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
- Investors Fear China’s ‘Lehman Moment’ Is Looming — Troubles at a big trust company are making investors worry about financial contagion from property developers’ distress.
- Water Cannons and Lasers: South China Sea Standoff Around World War II-Era Ship Heats Up — The U.S. has reaffirmed that an ‘armed attack’ on its ally’s vessels would invoke its commitments under a mutual-defense treaty.
- Is China’s Data Manipulated, or Flawed? Maybe Both — Suspension of the youth unemployment rate fits the autocrat’s playbook of burying unflattering statistics.
- China Evergrande Seeks U.S. Court Approval for $19 Billion Debt Restructuring — The company clinched a restructuring deal with a group of its foreign bondholders this spring and is seeking court approval for a global deal.
The Financial Times
- Evergrande: restructuring amid worsening crisis is Neverland fantasy — Beijing is in no position to bail out developers, with the economy deteriorating faster than expected.
- China unveils capital market reforms to boost investor confidence — Lower fees and longer trading hours part of plan to boost activity as policymakers’ concern over economy mounts.
- China’s central bank steps up defence of renminbi — Currency weakens as concerns mount over health of world’s second-largest economy.
- Chinese developer Evergrande files for US bankruptcy protection — Property group’s 2021 bond default triggered sector-wide liquidity crisis in China.
- Opinion: China’s quest for self-reliance risks choking innovation — The ‘reshoring’ of scientific research talent is having unintended consequences. By Yu Jie
The New York Times
- Hong Kong Stocks Are in a Bear Market, Another Sign of Trouble in China — The Hang Seng Index has fallen more than 20 percent from its recent high, as investors grow more pessimistic about China’s post-pandemic recovery.
- China Evergrande, Giant Real Estate Firm, Files for U.S. Bankruptcy — The filing comes two years after the company defaulted on its debt, setting off defaults by smaller Chinese developers.
- For Single Women in China, Owning a Home Is a New Form of Resistance — The housing market in China is in turmoil. But more and more women, facing a less equal society, are buying their own homes in search of security.
- China’s Nickel Plants in Indonesia Created Needed Jobs, Plus Pollution — An influx of Chinese investment into nickel-processing on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is sowing pollution while generating economic opportunity.
Caixin
- China Extends Loan Support for Ailing Developers — China’s central bank said it will extend until May 2024 a special loan program designed to support embattled real estate developers in completing stalled projects as the country’s property market crisis drags on.
- DJI Unveils First Cargo Delivery Drone in New Business Push — China’s SZ DJI Technology Co., the world’s biggest consumer drone maker, debuted its first cargo-carrying device Thursday in a foray into the burgeoning delivery drone market.
- Hong Kong Families Now Have Fewer Than One Child Each on Average, Survey Shows — The average number of children per couple in Hong Kong plunged to a new record low of 0.9 in 2022, while the proportion of childless couples more than doubled in five years.
South China Morning Post
- Beijing hints at changing trade pact with Taiwan amid probe into tariffs — Commerce ministry says ‘appropriate measures’ will be taken based on outcome of its investigation into restrictions on mainland goods.
- China investors vexed as economic data slips into information black hole amid slowdown — China paused releasing unemployment figures for the 16-24 and 25-59 age groups this week, with hundreds of data series released by statistics bureaus at different levels of the government having already been discontinued in recent years.
- China’s small independent developers see local innovation being stifled by Beijing’s new app registration rule — The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology requires all mobile app providers to submit their business details to the government or face punishment.
- China’s shadow banking crisis sparked by defaulting property developers could trigger broader threat to economy, analysts warn — Macroeconomic headwinds and a slew of defaults in the property sector have sparked concerns that a liquidity crisis rattling China’s shadow banking industry could trigger risks in the broader finance sector and challenge the country’s already weakening economy, according to analysts.
Nikkei Asia
- China developer’s profit falls 93% in fresh blow to property market — Soho China reveals 1H plunge hours after Evergrande seeks bankruptcy protection.
- ASEAN markets grow cautious as China’s property crisis worsens — Investor sentiment weakens as fears of further economic slowdown mount.
- Chinese buildings go unfinished as cash crunch hits local developers — Debt-laden local government financing vehicles face soaring bond yields.
Bloomberg
- China Targets Yuan Bears With Most Forceful Fixing Guidance — China delivered its strongest ever pushback against a weaker yuan via its daily reference rate for the managed currency, as it sought to restore confidence to a market spooked by disappointing data and heightened credit risks.
- Xpeng Reports Quarterly Loss That Exceeds Analyst Estimates — Chinese electric carmaker Xpeng Inc. reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss as it struggles to ramp up deliveries amid intense competition in the world’s biggest EV market.
- China Steps Up Efforts to Stabilize Markets as Confidence Slumps — Chinese authorities have stepped up efforts in recent days to bolster financial markets in a sign that Beijing is growing uncomfortable with the pace of declines in stocks and the yuan.
Reuters
- China unveils measures to revive stock market — China’s securities regulator unveiled a package of measures on Friday aimed at reviving a sinking stock market, but investors said they would do little to boost confidence if the economy remains sluggish.
- China’s EV makers face cost and consumer challenges to conquer Europe — China’s electric vehicle (EV) makers, which have raced past foreign rivals to top sales rankings at home, are arriving in Europe – and facing a new set of challenges.
- China’s Xi to attend BRICS leaders’ meeting, visit South Africa — China’s President Xi Jinping will attend the BRICS leaders’ meeting and visit South Africa on Aug. 21-24, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.
- EV battery imports face scrutiny under US law on Chinese forced labor — Electric-vehicle batteries and other car parts are the latest products under scrutiny as part of Washington’s effort to stamp out U.S. links to forced labor in Chinese supply chains, according to a document seen by Reuters, agency statistics and sources.
Other Publications
- Peterson Institute for International Economics: How serious is China’s economic slowdown? — A careful reading of the present situation does not support the view that China’s growth is now gripped by a severe cyclical downward spiral that will persist for several years. By Nicholas R. Lardy
- CNN: Xi Jinping is building a dream city. Devastating floods raise questions about his plan — Recent devastation has underscored concerns about the decision to build a multibillion-dollar city in a flood-prone plain.
- ABC News Australia: China deploys swarm of satellites to monitor military exercises in Australia — Commercial space data obtained by the ABC details the full scale of Beijing’s surveillance on the recently completed “Exercise Talisman Sabre”, as well as the “Exercise Malabar” naval drills now being held off Sydney.
- The Bureau: Chinese Consulates task Chinese students in aggressive intelligence ops: Canadian intelligence — The Bureau’s exclusive investigative series finds Chinese student associations are a dominant force in Beijing’s election interference and attacks on political figures.
- Washington Post: Pentagon biodefense review points to Chinese, Russian threats — Beijing’s militarization of biological technology and research leads a growing array of concerns over a lack of early warning and preparedness.
- Politico: China casts a shadow over opening of Biden’s Japan-S.Korea trilateral summit — Wariness to name Beijing alongside North Korea as a perceived regional threat to peace and stability reflects fears of Chinese economic reprisals.
