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’s Exports Tumble Again in Fresh Sign of Economic Trouble — October decline suggest weak demand globally, increases pressure on Beijing to increase stimulus.
- How China Became the World’s Top Development Financier — Deep dive into $1.34 trillion in lending shows Beijing’s retooling to get repaid.
- Japanese Automakers Face Stay-or-Go Decision in China — Mazda and others rely more on U.S. and look to defend share elsewhere in Asia.
- Bond Selloff at Another China Property Giant Spurs Authorities to Action — Shenzhen government officials say they will support China Vanke after liquidity concerns grow.
- China Resists Efforts to Free ‘Wrongfully Detained’ Americans — Mark Swidan’s decadelong ordeal prompts calls for amnesty ahead of Xi-Biden summit.
- China Deal Slump Sends Bankers’ Fees to Decade Low — Selling Chinese companies to global investors is no longer a money machine for Wall Street.
- Wall Street CEOs Flocked to Hong Kong—and Kept Quiet on China — Tensions between China and the U.S. are forcing bank executives to tread carefully.
- It May Be Too Late to Fend Off China’s Battery Giants — China’s electric-vehicle battery juggernaut is going global. Western firms may have a tough time competing, even with significant protection.
The Financial Times
- Asia’s universities attract the next generation wealthy — Parents are looking to Hong Kong and Singapore’s top ranked institutions.
- IMF upgrades China growth outlook — Beijing officials express optimism but analysts say weak export data shows recovery remains fragile.
- Chinese tech founder taken away by authorities — DouYu chief executive’s troubles come after authorities find pornography on streaming platform.
- China culls spend in response to US trade hostility — Restrictions imposed over national security concerns have taken their toll on US communities dependent on foreign-owned projects.
- Falling pork prices threaten to push China back into deflation — Pig farmers have kept up production despite weak demand ahead of October consumer price data.
- Opinion: The global constraints to Chinese growth — Many more years of high economic expansion are only possible if the country restructures to boost domestic consumption. By Michael Pettis
The New York Times
- China Is Lending Billions to Countries in Financial Trouble — Instead of lending money for highways and bridges, China has shifted to providing emergency rescues for previous borrowers.
- China’s Banks and Property Sector Threaten a Growing Economy — The International Monetary Fund warned of risks from overstretched lenders and developers even as it raised economic growth forecasts for this year and next.
Caixin
- In Depth: China’s Ambition to Build a Financial Powerhouse — China for the first time set a goal to “accelerate building a financial powerhouse” and put the Communist Party in charge of achieving it last week.
- China to Update State Secrets Law Amid Increase in Spying — China is looking to amend its state secrets law for a second time in 13 years, to strengthen the Communist Party’s control over the country’s work involving state secrets amid an increase in espionage activity.
- Europe’s Growing Solar Panel Glut Could Hurt Chinese Exports — Europe’s growing stockpile of photovoltaic (PV) modules is weighing on Chinese solar manufacturers which count the region as their most important overseas market.
South China Morning Post
- Taiwan in talks to set up non-diplomatic representative office in Estonia — Estonian cabinet has revised country’s approach to the island, allowing it to open the office in Tallinn, but foreign minister stresses that ‘we will not develop political relations with Taiwan’.
- ByteDance’s virtual reality unit Pico pushes new round of job cuts in restructuring move amid falling demand for headsets — While the specific size of the job cuts is not known, reports by Chinese local media said the planned lay-offs are expected to affect hundreds of jobs at Pico.
- China tightens controls over rare earth exports, imports of key commodities including crude oil, iron ore — China’s Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday asked exporters of rare earth metals and oxide products to report transactions, with importers of crude oil, iron ore, copper ore concentrates and potash fertiliser also asked to report orders and shipments.
Nikkei Asia
- China tightens rare-earth export curbs amid tension with U.S. — Traders required to provide information on types, shipment destinations.
- Israel-Hamas war tests China’s global diplomacy ambitions — Facing calls to influence Iran, Beijing eyes Indo-Pacific and growing U.S. burdens.
- Opinion: China’s economy is not done growing — Government can counter doomsayers by expanding fiscal stimulus. By Yu Yongding
Bloomberg
- China’s Housing Slump Shrinks Role as Growth Driver, BE Says — China’s prolonged housing slump means the real-estate sector is driving less growth and contributing to the economic slowdown, according to new research which quantifies the extent of the damage.
- China Probes Hospital for Fake Birth Certificates, Child Trafficking — The head of a hospital in China has been detained as part of an investigation into whether it worked with gangs to give kidnapped youngsters new identities, China Central Television reported.
- Wall Street Bosses in Hong Kong See Financial Dangers Everywhere — Fragile markets, shadow lenders, international tensions and too many wars — global bankers gathering in Hong Kong were meant to discuss how they’re adapting to the financial world’s “complexity” and ended up dwelling on the potential for big blowups instead.
Reuters
- Senators urge US to take steps to boost battery production, citing China — Two influential Democratic U.S. senators urged the Energy Department to take steps to boost U.S. battery manufacturing and next-generation battery research, citing China’s dominance and export controls, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
- WeWork China will not participate in WeWork’s strategic reorganisation — WeWork China will not participate in the strategic reorganisation of WeWork in the United States and Canada, it said on Tuesday.
- HSBC CEO says wealth flow from mainland China to Hong Kong up 3-4 times this year — HSBC Group CEO Noel Quinn on Tuesday said wealth flow from mainland China to Hong Kong has grown by three to four times this year.
Other Publications
- The China Project: Some sad news — We have to shut down. This is why.
- Associated Press: Australian and Chinese leaders talk pandas and wine as ties improve despite disagreements — The leaders of Australia and China joked about the relative cuteness of pandas and Tasmanian devils on Monday in a largely symbolic meeting that reflected the ongoing upswing in relations between the two countries after several years of acrimony and division.
- Washington Post: The hidden power of China’s pandas — and why the U.S. is losing them all — The pandas’ imminent departure after more than 50 years in D.C. has diplomats and zoo-going children asking when — if ever — America will get them back.
- Council on Foreign Relations: Tracking China’s Control of Overseas Ports — This interactive map tracks China’s growing maritime influence through investments in strategic overseas ports. By Zongyuan Zoe Liu
- The Guardian: China and Australia agree to new multi-entry visa as Albanese touts improved relationship after thaw — The two countries also announce they will resume annual leaders meetings after Anthony Albanese’s trip – the first by an Australian prime minister since 2016.
- Semafor: Lessons learned from traveling in China as an African — China can sometimes offer an acceptance and social mobility that Africans would struggle to find in their home countries or Europe.