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 Stock-Market Rout Has Become a Political Problem — The country’s cabinet urges action as China’s benchmark index enters its fourth year of declines.
- Why It Makes Sense for New EV Drivers to Look Beyond Tesla — The brand is pursuing a different approach to making its vehicles more affordable—and it’s at the expense of existing Tesla owners.
- Desperate Chinese Property Developers Resort to Bizarre Marketing Tactics — The country’s real-estate slump is getting worse—and looks set to drag on for years.
The Financial Times
- Hong Kong stocks climb on call for ‘forceful’ state support to curb market rout — Chinese Premier Li Qiang says ‘effective measures’ needed to boost confidence.
- Where next for the Magnificent Seven? — AI could be a game-changer for many of the tech giants.
- The tricky timing behind Citi’s bet on China — Conditions have changed since the lender applied for an investment banking licence and its Wall Street rivals are struggling.
- China’s feared spy agency steps out of the shadows — Ministry of State Security pursues more public and political role as Xi tightens grip on nation.
The New York Times
- China Appears to Backpedal From Video Gaming Crackdown — A proposal to tighten restrictions on online video games disappeared from a regulator’s website, weeks after the plan prompted a sell-off in tech stocks.
- China’s Travel Economy Is Slowly Coming Back. Here’s Where It Stands. — Over a year after China opened its borders following the pandemic, international trips are still lagging, although domestic travel is more popular.
- Map: 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Western China — View the location of the quake’s epicenter and shake area.
Caixin
- Exclusive: Chinese Financial Giant Citic Picks New Vice President — Zeng Qi, formerly head of ICBC’s retail banking division, now supervises the conglomerate’s securities, life insurance and business coordination units.
- China’s Premier Calls for More Effective Measures to Stabilize Stock Market — State Council says China needs to strengthen capital market rules and to persuade funds to invest in stock to maintain the economic recovery.
- China Revives Shelved Voluntary Carbon Credits Scheme — Four firms including China General Nuclear Power and State Power Investment pledge to follow compliance rules, develop projects and participate in trading.
- Huawei in Partnership with Dongfeng’s Luxury NEV Unit Voyah — Huawei’s partnership with Voyah is its latest move as it seeks to become a world-class leader in the intelligent-driving field.
South China Morning Post
- China assures Pakistan of closer economic ties, support on efforts to defend ‘territorial integrity’ — Clear reference to tit-for-tat air strikes with Iran comes as Sun meets top leaders and military chiefs during three-day trip to ‘iron brother’ neighbour Pakistan.
- Why China would be wise to analyse its Lunar New Year travel data — The post-pandemic trend of the young and mobile increasingly moving out of China’s megacities is shaping the direction of the country’s urbanisation and regional development.
- ByteDance executive leaves to start cross-border e-commerce venture after Shein, Temu success in US — Ren Lifeng left ByteDance last year and recently registered Shumei Wanwu with nearly US$140,000 in registered capital.
- New US duties on Chinese tin mill steel are opposed by American business group — US Commerce Department plans to impose anti-dumping duties of 122.5 per cent on Chinese tin mill products, but trade association official says they will raise prices on canned goods and might lead to US job losses.
Nikkei Asia
- China courts Europe and Southeast Asia with visa-free travel — China has dramatically expanded its visa-free programs in the past three months, indicating a growing effort to boost tourism and cross-border business as the economy slows.
- Solomons shows it’s not easy for China, U.S. to woo some small nations — China’s involvement in the Solomons’ economic development, especially on Guadalcanal, where the capital is located, has deepened in the two years since the unrest.
- China deepens ties with Global South to counter U.S.-led order — On the first leg of his travels after departing Jan. 13, Wang Yi visited Africa with stays in Egypt, Tunisia, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire. The Latin American portion kicked off with a two-day visit in Brazil, followed by a stop in Jamaica.
Bloomberg
- Founder of Top Chinese Hedge Fund Admits Mistakes After Losses — The boss of a top macro hedge fund in China has publicly accepted the blame for wrong-way bets on a speedy Chinese recovery, after her macro fund lost as much as a quarter of its value.
- BYD Crowned China’s No. 1 Selling Car Brand for 2023 Over VW — BYD Co. overtook Volkswagen AG as China’s best-selling car brand in 2023, clear evidence its all-in bet on electric vehicles is paying dividends and helping it pass some of the world’s biggest legacy names.
- China to Further Expand Oilseed Production to Reduce Imports — China will grow rapeseed on more land and stabilize soybean acreage this coming year, extending a policy drive to boost oilseed harvests and cut reliance on overseas supplies in the top consumer.
Reuters
- Fractured world is changing investment geography — The quasi-Cold War between Washington and Beijing, and rising protectionism, are already hurting foreign direct investment.
- Exclusive: Fortescue faces rare delays for China iron ore customs clearance – sources — One of the partial cargoes has been delayed at Caofeidian, among China’s busiest for handling the key steelmaking ingredient, since December, while another arrived this month.
- Measures China has taken to prop up its stock market — The authorities have in the past few months put into place several measures to support markets which have slowed, but not stopped, the sell-off.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: America’s Strategy of Ambiguity Is Ending Now — The United States has expanded its security commitments around the world—and the bill is coming due.
- Foreign Affairs: The Strategic Case for Democracy Promotion in Asia — How the Spread of Liberal Values Gives America a Competitive Edge Over China.
- The Economist: As China’s markets suffer, what alternatives do investors have? — Optimism about the world’s second-largest stockmarket is a distant memory.
- Brookings: Chinese narratives on the Israel-Hamas war — While more than 10 Chinese nationals have been killed, injured, or reported missing as a result of the crisis, the Israel-Hamas war has not, however, generated much of a public reaction in China.
- CSIS: The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund Should Do Less to Achieve More — Their shareholders — sovereign governments — have different visions of success; a dynamic exacerbated by the rise of China as a global economic power pursuing its own goal of creating an alternative economic system.
- Rest of World: “It’s as if I had never left China”: Vietnam’s tech worker Chinatown — As Chinese manufacturers open shop in Vietnam, Bac Ninh has become a cultural hub with Chinese restaurants, bubble tea shops, and language centers.
- MIT Technology Review: What’s next for robotaxis in 2024 — In addition to restoring public trust, robotaxi companies need to prove that their business models can compete with Uber and taxis.
- ChinaFile: Beijing Is Pouring Resources into Its UN Human Rights Review—All to Prevent Any Real Review from Taking Place — On January 23, a large delegation of Chinese officials will appear at the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) to try to defend the indefensible.
