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
- White House Seeks Extension to Science and Technology Pact With China — Landmark agreement, set to expire on Sunday, has attracted scrutiny as competition between China and U.S. intensifies.
- China’s Crisis of Confidence in Six Charts — Chinese households are losing faith in the nation’s future and could drag down the entire economy.
- Iran, Saudi Arabia, Others Invited to Join Brics Group — Expansion is a victory for Russia and China who want to bolster the bloc against competition from the West.
- China Casts CIA as Villain in New Anti-Spying Push — State-security ministry accuses two Chinese citizens of spying for U.S. as espionage fears grip both countries.
- Shein Strikes Deal With Forever 21 — Online fashion giant invests in company that operates retailer, paving way to sell its products.
- Taiwan President Requests Another Jump in Military Spending to Deter China — Tsai Ing-wen proposes second-largest defense budget increase in a decade.
The Financial Times
- Brics leaders invite 6 nations including Saudi Arabia to join bloc — Cyril Ramaphosa says countries will be admitted next year in ‘first phase of expansion process’.
- US agrees to sell military aircraft tracking system to Taiwan — Planned deal would help Taipei resist ongoing ‘grey zone’ pressure from China.
- The local government debt that threatens China’s economy — How the country’s regional authorities accumulated a mountain of borrowings — and how they hope to resolve it.
- On China’s property mess and its banks’ ‘impossible trinity’ — Goldman Sachs says Chinese developers need to liquidate $2tn of property inventory.
- China capitalises on US sanctions in fight to dethrone dollar — Beijing uses developing world chagrin over Washington’s weaponisation of greenback to push global renminbi.
The New York Times
- How China Made Its Housing Crisis Worse — Years of inattention to building an adequate safety net for seniors, the jobless and others in financial stress have left Chinese consumers afraid to spend.
- Dissident Who Fled China by Jet Ski Said to Have Planned Escape for Years — Officials in South Korea aren’t saying who crossed 200 miles of ocean to reach its shores. But people who know Kwon Pyong say it wasn’t his first audacious move.
- What Can Replace China as a Global Economic Engine? — Much of the world’s economic fate hangs on the speed and scale of the green transition.
- BRICS May Add More Countries to the Group. Here’s What to Know. — Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Indonesia and Egypt are among the potential candidates to expand the five-nation bloc, many of them seeking stronger ties with non-Western powers. Iran is also interested.
- Putin Again Blames West for Ukraine War In Speech to BRICS Summit — President Vladimir V. Putin said Russia would assume chairmanship of the group made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa next year and host a summit in the city of Kazan in October 2024.
Caixin
- Allianz Joins Peers in Setting Up Wholly Owned Mutual Fund Business in China — The German financial giant has been approved to establish the subsidiary within the next six months, making it the latest in a string of global firms expanding in the country’s $3.8 trillion market.
- Former Chief of Bank of Beijing Out of Touch as Regulators Probe Dealings — Authorities detain Yan Bingzhu and raid his home after months of rumors that he was a target of investigators, sources say.
- China UnionPay More Than Triples Registered Capital to $1.37 Billion — Increase signals better risk controls and enhanced safety and stability for the world’s largest provider of debit cards.
- China Clarifies How Businesses Should Account for Data Resources — Finance Ministry’s new rules, taking effect Jan. 1, are part of a government push to expand the digital economy, which accounts for 17% of GDP.
South China Morning Post
- China to expand GM corn, soybeans trials amid rising food-security focus as Beijing seeks to dispel public safety concerns — Hebei, Jilin, Sichuan, Yunnan and Inner Mongolia will play a role in expanding a trial of genetically modified (GM) corn and soybeans amid China’s increased focus on food security.
- China-based neutrino experiment recognised with prestigious European award for paving the way in particle physics — Decade-long Daya Bay project receives 2023 High Energy and Particle Physics Prize from the European Physical Society.
- Free shipping, faster delivery: Chinese e-commerce giants JD.com, Alibaba lock horns in logistics — Delivery has emerged as the new battleground for China’s e-commerce giants, as they jostle to win local consumers with faster and cheaper shipping services.
- Opinion: Cost of falling prices in China greatly outweighs any benefits for rest of the world — Rather than speculating on the possible benefits of Chinese deflation for other economies, the focus should be on threats to the global economy and markets, plus how Beijing intends to revive growth while maintaining financial stability. By Nicholas Spiro.
Nikkei Asia
- Xi’s green push fuels China’s opposition to Fukushima water release — Environmentalists gain greater voice as priorities shift in Communist Party.
- China squeezes Taiwan with military drills, trade threats, mango ban — Beijing aiming to sway outcome of island’s January’s presidential election, analysts say.
- U.S. to extend China chip export waivers for Taiwan, Korea chipmakers — Washington prioritizes avoiding turmoil in global semiconductor supply chains.
- China critics chased in Mekong as Beijing’s security clout grows — Laos, others in region cooperating with neighbor to stifle Chinese dissidents.
Bloomberg
- China and India’s Moon Rovers Take Different Paths on Historic Missions — After making history by becoming the first nation to successfully send a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole, India is one of only two countries with active rovers on the lunar surface.
- China Braces for $38 Billion in Losses in Troubled Trust Sector — China’s $2.9 trillion trust industry is emerging as yet another threat to the world’s second largest economy.
- Ailing Chinese Copper Giant Announces Tie-Up to Help Debt Crisis — The struggling trading house that until recently was China’s top copper merchant has agreed a partnership with a Russian think tank and a Hong Kong company.
- China’s LGFV Insiders Say $9 Trillion Debt Problem Is Worsening — China is attempting to defuse risks from its $9 trillion pile of off balance-sheet local government debt, without resorting to major bailouts.
- Opinion: China’s Slowdown Isn’t Xi’s Biggest Problem — The Chinese leader could soon find himself staving off two different economic crises. One threatens his hold on power. By Minxin Pei.
Reuters
- Insight: China quietly recruits overseas chip talent as US tightens curbs — China has revived the Thousand Talents Plan under a new name, according to sources with knowledge of the matter and a Reuters review of over 500 government documents.
- Stimulus or bust: Investors staying out of China until the spending starts — Global investors fleeing China have one simple message for the country’s leadership: put prudence aside for a short while, and start spending big.
- Taiwan to allow Chinese tourists, business people to visit again — From this month Taiwan will allow Chinese tourists and business people to visit again as it seeks to resume exchanges halted by the pandemic and extend an olive branch to Beijing.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: Why Are China’s Job Numbers So Bad? — The post-COVID generation has lost faith in the system.
- Foreign Policy: What Does ‘De-Risking’ Actually Mean? — The buzzword is everywhere, but defining the concept of U.S.-China de-risking isn’t so easy.
- The Economist: China’s economy is in desperate need of rescue — Yet available options appear politically unpalatable.
- The Economist: Why China’s economy won’t be fixed — An increasingly autocratic government is making bad decisions.
- Brookings: Unpacking China’s climate priorities — The intensifying effects of climate change potentially threaten both the stability of the country and the longevity of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule.
- The Information: China’s Gotion Expects U.S. Tax Credits for Its U.S. Battery Production — Gotion has said it expects lithium-ion batteries it plans to make in the U.S. to qualify for millions of dollars in U.S. tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act.
