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
- Cuba to Host Secret Chinese Spy Base Focusing on U.S. — Beijing will pay Havana several billion dollars for eavesdropping facility.
- Apple’s AirDrop in the Crosshairs of China’s National-Security Crackdown — File-sharing apps that were used by protesters face tighter controls under Beijing’s planned regulations.
- U.S. and China Prepare for Possible Blinken Visit to Beijing — Trip later this month by the American secretary of state may include a meeting with Xi Jinping.
- Chinese Junk Bonds Are Back on the Trash Heap — A shopping-mall operator that reopened the market is now helping close it.
- Sexual Misconduct Allegations Roil Taiwan’s U.S.-Friendly Ruling Party — A Netflix drama about Taiwanese politics helped spur an outpouring that could shake up presidential elections and disrupt the Chinese overseas dissident community.
- China’s Share of U.S. Goods Imports Falls to Lowest Since 2006 — Overall imports to U.S. rose in April, while exports declined.
- China’s Lost Generation — Xi Jinping has a major youth unemployment problem on his hands.
The Financial Times
- US to link up with Taiwan and Japan drone fleets to share real-time data — Military co-ordination with Taipei is ‘taboo’ issue for China, analysts said.
- Chinese banks slash deposit rates in bid to boost sluggish growth — Economic recovery from pandemic curbs has failed to pick up pace as consumers sit on savings.
- Opinion: Tokyo could win ‘not China’ global hub status — but it must want it — Optimists see the chance of benefits as Sino-US tensions alter the financial dynamics.
- How US-China tensions shattered Sequoia’s venture capital empire — Silicon Valley VC firm’s lucrative foray into rival nation ends as geopolitical tensions flare up.
The New York Times
- China’s Crackdown on Mosque Domes is Drawing Rare Resistance — China is destroying Arab-style architectural features of mosques, such as domes and minarets. The tightened control on religion has been met with rare resistance.
- Senators Say TikTok May Have Misled Congress on Handling of U.S. User Data — Two senators sent a letter to TikTok’s C.E.O. with questions about how user data may be stored and seen in China after new reports in May.
Caixin
- China EdTech Firms Race to Develop ChatGPT-Like Products — China’s education companies are racing to develop ChatGPT-like products amid a global frenzy over the AI-powered chatbot, sparking a discussion on whether this would transform the country’s exam-focused education system.
- Chinese Banks Mull Further Deposit Rate Cuts to Ease Margin Pressures — Lower interest rates paid to depositors will enable financial institutions to reduce charges for loans and help bolster the economy.
- Sanan Optoelectronics and STMicroelectronics in EV Chipmaking Venture — The investment includes capital outlays over the next five years of $2.4 billion, funded by the two companies along with the local government and borrowings.
South China Morning Post
- China to draw up AI regulation in 2023 as Beijing races against EU, US to roll out new laws covering the technology — The 2023 legislation plan of the State Council, China’s cabinet, includes the submission of a draft AI law, among more than 50 measures up for review by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee.
- China expected to be world’s largest importer of clean hydrogen, Deloitte says as it urges world to scale up production capacity by 2050 — China is estimated to be the world’s largest importer of clean hydrogen, requiring 13 million tonnes of imported hydrogen a year by 2030, Deloitte report says.
- Does German firms’ hot take on China business show limits of Beijing’s charm offensive? — Survey finds ‘profound’ geopolitical implications from international tensions are weighing on the confidence of German investors in China, while Beijing’s business-boosting efforts are deemed lacking.
- China should set up US communication channels like it offered other countries, top Biden aide says — Indo-Pacific adviser Kurt Campbell points to hotlines Beijing agreed to establish with Vietnam and the Philippines as model for sincere engagement.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s No. 5 official gains favor within Xi’s inner circle — Cai Qi has wide-ranging responsibilities but no real power, observers say.
- China puts off Japan-focused expos, events after G7 — Relations appear to cool after group’s joint statement on Taiwan.
- Sequoia Capital’s split-off of China business spurred by Sino-U.S. rift — VC giant’s move may lead to further de-risking in startup investment.
- Multinationals turn away from Hong Kong for dispute resolution — Lawyers say growing uncertainty over city’s legal environment worries clients.
- Xi’s rule in China won’t last forever: Taiwan presidential candidate — Ko Wen-je says Japan is the island’s ‘most important ally in Asia’.
- Analysis: Chinese general signals new strategy with Senkaku remarks — Ties with Japan are not all about islands, defense minister says.
Bloomberg
- China Lobbies EU Over Proposal to Punish Firms Supplying Russia — China is putting pressure on the European Union behind closed doors to scrap proposed trade restrictions on Chinese companies the bloc says are enabling Russia’s war machine in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter.
- A US Startup’s Failure Paved the Way for China’s EV Battery Dominance — The fall of startup A123 still haunts the US decades later—and reveals everything that’s wrong with this country’s approach to innovation.
- The Road to Modi’s Ambitious Make-in-India Goal Runs Through China — India’s manufacturers dependent on China for raw materials.
- Sequoia Split Off China Business After Lobbying Efforts in DC — The firm got the red carpet treatment from China. It also got into a lot of trouble.
- US, China Reengagement Still In ‘Early Phase,’ Biden Aide Says — The US and China have only just started renewing diplomatic exchanges after tensions led to a rupture in communications and the trajectory of any rapprochement remains “uncertain,” the White House’s top Asia official said.
- It’s Terribly Hot in China, But Coal Prices Still Have Room to Fall — Rains forecast in June could lift hydropower’s contribution.
Reuters
- Exclusive: Lawmakers slam US intent to invite sanctioned Hong Kong leader for APEC — Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday urged the State Department to bar Hong Kong’s chief executive, who faces U.S. sanctions, from visiting San Francisco during November’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
- China’s targeting of US firms is politically motivated, US ambassador says — The United States will push back on China’s targeting of American companies such as memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc, U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said on Wednesday.
- China’s Dalian Wanda appeals court decision to freeze shares — China’s largest commercial property developer Dalian Wanda Group on Thursday said it is appealing a court decision to freeze 1.9 billion yuan ($266.23 million) worth of shares it owns in a subsidiary.
- South Korea vows support for its chip sector amid China-US tension — South Korea pledged support for its chip sector on Thursday, with President Yoon Suk Yeol describing competition in the industry as an “all-out war” amid heightened Sino-U.S. tension.
Other Publications
- The Atlantic: China and the West Are Coming Apart. Can China’s Economy Continue to Rise? — The world’s two leading powers have come to see their economic links to each other as risky, but disentanglement will come at a cost.
- Politico: Chinese citizens seek to block Florida’s law banning them from owning property — States across the country, including California and Texas, have introduced more than a dozen similar pieces of legislation in recent months.
- Quartz: Lucid is driving towards the competitive Chinese market — The luxury EV maker seeks to compete against BYD, Tesla, and other startups like Xpeng and Nio.
- Barron’s: Opinion: China May Be Headed for a Lost Decade — Instead of booming, five months after the ending of its Covid restrictions, the Chinese economic recovery is sputtering. By Desmond Lachman
