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
- Chinese E-Commerce Giant Temu Will Return to the Super Bowl — Temu has blanketed U.S. consumers with ads over the past year, pushing up prices on top digital platforms.
- China’s Latest EV Stocks Face Uncertain Reception in New York — Fast-growing startups Zeekr and Lotus will need to persuade investors they can handle brutal competition at home and geopolitical tensions abroad.
- Opinion: Don’t Count on Economic Woes to Deter China — Xi hasn’t shortchanged the military and boasts of his country’s ability to withstand hardships. By Michael Gallagher.
The Financial Times
- Hong Kong stock market ‘task force’ urges push to win Middle East IPOs — Group set up by territory’s government also recommends outreach in south-east Asia as listings from China dry up.
- Opinion: The US retains the economic advantage in its rivalry with China — America and its allies remain more united and economically powerful than Beijing’s group of malcontents. By Martin Wolf.
- Opinion: Fast fashion: Shein is no shoo-in for pricey IPO — The group’s business model invites regulatory and political scrutiny in the US. By Lex.
The New York Times
- U.S. Debates How Much to Sever Electric Car Industry’s Ties to China — Some firms argue that a law aimed at popularizing electric vehicles risks turning the United States into an assembly shop for Chinese-made technology.
- Could Biden’s Clean Energy Push Be a Victim of Its Success? — Thanks to the president’s signature legislation, solar energy manufacturing is booming in Georgia, a key state in the 2024 election. But the industry now worries that it could be too much and too fast.
Caixin
- China’s Bank of Communications Added to Global Too-Big-to-Fail Banks List — Designation means bank must hold 1% additional capital; Bank of Communications is fifth Chinese bank on list; FSB says bank’s failure would trigger wider financial crisis.
- Exclusive: Zhongzhi Vice President Xie Among Those Probed Over Group’s Collapse — Beijing police are investigating Xie Zizheng and senior staff in four wealth management affiliates as a shortfall of up to 260 billion yuan was revealed, sources say.
- Five Things to Know About Huawei’s New Smart Car Venture — The new company, which will focus on developing intelligent vehicle systems and components, has received interest from Huawei’s numerous auto partners, including a commitment to invest by Changan Auto.
- Xiaomi Co-Founder Lei Jun Donates $183 Million to Wuhan University — The cash donation by the 1991 alumni marked the school’s 130th anniversary and set a record for the largest single donation in the university’s history.
South China Morning Post
- People’s Daily calls for tighter control of live-streaming e-commerce in China as controversies mount — Misconduct in the industry, from fraudulent advertising to misleading pricing, should be addressed and punished, the piece argues, in a sign that government attitude towards the sector may be shifting.
- ‘China’s position is clear’: Foreign Minister Wang Yi pushes for one UN voice on Gaza ceasefire — Talks with UN chief, and Brazilian and Malaysian counterparts come the day before Wang Yi chairs Security Council meeting on the Israel-Gaza conflict.
- China’s C919 clears the runway for overseas suppliers, broadening market appeal despite headwinds — As purchase orders for the C919 commercial jet continue to grow, overseas suppliers and services are rushing to join China’s aviation expansion, despite concerns over geopolitics and intellectual property.
- How China’s lottery boom reflects a ‘long and challenging road’ to its economic recovery — Shifting consumption habits among Chinese consumers show how their risk appetites are changing, and many are willing to spend a small amount on the slim chance of a life-changing payout.
- Opinion: How US’ anti-China supply chain strategy risks hurting American consumers — Simplicity is a virtue in supply chain management, and countries other than China that can provide end-to-end solutions are few and far between. By Christopher Tang.
Nikkei Asia
- Taiwan’s Foxconn seen boosting India iPhone output with $1.5bn plant — Apple supplier announces new facility as focus moves beyond China.
- China’s BOE to build $9bn advanced OLED plant — New 8.6-gen facility for displays will rival Samsung’s cutting-edge tech.
- Taiwan to continue shifting investment away from China, minister says — Southeast and South Asia benefiting as Beijing piles on pressure before elections.
- Temu parent PDD’s market cap closes in on Alibaba after revenue doubles — Chinese e-commerce operator labels short seller Grizzly’s claims as ‘baseless’.
- Opinion: Taiwan’s presidential vote is a chance to show the power of democracy — Taiwan’s presidential race will culminate with a vote on Jan. 13. The island’s residents should make their will clear despite interference from China. By Nikkei Asia.
Bloomberg
- Xi Is Delegating More Authority in China to His Trusted No. 2 — Chinese President Xi Jinping spent his first decade in office accumulating power at the expense of the Communist Party’s No. 2 official. Now that he’s installed a trusted loyalist as premier, China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong is getting more comfortable delegating authority.
- Disney Launches World’s First ‘Zootopia’ Themed Land in China — Walt Disney Co. is set to open the world’s first Zootopia land at Shanghai Disneyland Resort as the entertainment giant expands its global theme park footprint and taps into surging demand in China for domestic travel.
- China EV Maker Nio Signs Battery-Swapping Deal With Geely — Electric-vehicle maker Nio Inc. signed its second battery-swapping partnership in less than two weeks on Wednesday, this time with Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., one of China’s biggest independent carmakers.
- Opinion: Chinese E-Commerce Is Chasing the US Consumer Tired of Inflation — From Shein to Temu, the nation’s companies are racing to enter the US, lured by consumers tired of inflation. They are also running away from a crowded, super competitive local market. By Shuli Ren.
- Opinion: China’s Pneumonia Outbreak Shows We Need a Pandemic Warning System — We’re flying blind without clear, agreed-upon procedures for collecting data on disease outbreaks. By F.D. Flam.
Reuters
- Walmart shifts to India from China for cheaper imports — The world’s largest retailer shipped one quarter of its U.S. imports from India between January and August this year, according to bill of lading figures shared with Reuters.
- Exclusive: Huawei’s new smart car firm valued up to $35 billion amid advanced stake talks — The Chinese company said on Sunday it will spin off its four-year-old Intelligent Automotive Solution (IAS) business unit into a new company which will receive the unit’s core technologies and resources.
- Debt-laden China’s local governments scramble to rescue small banks with $21 billion in special bonds — Local governments plan to use the proceeds of the latest bond sales to purchase equity or convertible bonds from smaller banks, most of them state-owned, effectively recapitalising them, according to the deal prospectuses.
Other Publications
- CSET: Translation Snapshot: Chinese AI White Papers — Translations of white papers on various aspects of the Chinese and global AI industry landscape, including top machine learning frameworks, “trustworthy” AI, and AI standards.
- Brookings: India’s technology competition with China — Tanvi Madan speaks with Pranay Kotasthane, deputy director of the Takshashila Institution in Bengaluru, and Trisha Ray at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. about Chinese inroads into India’s tech sector.
- The Washington Post: The next front in the tech war with China: Graphite (and clean energy) — Beijing has made clear its restrictions on critical minerals are payback for Washington’s efforts to curtail Chinese access to advanced American semiconductors.
- The Washington Post: Opinion: Biden and Xi, clinching in the ring — The Chinese leader wasn’t throwing any punches, happily, but he might be saving his strength for later rounds. By David Ignatius.
- Foreign Policy: Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak — Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.
