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 Microsoft Email Cloud Hack Began With a 2021 Computer Crash — Cryptographic key that hackers used to access to Microsoft’s cloud was stored by mistake on company’s corporate network for over two years.
- Huawei’s Breakthrough Still Shows China’s Limits in Tech Race — New phone from the sanctioned company doesn’t mean China can keep up with global tech.
- Apple Faces New Challenge in China as Huawei Releases High-Speed Phone — With 5G-like speeds, the device creates buzz among Chinese fans.
- Feeble German Economy Faces Fresh Contraction as Factories Falter — Higher energy costs, Chinese competition and cooling global demand for goods are hobbling Europe’s industrial powerhouse.
- China Exports Fall for Fourth Month as Once-Reliable Growth Engine Sputters — Property sector’s downturn has pushed imports to their 11th month of declines in the past year.
The Financial Times
- The great Chinese flow reversal — Money come in; money come out.
- Tencent declares AI ‘war’ on Chinese rivals — Tech company releases large language model as it joins battle to become China’s AI national champion.
- China’s renminbi hits 16-year low after exports tumble in August — Beijing under pressure for more economic support as manufacturing sector struggles to pick up.
- China stirs hope in property market with latest stimulus plan — Beijing seeks to rekindle growth in economically crucial sector but investors remain cautious.
- No other investor has a life story quite as unbelievable as Li Lu — How a radical who fled Tiananmen made billions betting on China.
- Indonesia threatens to curb TikTok’s shopping platform — Minister accuses Chinese-owned viral video app of ‘monopolistic’ business practices.
- Opinion: Investors ponder the ‘Japanification’ of China — Fund managers face rising pressure to make a call on the geopolitical factors affecting China’s investability. By Leo Lewis.
The New York Times
- China Is Flooding the World With Car Exports — Even as China’s other exports falter, its carmakers are seeing big increases in overseas sales, mainly for gasoline-powered models.
- Apple’s Stock Falls on Reports of a Chinese Government iPhone Ban — Shares in the tech giant fell on Wednesday following reports that Beijing would bar government workers from using the device.
- China’s Exports Fall for Fourth Straight Month — New data on trade showed continuing declines in both overseas sales and imports, signs of China’s economic struggles.
- U.S. Seized Iranian Oil Over Smuggling Incident That Escalated Tensions in Gulf — The apprehension of the ship, the Suez Rajan, came after a group opposed to Iran raised accusations of sanctions violations last year.
Caixin
- Analysis: China’s Largest Green Hydrogen Mega Project Hints at Vast Potential — Green hydrogen, made by splitting water molecules using renewable power, is seen as vital for decarbonizing heavy industries, like steel and chemicals.
- Baowu Steel Forges Deal to Develop Simandou Iron Ore Mine — State-backed giant will work with a Chinese-backed consortium to develop the northern part of the Guinean mine, the world’s largest untapped deposit of high-grade iron ore.
- China Fines Top Academic Database $6.84 Million — The operators of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and 14 related apps violated the principles of collecting only necessary personal information with consent.
- China Wants an East Asia Supply Chain ‘Matchmaking Conference’ Next Year — Premier Li Qiang has proposed a conference next year for East Asian economies to discuss further integrating regional supply chains.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese breakthrough in gallium oxide semiconductor may deliver edge amid US export ban — Proposed casting method is relatively simple and shorter, making it suitable for automated control and aiding future production.
- China crypto crackdown: Weibo banishes 80 prominent cryptocurrency influencers — The accounts of the influencers, each with more than 8 million followers, breached regulations that restrict speculation, trading and promotion of virtual assets, Weibo says.
- US FCC chair says China’s IoT cellular components makers Quectel, Fibocom may pose national security risks — The chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission has asked US government agencies to consider declaring that Quectel and Fibocom Wireless pose unacceptable national security risks.
- Opinion: Beyond China, economies in the US and Europe are no less vulnerable — Although Chinese assets are performing badly, the risks in the Chinese economy are at least reflected in prices. The US and Europe may seem to be doing much better, but scratch the surface and a number of growth and price control challenges lurk. By Nicholas Spiro.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s Belt and Road at crossroads as more loans turn sour — 10 years in, Beijing enjoys greater clout but new investments trend down.
- Apple, TikTok owner named among ‘gatekeepers’ in EU tech rules — World’s biggest technology companies listed for first time under digital competition law.
- From BMW to Qualcomm, China slowdown fears squeeze global stocks — Key names in commodities, luxury retail and more suffer decline in prices.
- Opinion: Does Beijing care that China’s economy is stagnating? — Policy interventions so far have not had positive impact.
Bloomberg
- East Asia Bloc Including US Agrees on Statement Omitting War — The leaders of the 18-nation East Asia Summit including the US, China and Russia agreed to adopt a statement that omits any mention of the war in Ukraine after a summit on Thursday.
- China’s Credit Wreck Exposes Governance Failings to the World — As the nation’s property companies reel, weak disclosure standards and conflicting communications are angering global bond buyers — putting them off China long-term.
- China Plans to Expand iPhone Ban to Some State-Backed Firms, in Blow to Apple — China plans to expand a ban on the use of iPhones in sensitive departments to government-backed agencies and state companies, a sign of growing challenges for Apple Inc. in its biggest foreign market and global production base.
- SK Hynix Investigates Use of Its Chips in Huawei Phone — SK Hynix Inc. has opened an investigation into the use of its chips in the latest phone from Huawei Technologies Co., after a teardown of the device revealed its memory and flash storage inside.
- Hillhouse Gauges Interest in Multi-Billion Dollar China Fund — Hillhouse is gauging international investor interest for what is expected to be a multi-billion dollar fund to buy beaten-down Chinese stocks.
Reuters
- Chinese rare earth prices hit 20-month high on Myanmar supply worry — Mining suspension in major producer Myanmar sparked stockpiling ahead of the peak consumption season, analysts said on Thursday.
- Backlash in China against draft law banning items that harm ‘national spirit’ — The changes were first made public last week as part of a mandatory “soliciting opinion” process, as concerns mount about the increasingly authoritarian and nationalistic rule of President Xi Jinping.
- China says 90 countries have confirmed attendance for Belt and Road Initiative — The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) will be held in Beijing in October.
Other Publications
- WIRED: How China Demands Tech Firms Reveal Hackable Flaws in Their Products — Some foreign companies may be complying—potentially offering China’s spies hints for hacking their customers.
- Foreign Policy: Xi’s Policies Have Shortened the Fuse on China’s Economic Time Bomb — Policy mistakes have mired the country in “Xi-flation.”
- The Atlantic: What China’s Slowdown Really Means for the West — Xi Jinping is still determined to compete, if not by becoming richer, then through other, possibly more destabilizing means.
- The Economist: The path ahead for China’s Belt and Road Initiative — Now ten years old, China’s global infrastructure-building plan enters a new stage.
- CSIS: Even as Tensions Grow, U.S.-China Joint Venture Universities Have Room to Develop — Despite reservations about the emergence of a new wave of U.S.-China JVUs in the short term, these JVUs are essential contributors to the enhancement of U.S.-China intellectual ties.
