women retire as early as 50 and men at 60 is becoming untenable as a wave of retirees looms.
- U.S., China to Lead Growth in Government Debts — Aging populations, climate measures and interest payments add to government spending.
The Financial Times
- China backtracks over no-fly zone near Taiwan — Beijing reduces planned three-day closure that coincided with G7 summit in Japan to just 27 minutes.
- Renminbi’s share of trade finance doubles since start of Ukraine war — Rising cost of dollar financing has also made China’s currency more attractive.
- China leads rise in export restrictions on critical minerals, OECD says — Sharp rise in controls threatens to drive up cost of green energy transition, body warns.
- Hong Kong emigrants to UK blocked from accessing £2.2bn in pensions — City’s government is ‘punishing’ former residents by locking up funds, activist group says.
The New York Times
- From Red Carpet to Doghouse: Macron Returns From China to Allied Dismay — Criticism of the French president’s performance in Beijing has been scathing among some allies, who saw him as cozying up to Beijing.
- China Could Dominate Sodium Batteries, the Next Big Advance in Power — China is far ahead of the rest of the world in the development of batteries that use sodium, which are starting to compete with ubiquitous lithium power cells.
- As U.S. Tries to Isolate China, German Companies Move Closer — Some are expanding in China, reluctant to leave a huge market they need to finance operations back home.
- Leadership of Foundation Honoring Justin Trudeau’s Father Quits — The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation said that accusations of Chinese meddling in its affairs had made it impossible for it to function as before.
Caixin
- In Depth: Giving China’s Death Row Inmates a Second Chance — A search on the official online portal of court documents, China Judgments Online, shows just seven out of 741 publicly available death penalty review cases between 2013 and 2022 were disapproved by the Supreme Court.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese supreme court judge jailed for 12 years for corruption — Meng Xiang, a former director of the court’s enforcement bureau, admitted to taking the equivalent of US$3.3 million in bribes over almost 20 years.
- US State Department reveals talks aimed at Taipei presence for World Health Assembly meeting — Monday’s meeting in Washington discussed a strategy to expand the island’s participation in international forums.
- Jimmy Lai asks Hong Kong court to intervene after government rules allowing UK lawyer on defence team would likely undermine national security — High Court filing reveals national security committee had concluded that allowing Timothy Owen to defend Lai would likely constitute risk to national security.
Nikkei Asia
- Jack Ma’s China homecoming heralds new era for Alibaba — Company’s ‘soft breakup’ aims to boost flagging growth and draw line under feud with Beijing.
- Special report: How U.S.-made chips are flowing into Russia — Shipments from Hong Kong and China jumped tenfold after invasion of Ukraine.
- Brazil’s Lula departs for China, seeking deeper economic ties — Trip to meet with Xi includes anticipated new investments and business deals.
- Hong Kong’s ‘new normal’ is anything but — City retains its business buzz as political freedoms wither.
Bloomberg
- Taiwan Says China Curtailed Plan for No-Fly Zone After Complaint — Taiwan said China dialed down plans for a no-fly zone near the island after it complained about risks to flight safety, a rare possible instance of backtracking by Beijing amid simmering tensions between the two sides.
- China Braces for More Summer Power Shortages as Demand Rises — China expects a recurrence of power shortages in some provinces during times of peak demand this summer as electricity use rises.
- Xi Hosts Brazil’s Lula in Diplomatic Push for Ukraine Cease-Fire — Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrives in China on Wednesday as President Xi Jinping seeks to build momentum for talks to halt fighting in Ukraine more than a year after Russia’s invasion.
- ByteDance Moves Into Iconic Hong Kong Tower as Banks Depart — ByteDance Ltd. is shifting to a bigger office at one of Hong Kong’s most prestigious locations, taking a major step to expand its presence in the financial hub after a year of cautious global expansion.
- Opinion: On the US and China, Macron Says the Quiet Part Out Loud — Complaints about Europe’s status as “vassal” of the US should register in Washington. By Lionel Laurent
Reuters
- Analysis: Macron’s aim of EU unity on China undone by trip fallout — French officials were in damage control mode on Tuesday as they tried to contain anger, division and confusion sparked by President Emmanuel Macron’s comments on Europe’s dependence on the United States and its relations with China and Taiwan.
- U.S. House to vote on bill to address potential Huawei, ZTE threats — The House said on Tuesday it will take up a bipartisan bill called the Countering Untrusted Telecommunications Abroad Act that would require the State Department to report on U.S. NATO allies and others using telecommunication equipment or services in their 5G networks from companies like Huawei and ZTE.
- China reluctantly keeps sanctions powder dry — On balance Beijing has resisted wholesale scapegoating of American capital. Xi perhaps recognises he can ill-afford to indulge his temper for now.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: China’s struggles with lab safety carry danger of another pandemic — China has poured billions of dollars into lab construction and genetic engineering in its bid to become a science superpower, but safety practices have failed to keep up, investigations and reports of accidents show.
- The Washington Post: Macron’s China trip turns into a European uproar — The backlash has been scathing and widespread.
- The Globe and Mail: Trudeau Foundation CEO, board resign after revelation of gift tied to China — On Tuesday, the foundation said in a statement that president and chief executive Pascale Fournier and the entire board would leave, adding that the political scrutiny surrounding the donation had put pressure on staff members and the board’s volunteer directors.
- Sheffield Hallam University: “We know you better than you know yourself”: China’s transnational repression of the Uyghur diaspora — This report finds that the scale of transnational repression in the Uyghur diaspora is universal, and its impact severely restricts their rights to free speech and associations, and the capacity to maintain their culture.
