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 Cuts Borrowing Rates Again in Bid to Juice Recovery — Economists say that more drastic measures may be needed, with debt and uncertainty continuing to weigh on consumers’ willingness to spend.
- Beijing Plans a New Training Facility in Cuba, Raising Prospect of Chinese Troops on America’s Doorstep — Biden administration scrambles to forestall China’s ambitions in the Caribbean.
- NATO’s Largest-Ever Aerial Wargame Has Russia, China in Mind — German-led exercise simulates mass deployment in skies across Europe in response to an attack.
- Alibaba Is Replacing Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang — The Chinese e-commerce company has been struggling with slow growth and poor stock performance.
- Europe Aims to Cut China Risks, Not China Ties — Strategy will test EU’s resolve to counter Asian country’s economic strength.
- Opinion: China Accepts the New Indo-Pacific Reality — Xi’s meeting with Blinken signals a limited but welcome thaw in relations.
The Financial Times
- Alibaba replaces longtime chief in management shake-up — Co-founder Jack Ma’s top lieutenant to take top job while outgoing chair will focus on cloud business.
- China cuts benchmark lending rates as policy easing picks up — Economic growth has lagged this year on trade weakness and property sector woes.
- Qatar set to strike second big LNG supply deal with China — Gulf state’s energy minister expects ‘several’ European countries to sign long-term agreements this year.
- Brussels stumbles in effort to toughen its stance on China — EU capitals lukewarm on screening outbound investment without further proof it is necessary.
- Xi sees ‘progress’ in China-US ties at meeting with Blinken — China’s leader hints at truce in acrimony between Beijing and Washington during secretary of state’s visit.
- China’s ‘trinket town’ at heart of push for renminbi trade — Russians lead drive to settle in Chinese currency as sanctions cut access to dollar financing.
The New York Times
- Blinken Visit Reveals Chasm in How U.S. and China Perceive Rivalry — Xi Jinping and nationalistic Chinese see recent U.S. actions as an effort to contain another superpower rather than compete with it — and they’re pushing back.
- In Overhaul, Alibaba’s Boss Moves Aside and Two Co-Founders Step Up — Joseph Tsai takes over as chairman and Eddie Yongming Wu becomes chief executive.
- China’s Central Bank Cuts Loan Prime Rates — The reduction in the rates, which are used to set corporate loans and home mortgages, signal concern that the country’s post-pandemic rebound is stalling.
- China’s Economic Rebound Hits a Wall, With ‘No Quick Fix’ to Revive It — Policymakers and investors expected China’s economy to rev up again after Beijing abruptly dropped Covid precautions, but recent data shows alarming signs of a slowdown.
- U.S. Worries About Private Chinese Companies Aiding Russia, Blinken Says — Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said he urged Chinese officials “to be vigilant” as Washington continues to express concerns over possible military support to Russia.
Caixin
- Kuaishou, Taobao Tap Messi Mania to Give Livestream E-Commerce a Leg Up — Where soccer superstar Lionel Messi goes, brands hungry to leverage his fame follow, and Chinese companies are no exception.
- HKEX Launches Yuan Counter for Trading of Hong Kong-Listed Shares — Turnover of the first batch of 24 approved stocks reaches $22.9 million on the first day as mainland investors can buy HKEX shares using yuan.
South China Morning Post
- Taiwan’s export orders fall for ninth straight month in May, but chip sales to India, Malaysia, US offer hope — Taiwan’s export orders declined by 17.6 per cent, year on year, in May, but buyers in India, Malaysia and the US have raised their total amount spent on Taiwanese semiconductor chips since at least the start of 2021.
- Jack Ma urges Alibaba’s top executives to ‘go back to Taobao’ to fend off rivals in tough e-commerce market — Alibaba founder Jack Ma reportedly told the firm’s e-commerce executives in late May that they need to refocus on Taobao, a platform for small merchants, to survive brutal rivalry and China’s slowing economy.
- Mainland China resumes imports of Taiwanese sugar apples after 2-year ban despite cross-strait tensions — Mainland China banned imports of Taiwanese sugar apples in 2021, but lifted the ban despite cross-strait tensions after a meeting between officials at the 15th Straits Forum over the weekend in Xiamen.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s economic slowdown makes Taiwan crisis more likely: report — U.S. think tank calls for clarity on Japan, Philippines assistance for island defense.
- China targets sea change in global diplomacy race with West — As Blinken calls, Beijing wields ‘Xivilization’ to promote China worldview.
- China’s COMAC soars, helped by state-backed funding — With generous state support and a large domestic market to sell into, the C919 had at least two vital advantages that its Japanese counterpart lacked.
Bloomberg
- EU Toolkit Has China in Its Sights. Now Comes the Hard Bit — The European Union and its member states are taking bolder steps to boost national security tools and shore up supplies, edging closer to the US strategy of avoiding over-dependence on China and curtailing the advance of its military capabilities.
- There’s No Such Thing as Too Many Electric-Car Chargers in China — Any waste on underutilized plugs may be well worth a multitrillion-dollar opportunity.
- Chinese Premier Tells German CEOs to Take Lead on De-Risking — Chinese Premier Li Qiang called for “de-risking” decisions to be taken by companies rather than governments during a trip to Germany that’s designed to stabilize ties with the European economic powerhouse.
Reuters
- Inside China’s underground market for high-end Nvidia AI chips — Where can a Chinese buyer purchase top-end Nvidia AI chips in the wake of U.S. sanctions?
- US lawmakers to urge automakers to cut reliance on China — A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers will urge the CEOs of Ford Motor and General Motors to shrink reliance on China auto parts.
- Biden: US-China relations on the ‘right trail’ — U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday he thinks relations between the United States and China are on the “right trail” and suggested progress was made during a rare trip to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Other Publications
- China Media Project: Fake News on the Front Line — The story of “Paul Kotzatie,” the bogus Russian soldier from Henan, is a reminder that in China the right to speak, and the right to be heard, is ultimately in the hands of those in power.
- The Economist: When it comes to a war with Taiwan, many Chinese urge caution — Any action that could be viewed as a challenge to China’s claim to the island arouses a chorus of calls for war.
- Foreign Affairs: China Is Ready for a World of Disorder — “Changes unseen in a century” has become one of Xi’s favorite slogans since he coined it in December 2017.
- Politico: EU looks to ban companies from making sensitive tech in China — Brussels moves to create new powers to clamp down on companies outsourcing key supply chains to autocratic countries.
