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
- China Evergrande Shares Suspended After Reports of Founder’s Disappearance — Chairman Hui Ka Yan has been placed under police surveillance, according to media reports.
- Taiwan Unveils Homemade Submarine as It Seeks to Counter China Threat — Narwhal will complicate Beijing’s efforts to subdue island democracy, though budget concerns loom.
- Citi Planning to Sell China Retail-Wealth Unit to HSBC, Source Says — The deal is part of Citi’s broader exit from consumer banking outside of its home market.
- This Ford vs. GM Feud Could Shape the Future of EVs in America — Biden administration’s decision on $7,500 tax credit could determine China’s role in U.S. electric-vehicle industry.
The Financial Times
- China picks former governor for finance ministry as Xi shake-up continues — Lan Fo’an appointed as party chief at ministry and expected to become a minister soon.
- US warns green transition raises ‘complex’ China security concerns — Beijing is prepared to weaponise its control of mineral sectors vital to renewable power, says energy secretary Jennifer Granholm.
- Taiwan unveils first locally built submarine in pushback against China — Tsai Ing-wen’s government seeks to boost public confidence with vessel that took seven years and $1.5bn to build.
- IBM’s former IT services group plans to separate its China business — Kyndryl’s move reflects geopolitical tensions and follows trend of western companies seeking to insulate their Chinese units.
- China’s top developers lost close to $3bn due to weakened renminbi — US-dollar indebted Evergrande, Sunac and Country Garden head list of groups suffering forex risks.
- Malaysia to double palm oil exports to China in effort to dodge EU restrictions — Asian nations sign infrastructure investment deals worth $4.2bn.
The New York Times
- Chinese Hackers Stole 60,000 State Dept. Emails in Breach Reported in July — The disclosure by department officials to Senate staff members revealed the scope of the hack of government email accounts managed through Microsoft.
- Chinese Activist Camps Out at Airport in Taiwan in Bid for Asylum — Chen Siming fled China and awaits refugee assistance in Taiwan, which is wary of raising tensions with Beijing by being seen as a haven for China critics.
- New Trouble Roils China Evergrande, Fueling Property Crisis Fears — The real estate firm halted critical work to settle its debts and investors dumped their stock amid news executives were under suspicion by the authorities.
- Opinion: In My Father’s Story, Hong Kong’s Rise and Fall — At 75, my father faces trial under charges related to the national security law that Beijing passed in 2020 to crush Hong Kong’s struggle for freedom. By Sebastien Lai
Caixin
- China Appoints New Finance Ministry Chief — China has appointed public finance specialist Lan Foan as the Ministry of Finance’s Communist Party group chief, replacing Liu Kun, according to a statement released Thursday by the ministry.
- China Could Resolve EV Row With EU by ‘Price Undertaking’ Talks, Ex-WTO Chief Say — China could resolve its trade dispute over electric vehicles (EVs) with the European Union by raising prices through “price undertaking” negotiations, former head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Pascal Lamy told Caixin.
- Ex-China Deputy Central Bank Governor Charged With Bribery — Former deputy central bank governor, Fan Yifei, has been officially charged with bribery by public prosecutors, state media reported, with alleged crimes dating back almost three decades.
South China Morning Post
- Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall chief Dai steps away from roles at subsidiaries to focus on core e-commerce business: reports — Trudy Dai Shan no longer holds legal representative roles at several Alibaba subsidiaries indicating she will focus all her efforts on Taobao and Tmall Group.
- China’s ‘golden week’ spending and travel surge seen as economic boon — The release of pent-up demand, with travellers and consumers opening their wallets for the long holiday, could help lift China’s economy out of the doldrums.
- Chinese scientists set record in water desalination with solar power — Sun-powered evaporation is ‘green and efficient’ and provides ‘new direction’ for desalinating seawater that could address water shortages while saving energy, says scientist.
Nikkei Asia
- Canada lithium startup eyes Japan firms to curb China dependence — Mangrove Lithium seeks to diversify investors beyond Bill Gates, BMW.
- Japanese seafood exports to China slumped 76% in August after ban — Beijing barred imports after release of treated Fukushima water; Tokyo says it is safe.
- China jitters turn private equity investors toward India, Indonesia — But analysts warn of steep learning curve, limited exit routes for dealmakers.
- Opinion: Europe can go green and rely less on China at the same time — Bloc must ‘de-risk’ clean energy supply chains to reduce dependence. By Luke Patey
Bloomberg
- China Names Lan Fo’an as Party Chief of Finance Ministry — China appointed veteran official Lan Fo’an as the Communist Party chief at the Ministry of Finance, paving the way for him to become finance minister, which will give him responsibility over a plan to diffuse local government debt risks.
- China’s Planemaker Gets $9.9 Billion Order for 100 C919 Jets — China Eastern Airlines Corp. ordered 100 C919 single-aisle planes from Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd., dealing a potential blow to Boeing Co., which hasn’t had a large order from Chinese carriers in years.
- Ant Consumer Finance Arm to Raise $616 Million for Growth — Ant Group Co.’s consumer finance affiliate is raising 4.5 billion yuan ($616 million) from investors to revive growth after regulators wrapped up a multi-year crackdown on the Jack Ma-backed financial technology giant.
- Citigroup in Talks to Sell China Onshore Retail Wealth to HSBC — Citigroup Inc. is in talks to sell its China onshore retail wealth business to HSBC Holdings Plc, as the latter continues to build out its presence in the mainland, according to people familiar with the matter.
- TikTok’s Newest Battleground Is Online Shopping in Indonesia — Teten Masduki couldn’t stop talking about TikTok. In a July meeting with his team, the Indonesian minister broke from the official agenda every five to 10 minutes to complain about how the Chinese-owned social media platform was squeezing local players.
Reuters
- Exclusive: China’s Nio explores investment, tech alliances with Mercedes – sources — Nio has held exploratory talks with Mercedes-Benz for a tie-up that would see the German automaker invest in the Chinese electric vehicle startup in exchange for technology, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
- US, Japan authorities warn of China-linked hacking group BlackTech — U.S. National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Japanese police jointly warned multinational companies of China-linked hacker group BlackTech in a cybersecurity advisory late on Wednesday.
- China drops barriers to Australian hay as trade relations improve — The Australian government said on Thursday that China was removing barriers to imports of hay from Australia, the latest step towards normalising trade relations.
Other Publications
- Politico: Opinion: Action on critical minerals is needed now — As tensions with China grow, Western countries need to do more to finance and build alternative supply chains for critical minerals. By Joris Teer and Chris Miller
- Rest of World: Heavily persecuted, highly influential: China’s online feminist revolution — On Chinese social media, women are censored and harassed, but undeterred.
- Associated Press: Chinese ambassador says Australian lawmakers who visit Taiwan are being utilized by separatists — China’s ambassador to Australia on Thursday criticized Australian politicians who visit Taiwan, saying they are being utilized by separatists on the self-governing island.
- Los Angeles Times: Young Chinese adults can’t find work. Now many have a new job description: ‘Full-time children’ — It’s unclear how many people are taking part in the “full time children” phenomenon, though it’s become a prevalent and divisive topic online, with related hashtags receiving more than 40 million views on China’s Instagram-like app Xiaohongshu.
- Semafor: White House econ adviser: Trump, Republicans are ‘lying’ with criticism on EVs and China — Semafor spoke to White House deputy director of the National Economic Council Joelle Gamble on the Biden administration’s strategy for rooting supply chains out of China.
