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
- Replaced, Then Erased: Mystery Deepens Around China’s Former Foreign Minister — Qin Gang, who was replaced after he went missing from public view for more than a month, is now disappearing from parts of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website.
- U.S. Woos Pacific Nation Where China Has Stamped Its Mark — Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Tonga comes after the country was devastated by a volcanic eruption and tsunami.
- Foreigners Will Benefit From U.S. Climate Subsidies, and That Is Good News — Buy-in from Japanese and Korean companies is a sign of success.
- Meta’s Threads Isn’t Labeling Propaganda Accounts From Russia, China State Media — State-backed media accounts have hundreds of thousands of followers without the labels they are made to carry on Instagram and Facebook.
- China Probed Covid-19 Policy Leaks by Ex-Government Officials — National-security personnel questioned expert-consulting firms last year when information about China’s pandemic policies was moving markets.
The Financial Times
- China insists diplomacy ‘orderly’ after foreign minister’s shock removal — Replacement of presidential favourite Qin Gang with a veteran diplomat seen as possible stop-gap move.
- India ‘open’ to Chinese investment despite tensions with Beijing, official says — IT minister’s assurances come as New Delhi seeks to attract investment in advanced tech sectors.
- Taiwan’s military practises repelling Chinese attack on airport — Annual Han Kuang drills seek to simulate realistic scenarios to prepare for possible invasion by Beijing.
- Nissan and Renault reboot alliance after China ‘wake-up call’ — Struggles in China and slow electric rollout give urgency to finalising carmakers’ new relationship.
- China’s CATL delivers record profits despite doubts over US plans — Electric-vehicle battery maker cements position as market leader but Ford deal faces resistance.
The New York Times
- Fiji’s Leader Declines Invitation to China, Saying He Tripped and Fell — The prime minister, wearing a bloodstained shirt, said he struck his head on a door. One analyst called it “very convenient.”
- Senate Targets China, Voting to Restrict Farmland Purchases and U.S. Investment — Senators voted overwhelmingly to block Chinese businesses from buying farmland and mandate that American investment in the country’s national security industries be tracked.
- Putin Plans China Visit as a Russian Leader Joins a North Korea Celebration — The visits reflect Moscow’s ongoing efforts to strengthen ties with Asian allies, given its isolation from the West.
- What Japan’s Economy Can Tell Us About China — And is it relevant to China?
Caixin
- China Issues Draft Rules to Fuel Cross-Border Trade and Investment — Foreign exchange regulator proposes expanding trial of cross-border financing program and altering limits on certain fund transfers.
- In Depth: WeChat’s Short Video E-Commerce Drive Suffers From a Lack of Customers — Tencent’s could net much-needed revenue from merchants peddling products live online — but few users stick around long enough to buy.
- Chinese Battery Material Supplier Expands in South Korea — Ningbo Ronbay New Energy wins clearance to more than triple its South Korean production capacity.
South China Morning Post
- China’s hi-tech state fund grows to over US$8 billion in self-sufficiency drive — China has long used state-level financing to boost major industries, an effort that has become more urgent amid intensifying rivalry with the US.
- Thailand debuts first tokamak with help of Chinese scientists in milestone for Southeast Asia’s clean energy research — The device, which mimics the nuclear fusion process of the sun, is the first for an Asean member and is upgraded from an earlier machine built by China.
- Is China’s economic course correction too late, or is it too early to tell without the specifics being ironed out? — While recognising a shift in relation to property and local government debt in Monday’s Politburo statement, analysts also said more needs to be done to get the economic recovery back on track.
- China’s military AI advances likely to raise risk of US conflict, could yield ‘revolutionary’ changes — Washington should take bold action to stem Beijing’s progress in AI for military purposes and negotiate risk reduction, says American think tank.
Nikkei Asia
- Analysis: Did rocky China-U.S. ties doom Qin Gang as foreign minister? — Biden’s branding of Xi as ‘dictator’ threatens plans for big trip to San Francisco.
- China weighs easing tech transfer rules for office gear — Government appears to relent after foreign manufacturers threaten pullout.
- Bangladesh, Brahmaputra serve as proxy for Sino-Indian conflict — China, India dams stoke tensions as region’s most vulnerable suffer.
Bloomberg
- Alibaba Founder Jack Ma’s Ant Group Is Inching Toward IPO Reboot. Here’s how — Almost three years ago, Chinese regulators torpedoed what would have been a record initial public offering by financial technology giant Ant Group Co., sending shock waves across global capital markets.
- Italy’s Meloni to Discuss Break with China With Biden in Visit to Washington — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is looking to build up a relationship with Joe Biden by pledging to break with China and plans to brief the US president in person Thursday on the delicate choreography of that split.
- Friends Who Help Manage $640 Billion Clash on China Bonds — Three Japanese market veterans ruminating over beer in Tokyo whether Chinese debt is the deal of the century or the road to ruin sum up the dilemma global investors face in deciding to play in the world’s second-largest bond market.
- Opinion: Markets Hope for Decisive China Changes. Are They? — Stimulus hasn’t been delivered yet. Beijing wants to be seen as doing what it can, but turning around the economy will take more. By John Authers.
Reuters
- Blinken criticises China’s ‘problematic behaviour’ during visit to Tonga — China’s growing presence in the region, which saw it sign a security pact with the Solomon Islands last year, has fuelled concern in the U.S.
- China policy reform to end losses for city-gas firms on household sales — The scheme, which allows retail residential tariffs to be adjusted twice a year in line with gas procurement costs, will inject billions of dollars in revenue into several companies.
- China’s politburo meeting leaves many economic headaches unaddressed — China’s leadership offered very little detail on specific measures, causing mixed feelings among investors and economists.
Other Publications
- The Guardian: The growing list of Chinese elites who disappear but later resurface subdued — Foreign minister Qin Gang’s mysterious absence and replacement follows a pattern of falls from grace for rising stars.
- MIT Technology Review: Shein sued Temu. Temu sued Shein. The war over fast fashion is heating up. — Temu claims Shein forces suppliers to enter exclusive deals to undermine competitors.
- AP: Lawmakers press for more scrutiny over China’s ‘malign influence’ at development bank — Lawmakers intent on reducing China ‘s influence on the U.S. economy are pushing the Treasury Department to help curb the outsized role of Beijing at the Inter-American Development Bank.
- Foreign Affairs: Why America Forgets—and China Remembers—the Korean War — The CCP’s Dangerous Historical Distortions and the Struggle Over Taiwan.
- Foreign Policy: The State Department’s China Shortfall Revealed — Diplomats need more money to counter the other superpower in the Indo-Pacific, but they may have to wait.
- The Washington Post: U.S. and China battle for influence in Pacific island nations — Fearful Beijing is outcompeting the U.S. in even the tiniest countries, the Biden administration is rushing to boost long-dormant ties throughout the Pacific.
