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
- China’s Stimulus Pivot Is Prompted by Fears Slowing Growth Could Worsen — Chinese officials abruptly commit to do more to stimulate growth following an increasingly bleak picture of an economy losing steam.
- China-Led Infrastructure Bank Just Can’t Escape the Communist Party’s Shadow — The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank says it will conduct an internal review after former executive claims China’s Communist Party has infiltrated the institution.
- Why the War in Ukraine May Not Deter China — U.S. strategists hope that Russia’s failures and the strong response from the West will give Beijing second thoughts about attacking Taiwan. But Xi Jinping could be drawing different lessons.
The Financial Times
- Xi meets ‘old friend’ Bill Gates ahead of Blinken’s China visit — President’s first confirmed contact with a US business leader this year signals tentative dialogue reopening.
- Why China’s economic recovery is hanging in the balance — Stubborn property sector woes and lagging exports are jeopardising the country’s post-Covid rebound.
- Micron to invest $600mn in Chinese factory despite Beijing chip ban — Memory-chip maker cites ‘unwavering commitment’ to China with new production line.
The New York Times
- Bill Gates Meets Xi Jinping in First Visit to China Since 2019 — China’s president, Xi Jinping, calls Mr. Gates “the first American friend I met in Beijing this year.”
- As Blinken Heads to China, Suspicion Awaits Him — Even as Beijing prepares for a visit by the secretary of state, China’s leader has made clear his expectations of more hostile superpower competition.
- U.S. Agencies Breached in Cyberattack by Russian Ransomware Group — The top U.S. cybersecurity agency said it did not have evidence that the group was acting in coordination with the Russian government.
- Ex-NYPD Detective Accused of Stalking U.S. Residents for China: What to Know — During a two-week trial, prosecutors made their case that an American private detective, Michael McMahon, and two Chinese citizens did Beijing’s dirty work.
- Bipartisan Bills Would Hit E-Commerce Like Fast Fashion — Critics say the law gives an unfair advantage to e-commerce companies from other countries, including some where forced labor is an issue.
Caixin
- Only Half of Chinese Insurers Made Money Abroad Last Year — Survey of 52 enterprises finds that foreign investments were flat in 2022 at $83.2 billion, and the industry tapped into 76% of forex quotas.
- China’s Property Investment Slides Further as Housing Recovery Staggers — Real estate investment drops 7.2% in first five months as the pace of decline accelerates for a third straight month.
- Chinese Drugmakers March Into Africa Seeking New Business Foothold — Humanwell joins Cheerland and Fosun with factory investments in the world’s fastest growing and most underserved continent.
- In Depth: How China Is Tightening Controls Over Cross-Border Data Transfers — China is putting cross-border data transfer by multinational companies and others under the toughest government oversight ever.
South China Morning Post
- 4-year-old Taiwan People’s Party poised to shake up 2024 presidential elections, poll suggests — Relatively Beijing-friendly TPP, founded in 2019, leaves century-old KMT behind in latest opinion poll, in findings that may foretell a turning of the tide in Taiwan’s traditionally two-party elections.
- Delayed China-backed Indonesia railway is due to launch soon. But is it really ‘under control?’ — The flagship of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Indonesia, initially budgeted to cost US$6.02 billion, has been marred with controversy and hold ups since construction started in 2018.
- Syngenta gets the nod to launch US$9.1 billion Shanghai IPO, anchoring the world’s biggest stock sale this year in China’s commercial hub — The Shanghai Stock Exchange has approved the US$9.1 billion IPO of Syngenta Group, taking the Swiss agricultural giant a step closer to completing what could possibly be the world’s largest offering this year.
- Singapore becoming magnet for investment from Taiwan to hedge tensions with mainland China — Direct investment flows from Taiwan to Singapore peaked at S$7.21 billion (US$5.4 billion) in 2021 from S$3.69 billion in 2020, with the city state seen as politically ‘neutral’ amid tensions between Taiwan and mainland China.
- China’s R&F property tycoon Zhang Li agrees to US extradition in California bribery case — The ex-government official who rose to lead one of China’s largest real estate firms allegedly gave kickbacks to win permits for a project in San Francisco.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s e-commerce extravaganza loses its shine as consumption sags — Online sales suffer amid COVID hangover, property weakness and job losses.
- Diplomatic spat reveals South Korea’s pivot to hard line on China — Beijing envoy’s criticism meets with fierce response from Seoul.
- Opinion: West must be more strategic about Southeast Asia development aid — Competing with China will require more flexibility and better communications. By Alexandre Dayant and Susannah Patton.
- Taiwan crisis could erupt before 2027, U.S. lawmaker warns — Reengaging with Beijing is ‘dangerous’: China panel chair Mike Gallagher.
Bloomberg
- How Huawei Got Caught Spying and Lost a $200 Million 5G Contract — At TDC in Copenhagen, senior managers were potential suspects. The company’s offices were compromised, people were getting tailed. And then there were the drones…
- Kissinger Sees War Over Taiwan Likely Unless US, China Back Down — Trajectory of US-China relations ‘must be altered,’ he says.
- Biggest Crypto Stablecoin Tether Was Once Backed by Chinese Securities — Documents show Tether held securities issued by ICBC, CCB.
Reuters
- Tesla’s China expansion hits speed bump amid industry overcapacity — Tesla may now be a victim of its own success in the world’s biggest auto market, challenging plans to use its cost advantage from Chinese production to power exports.
- Chinese delegation to meet with Germany’s top corporate brass next week — A Chinese delegation led by Premier Li Qiang will meet Germany’s top CEOs next week as part of a visit to Europe.
- Exclusive: Xi Jinping tells Bill Gates he welcomes U.S. AI tech in China — Chinese President Xi Jinping said he welcomed U.S. firms including Microsoft bringing their AI tech to China.
Other Publications
- WIRED: How a Shady Chinese Firm’s Encryption Chips Got Inside the US Navy, NATO, and NASA — The US government warns encryption chipmaker Hualan has suspicious ties to China’s military. Yet US agencies still use one of its subsidiary’s chips, raising fears of a backdoor.
- CFR: China’s Growing Influence in Latin America — Beijing’s growing sway in the region has raised concerns in Washington and beyond.
- Foreign Policy: The Pacific Is Becoming a Testing Ground for Green Geopolitics — U.S. environmental measures have China as an unspoken target.
- POLITICO: Senate Intelligence chair: China leads the world on AI rules — “China is very much ahead of the game in terms of self-regulating AI within their own nation-state,” Sen. Mark Warner said.
- AP: Chinese spies breached hundreds of public, private networks, security firm says — Suspected state-backed Chinese hackers used a security hole in a popular email security appliance to break into the networks of hundreds of public and private sector organizations globally.
- The Economist: What does China want from Latin America and the Caribbean? — Along with trading with the region, it is increasingly important in geopolitical terms.
