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 Comes Under Growing Pressure to Fix the Country’s Housing Market — Economists and investors urge Beijing to take forceful steps as founder of developer Evergrande faces assets-transfer probe.
- China Is Gaining Long-Coveted Role in Arctic, as Russia Yields — Isolated over Ukraine invasion, Moscow seeks Beijing’s help as it ships more oil east through polar routes.
- Does China’s Property Bust Make a Financial Crisis Inevitable? — Perhaps not—if Beijing plays its cards right. But serious damage to the nation’s prospects is still likely. A look at the problem in five charts.
- China’s Economy Picks Up Steam for Holiday — Evergrande woes point to potential trouble spots ahead.
- Evergrande’s New Woes Signal Long Slog for China’s Economy — A prolonged downturn in the country’s massive property market will likely weigh on growth for months, if not years.
- Opinion: The Sorry State of America’s Submarine Fleet — To preserve its undersea advantage over China, the Navy should procure subs from Japan and South Korea. By Seth Cropsey.
The Financial Times
- Asia faces one of worst economic outlooks in half a century, World Bank warns — Sluggish post-pandemic recovery, China’s property crisis and US trade policies expected to hinder growth next year.
- German manufacturers resist trade tensions in China’s Mittelstand enclave — A cluster of companies in a city near Shanghai faces rising competition and slowing Chinese growth.
- Korea Zinc expands nickel production to meet US battery demand — Plant under construction would make South Korean company the largest non-Chinese producer of nickel sulphate.
- EU payment rules shake-up will prompt price rises, retailers warn — Brussels plan aimed at aiding SMEs will also lead businesses to source more goods from China, say industry groups.
- New head of the US military aims to dodge the political fray — General CQ Brown is considered a steady hand after his predecessor fell out with Donald Trump.
- China hopes Golden Week holiday will deliver economic boost — Surge in consumer spending could spill over into fourth quarter and help ailing property sector.
- John Kerry: Energy transition is the ‘new industrial revolution’ — US climate envoy is worried by ‘lack of reality’ in some countries about global warming but is confident the market will drive green energy shift.
- HSBC executive to leave after criticising UK’s stance on China — Sherard Cowper-Coles said Britain had been ‘weak’ in response to US pressure.
- Opinion: US has the trade tools needed for China’s EVs — but it must use them — Action on unfair practices is essential to stop the auto industry suffering like steel, aluminium and solar. By Wendy Cutler.
The New York Times
- Ukraine’s War of Drones Runs Into an Obstacle: China — As the war with Russia stretches on, so too does a contest to make more and deadlier flying machines. That means a fight over global electronics supply chains that run through China.
- ‘Sparks,’ by Ian Johnson — In “Sparks,” the journalist Ian Johnson chronicles the methods and motivations of the activists trying to preserve a record of the atrocities of the past.
- China Evergrande’s Problems Are Only Getting Worse — The Chinese property developer’s efforts to restructure more than $300 billion in debt are being complicated by criminal investigations into current and former executives.
- In Maldives Election, Mohamed Muizzu Defeats President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih — Mohamed Muizzu, the mayor of the capital city pushing for closer ties with China, won a runoff against the pro-India incumbent, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
- How China’s Property Crisis Is Testing Its Too-Big-to-Fail Banks — Banks hold enormous amounts of real estate debt, and regulators are nervous. But a fast-moving crisis is unlikely because the government has extensive control of the system.
Caixin
- China Lines Up Leaders for New Agencies in Wake of Major Personnel Reshuffle — China has unveiled the leadership lineups of several new central agencies, including those tasked with overseeing the country’s sprawling financial sector and dealing with public complaints.
- In Depth: Silicon Carbide Chips Could Give Chinese EV Firms an Edge, With Beijing’s Help — Though some EVs have cells that can be swapped quickly at battery stations, most require a plug-in charging pile, as well as time, to replenish them.
- China Rail Travelers Surge to Record as Long Holiday Kicks Off — More than 20 million trips were made across the nation’s rail network on the first day of the Golden Week holiday which began Friday.
- China Baowu Steel Names Company Veteran as New General Manager — Hou Angui has been promoted to general manager and deputy party secretary of the group, according to an article published on the company’s official WeChat account.
- Enabling Market-Driven Pathways for Net-Zero Ambitions — For China, the journey to attain its “dual carbon” goals is a complex endeavor that necessitates carefully charted paths to ensure energy security.
South China Morning Post
- Xi Jinping highlights importance of innovation on path to ‘Chinese-style modernisation’ — Extracts from a recently published speech show Xi urged officials to balance development and security and not ‘cling rigidly’ to ideas.
- Chinese-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank seeks to boost Ivory Coast’s trade links to Asia with road upgrade scheme — The project to upgrade 7,000km of roads will help link the agricultural north of the country with major export hubs, including the port of Abidjan.
- SenseTime says a former IP rights employee is under police investigation in China — The person previously worked at the company’s intellectual property unit, the Hong Kong-listed company said.
- Chinese chemists take ‘Holy Grail’ leap to make low-carbon methanol — Scientists use a new catalyst to convert methane to methanol with a ‘remarkable’ conversion rate and minimal by-products.
- TikTok sends team to Jakarta in scramble to respond to Indonesia’s ban on social media e-commerce — The Chinese short video app has sent a team from Singapore to talk with Indonesian officials about the new law that has taken immediate effect, threatening TikTok’s business model.
Nikkei Asia
- Finland hopes China will help end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — Helsinki keen to explore Indo-Pacific security and defense cooperation.
- China spurned Pakistan’s proposals for new Belt and Road projects — Meeting minutes reflect Beijing’s concerns over political instability, security.
- Maldives’ Muizzu marches to victory on anti-India drumbeat — Some expect new pro-China president to work with both Beijing, New Delhi.
- Chinese team extends recharge life of solid-state battery — Lithium-sulfur cell keeps most of its capacity after 1,400 recharge cycles.
Bloomberg
- Emerging Markets Await Data Clues After Quarter of Selloffs Ends — Emerging markets began the fourth quarter on a cautious note as China sent conflicting signals on its manufacturing revival and investors awaited a data-packed week for clues on the outlook for growth and inflation.
- Global Supply Chains Key for China and Germany, He Lifeng Says — China and Germany are committed to maintaining global economic interconnectivity, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said after a meeting in Frankfurt.
- Thailand Sees $4 Billion from China Tourism After Visa Waivers — Thailand expects to attract 2.9 million arrivals and billions of dollars in revenue from a Chinese tourism boom as a result of a new five-month holiday period visa exemption program, part of a bid to help strengthen the nation’s wobbly economic recovery.
- Quant Jason Hsu’s Take on China’s Real Estate Crisis: Q&A — The troubles facing highly indebted property developers in China have dominated conversations about the Asian nation’s economy and markets this year.
Reuters
- China’s economy stabilises, factory activity returns to expansion — The purchasing managers’ index (PMI), based on a survey of major manufacturers, rose to 50.2 in September from 49.7, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
- Italy weighs auto incentive scheme to cut Chinese EV price advantage – sources — The scheme, inspired by one adopted in France last month, would potentially discourage purchases of Chinese-built electric cars (EVs).
- Two elves and a scroll: China military releases animation on Taiwan ‘reunification’ — he Chinese military released an animated short film on National Day showing pieces of a scroll painting torn in two more than 300 years ago being reunited.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: The U.S. Cannot Afford to Lose a Soft-Power Race With China — With a government shutdown looming, Washington’s key diplomatic assets have become a political bargaining chip.
- The Washington Post: Young people in China call themselves ‘special forces’ of budget travel — Budget-conscious travel is all the rage for Chinese tourists taking advantage of the long holiday that runs into National Day commemorations.
- Rest of World: The job listing app where you can slide into a recruiter’s DMs — Boss Zhipin’s AI connects job seekers directly with recruiters, and it’s thriving on China’s employment crisis.
- ChinaFile: Holding Sway — China’s United Front Work Department, Known for Its Influence Operations Abroad, Is Even Busier at Home.
- The Guardian: ‘What if there was a war?’ Chinese Australians wear the scars after bitter years of hostile rhetoric — Hawkish messaging in Australia in response to China’s foreign policy has left Chinese Australians bruised – and increasingly volatile in their local politics.
- The Guardian: DeSantis invokes China ‘boogeyman’ narrative amid flailing campaign — Florida governor strips schools’ funding alleging ties to Chinese communist party and at GOP debate vows to go tough on China.
- Foreign Affairs: Why Multilateralism Still Matters — The Right Way to Win Over the Global South.
