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-Led Infrastructure Bank Finds No Evidence of Communist Party Influence — Beijing-backed AIIB conducted an internal review after its communications director resigned and leveled accusations.
- Yellen Says U.S. Doesn’t Seek ‘Winner Take All’ Fight With China — The Treasury secretary met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during visit to Beijing.
- A Trillion-Dollar Opportunity: China’s Pivot to the Middle East Set to Fuel Investment Boom — Middle Eastern sovereign-wealth funds have a lot of money to invest. More of it is set to go to Chinese businesses.
- China Controls Minerals That Run the World—and It Just Fired a Warning Shot at U.S. — Beijing’s export restrictions on two minerals this week show it is willing to use its dominance to rock Western supply chains.
The Financial Times
- Yellen says security should not derail US-China economic relations — Treasury secretary meets Premier Li Qiang in Beijing as Washington seeks to maintain high-level contacts.
- Taiwan disputes China’s claim of ability to sink US Navy aircraft carrier group — Defence think-tank challenges ‘credibility’ of findings in rebuttal of Beijing’s psychological warfare campaign.
- ‘Keep the blade clean’: Xi’s corruption investigators turn focus on themselves — Feared anti-graft agencies probe own officials as 10-year campaign moves into ‘advanced stage.’
- Chinese regulator takes aim at market-moving ‘little essays’ on social media — Unverified leaks and predictions shared on WeChat have boosted stocks and commodities.
The New York Times
- US Raises Pressure on China to Combat Fentanyl Crisis — The Biden administration push comes after cooperation on halting the flow of the drug into the United States was derailed by wider geopolitical tensions.
- Janet Yellen Criticizes China’s Treatment of U.S. Companies — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s concerns reflected continuing tensions between the two countries.
- John Kerry to Visit China to Restart Climate Negotiations — A yearlong freeze in climate talks appears to be ending as the United States and China, the world’s biggest polluters, resume discussions.
- How Do ‘Barbie’ and Blackpink Figure in a Dangerous Territorial Dispute? — Vietnam banned the film over its apparent use of a Chinese map showing disputed territory. Blackpink concerts may be next. Here’s what the fuss is about.
Caixin
- Goldman Slashes Stock Ratings of Big Chinese Banks — Goldman Sachs downgraded shares of several top Chinese lenders, citing the risk of losses and saying their exposure to local government debt threatens to weaken earnings growth.
- China Drafts Rules to Make Online Platforms More Accountable for Cyberbullying — China’s top cyberspace watchdog is seeking public comment on new draft rules that would make online platforms more accountable for curbing cyberbullying.
- In Depth: How Aluminum Giant Zhongwang Inflated Sales Through Shady Dealings — Chinese aluminum giant Zhongwang Group needed a quick fix in 2016. It appeared to quickly find one.
South China Morning Post
- China to create and implement national standard for large language models in move to regulate AI, while using its power to transform industries — The China Electronic Standardisation Institute has enlisted Baidu, Huawei, 360 Security and Alibaba to lead a special task force that will draw up a national standard for large language models.
- US tech war: China’s Xi Jinping urges ‘solid path of innovation’ as he tours semiconductor firms — Tour of semiconductor and hi-tech companies in eastern province underlines drive to boost high-end manufacturing to counter US-led tech containment.
- China jobs: struggling youth embrace emerging gigs, but will the tedium zonk them out? — A day in the life of some of these jobs is a bit of a grind, but in a climate where it’s difficult to find work in China, they offer relatively easy work in high demand, “as long as you have hands”.
Nikkei Asia
- Lithuania slams China in new Indo-Pacific strategy — Baltic country mentions Taiwan 16 times, noting that status quo is a ‘red line.’
- Chinese cars and TVs stream into Russia after South Korean exodus — Hyundai, Samsung, LG pull back from market following Ukraine invasion.
- Huawei unveils latest AI model as ChatGPT boom rolls on — China tech titan says its cloud computing is based on own hardware, chips.
Bloomberg
- China Weighs More Local Bond Sales to Help Pay Risky Hidden Debt — Chinese authorities are weighing plans to support cash-strapped cities and counties by allowing additional local bond issuance to help pay down hidden debt in higher-risk areas, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Coal’s No Stranded Asset in China. It’s a Security Blanket — China is willing to fund more dirty power since the cost of blackouts is unacceptable.
- Chinese Foreign Minister’s Unusual 12-Day Absence Draws Scrutiny — Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has been absent from public view for 12 days, an usual absence for the normally busy senior official.
- Tesla Starts to Lay Off Some Battery Workers at China Plant in Shanghai — Tesla Inc. is laying off some electric-vehicle battery workers at its Shanghai plant, people familiar with the matter said, just as a bruising price war among manufacturers in China is showing signs of easing.
Reuters
- Yellen criticizes China’s ‘punitive’ actions against US companies, urges market reforms — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on Friday for market reforms in China and criticized the world’s second-largest economy for its recent tough actions against U.S. companies and new export controls on some critical minerals.
- Exclusive: China to end Ant Group’s regulatory revamp with fine of at least $1.1 billion, sources say — Chinese authorities are likely to announce a fine of at least 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) on Ant Group as soon as Friday, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
- US starts new round of audit inspections on China firms – source — U.S. inspectors have started a fresh round of routine checks on Wall Street-listed Chinese companies’ audits in Hong Kong in recent weeks.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: The China-Australia Relationship Is Still Close to the Rocks — Canberra’s diplomatic maneuverings can’t undo fundamental differences.
- Council on Foreign Relations: Will China’s Reliance on Taiwanese Chips Prevent a War? — U.S. reliance on Taiwanese chips gives it a major stake in preserving peace in the Taiwan Strait but does not make a war between China and Taiwan less likely.
- Variety: ‘Barbie’ Map Controversy: Warner Bros. Explains the Drawing That Got the Film Banned in Vietnam — “The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing,” a spokesperson for the Warner Bros. Film Group told Variety.