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
- China’s Export Curb on Chip-Making Metals Prompt Countries to Explore Supply-Chain Diversification — Beijing’s decision to curb exports of rare minerals alarms South Korea and Japan.
- China’s Weakening Currency Is Becoming a Headache for Its Central Bank — A recent rate cut looks unlikely to turn the economy around. But it has put more pressure on the yuan.
- Taiwan’s Impossible Choice: Be Ukraine or Hong Kong — Taiwan draws two opposite lessons from Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- How China Came to Dominate the World’s Largest Nickel Source for Electric Cars — Chinese firms mastered a process that unlocked Indonesia’s ore for use in making EV batteries.
- U.S. Looks to Restrict China’s Access to Cloud Computing to Protect Advanced Technology — Biden administration proposal, aimed at closing loophole in chip-export controls, could escalate tit-for-tat fight with Beijing.
- China’s Brain Drain Threatens Its Future — Chinese citizens, including many of the wealthy, are increasingly eyeing the exits in a new era of slower growth.
- Opinion: My Plan to Preserve Peace in the Taiwan Strait — As Beijing ratchets up military and economic tensions, we can never take our democracy for granted. By Lai Ching-te
The Financial Times
- Xi warned Putin against nuclear attack in Ukraine — Chinese officials privately take credit for convincing Russian leader to back down from veiled atomic threats.
- China gets a new central bank chief as economy struggles for lift-off — Pan Gongsheng must calculate scale of stimulus to spur recovery while navigating regulatory reshuffle.
- US and UK condemn Hong Kong bounties for exiled political dissidents — Chinese territory offered a combined $1mn for information leading to activists’ arrests.
- China’s curb on metal exports reverberates across chip sector — Beijing’s move to impose restrictions follows escalating US controls on technology.
- Japan gets IAEA approval to discharge water from Fukushima disaster — China and South Korea oppose release of treated radioactive water into Pacific Ocean.
The New York Times
- China Reels From Floods and a Bruising Heat Wave — Heavy rains and heat waves have affected parts of China and the Asia Pacific region this week. More of the same was in the forecast.
- Putin, Xi and Modi Meet for Shanghai Summit, Each Focused on Own Issues — At a virtual summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the leaders of Russia, China and India each focused on their own driving issues.
- Yellen’s China Visit Aims to Ease Tensions Amid Deep Divisions — Mutual skepticism between the United States and China over a wide range of economic and security issues has festered in recent years.
Caixin
- In Depth: How China Is Sharpening Ethics Rules for Scientific Research — In late 2018, news of the world’s first gene-edited babies resulted in almost-universal condemnation for the Chinese scientist that broke ethical norms.
- Suicide Rate Jumps Among China’s 5- to 14-Year-Olds — The suicide rate among 5- to 14-year-olds in China quadrupled between 2010 and 2021, according to a new study that calls on policymakers to tailor prevention strategies for the age group.
- In Depth: China Mulls Scrapping Fixed Household Gas Rates as Winter Shortages Loom — Chinese policymakers are weighing whether to abandon the strict controls that keep household gas rates low, allowing them to float within a controlled range.
South China Morning Post
- China suspends 2 online media outlets as censors tighten grip — Health Insight exposed Covid-related scandals, while Media Camp recently covered the case of a reporter beaten by police. Both have had their social media accounts blocked, with no explanation given.
- Chinese online search giant Baidu’s Ernie Bot joins iFlytek’s Spark on Apple’s mainland App Store, but local AI chatbots still on trial mode — Ernie Bot and Spark are the first ChatGPT alternatives developed by local Big Tech firms to get listed on Apple’s App Store on the mainland.
- Beijing state media blasts Mark Zuckerberg for past criticisms of China, casting doubt over Meta’s plan to sell VR gear in the country — A social media commentator for Beijing Daily has blasted Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for being critical of China, casting a shadow over his plans to sell VR headsets in the country.
- US vaccine maker Moderna set to sign US$1 billion Shanghai deal in major inroad into China’s healthcare market — The maker of the mRNA Covid-19 vaccine is expected to sign an agreement with Shanghai government as early as Wednesday, with the investment going towards vaccine development and manufacturing, according to sources.
- Fast fashion giant Shein in talks with banks and exchanges about US IPO, sources say — Valued at more than US$60 billion, Shein could become the most valuable China-founded company to go public in the US since ride-hailing giant Didi Global’s debut in 2021 at a US$68 billion valuation.
Nikkei Asia
- Yellen’s job in Beijing: Explain Biden’s shifting China policy — U.S. to put national security first, economy second as China curbs exports.
- The U.S.-China rare earths battle — How one mine in California is trying to challenge Beijing’s dominance.
- China’s CATL finds battery research help in small east German town — Chinese company joins local technology center to study power-cell life spans.
- Dutch: China’s export curb on chip metals requires EU response — Beijing’s gallium licensing follows similar move by Netherlands on ASML items.
Bloomberg
- Supply Chain Latest: Rotterdam Port CEO Sees More Business Anxiety Over China — The chief of Europe’s busiest gateway for global trade sees evidence that Western businesses are starting to consider moving their production plants out of China.
- China Official Meets With Foreign Drugmakers to Boost Confidence — China’s Ministry of Commerce held a meeting with some of the world’s leading drugmakers to discuss their business operations as Beijing ramps up efforts to entice foreign investors to revive a cooling economy.
- Tesla Regains China Momentum as Clouds Over EV Sector Disperse — Tesla Inc.’s China deliveries are surging, along with other local electric-vehicle makers, as concerns over snarled supply chains, the lingering impact of Covid and weak consumer demand dissipate.
- China Postpones Beijing Trip by Top European Diplomat, EU Says — The Chinese government has postponed a trip to Beijing by Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, which had been due next week, a spokesperson for Borrell said Tuesday.
Reuters
- China’s chipmaking export curbs ‘just a start’, Beijing adviser warns before Yellen visit — China’s export controls on metals used in semiconductors are “just a start”, an influential Chinese trade policy adviser said on Wednesday.
- German industry urges reduced dependency after China export controls — German industry on Tuesday warned that Europe must become more self-reliant in the hunt for raw materials needed for cleaner, more digital economies.
- China automaker BYD to invest $620 million in Brazil industrial complex — Chinese automaker BYD on Tuesday said it will invest 3 billion reais ($620.17 million) in a new industrial complex in northeastern Brazil.
Other Publications
- Washington Post: New Zealand’s bind: Balancing Western security against Chinese trade — The dairy and meat export economy is overwhelmingly reliant on the Chinese market — but has so far escaped the kind of economic retribution inflicted on the other Five Eyes nations.
- Semafor: African countries are in a race to recover a lucrative Chinese travel market — Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa are leading a charge by African countries to reinvigorate their post-pandemic tourism markets by targeting the Chinese travel market.
- The Economist: Why China should be friendlier to its neighbours — If it wants to challenge America’s global leadership, it will need their backing.