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 Property Market Enters Troubling New Phase — Real-estate demand appears to be waning as more supply hits the market, raising fresh risks for an already-fragile economy.
- Chinese Balloon Used American Tech to Spy on Americans — Preliminary U.S. findings show the craft collected photos and videos but didn’t appear to transmit them, officials say.
The Financial Times
- China’s military set-up is designed to foil any would-be Prigozhin — The People’s Liberation Army is an explicitly political force — and the ultimate guarantor of the party’s hold on power.
- China passes foreign relations law to strengthen Xi’s response to sanctions — Legislation targeting national security threats could undercut Beijing’s efforts to woo overseas investors.
- How the US and Europe can beat China’s Belt and Road — Washington and Brussels need to emphasise open and fair dealing in their developing-world rivalry with Beijing.
- The Chinese carmakers planning to shake up the European market — BYD, Nio, Chery and others want to use their expertise in electric vehicles to take advantage of the continent’s coming ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.
- US weighs tougher restrictions on AI chip exports to China — Semiconductor makers Nvidia and AMD could be hit by update of controls that were introduced in October.
The New York Times
- White House Reportedly Weighs New A.I. Export Limits — Shares in the semiconductor giants Nvidia and AMD fell on a report that the Biden Administration is weighing new restrictions on A.I.-related exports.
Caixin
- Global Debt Crisis Requires China, U.S. Put Aside Their Differences, Economist Says — The two countries need to serve as ‘global financial anchors,’ the LSE’s Jin Keyu says, as an IMF report flags 60% of low-income countries as being under or facing external debt distress.
- China’s East-West Economic Gap Refuses to Narrow — Despite a push for more balanced development, China’s western regions continue to lose ground to the wealthier eastern regions, NDRC reports.
- Proposed Biden Curbs Could Starve Chinese Tech of Early Funding, Expertise — Local entrepreneurs look to institutions at home and in the Middle East to get their companies off the ground.
South China Morning Post
- Why China gives Africa’s leaders the red-carpet treatment – and a chance to ask for favours — Often snubbed in the West, African officials are feted during visits to Beijing, giving them an opportunity to secure mega-project funding and debt deals, but observers say China is increasingly conservative in its promises.
- Amid intensifying tech war, 1 US chip design firm sees opportunity in China — US semiconductor IP provider SiFive is promoting its processor cores to chip designers in major Chinese cities this week, tapping into enthusiasm for the open-source RISC-V architecture.
- ‘Sanctions deterrent’: China frames new Foreign Relations Law as essential to national sovereignty — Top diplomat Wang Yi says the legislation is needed to help the country expand its toolbox to cope with unpredictability.
- China to launch drone owner registration, no-fly zones and filming limits under new rules — Interim Regulations for Managing Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle Flights bans non-Chinese drones and pilots from using the vehicles for surveying land from 2024.
Nikkei Asia
- China chipmaker YMTC warns of ‘turmoil and disarray’ for industry — Chairman urges suppliers to treat his company ‘fairly’ as political tensions rise.
- China’s anti-espionage law set to ‘politicize’ business — Foreign chambers say legislation will affect investment decisions.
- China today has fewer ads, cleaner toilets, economic hurdles — Chinese-style modernization distances itself from Deng-era freedoms.
- China’s rural ‘Super League’ reignites soccer fans’ passion — While pro teams founder, amateur games draw tourism and money to farm country.
Bloomberg
- China’s New Law Extends Xi’s Combative Foreign Policy Stance — China has passed a sweeping foreign policy law that bolts together a slew of existing tools to counter Western powers, and extends President Xi Jinping’s combative stance on asserting Beijing on the world stage.
- China Wants Sanctions Lifted as Condition for Military Talks With US — The Biden administration has sought to increase the number of communication channels with China ever since Beijing severed many of these links to protest then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last summer.
- Chinese Chipmaker Asks Suppliers to Buy Back Banned Gear — Global chipmaking gear makers should treat Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. with fairness and buy back equipment which the US-sanctioned Chinese memory chipmaker is barred from using, a senior company executive said.
- BlackRock, Schroders Hunt China Deals in Growing Private Markets — Global fund managers building out private markets activities in China are finding lucrative opportunities to deploy capital even as heightened geopolitical tensions chill fundraising efforts, leading others to scale back operations.
Reuters
- US expects more cooperation with India in South China Sea — Tensions are high in contested parts sea, one of the world’s most important trade routes and a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.
- Corruption inquiry in Australia uncovers China links to state lawmaker — Gladys Berejiklian told the corruption inquiry she had been in a secret “close personal relationship” with Maguire, who was under investigation for monetising his position through business dealings with China.
Other Publications
- Quartz: Oil and gas exports are complicating the US-China relationship — While the two countries try to disentangle supply chains, their energy interdependence is growing.
- Foreign Policy: China Can’t Catch a Break in Asian Public Opinion — Washington can benefit from Beijing’s soft-power failures.
- Foreign Affairs: Xi’s Plan for China’s Economy Is Doomed to Fail — “Consumption-Led Growth” Is Good Policy but Bad Politics.
- POLITICO: Justice Department says new Florida law restricting Chinese land ownership is unconstitutional — The legal action by the department is just the latest skirmish between the Biden administration and Ron DeSantis in recent years.
- The Atlantic: The End of Optimism in China — Young people should learn to “eat bitterness,” says Xi Jinping.
- The Economist: How to escape China’s property crisis — Lessons from a city that is flourishing.
- The Washington Post: Shein, the fast-fashion giant, hits roadblocks — Known for its low prices and on-trend manufacturing process, the retailer faces backlash after an influencer trip to its China headquarters. D.C. lawmakers are asking questions, too.
- The Guardian: China on course to hit wind and solar power target five years ahead of time — Beijing bolstering position as global renewables leader with solar capacity more than rest of world combined.
- CNAS: “Production Is Deterrence” — To deter and—if deterrence fails—defeat China, the DoD needs large stockpiles of standoff missiles, maritime strike weapons, and layered air and missile defenses.
