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 Evergrande’s Shares Fall After Developer Scraps Restructuring Plan — The developer said it had to scrap its restructuring plan due to worse-than-expected property sales.
- Big Shareholder in China? Don’t Try Selling — China gets tough on insider selling to arrest market slump.
- Want to Sell on TikTok? For Many Chinese Merchants, It Isn’t So Simple — Picking the right products, avoiding cultural faux pas and navigating social media are all part of the challenges vendors face.
- Strategy to Counter China in Pacific at Risk in Congress Budget Fight — Biden administration’s negotiation of aid pact with Marshall Islands is regarded as test of U.S. commitment.
- D.C. Is in Panda-monium as China Takes Back Beloved Bears — The U.S. capital grapples with the coming departure of the giant beltway insiders that have become part of life in Washington; panda statues and ‘panda pancakes.’
The Financial Times
- Nato’s €1bn venture fund offers defence start-ups an alternative to China — US-led military alliance to boost financial clout for companies from ‘multi-sovereign’ VC investors.
- Solar supply chains must diversify away from China, warns EDP — Energy company turns to alternative supply sources after US import legislation causes delays.
- Brussels trade chief says China-EU ties ‘at a crossroads’ — Valdis Dombrovskis tells Chinese audience the two sides could ‘drift apart’ and Beijing must change its ways.
- Senior Nomura banker barred from leaving mainland China — Exit ban on Charles Wang Zhonghe will send chill through foreign business circles.
- ‘China’s World Bank’ plans to triple climate change lending by 2030 — Top priority will account for more than half of new financing at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
- ‘What adjectives describe Xi Jinping?’ China’s new English textbook asks — University language classes focus on the Chinese president’s experience and ideas to ensure a ‘correct worldview.’
- EU trade chief warns of ‘new areas of concern’ in China relationship — Valdis Dombrovskis demands greater access for European companies in Financial Times interview.
The New York Times
- Star Uyghur Scholar Who Vanished Was Sentenced to Life in China — Rahile Dawut, who recorded her people’s traditions, disappeared in 2017. New information indicates that she faces decades in prison.
- Blasting Bullhorns and Water Cannons, Chinese Ships Wall Off the Sea — With its bases built and its military vessels deployed, Beijing is forcefully defending its assertions of ‘indisputable sovereignty.’
- U.S. Issues Final Rules to Keep Chip Funds Out of China — The rules, which aim to prevent chip makers from using new U.S. subsidies to benefit China, take into account the industry’s perspective.
Caixin
- Cover Story: Fraudulent Fundraising to Aid Sick Children Tarnishes China’s Charity Sector — Its reputation is now threatened by reports that a staff member for one of the organization’s programs defrauded donors of nearly 10 million yuan ($1.37 million).
- South Korea Pleads With U.S. on China Chip Curbs as Expiry of Waiver Nears — South Korea has urged the U.S. to “actively cooperate” in resolving issues related to semiconductor export curbs, as a waiver that allows the China production bases of two South Korean chipmakers to circumvent the restrictions nears expiration.
- Opinion: How to Break the Deadlock on China’s Real Estate Market — Among China’s first-tier cities, Guangzhou is once again the first to ease restrictions on buying a home.
South China Morning Post
- More direct China-US flights on the horizon, but return to 2019 traffic far more distant — Airlines in China and the US are preparing for an increase in their direct routings, but the likelihood of a rapid return to 2019 levels of service is vanishingly small.
- Tech war: Huawei unveils slew of new products but keeps quiet on breakthrough Mate 60 Pro and chip inside — Huawei teases new luxury smartphone and launches a new gold-inlaid smartwatch but makes no comment on the chip behind its Mate 60 Pro handset.
- China’s state investment arm said to be planning US$14 billion fund to support strategic new industries — More than 20 investors have expressed interest in putting money into China Reform Holdings’ new fund, according to Chinese media.
- Apple’s iPhone 15 draws long queues in China despite competition from Huawei — Chinese consumers are increasingly willing to pay for high-quality products, as smartphone prices continue to rise, analysts say.
Nikkei Asia
- Huawei ‘working extra hours’ to meet surging smartphone demand — Chinese tech giant quiet on 5G specs but says displays, earbuds use its own chips.
- Distressed developer China Oceanwide declared bankrupt in Bermuda — Rival company Aoyuan dips over 70% as trading resumes after suspension.
- India spars with China over visas for Asian Games athletes — Modi’s sports minister cancels visit to the host nation in protest.
Bloomberg
- China EV Maker Nio Considering Raising $3 Billion From Investors — Nio Inc. is considering raising around $3 billion from investors, according to people familiar with the matter, as questions swirl around the Chinese electric carmaker’s health amid mounting losses.
- China Won’t Overtake US With Broken Model, SocGen’s Baader Says — China may stem its real estate crisis but the economy will only grow tepidly and probably won’t ever overtake the US, according to Klaus Baader of Societe Generale SA.
- Self-Driving Trucks Save Fuel, and Lives, Chinese Startup Says — Inceptio’s big rigs have clocked up 50 million accident-free kilometers.
- Chinese EV Maker Zeekr Sweeps Into Europe Amid Subsidy Spat — Electric-car maker Zeekr is banking on extra momentum from sister brands like Volvo Car AB to push into Europe, just as growing global trade tensions threaten Chinese carmakers’ ambitions for the region.
Reuters
- Philippines removes Chinese barrier at disputed shoal in ‘special operation’ — The Philippines said on Monday it executed a “special operation” to remove a floating barrier installed by China at a prime fishing patch in the South China Sea, a move that could stoke tension after a years-long detente in Asia’s most disputed waters.
- China could do ‘a lot’ to reduce EU perception of risk – EU trade chief — The European Union has no intention of cutting ties with China even as the bloc takes steps to lower economic dependencies and de-risk, but China “could do a lot” to help reduce the perception of risk, the EU trade chief said on Monday.
- Inside Vietnam’s plans to dent China’s rare earths dominance — Vietnam plans to restart its biggest rare-earths mine next year with a Western-backed project that could rival the world’s largest, according to two companies involved, as part of a broader push to dent China’s dominance in a sector that helps power advanced technologies.
Other Publications
- The New Yorker: How China’s Underground Historians Fight the Politics of Amnesia — A new book pays tribute to the writers, the scholars, the poets, and the filmmakers who have committed themselves to unearthing and preserving the forbidden memories of the past.
- The Atlantic: China Is All About Sovereignty. So Why Not Ukraine’s? — Russia’s war has confronted Xi Jinping with a stark choice between standing for principle or defending his strategic partner in Moscow.
- Associated Press: China sweeps through the gold medals on the opening day of the Asian Games — China has dominated the Asian Games for the last 40 years, and the 2023 edition will be the same.
- Foreign Affairs: China’s Economic Turmoil Was Inevitable — At this moment of maximum statism under Chinese President Xi Jinping, the country’s growth is faltering badly, revealing the effect of an increasingly interventionist government. By Yasheng Huang
- The Guardian: China drastically cuts seafood imports from Japan in wake of Fukushima water release — Imports fell by 67% in August from the same month a year earlier, to about ¥3bn ($20.2m).
- Washington Post: As disasters spike, superpowers face mounting calls to forge climate deal — COP28 hinges on China and the United States putting their political differences aside, the head of the International Energy Agency says.
