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
- Chinese Authorities Question Bain Staff in Shanghai — American businesses face increasingly risky environment in China.
- China Spy Law Adds to Chilling Effect of Detentions; Bain Staff in Shanghai Questioned — Foreign executives say new espionage definition may make crimes out of everyday activities amid spreading climate of suspicion.
- China’s Dominance Over U.S. Solar Market Grows Despite Efforts to Stem It — Chinese market share expected to rise even as Congress debates tariffs to limit it.
- Ex-Harvard Professor Charles Lieber Avoids Prison for Lying About China Funding — Sentencing marks quiet end to Justice Department focus on academics’ China ties.
- Former Fugees Rapper Pras Michel Convicted of Role in Foreign-Influence Scheme Tied to 1MDB — Rapper found guilty on all 10 counts in the Hollywood-meets-Washington case.
- China Says It Is Investigating Taiwan-Based Publisher on Security Grounds — Li Yanhe disappeared from view after arriving in Shanghai to visit family.
- Chinese Liquor Maker Sinks After Serving Up Hong Kong’s Biggest IPO in Months — KKR-backed ZJLD Group raised $676 million in the city’s biggest share sale so far this year.
The Financial Times
- Chinese police question employees at Bain’s Shanghai office — Visit comes after a series of retaliatory moves from Beijing against western businesses.
- Xi Jinping urges Volodymyr Zelenskyy to negotiate with Moscow — Telephone call marks first conversation between presidents of China and Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion last year.
- Singapore doubles property stamp duty for foreigners to 60% — City-state takes action to cool housing boom partly driven by mainland Chinese buyers.
- Fugees rapper convicted of lobbying for Malaysian financier Jho Low — Pras Michel is the latest defendant to be found guilty in the fallout from the 1MDB scandal.
- Goldman Sachs loses taste for China’s cheese lollipops — Demand for flavoured snack expected to weaken as consumers tighten belts, say analysts.
- Taiwan must ‘compensate Paraguay’ to keep it from China’s embrace — Presidential frontrunner urges Taipei’s last South American ally to make up for lost trading revenue.
- Opinion: Ping An to tighten screws on HSBC in push for structural reform — The Chinese insurer is going public with its frustrations ahead of the bank’s annual meeting next week. By Emma Dunkley
- Opinion: South Korea ponders the high cost of being America’s friend — Seoul is the latest US ally to encounter the commercial downside of Washington’s security campaigns against China. By Alan Beattie
The New York Times
- U.S. Consulting Firm Is the Latest Target of a Chinese Crackdown — Bain & Company employees were questioned less than a month after Chinese police officials raided the Beijing offices of another U.S. advisory firm.
- China Is Cracking Down on Bankers. Here Are Some of the Targets. — As Xi Jinping and the Communist Party further exercise control over the economy, the financial sector is coming under close scrutiny.
- Xi and Zelensky Talk at Last, but Words Are Chosen Carefully — Volodymyr Zelensky has urged discussions with Xi Jinping since the Russian invasion, but in its official account of the phone call, China left out two words: “Russia” and “war.”
- China’s Search Engines Have More Than 66,000 Rules Controlling Content, Report Says — Researchers from the Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity research group, found that the most diligent censor in China is Microsoft’s search engine Bing, the only foreign search engine operating in the country.
- Ex-Harvard Professor Sentenced in China Ties Case — He is to serve two days in prison, followed by two years of supervised release with six months of home confinement. Fugees Rapper Pras Michel Found Guilty in Illegal Foreign Influence Scheme — Mr. Michel took orders, and millions of dollars, from a Malaysian financier who sought to gain political influence in the U.S., prosecutors said.
Caixin
- In Depth: Tencent, ByteDance Gut Metaverse Units in Virtual Reality Check — They said it was the future of the internet.
- Tesla Opens Some of Its China Charging Stations to Competing EV Models — The U.S. carmaker has made 10 supercharging stations in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as 120 destination charging stations elsewhere in the country, available.
- In Depth: Scandal-Ridden Chinese Soccer Gets in Foul Trouble Again — People within the industry told Caixin that the investigation this time involves a “particularly wide” range of teams and players and that the amount of money involved may exceed the last crackdown.
South China Morning Post
- Singapore’s private property tax hike for foreigners akin to ‘freezing measure’, sector says — Singapore’s real estate market has been red-hot in part due to cash inflows from China and elsewhere, as investors bet on Singapore’s safe haven status.
- China’s regulators bide time before reviving Syngenta’s US$9.4 billion IPO amid fears of liquidity shortage, sources say — The Shanghai Stock Exchange will not restart a cancelled hearing to vet the agrichemical giant’s share sale any time soon, sources say.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s expansive anti-spying law to take effect July 1 — Wider scope of national security puts foreigners at greater risk, analysts say.
- Inside IPAC, the global legislatory alliance taking on China — Cross-party group aims to expand its foothold in Asia.
- Analysis: For wolf-warrior envoy in France, it’s mission accomplished — Ambassador Lu Shaye sends nod to Putin with comment on ex-Soviet sovereignty.
Bloomberg
- Germany in Talks to Limit Export of Chip Chemicals to China — The move could affect German companies including Merck, BASF.
- Apple and Oppo Battle for Top Spot in China Phone Market — Shenzhen-based Oppo picked up momentum with new devices.
- Opinion: Hong Kong Is Finally Doing Two Things Right for Its Recovery — It has a lot of catching up to do, but maintaining the city’s status as a tax haven combined with a hunger for young talent is a good start. By Shuli Ren
Reuters
- Argentina to pay for Chinese imports in yuan rather than dollars — The decision aims to ease the outflow of dollars, Argentina’s Economy minister Sergio Massa said during an event following a meeting with the Chinese ambassador.
- Analysis: China’s small steps on offshore use of yuan are starting to add up — China’s yuan currency is slowly but surely being adopted for more international payments, which analysts say could lay foundations for a trade system running parallel to the dominant U.S. dollar.
- US official says Chinese cloud companies like Huawei could pose threat — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Wednesday that Chinese cloud computing companies like Huawei Cloud and Alibaba Cloud could pose a threat to U.S. security and vowed to review a request to add them to an export control list.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: Buildup resumed at suspected Chinese military site in UAE, leak says — The activity has disturbed some U.S. officials, who worry a longstanding U.S. ally is growing too close to Beijing.
- The Washington Post: Anti-China fervor casts a dark cloud over solar and U.S. climate goals — In Congress, there is sudden bipartisan momentum to reinstitute tariffs on Chinese components. The U.S. solar industry is alarmed.
- Politico: Blinken vs. Yellen vs. Raimondo — U.S.-China ties are spiraling. The Cabinet’s stuck in a turf war. By Bob Davis
- Foreign Policy: China’s Tech Funders Worry They Could Be the Next Silicon Valley Bank — Financial innovation has been a powerful force, but the specter of inflation looms.
