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
- Janet Yellen to Say Security Comes Before Economy in U.S.-China Relationship — Treasury secretary to give a speech laying out Biden administration’s China policy.
- Forget Macron, Europe and the U.S. See Eye-to-Eye on China’s Threat — The real obstacle to decoupling from Beijing isn’t Western governments but Western companies that have bet heavily on China.
- Chinese Protesters Released After Four Months in Jail — Woman who had recorded video saying she was about to be detained is freed along with some of her friends.
- Seagate to Pay $300 Million for Violating Export Restrictions on China’s Huawei — The penalty comes after a group of Senate Republicans in 2021 alleged the data-storage equipment provider continued to sell hard drives to Huawei despite national-security restrictions.
- China’s EV Makers Outshine Global Rivals, but a Rocky Road Lies Ahead — Local brands juggle price war with need to increase production. Now, the foreign car makers want their market share back.
- TSMC’s Tough Quarter Complicates Its U.S. Chip Ambitions — Company’s outlook is a reminder that the chip slump will last for a while.
The Financial Times
- BMW apologises for Shanghai auto show ice cream meltdown — Mini’s stand accused of handing out free treats to foreigners but ignoring domestic customers.
- Yellen to call for ‘constructive and fair’ economic relationship with China — Treasury secretary to warn Beijing the US will keep resisting its ‘unfair’ economic policies.
- China snubbed Wagner arms request, says US intelligence leak — Classified document suggests Beijing did not respond to Russian paramilitary group’s request for weapons in early 2023.
- Drones: China’s growing dominance of the market is a worry — Use of civilian drones for military purposes is adding a further boost to sales of Chinese technology.
- The west has too little to offer leaders like Lula — Chinese trade and investment in Brazil exerts a pull on the country’s geopolitical alignment.
- An overdue reckoning for Macau’s casinos — The falling of a gambling kingpin has raised questions about the industry reliance on ‘junket’ operators.
- HSBC hits back at top investor’s bid to split bank — Response to Ping An’s rare public statement says spinning off Asia operations would erode value.
The New York Times
- As Xi Befriends World Leaders, He Hardens His Stance on the U.S. — China has rebuffed calls to restart high-level talks with the United States, raising the risk of confrontation in contested areas like the Taiwan Strait.
- Yellen to Call for ‘Constructive’ China Relationship — The Treasury secretary will strike a more conciliatory note in a speech Thursday, following months of escalated tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
- Tesla’s Profit Dropped Sharply in First Quarter as It Cut Prices — The electric carmaker has reduced prices by thousands of dollars this year to bolster demand and fend off competition.
- Opinion: China’s Lending Practices Are Not a Good Look — China’s stubborn resistance to debt forgiveness for poor countries is hurting its global reputation. By Peter Coy
Caixin
- In Depth: BYD Gears Up for Global Electric Car Race — Following 2022 results that thrilled investors, the Chinese EV giant adds more capacity, accelerates its overseas expansion and muscles into the high-profit luxury market.
- China-Brazil Ties Face ‘No Constraints,’ Foreign Minister Says — “China is again a top priority and a welcomed partner for investments, trade, political dialogue and cooperation,” Vieira said, adding that “our relations will face no constraints.”
South China Morning Post
- Taiwan’s export orders log biggest fall since global financial crisis, but turnaround seen by 2024 — Expectation that the US economy will continue to weaken in the coming months is seen as ‘very bad news for Taiwan’s semiconductor industry’, but a turnaround is expected by next year.
- TuSimple is working on resolving US issues after management turmoil, and pushing ahead with autonomous driving tech — CEO Lu Cheng says company has been ‘isolating’ its China team from the US team, and wants to resolve New York delisting risks.
Nikkei Asia
- China finds unlikely allies in Germany’s far right and far left — Foreign policy alignment of AfD and Left Party could weaken hawkish China bent.
- China’s wealth management sector reels from ‘crisis of confidence’ — Retail investors sell in panic after ‘risk-free’ investments tumble in value.
- Opinion: U.S. sanctions will not halt rise of China’s chip industry — Beijing still hold advantages while America struggles to boost domestic output. By Stanley Chao
Bloomberg
- Yellen Says Security Worries on China Eclipse Economic Interests — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Biden administration was prepared to accept economic costs as it sought to protect US national security interests from threats posed by China, even as she appealed to Beijing to cooperate on shared global concerns.
- Taiwan Firms Pull Back in China as Investments Elsewhere Surge — Taiwanese companies are cutting their exposure to China just as they ramp up investment in other parts of the world in the latest sign of how growing tensions between the US and China are reshaping global supply chains.
- PAG, Carlyle Stung By Politics in $18 Billion Asia Fundraising — PAG and Carlyle Group Inc., alternative asset managers seeking to raise almost $9 billion each for Asian private equity deals, are falling victim to an increasingly contentious political climate between the US and China, people familiar with the matter said.
- US Tech Giants Imperil TikTok Ban by Lobbying to Narrow Bill — US tech companies are pushing to narrow the scope of legislation that could ban TikTok in the US, creating new obstacles as the Biden administration seeks to confront China’s influence.
- Solar Tariffs Up to 254% Risk Return in Congress Anti-China Push — Momentum is building in Congress over an effort to re-instate debilitating solar tariffs on US imports of panels from Southeast Asia, raising alarm from renewable developers.
Reuters
- China’s CCTV slams Western hype of its population decline — Western media reports on China’s population being overtaken by India deliberately ignores China’s development, using the topic to “bad mouth” it and advocate decoupling, state broadcaster CCTV said on Thursday.
- FBI says China, Iran using new tactics to harass critics on U.S. soil — China and Iran are becoming increasingly brazen in their attempts to silence dissidents on American soil and influence U.S. policy, the FBI warned on Wednesday.
- UK warns China against intimidating foreign nationals on British soil — Britain has previously said that reports of undeclared police stations in the country were “extremely concerning,” and that the police were looking into the issue.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Is China better at monetary policy than America? — The country’s last technocrat offers a few provocative thoughts.
- The Economist: As China fixes its property mess, can foreign capitalists benefit? — Needless to say, they are not top of the state’s priority list.
- Bellingcat: The Challenges of Conducting Open Source Research on China — To better understand the current situation, Bellingcat interviewed a dozen China researchers who specialise in tech or human rights, including in Xinjiang and Tibet, about the challenges they’re facing doing open source research on China.
