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.
Paid subscribers automatically have this list emailed directly to their inboxes every day by 10 a.m. EST. Subscribe here.
The Wall Street Journal
- Chinese Parts Help Iran Supply Drones to Russia Quickly, Investigators Say — After Ukraine downed an Iranian drone, a Chinese part in the weapon showed it had been built and sent to Russian forces in three months.
- U.S. Moves to Rejoin Unesco to Counter China’s Growing Sway — Biden administration is seeking readmission amid worries that China’s diplomatic influence is growing.
- U.S. to Allow South Korean, Taiwan Chip Makers to Keep Operations in China — Analysts say the move will weaken export-control measures aimed at curbing Beijing.
- American Tech Giants Are Slowly Cutting Off Hong Kong Internet Users — Google and OpenAI haven’t rolled out AI chatbots to city, putting it alongside mainland China and North Korea.
- Air-Bag Parts Maker Refusing U.S. Recall Request Had Workplace-Safety Woes — Chinese owned supplier ARC Automotive has faced safety violations and litigation over allegedly flawed parts.
- OpenAI CEO Calls for Collaboration With China to Counter AI Risks — Sam Altman, who kick-started latest chatbot frenzy, leads host of American speakers at conference in Beijing.
- U.S. Puts Chinese Company With Kentucky Ties on Forced Labor Ban List — The U.S. has blocked goods from printer maker Ninestar, majority owner of Lexington, Ky.-based Lexmark International, over forced labor concerns.
- What Does China Really Spend on Defense? — A bill in the Senate would try to get a more accurate picture.
The Financial Times
- Ex-Samsung executive alleged to have stolen tech to recreate chip plant in China — Six others also indicted as Korea toughens response to leakage of secrets.
- Economists posting their Ls — If a Chinese property market falls in the forest, could it not make too much of a noise?
- Dutch government to screen Chinese tech students on security risks — Several universities to reduce number of researchers from China.
- Chinese tech groups suffer as foreign investors take flight — Geopolitical tension and poor economic recovery drive stock price falls and funding shortages.
- Foreign banks left out of initial public offerings in China — Share of listings involving global institutions has fallen this year to lowest level in more than a decade.
- Microsoft to move AI experts from China to Canada — Beijing-based researchers apply for visas to move to Vancouver amid geopolitical tensions.
The New York Times
- China’s Coast Guard and the Fight to Control Asia — Beijing’s patrol vessels often resemble warships. Now other nations are trying to compete with tougher coast guards of their own.
- China Has Had a Spy Base in Cuba for Years, U.S. Official Says — It was unclear whether the report might complicate Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken’s rescheduled trip to Beijing for meetings that begin June 18.
Caixin
- Ex-PBOC Deputy Governor Kicked Out of Communist Party — Fan Yifei, arrested last November by graft busters, accused of accepting a ‘huge amount’ of bribes and abusing power ‘over a long period of time’.
- In Depth: China Grapples With Hangover From Consumer Lending Boom — The banking regulator has expanded a pilot program for disposal of nonperforming personal loans, allowing hundreds of financial institutions to offload their bad debt.
- EV-Battery Giant CATL Teams Up With Thai Automaker — The Chinese firm will supply Arun Plus with the technology and production line for manufacturing cell-to-pack batteries in Thailand.
- China’s International Air Travel Recovery Remains Patchy — While domestic flight services returned to pre-pandemic levels, international flights in May were just 37.9% of the 2019 total.
South China Morning Post
- Baidu’s Ernie Bot tops Chinese large language model rankings by Xinhua think tank, but lags OpenAI’s ChatGPT — Ernie Bot performs better in a series of tasks than competing services from Alibaba, iFlyTek and SenseTime, according to Xinhua Institute.
- China launches digital yuan ATMs in tropical Sanya, allowing tourists to exchange foreign cash for e-CNY — The foreign exchange machines accept 20 different currencies for a physical card loaded with digital yuan to be used at designated merchants.
- Saudi Arabia and China pledge to work together in food security, science, energy and investments, ‘ignoring’ Western ire — China is the largest trading partner for Arab countries, with the volume of commerce standing at a record US$430 billion in 2022, the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan said.
- China’s largest marine theme park operator banks on Japanese anime to lure local tourists post-Covid — A new themed area at the Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park, based on the Japanese animated series One Piece, forms part of the company’s new strategy focusing on foreign IPs.
Nikkei Asia
- Ex-Samsung exec accused of stealing secrets for China chip company — Theft to build rival factory allegedly cost South Korean tech firm $233m in losses.
- China marriage registrations hit record low of 6.83m in 2022 — Decline compounds challenge posed by aging, shrinking population.
- U.S. floats 30-nation Arctic drill as melting ice opens trade routes — Rivalry with Russia and China intensifies over next frontier.
- China lures increasing numbers of research scholars from Japan — Ample funding and openings attract talent frustrated by chances at home.
- China and Russia account for 70% of new nuclear plants — Exports used as diplomatic card while Western nations fall behind.
Bloomberg
- China’s Covid-Positive Test Rate Jumped to 40% Last Month — That level of infection hasn’t been seen since early January, when the surge unleashed by Beijing’s sudden abandonment of restrictions at the end of 2022 started to come off its peak.
- China’s Plane Shortage Is Good News For Boeing — After years of anemic sales, the US manufacturer is again bullish on deliveries to Chinese carriers.
- Rio Tinto, China Baowu to Jointly Explore Green Steel Projects — The two companies sign MoU for initiatives in Australia, China.
Reuters
- Dutch government to screen foreign PhD tech students, denies targeting China — The Netherlands is considering legislation to screen foreign students who plan to study in technical fields for possible security risks.
- China’s Xi says willing to begin free trade talks with Honduras — China will actively promote Honduran products to enter the Chinese market, Xi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster CCTV.
- South Korea says Chinese warships searching waters where N.Korea rocket crashed — The rocket came down in the sea at a point where the exclusive economic zones of China and South Korea meet, according to the South Korean military.
- China’s Nio cuts prices, ends free battery swapping as sales slide — Nio will cut prices by 30,000 yuan ($4,200) for all models including its revamped ES6 and ES8 sports utility vehicles from June 12.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: China Is Rewriting the Law of the Sea — Washington missed the boat to shape the global maritime order. Beijing is stepping in.
- The Washington Post: Musk and Dimon are not alone in sticking with China, despite tensions — Top American companies are struggling to devise new strategies for the Chinese market.
- The Economist: Is doing business in China becoming impossible for foreigners? — Selective enforcement of draconian data and spying laws is scaring Western companies.
- The Messenger: The US Is Preparing Evacuation Plans for American Citizens in Taiwan — Wars in Ukraine and Afghanistan hang over planning for worst-case scenarios.
