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 Is Making Too Much Stuff—and Other Countries Are Worried — The country’s factories lack customers and are pushing exports harder, raising trade tensions.
- Nvidia Develops New AI Chips, Again, to Keep Selling to China — For the second time, the chip giant is responding to tightening U.S. regulations by making chips tailored for Chinese customers.
- ICBC Hack Targeted the Digital Underbelly of Financial Markets — The unit of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China remains unplugged from U.S. markets.
- China, U.S. Confirm Biden and Xi Will Meet in San Francisco Area — The U.S. and China announced Friday that President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will meet next week for a summit.
- India, China Fight for Influence Over Tiny Archipelago Nation — The fierce rivalry between the Asian powers is on display in the Maldives, better known for its white sand beaches and crystal clear waters than as a strategic military outpost.
- As Chinese Tastes Change, Farmers Everywhere Rip Up and Replant — The windfall is transforming entire regions, but some are starting to worry: What if China stops buying?
- Copper Market Slump Threatens Shift to Wind Power, Electric Cars — The transition to green energy requires increasing supplies, but demand is waning.
- What It Took to Get Biden and Xi to the Table — The path to a U.S.-China summit was strewn with gamesmanship.
- China’s Middle East Clout Has Limits — The Asian country’s economic influence won’t grow endlessly as its overseas-investment and energy-demand growth slow down.
- One Road to Affordable EVs Passes Through This Man’s Turf — A Taiwanese contract maker of PlayStations and iPhones is looking to reshape the auto industry with its outsourcing model, but some companies are skeptical.
- China’s Spending on Green Energy Is Causing a Global Glut — The country’s massive funding of renewables has drawn odd newcomers and led to an oversupply of solar components.
- Opinion: Placating Xi Won’t Change China’s Behavior — Beijing is undermining U.S. interests worldwide, but there are ways of forcing concessions. By Thomas J. Duesterberg.
The Financial Times
- Xi and Biden to try to ease tensions as Taiwan looms over US-China talks — Leaders meet in San Francisco to manage increasingly tense geopolitical and economic competition.
- Beijing’s data and spy laws threaten to spur decoupling with Europe, says business group — BusinessEurope claims that anti-espionage amendments make the relationship with China ‘challenging’.
- Wall Street and Beijing fight fallout of ransomware attack on China’s biggest bank — New York arm of ICBC forced to use a USB stick to transmit data after its systems were compromised.
- Biden to press Xi on reopening military contacts at San Francisco summit — US and Chinese presidents set to meet for first time in a year ahead of Apec forum.
- Top US military official doubts China wants to invade Taiwan — Chairman of joint chiefs of staff tones down rhetoric about risk of war.
- Hongkongers make a splash in UK politics — Non-partisan campaign to prioritise community’s concerns on China targets marginals ahead of election.
- China’s biggest chipmaker warns geopolitics is stoking global glut — Co-chief of SMIC says pressures to reshape supply chains are creating ‘excess capacity’.
- Ransomware attack on ICBC disrupts trades in US Treasury market — Chinese bank says it has contained a hack that affected some fixed income and equities transactions.
- Hong Kong tests China’s tolerance with Asia’s first Gay Games — Pro-Beijing lawmakers slam event as Chinese territory gradually advances LGBT+ rights.
- Opinion: Small packages are causing big problems in the US — Ecommerce has become a pathway for drugs, banned products and counterfeit goods. By Rana Foroohar.
- Opinion: ICBC/ransomware: China’s cyber security industry moves out of the shadows — As tech rivalry with US grows, Beijing has strong incentive to develop local solutions. By Lex.
- Opinion: Russia and China are opening a new anti-western front in the Arctic — Moscow has long asserted pre-eminence in the region, while Beijing has commercial and military ambitions of its own there. By Kristina Spohr.
The New York Times
- Behind Public Assurances, Xi Jinping Spread Grim Views on U.S. — Speeches by the Chinese leader show how he was bracing for an intensifying rivalry with the United States from early in his rule.
- Nepal Is Investigating New Airport Made by China — After a Times article about the cost and quality of Pokhara airport, which Chinese state-owned firms financed and built, Nepal’s anti-corruption agency said it was looking into the project.
- Iran and Saudi Arabia Demand Gaza Cease-Fire — The leaders of both Islamic countries appeared to put aside their historical animosities at a summit to present a united stand against Israel’s bombardment of the strip after Hamas’s attack.
- The Beached Philippine Ship That Is Angering China — After multiple maritime clashes, the Philippines invited journalists on a mission to resupply the Sierra Madre. A reporter for The Times was given rare access.
- Australia Offers Climate Refuge to Tuvalu Citizens, but Not All — Low-lying Tuvalu has reached a deal with its large Pacific neighbor to address the challenge of rising oceans, but it is not planning to pack up and go.
- Biden and Xi to Seek to Stabilize Relations in California Meeting — Taiwan, election interference and the war in the Middle East will be on the agenda, officials say. But the leaders will also look for ways to strengthen ties.
- Can the U.S. Handle China While Supporting Israel and Ukraine Wars? — To U.S. allies in Asia, the sudden focus on Gaza risks progress on America’s long-delayed pivot to the Indo-Pacific region.
- Yellen Says U.S. Wants ‘Healthy’ Economic Ties With China — The Treasury secretary said she had pressed her Chinese counterpart on China’s export controls and cautioned against supporting Russia.
Caixin
- Former China Securities Regulatory Official Expelled From Communist Party for Alleged Bribery — Yang Chunlei became the target of a probe when her husband Cong Lin, former president of investment bank China Renaissance, came under investigation last year.
- To Understand China’s Labor Market, Look Beyond the Headline Unemployment Rate — The job market appears to have rebounded, surpassing even the levels in late 2019 and most of that year. By this gauge alone, it would seem that China’s employment has fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
- Charles Li’s Micro Connect Sells New Loan Model to China’s Small Businesses — Borrowers must pledge percentages of sales to repay debt.
- Former Head of Citic Bank Gets Death Sentence for Bribery — Sun Deshun, who was convicted of accepting $137 million in bribes over 16 years, was given a two-year reprieve after which the sentence will be reduced to life in prison.
- China Eases Rules for Foreign Investors in Stocks and Derivatives — Draft regulations would drop registration and currency conversion requirements as part of efforts to make Chinese markets more attractive for investors.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese Big Tech firms JD.com, NetEase and Meituan in rush to hire HarmonyOS-based app developers as Huawei aims to sever Android ties — More than 700 million devices currently run on HarmonyOS, with more than 2.2 million third-party developers creating apps for the platform, according to Huawei.
- Tencent’s WeChat ties up with digital wallets of China’s Big Telcos in latest breach of mobile payments ‘walled garden’ — Users of digital wallets from China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom can now make payments by scanning WeChat QR codes, in Tencent’s latest effort to improve interoperability of tech services under Beijing’s directive.
- China’s internet entrepreneurs had the world at their feet. What changed? — The environment for tech and internet businesses has changed considerably from the boisterous, easy-money world of 2017. Why are today’s would-be entrepreneurs so pessimistic?
- Top Chinese memory chip maker YMTC sues Micron for patent infringement, bringing semiconductor battle to the US — Sanctioned Chinese chip maker YMTC alleges that Micron, ‘threatened by YMTC’s ascension’, infringed on eight of its patents, including for 232-layer NAND memory.
- Apple supplier Foxconn’s satellites hitch a ride with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in search of new revenue in orbit — Foxconn-made LEO satellites took off aboard a SpaceX rocket from southern California on Saturday in a bet on corporate and government use.
Nikkei Asia
- U.S. forced labor laws strain China-dependent garment supply chains — The garment industry’s reliance on China for materials is presenting a major challenge as the U.S. “aggressively” cracks down on products with links to Xinjiang province, experts say.
- Huawei Mate 60 Pro teardown reveals 47% Chinese parts in phone — A teardown of the recently released Mate 60 Pro showing Chinese parts constituting 47% on a value basis — up 18 percentage points from a model analyzed three years ago.
- Tech leakage to China can’t be stopped but can be delayed, says expert — Professor Heigo Sato of Takushoku University, an expert on export controls, told Nikkei that companies face a significant dilemma and it is “difficult to perfectly prevent technology drain.”
- Opinion: New airport shows Cambodia can get what it wants from China — Siem Reap hub proves there is more to the BRI than debt traps. By Jean-Marc F. Blanchard.
- Opinion: Chinese AI is not the threat the U.S. thinks it is — In measuring the impact of innovation, quality matters far more than quantity. By Nina Xiang.
Bloomberg
- China Weighs Ending Freeze on Boeing With 737 Max Deal in US — Boeing Co. may finally see a sales breakthrough for its 737 Max aircraft in China when presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping meet this week, ending a long commercial freeze in a critical overseas market for the US planemaker.
- Alibaba, JD Fail to Inspire in China Discount Shopping Gala — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc. reported sales increases during China’s most important shopping festival, yet likely lagged newer entrants from social media platforms like ByteDance Ltd.’s Douyin during a muted year for consumer spending.
- Xi Jinping’s ‘Old Friends’ From Iowa Get a Dinner Invitation — A group of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “old friends” from Iowa have been invited to a dinner he will attend in California next week — 38 years after they welcomed the then-unknown party official for a hog roast, farm tours and a Mississippi River boat ride as they showed him how capitalists do agriculture.
- ByteDance Billionaire’s VC Firm Sets Up Shop in Marquee HK Tower — ByteDance Ltd. co-founder Zhang Yiming’s five-month-old venture capital firm has leased space in one of Hong Kong’s most recognizable skyscrapers, joining an influx of Chinese financial houses into the Asian city.
Reuters
- Resettlement offer to Pacific a win for Australia over China — Australia scored a significant win for influence in the Pacific Islands region with a trump card that China, seeking to expand security ties, doesn’t have: the opportunity of resettlement.
- Citadel Securities explores China licence as Beijing steps up market-making program — Citadel Securities, one of the world’s biggest market-making firms, is “actively exploring” establishing a licensed onshore business in China, its chief executive Peng Zhao said.
- China’s high-tech manufacturing loans raise fears of wave of cheap exports — China’s leaders, determined to upgrade manufacturing, are steering money toward makers of high-tech products, from semiconductors to EVs, raising fears that overcapacity will fuel a new wave of cheap exports.
- Exclusive: China’s sovereign fund appoints new North America chief – sources — CIC asked Bai Xiaoqing, who was in charge of some of its private equity investments from Beijing, to move to New York for the North America head role, the sources said.
Other Publications
- The Guardian: China’s carbon emissions set for structural decline from next year — Emissions by world’s most polluting country could peak this year after surge in clean energy investments.
- The Economist: How scary is China? — America must understand China’s weaknesses as well as its strengths.
- AP: What they want: Biden and Xi are looking for clarity in an increasingly difficult relationship — Each leader has clear objectives for the highly anticipated talks Wednesday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, a meeting that comes after what’s been a fractious year for the world’s two biggest economies.
- The Washington Post: Concerns growing over the new moon space race between China and the U.S. — What happens if China reaches the moon before NASA does?
- Foreign Affairs: How America Can Capitalize on China’s Economic Slowdown — Blame Beijing and Help Clean Up Its Mess—but Don’t Gloat.
- Foreign Affairs: China’s Misunderstood Nuclear Expansion — How U.S. Strategy Is Fueling Beijing’s Growing Arsenal.
