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 High-Wire Act: Downshifting Growth Without Slipping Into Stagnation — Leader Xi Jinping has made clear that growth at all costs is out. Now, the challenge is finding a new path—and rallying the people to his side.
- China Cancels Premier’s Post-NPC Press Conference in Break With Tradition — During this year’s meeting, the NPC will hold three press conferences focusing on foreign affairs, the economy and people’s livelihoods.
- Wuxi Companies’ Shares Rise on Receding Worries About Potential U.S. Sanctions — Analysts reckon the executive order signals it would restrict activities of genomics companies in the U.S. rather than contract research organizations, like the Wuxi companies.
- Russia’s Backdoor for Battlefield Goods From China: Central Asia — Trade routes through the region are increasingly important to Moscow’s efforts to thwart Western sanctions.
- How China Is Churning Out EVs Faster Than Everyone Else — Once laggards, Chinese carmakers are stirring envy—and fear—in the global auto industry.
- U.S. Defeat in Micron Trade-Secrets Case Reveals Struggle Countering Beijing — Verdict is regarded as a setback in efforts to contain Chinese corporate theft.
- The Pentagon’s Plan for More Ambitious, Affordable Jet Fighters: AI Pilots — Improved flying software ushers in a new breed of planes to help deter China.
- The World Is in for Another China Shock — Imports from China in the early 2000s lowered prices and wiped out U.S. jobs. A sequel of sorts might be in the making.
- Chinese Gangs Use Cryptocurrencies to Launder Billions — Tether and other tokens are allowing criminal organizations linked to the country to cover their tracks.
- Imports Under Closely Watched U.S. Trade ‘Loophole’ Surge — Shipments have shot up as more use a low-scrutiny route favored by Temu and others.
The Financial Times
- Iron ore’s plunge bodes ill for steel demand — and China’s economy — Oversupply, coupled with the country’s economic slowdown, means the sector is becoming a dangerous one to invest in.
- Xi to resist market pressure to step up China stimulus efforts — Delegates set for National People’s Congress as Beijing faces geopolitical, demographic and economic hurdles.
- China tries to stabilise pig population as pork prices plunge — Beijing acts to tightly monitor herd size as falling prices help add to wider climate of deflation.
- China ‘national team’ ETF buying reaches $57bn this year, says UBS — Bank has estimated flows based on purchases of 54 Chinese equities ETFs.
- China offers AI computing ‘vouchers’ to its underpowered start-ups — Chinese tech giants are hogging scarce cloud resources to develop generative AI models as US restrictions bite.
- Chinese whisky distilleries give western brands a wee dram of local flavour — Pernod Ricard starts with Scotch blend but aims to create Chinese single malt to grow share in world’s biggest spirits market.
- What China can learn from the ashes of my boat — Quality matters because wooing investors requires trust.
The New York Times
- China Scraps Premier’s Annual News Conference in Surprise Move — The decision is a break from a decades-long tradition by the country’s No. 2 official and comes as Xi Jinping, the top leader, consolidates his power.
Caixin
- Former Bank of Beijing Chairman Probed for Alleged Corruption — Yan Bingzhu, who dropped out of contact six months ago, is being investigated by the capital city’s graft busters for ‘serious violations of discipline and law’.
- China Slashes Payment Barriers for Foreign Visitors — PBOC tells mobile payment services to increase the single transaction limit for foreign users to $5,000 from $1,000 to help revitalize tourism.
- Q&A: Ex-China MIIT Minister Shares How NEV Makers Can Build Powerhouse Global Brands — Miao Wei says Chinese car companies have far to go to reach their potential on world stage.
- Cover Story: Nobel Laureate Economists Suggest China Tap Ordinary People’s Innovation — Michael Spence and Edmund Phelps say growth hinges on pivot from foreign trade to domestic demand.
- China Province Waives Highway Tolls for Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles — Shandong province’s two-year trial, the nation’s first, is part of a broader plan to boost the state-backed industry, whose growth has been hampered by high costs and lack of refueling infrastructure.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese tech hub Shenzhen to expedite adoption of apps built on Huawei’s HarmonyOS across various industries in 2024 — Shenzhen’s municipal government plans to boost the number of its native apps built on HarmonyOS and push for their adoption across major sectors, including education, healthcare, banking, transport and welfare.
- China-India ties remain adrift as wait for Chinese envoy to New Delhi drags on — 16 months after former ambassador Sun Weidong was promoted, the position is unfilled as the two countries remain locked in a military stand-off.
- Skynet 2.0: China plans to bring largest surveillance camera network on Earth to the moon to protect lunar assets — Chinese aerospace agencies outline how 600 million-camera Skynet inspires system to watch assets at lunar research station and track foreign visitors arriving on and leaving the moon.
- China property: homeowners turn to social media to boost their chances of a quick sale in depressed market — Amid a sluggish second-hand home market where supply outweighs demand and prices are slumping to fresh lows, many homeowners in China are taking to social media to sell their properties.
- How China’s C919 jet reflects ambitions to skirt US restrictions and soar beyond global leaders — With the Boeing-Airbus duopoly in its sights, the maker of China’s home-grown narrowbody plane is touting its advancements in Southeast Asia, but what challenges must be overcome?
Nikkei Asia
- Space superpower Russia falls down to earth — The total number of the country’s satellite launch orders fell by 90% following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Now, smaller players, including India and China, are now jockeying to expand their presence at Russia’s expense.
- U.S. seeks to revive idled shipyards with help of Japan, South Korea — Struggling to keep up with China’s naval shipbuilding spree, the U.S. is looking to reopen closed or inactive American shipyards with the help of Asian capital, engineers and shipbuilding expertise.
- Opinion: Being a ‘connector’ for China is no longer working for Hong Kong — City needs to rethink economic role to show it can still be relevant. By Donald Low.
Bloomberg
- Young Hong Kongers Who Defied Xi Are Now Partying in China — A record number of residents are flocking to Shenzhen for cheap food and a good time, accelerating an integration once rejected by the city’s freedom-loving youth.
- China Signals Legislature Will Avoid Naming Foreign Minister — China indicated its legislature will refrain from announcing any personnel moves during its meeting this week, meaning Wang Yi will likely remain in the role for at least the near future.
- China’s Top Solar Panel Maker Calls on Beijing to Control Prices — Chinese solar giant Longi Green Energy Technology Co. is calling on Beijing to crack down on low prices and ensure panel quality as excess capacity and fierce competition spur company failures.
- Opinion: The South China Sea Is the Next Test of US Resolve — Much is at stake for the US in those distant reefs and shoals. And from Europe to the Middle East and East Asia, America’s allies are watching. By Andreas Kluth.
Reuters
- Country Garden faces heat from liquidation suit to get cracking on debt revamp talks — The long-drawn, and in some cases, financially unviable restructuring processes have frustrated offshore creditors, many of whom are looking at the prospects of massive haircuts on their investments.
- The politics and economics behind Biden’s China-car espionage probe — Political and policy experts acknowledge the threat of Chinese spying but also see Biden’s saber-rattling as another opportunity to demonstrate he is tough on China.
- China’s financial clout will be hard to reverse — Engagement, rather than competition, is the world’s best chance of ensuring the second China shock is absorbed more positively than the first.
- Philippines to push back against China if maritime interests ignored, Marcos says — Ties between neighbours the Philippines and China soured shortly after Marcos took office in 2022, with repeated disputes over atolls and reefs in the South China Sea.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: Chinese Exceptionalism Just Won’t Die — The idea of a special Chinese model rings increasingly hollow.
- POLITICO: Meet the New York City Hall community liaison whose house was raided by the FBI — Winnie Greco has been fostering ties between Mayor Eric Adams and the local Chinese community for a decade.
- Rest of World: Nigerian businesses increasingly skip traditional banks and turn to Moniepoint — Moniepoint’s payment machines have become ubiquitous across Nigeria. But the company faces competition from Chinese-backed OPay.
- ChinaFile: “There Is No CPEC in Gwadar, Except Security Check Posts” — China’s Trade Route through Pakistan Promised Investment but Faces Regional Backlash.
- The Guardian: Chinese tourism to Australia still in the doldrums after pandemic travel bans — Tourism industry disappointed but hopeful Chinese holidaymakers could return by year’s end – but economists predict a longer wait.
