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
- Guo Wengui Denied Bail While Awaiting Trial in New York — The exiled Chinese businessman has been in jail on fraud and money-laundering charges since March.
- China Strikes Energy Deals as Its Clout Grows in Middle East — Chinese stake in Qatari gas field is latest sign of Beijing’s growing presence in the region.
- Video: Carmakers Compete for China’s EV Market at Auto Show in Shanghai — The auto show is the most prestigious in China, the world’s biggest car market.
The Financial Times
- Foreign carmakers confront ‘moment of truth’ in China — Shanghai motor show offers evidence that local industry can compete globally.
- China building cyber weapons to hijack enemy satellites, says US leak — Classified CIA document assesses Beijing’s ambitions to take control of communications critical to fighting wars.
- China’s foreign minister warns against interference in Taiwan — Qin Gang’s remarks follow South Korean president’s accusation of Beijing changing status quo.
- China is back, bringing profit and perplexity for western business — Post-Covid reopening will complicate corporate efforts to reduce reliance on Asia’s biggest economy.
- Chinese publishers ditch US books as geopolitical tensions mount — Regulator delays authorisation of America-related titles and instead promotes critical volumes.
- Yellen warns US decoupling from China would be ‘disastrous’ — Treasury secretary calls for ‘constructive and fair’ economic relationship as Washington moves to repair frayed ties.
- Dollar 🙂 — Turn that frown upside down. By George Magnus
Caixin
- Jack Ma Appointed Honorary Professor at the University of Hong Kong — The Alibaba co-founder will focus on conducting research in finance, agriculture and entrepreneurial innovations with the HKU faculty, with no plans for public lectures or speeches, reports say.
- BYD to Build $290 Million Battery Components Plant in Chile — Chinese EV giant will get Chilean lithium at discounted prices while gaining a foothold in a free-trade partner of the U.S.
- Alibaba Logistics Arm Cainiao Gears Up for Hong Kong IPO — Share sale would be the first by one of the $220 billion e-commerce giant’s six units under a sweeping restructuring plan.
South China Morning Post
- Macau junket boss jailed for 14 years for HK$1.5 billion illegal gambling offences in VIP rooms — Levo Chan Weng-lin, a former chairman and executive director of entertainment firm Tak Chun Group, among five jailed in junket crackdown.
- China’s underachieving EV start-ups skip premier event as they fade into oblivion — At least six promising start-ups – WM Motor, Evergrande New Energy Auto, Qiantu Motor, Aiways, Enovate Motors and Niutron – did not take part in the show, as intense competition takes a toll on the weakest firms.
- China’s biggest fund manager increases tech stakes from Meituan to TSMC, betting on regulatory easing, AI boom — Zhang Kun, who oversees US$13 billion for Guangzhou-based E Fund Management, bought more shares in online delivery giant Meituan and TSMC in the first quarter, betting the worst of a regulatory crackdown was over and that an AI boom would bolster demand for processing chips.
Nikkei Asia
- Hong Kong faces teacher flight as China pushes ‘patriotism’ — Exits more than double in 2 years amid curriculum changes after security law.
- How business-friendly Hong Kong became a hub of Russian chip trade — Ease of setting up companies makes dodging sanctions easier, experts say.
- U.S. to strike economic deal with Pacific islands to counter China — Washington explores more military access as Beijing expands reach.
Bloomberg
- Biden Aims to Unveil China Investment Curbs With G-7 Backing — President Joe Biden aims to sign an executive order in the coming weeks that will limit investment in key parts of China’s economy by American businesses, people familiar with the internal deliberations said.
- Xi’s Tech Self-Reliance Push Leaves Europeans Wary of China R&D — China’s push to become self-reliant in the technology sphere is driving more European companies operating there to rethink their research and development plans, according to a report published Friday by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.
- China’s $1.4 Trillion Wealth Fund Backs ESG as US Divisions Grow — In the US, ESG has become a political wedge issue. In China, it’s a national rallying cry.
- Rapper Took $100 Million to Do Tycoon’s Bidding, US Says — Pras Michel, a Grammy-winner rapper who reinvented himself as political influencer, was paid $100 million to try to end US probes of Malaysian tycoon Jho Low and to aid the Chinese government in seeking the US extradition of a billionaire dissident, a prosecutor told jurors.
Reuters
- China sees more state-sector funds launched after policy drive — Chinese asset managers are rushing to launch funds to woo investors into state-owned firms, whose shares have surged this year as Beijing pushes the market to revalue the previously overlooked state sector.
- Chipmaking tool firms expect boom in China sales despite export rules — Two companies that make tools for manufacturing chips said that they expect sales to China to boom later this year despite U.S. export restrictions on equipment used to make cutting-edge semiconductors.
- US war game on Taiwan shows need for ‘decisive action’ to boost arms — A U.S. congressional war game simulating a Chinese invasion of Taiwan showed the need to arm the island “to the teeth,” the chair of a committee on China said on Thursday, after the exercise indicated the U.S. must boost production of long-range missiles and businesses must brace for economic fallout.
The Economist
- What “de-risking” China means — European leaders call for de-risking but not decoupling from China. Alas, China wants to be a risk.
- What China’s graduates really think about their job prospects — They are using a story from 1918 to express their frustration.
- China’s alleged theft of a pineapple cultivar has Taiwan livid — A completely different kind of grey-zone tactic.
- Why the world should welcome competition from Chinese carmakers — Deglobalisation would be bad for drivers and the planet.
- Annalena Baerbock’s trip to China shows her talent and her limitations — She would like to be chancellor, but it will take a lot of luck.
Other Publications
- Project Brazen: Jho Low’s Arrest is in Play — China is in discussions with Malaysia to hand over the fugitive fraudster Jho Low and his assets.
- Associated Press: Michigan committee gives $175 million for EV battery plant — The funds were approved in a narrow vote Thursday by the Senate Appropriations committee after multiple Democratic lawmakers sided with Republicans following concerns over Gotion’s foreign ties and the plant’s potential environmental impacts.
- The Intercept: Leaked Tape Reveals How Spy Camera Firm Used Ex-U.S. Official To Cover Up Uyghur Abuses — Hikvision released one exculpatory line of a report by a former State Department official and war crimes prosecutor. The new tape tells the whole story.
- PIIE: Lula’s sycophancy toward Russia and China is explicable, but it could backfire — Brazil’s agribusiness sector is highly dependent on imports of fertilizers from Russia, as well as on Chinese demand for its agriculture products, especially soybeans.
