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
- Beijing Says Musk Opposes Decoupling of U.S., China as Tesla CEO Visits China — Elon Musk said the two countries’ interests were like ‘conjoined twins’ in a meeting with China’s foreign minister, according to a ministry statement.
- China Rebuffs Pentagon Chief, Blunting Push for Rapprochement — U.S. had proposed a meeting; China accused the U.S. of insincerity.
- China Launches Three Astronauts, Including First Civilian, Into Orbit — The liftoff showcases the nation’s expanding capabilities in space at a time when mounting military and technological competition with the U.S. is stoking geopolitical tension.
- Rights Group Revisits Report on Missing Uyghur Scholar After Questions Emerge — Amnesty International said it feared Abuduwaili Abudureheman had disappeared into Chinese custody in Hong Kong, but new reports indicate he’s in South Korea.
- China’s Fading Recovery Reveals Deeper Economic Struggles — Ballooning debt, tepid consumption and worsening relations with the West are set to weigh on future growth, economists say.
- China’s C919 Takes Maiden Commercial Flight—and First Bite From Boeing — Despite backing from top leaders and a ready-made market for its planes, manufacturer Comac faces a steep path to success.
- The New Rules for Business Travel to China — From burner phones to inquisitive border agents, the WSJ has consulted experts on the do’s and don’ts in an era of heightened tensions.
- A Chinese Alternative to Bloomberg Terminals Quietly Limits Information Overseas — E-commerce shopping trends, satellite images are no longer available to foreign users of Wind.
- Europe Rebuffs China’s Efforts to Split the West in Pushing Ukraine Cease-Fire — European officials are questioning Beijing’s ability to be an honest broker.
The Financial Times
- Chinese jet: Airbus orders will divert to homegrown ‘patriot express’ — C919 airliner poses a threat to the European aviation group’s sales in China.
- China calls for ‘stable’ ties with US in meeting with Elon Musk — Billionaire’s audience with foreign minister Qin Gang highlights complex relationship with Beijing.
- China sends first civilian on crewed mission to space station — Shenzhou-16 mission precedes plans to land taikonauts on Moon by 2030.
- Goldman’s China dealmaker stops tapping US investors — Asian private equity business head says geopolitical tensions mean she raises cash from Middle East and Asia instead.
- The billionaire whose electrode empire powers China’s EV dominance — Bai Houshan and his company Ronbay have ambitious expansion plans for key battery component.
- China turns down US invitation for defence chiefs’ meeting in Singapore — Pentagon had requested encounter between Lloyd Austin and Li Shangfu, who is under sanctions, at forum in June.
- De-risking trade with China is a risky business — Security-driven approach to trade clashes with western corporate interests and environmental targets.
- ‘Genshin Impact’ maker aims for Tencent’s China gaming crown — Independent studio miHoYo pins hopes on new title to take on big incumbents in lucrative market.
- ByteDance and CNPC take over Hong Kong offices vacated by foreign companies — Mainland Chinese businesses are among those securing prime locations in Central district.
- China’s first passenger jet completes maiden commercial flight — Maker Comac set to rely heavily on domestic sales and will face difficult task taking on Boeing and Airbus in west.
- Europe’s green transition impossible without China, says Dutch minister — EU seeks to untangle some of its dependence on Asian powerhouse but remains more cautious than US.
- Saudi Arabia in talks to join China-based ‘Brics bank’ — Multilateral lender founded as competitor to west has struggled to raise funds because of Russia exposure.
- US and China hold more trade talks despite strained ties — Meeting takes place days after Joe Biden predicted a ‘thaw’ in relationship between superpowers.
- Asia remains missing part of F1’s global expansion plan — Focus is on re-establishing Grands Prix in countries including India, China and Japan to extend commercial reach to billions of potential fans.
- Jamie Dimon gathers business elite in Shanghai amid China-US tensions — JPMorgan wants to ‘learn to live with’ tension between Beijing and Washington.
The New York Times
- The Mystery of the Disappearing van Gogh — After a painting by the Dutch artist sold at auction, a movie producer claimed to be the owner. It later vanished from sight, with a trail leading to Caribbean tax havens and a jailed Chinese billionaire.
- Cathay Pacific Fights to Emerge From the Long Shadow of Covid — Pandemic lockdowns, on the heels of the turmoil of pro-democracy protests, hurt an airline that relied on Hong Kong as a vibrant gateway to Asia.
- China Announces Plan to Land Astronauts on Moon by 2030 — The announcement formalized a timeline that Chinese scientists have set out before, as the United States and China ramp up competition in space.
- Covid Is Coming Back in China; Lockdowns Are Not — The authorities say that cases are up, and one doctor estimates that there could soon be 65 million cases a week. But China appears determined to move on.
Caixin
- Morgan Stanley Gets Nod to Open China Futures Business — The unit will be the second wholly foreign-owned company operating in a market that generated a turnover of $80 trillion last year.
- Fallen Tomorrow Holding’s Trust Firm Declared Bankrupt — A court in Southwest China ruled that New China Trust’s assets weren’t able to cover all of its liabilities.
- China Launches Special Campaign to Combat Statistical Fraud — Year-long process will run until February 2024 and may result in short-term fluctuations in data on industrial output, fixed asset investment and real estate development.
South China Morning Post
- How China is expanding its law enforcement activities across Africa — Beijing has signed public security and law enforcement agreements with some 40 African nations, according to report.
- Warm welcome for Shenzhou 16 crew at China’s Tiangong space station — The spacecraft docks with station’s Tianhe core module 400km above Earth, less than seven hours after successful launch on Tuesday morning.
- China’s C919 timeline 2008-23: first commercial flight 15 years in the making — The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) was formed in 2008 to develop the C919 narrow-body passenger jet.
- Crypto founders optimistic about Beijing paper promoting Web3 despite no mention of cryptocurrency — Binance’s Zhao Changpeng, Huobi’s Justin Sun, and Animoca’s Yat Siu all touted the promising signs of Beijing’ ‘Internet 3.0’ white paper.
- Chinese firm Powerleader’s ‘home-grown’ chip suspected of being a rebadged microprocessor from US giant, test results show — Microprocessor benchmark testing on Geekbench found that Powerleader’s Powerstar chips were identical to Intel’s Core i3-10105 Comet Lake CPU.
- At 100, Henry Kissinger still seen as influential ‘old friend’ in China despite ‘complicated’ legacy in US — The new centenarian, famous for his groundbreaking secret trip to China in 1971, is now worried about a confrontation between superpowers.
- China loses millions of tonnes of wheat right before harvest, with global price implications — On a scale rarely seen, prolonged rainfall has slammed China’s wheat-production base, infecting crops with blight and causing pre-harvest sprouting.
Nikkei Asia
- Don’t underrate China’s ability to catch up in chips: Nvidia CEO — Jensen Huang says Beijing will foster competitive companies amid U.S. tensions.
- China’s tobacco monopoly swept up in corruption probes — Huge profits, vertical management structure seen as breeding ground for crime.
- China’s Jiangsu province eases age limit for construction workers — Facing labor shortage, authorities let people work past national retirement age.
- China’s massive new canal aims for closer ASEAN connectivity — G-7 nations are not the only ones ‘de-risking’ as global trade tensions mount.
- Battery supply chain: Semcorp set to open 1st factory beyond China — Company has global aspirations but faces hurdles to winning over U.S., European customers.
- World Bank chief makes final appeal to China on developing nation debt — David Malpass urges Beijing, other parties to move faster toward agreement on relief.
- U.S. ‘won’t tolerate’ China’s ban on Micron chips: commerce chief — Gina Raimondo accuses Beijing of ‘economic coercion’ after IPEF meeting.
Bloomberg
- Elon Musk Lands in Beijing, Meets With Foreign Minister Qin Gang — Elon Musk landed in Beijing in what is the billionaire’s first visit to China in three years, and met with Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
- Top Emitter China Needs $38 Trillion to Hit Climate Goals Early — China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, can beat its existing climate targets and hit net zero by 2050 if the nation lifts investment in decarbonization to about $38 trillion.
- China Rejects US Claims Over ‘De-Risking’ Not ‘Decoupling’ — President Joe Biden and his European allies have repeatedly stressed their desire to “de-risk,” not “decouple,” from the Chinese economy in recent months as a way to explain a slew of new restrictions on trade with Beijing. The problem is, for China there’s no difference.
- Ozempic Frenzy Hitting China Has Residents Turning to Scalpers — Online pharmacies and brick-and-mortar stores have sold out, thanks to false prescriptions and scalpers who flip the drug online for twice as much.
- Xiaomi Sources More Production in India Amid Regulatory Scrutiny — Xiaomi Corp. is deepening local sourcing in India, where the Chinese smartphone company seeks to regain market share it lost amid heightened regulatory scrutiny and stiff competition.
- Wuhan Publicly Names Hundreds of Debtors Amid Financial Woes — Wuhan, a city in central China, publicly named hundreds of debtors in a local newspaper article demanding payment, a rare move underscoring the fiscal problems facing provincial governments.
Reuters
- China declines U.S. request for a meeting between defense chiefs — China has declined a request from the United States for a meeting between their defense chiefs at an annual security forum in Singapore this weekend.
- China thesis lurches from one lazy extreme to next — Foreigners that once piled into offshore Chinese equities are evacuating as confidence in the country’s economic recovery sags.
- China’s Great Wall Motor plans EV battery assembly in Thailand — The Hebei-based company is also considering establishing a research and development centre in Thailand that could work on battery powered pickup trucks.
Other Publications
- Semafor: After finding Chinese chips in Russian weapons, Ukraine confronted Beijing’s envoy — The Chinese embassy’s spokesman in Washington, Liu Pengyu, told Semafor in a statement that China “does not sell weapons to parties involved in the Ukraine crisis…”
- The Guardian: Protesters clash with police in China over partial demolition of mosque — Unrest breaks out in Muslim town of Nagu in Yunnan as people object to removal of dome and minarets.
- The Guardian: China’s war chest: Beijing seeks to remedy its vulnerability to food and energy embargoes — A dependence on food and energy imports could be China’s biggest weakness in a potential future conflict with Taiwan.
- CSIS: What is Beijing’s Timeline for “Reunification” with Taiwan? — An analysis of authoritative Chinese Communist Party (CCP) political and strategic documents that have discussed timelines for “reunifying” Taiwan.
- AP: Chinese agents paid bribes in plot to disrupt anti-communist Falun Gong movement — U.S. authorities have arrested two suspected Chinese government agents in connection with an alleged plot by Beijing to disrupt and ultimately topple the exiled anti-communist Falun Gong spiritual movement.
- The Washington Post: How the U.S. wants to pressure China to help avert climate catastrophe — The Biden administration is searching for ways to push the world’s largest polluter to reduce carbon emissions.
- Foreign Affairs: China Is Flirting With AI Catastrophe — Due to Beijing’s lax approach toward technological hazards and its chronic mismanagement of crises, the danger of AI accidents is most severe in China.
- Foreign Affairs: America’s Best Bet in the Indo-Pacific — How Washington and New Delhi Can Balance a Rising China.
