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
- Tesla Falls Behind China’s BYD in Quarterly EV Sales for First Time — Tesla delivered about 1.81 million vehicles worldwide in 2023, hitting its full-year target, though its growth rate slowed slightly.
- China’s Balloons Are Back. This Time They Are Over Taiwan. — Taiwanese defense ministry reports four Chinese balloons floating across the self-ruled island ahead of pivotal election.
- Behind Cheap Stuff From Shein and Temu: A Hard Bargain With Suppliers — Shopping apps throw a lifeline to Chinese exporters, but it is a trade-off.
- Hong Kong’s IPO Drought Casts Pall Over Region’s Businesses — New listings in the city dropped to the lowest total in more than 20 years in 2023.
The Financial Times
- China’s sluggish approval of data exports leaves companies struggling — Delays come amid slowing economy and increased tensions between Washington and Beijing.
- BT misses deadline on Huawei equipment ban — Telecoms group says 99% of core network traffic now served by kit from other providers.
The New York Times
- Abrupt Dismissals Point to Xi Jinping’s Quiet Shake-Up of China’s Military — The purge of several commanders from China’s legislature was the latest sign of widening investigations focused on the sensitive arms sector, experts say.
Caixin
- China Plans to Open Two Areas of Low-Altitude Airspace for General Aviation — China’s aviation regulator plans to open two bands of low-altitude airspace zones for use by general aviation, as the country seeks to bolster its airborne economy and bring its classifications into line with international norms.
- Evergrande’s EV Unit Says Share Sale with Dubai Automaker Lapses — The electric-vehicle unit of defaulted property developer China Evergrande Group said a planned $500 million share sale to a Dubai-based carmaker has expired, raising more doubts about the fate of the cash-strapped EV manufacturer.
- Caixin China New Economy Index Dips to Five-Month Low — The contribution of high value-added industries such as biomedicine to China’s total economic inputs dipped to a five-month low in December, due chiefly to a dual decrease in technology and capital inputs, a Caixin index showed Tuesday.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese TV host suspended after ‘inappropriate’ Japan earthquake comments go viral — Broadcaster sidelines anchor Xiao Chenghao after he suggested disaster was punishment for Japan’s discharge of nuclear waste water.
- China food security: offshore fish farming turns idle waters into ‘marine breadbasket’ — China, continuing its march towards self-sufficiency in food, sees offshore fish farming as one way to guarantee a plentiful harvest for its people.
- ByteDance’s Douyin makes instant refunds mandatory, following PDD, Taobao and JD.com amid fierce e-commerce competition — Merchants selling on the short video app Douyin can no longer opt out of the option to instantly refund up to US$211 before receiving returned goods.
Nikkei Asia
- ASEAN becomes more lucrative than China for J.P. Morgan and Citi — Advisory fees for stock and bond deals rise in Southeast Asia but sink in China.
- Myanmar’s shadow government courts China with policy paper — National Unity Government supports ‘One China’ principle, boosting investment.
- U.S. restrictions on China materials cut EV tax credit to 8 models — Tesla Model Y, Chevy Bolt still qualify as Nissan Leaf falls off list.
Bloomberg
- Xi’s Mixed Messages Leave Whiplashed Investors Wary of China — President Xi Jinping spent last year trying to woo foreign capital while continuing to reshape China’s business environment to ensure his power can’t be challenged at home or abroad. Those sometimes-conflicting goals have left investors confused and put bureaucrats on edge.
- US-China Tensions Poised to Finally Upend Apple’s iPhone Business — The iPhone maker has navigated its relationship with Beijing well so far, but the situation isn’t getting any easier.
- China’s Workers Suffer Biggest Drop in Hiring Salaries on Record — Wages offered to Chinese workers in major cities declined by the most on record, underscoring persisting deflationary pressures and sluggish consumer confidence in the world’s second-largest economy.
Reuters
- Exclusive: China’s top banks tighten exposure to smaller peers to curb credit risk — Some of China’s top banks have sharpened scrutiny of smaller peers’ asset quality and have tightened standards for interbank lending, three sources said, in an effort to curb credit risk as a deepening property debt crisis ripples through the economy.
- China’s Rongsheng, Saudi Aramco in talks to buy stake in each other’s units — Chinese privately-controlled refiner Rongsheng Petrochemical and Saudi Aramco are in talks for the Chinese company to buy a 50% stake in the Saudi company’s refining unit SASREF, a filing showed on Tuesday.
- China’s BYD to give dealers 2 billion yuan for hitting sales target – sources — BYD , which outsold Tesla (TSLA.O) in electric car sales globally for the first time in the fourth quarter, will hand out rewards totaling billions of yuan to its Chinese dealers, according to two dealers with knowledge of the matter.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Taiwan’s foreign minister on what’s at stake in the coming election — The vote is a front in the global war between democracy and autocracy. By Joseph Wu
- Associated Press: Hong Kong prosecutors allege democracy publisher Jimmy Lai urged protests, sanctions against China — Prosecutors on Wednesday alleged that Hong Kong activist and publisher Jimmy Lai had encouraged the city’s residents to protest and urged the U.S. to take action against the “oppressive” Chinese authorities in Beijing.
- Washington Post: Opinion: Where have all the American China experts gone? — At a time of heightened competition with Beijing, our education system is not generating enough American citizens with Chinese language ability, meaningful lived experiences in China and deep area knowledge. By Rory Truex
- Axios: China’s 2024 outlook will be shaped by decisions beyond its borders — Decisions made by foreign investors and by voters in both Taiwan and the U.S. this year could affect Beijing’s own calculus and regional stability.
- CNN: China tries to lure foreign tourists with expanded visa-free scheme after weak post-pandemic bounce back — China has struck an agreement with Thailand to permanently waive visa requirements for each other’s citizens from March, the latest in a flurry of attempts by Beijing to lure back foreign tourists amid a struggling economy after years of self-imposed Covid isolation.
- Harvard Business Review: 3 Drivers of China’s Booming Electric Vehicle Market — China’s new EV sales increased by 82% in 2022, accounting for nearly 60% of global EV purchases. By Chengyi Lin
