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 Millionaires Are Worried. That’s a Problem for Wall Street. — Big banks joined the race to serve China’s wealthy. That business has come under pressure.
- Hong Kong Puts Its Most-Wanted Dissident Jimmy Lai on Trial — Media mogul faces up to life in prison if convicted under national security law.
- Chinese Tourists Are Back. They Just Aren’t Shopping Like Before. — Rise of ‘China’s Instagram’ and swing in preferences are driving selfie travel and hurting retailers.
- Rept Battero Energy Shares Rise in Hong Kong Trading Debut — Rept Battero climbed as much as 7.4% on Monday from its initial public offering price.
- Opinion: Why the U.S.-China Relationship Isn’t as Predictable as It Sometimes Seems — As evidence of how quickly the mood can change, compare this year’s events with those from 2001. By Jeff Wasserstrom
The Financial Times
- China curtails ‘dangerous’ fighter jet manoeuvres after Xi-Biden summit — US Indo-Pacific commander says Beijing’s cooling aggressive stance is a positive sign
- Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai appears in court for landmark trial — Heavy police presence deployed while members of public queued overnight in support.
- How China’s slowdown is deepening Hong Kong’s ‘existential crisis’ — The territory’s growing reliance on China has turned into a distinctly mixed blessing — with questions of how long hallmarks of its own system can endure.
- US concern over Mexico attracting Chinese electric vehicle factories — Three of China’s biggest EV manufacturers in talks to find sites for plants in Latin American country.
- GSK on hunt for drug deals in China — UK pharma group says country’s chemistry prowess makes it a good source of molecules.
- China’s biggest nickel producer to list battery unit in Hong Kong — Debut of Tsingshan’s REPT Battero Energy comes at end of barren year for initial public offerings.
- National Grid drops Beijing-backed supplier over UK power network fears — Move to end contract and start removing parts comes as west rethinks Chinese involvement in critical infrastructure.
The New York Times
- Arrested in 2020, Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Tycoon Gets His Day in Court — Jimmy Lai, who published an antigovernment newspaper, faces up to life in prison if convicted on national security charges that rights activists have called baseless.
- Cold Snap Grips China After Snow in Beijing Causes Havoc — President Xi Jinping urged “all-out efforts” to ensure safety amid wintry conditions after a subway crash left hundreds injured in the capital.
- Merle Goldman, a Leading Expert on Communist China, Dies at 92 — A lifelong academic, she stood apart in her ability to communicate her insights about the country to nonacademic readers.
Caixin
- Cover Story: China May Find Cure for Stagflation by Studying Japan’s Experience — As China faces similar challenges that its neighbor did 30 years ago, Japan’s experience may offer lessons to Chinese policymakers about how to battle prolonged stagnation.
- China Sets Final Rules for Alipay, WeChat Pay and Their Peers — China has approved new regulations on nonbank payment institutions, seeking to curb risks in the booming sector by tightening supervision over digital payment service providers including Alipay and WeChat Pay.
- ByteDance Rebuts Claims It Violated OpenAI Terms of Use — ByteDance Ltd. has rebutted claims it violated OpenAI’s terms of use when using the U.S. startup’s technology to build its own artificial intelligence (AI) model.
South China Morning Post
- China’s New Oriental fires live-streaming e-commerce platform CEO, promotes top influencer after corporate infighting — New Oriental’s East Buy fired Sun Dongxu after he appeared to back the idea that star live-streamer Dong Yuhui was taking too much credit for the company’s success.
- Xiaomi founder Lei Jun says he is inspired by Apple’s Steve Jobs and ready to take on Elon Musk’s Tesla in the EV market — In an interview with China’s state broadcaster, the entrepreneur says he worries that demand for Xiaomi’s SU7 series will far exceed supply.
- Standard Chartered to offer China’s rich more foreign investment choices via its global network as home markets wilt — Standard Chartered is expanding its role as an international service provider in mainland China, tapping its wealthy clients’ rising appetite for assets around the globe.
Nikkei Asia
- China wealth manager Hywin misses payments, to offer resolution plans — Problems illustrate property sector woes and strain on nation’s financial system.
- BYD targets Japan as gateway for global EV exports — Chinese EV leader reportedly plans to sell 30,000 units in Japan in 2025.
- Nissan to export China-developed EVs to global markets — Automaker strikes deal with Tsinghua University to leverage local resources.
- Opinion: China’s AI sector has no time for end-of-the-world worries — Country takes pragmatic view as it seeks to close technological gap. By Nina Xiang
Bloomberg
- Beleaguered China Feed Giant to Sell Poultry Stake to Raise Cash — New Hope Liuhe Co., China’s top animal feed maker and leading meat producer, is selling controlling stakes worth 4.2 billion yuan ($590 million) in two core operations to raise cash after heavy losses this year.
- SenseTime Plunges After Death of China AI Firm’s Co-Founder — SenseTime Group Inc. plunged its most in more than a year after its co-founder’s death spooked investors already grappling with the fallout from slowing growth and US sanctions.
- Citi’s Onshore China Investment Bank Plans Delayed by Data Law — Citigroup Inc.’s push to set up a wholly-owned securities business in China is taking longer than planned because the bank needs more time to comply with the country’s data laws, people familiar with the matter said.
- Arm Lays Off Over 70 Engineers in China, Relocating Roles — Arm Holdings Plc has recently laid off over 70 software engineers in China though it will relocate some of the roles outside of the Asian nation, according to people with knowledge of the move.
- Hong Kong Comeback Story Turns Into Awful Year for Investors — It was supposed to be the year Hong Kong rebounded onto the world stage, leaving behind an era marred by street clashes, political crackdowns and Covid curbs.
Reuters
- Exclusive: Chinese firms look to Malaysia for assembly of high-end chips, sources say — A growing number of Chinese semiconductor design companies are tapping Malaysian firms to assemble a portion of their high-end chips, keen to hedge risks in case the U.S. expands sanctions on China’s chip industry, sources said.
- Asian fertiliser buyers turn away from key exporter China amid growing curbs — Asian fertiliser buyers are seeking alternatives to Chinese supplies on concerns the world’s top exporter has become an increasingly unreliable supplier after curbs on shipments to protect its domestic market, buyers and analysts said.
- China’s Nio to get $2.2 bln investment from Abu Dhabi’s CYVN — Electric vehicle maker Nio (9866.HK) has signed a pact for an investment of $2.2 billion from CYVN Holdings, an investment vehicle based in Abu Dhabi, the Chinese company said on Monday.
Other Publications
- Washington Post: Witness against Hong Kong media mogul was mistreated, Post examination finds — Li was mistreated while in Chinese custody, a year-long Washington Post examination of the case found, raising questions about whether his testimony will be voluntary and reliable.
- Associated Press: Taiwan reports 2 Chinese balloons near its territory as China steps up pressure ahead of elections — Two Chinese balloons flew north of Taiwan, the island’s Defense Ministry said Monday, as China increases pressure on the self-ruled territory it claims as its own ahead of a presidential election in January.
- CNBC: How the escalating U.S.-China tech war could hurt American companies — Semiconductors represent a $574 billion industry globally and are on pace to cross the trillion-dollar mark by the end of the decade. The industry has been caught in the crosshairs between the U.S. and China, two of the world’s largest economies.
- Fortune: Japan’s chipmaking companies can’t quit the China chip market, despite Washington and Tokyo’s controls — U.S. President Joe Biden may be stopping Japanese companies from selling high-end chipmaking equipment to China, but there’s still a lot of money to be made on the low-end.
