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 Battery Champion Says Geopolitical Tensions Won’t Derail U.S. Expansion — CATL is in talks with global automakers including Tesla to expand in U.S. market.
- China Files WTO Complaint Against U.S. Over Electric-Vehicle Subsidies — Beijing is challenging the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, which it calls discriminatory.
- Alibaba Scraps Spinoff Plan as Hong Kong IPO Woes Worsen — Firm had been planning to list Cainiao Smart Logistics Network in a $1 billion deal.
- U.S. Charges Alleged Chinese Hackers as U.K. Says Voter Files Accessed — Moves aim to add pressure on Beijing over what the West sees as global hacking operation attributed to Chinese intelligence agencies.
- China Signals More Property Support, But Substance to Be Key for Turnaround — People’s Bank of China Gov. Pan Gongsheng said the property sector is showing some “positive signals.”
- China Merchants Bank Gains on Dividend Surprise — The bank boosted its dividend payout ratio to 35% of net profits, up from 33% in 2021 and 2022.
- Opinion: Lewis Carroll Goes to Taiwan — In the face of Beijing’s coercion, simply maintaining the status quo requires the U.S. ‘to run as fast as we can.’ By Nadia Schadlow
The Financial Times
- China’s solar billionaire feels the heat as sector faces upheaval — Longi founder Li Zhenguo is laying off thousands of staff in an industry grappling with oversupply.
- US and UK accuse China of cyber attacks on politicians and companies — Department of Justice says critics of Beijing among targets of multiyear espionage campaign.
- UK politicians should use ‘disappearing messages’ on devices, says GCHQ — Fresh guidance from a branch of the signals intelligence agency comes after government blames China for cyber attacks.
- China and Russia challenge US claim to mineral-rich stretches of seabed — Critics say Biden administration risks losing race to mine resources in international waters.
The New York Times
- Why Are China’s Nationalists Attacking the Country’s Heroes? — Online vitriol has targeted the country’s richest man, erasing billions of dollars of his company’s market value, despite Beijing’s courtship of entrepreneurs.
- U.S. and Britain Accuse China of Cyberespionage Campaign — The actions on both sides of the Atlantic, which included sanctions, underscored the escalation of cyberconflict between Western allies and Beijing.
- Suicide Bomber Kills 5 Chinese Workers in Pakistan — The attack comes amid a spate of terror attacks in Pakistan, as the country’s faltering ties to the Taliban affect regional security.
- U.K. Accuses China of Cyberattacks Targeting Voter Data and Lawmakers — The British government believes China has overseen two separate hacking campaigns, including one that yielded information from 40 million voters.
- Opinion: Hong Kongers Are Purging the Evidence of Their Lost Freedom — Last week, the city enacted a draconian security law — its second serious legislative assault on Hong Kong’s freedoms since 2020. By Maya Wang
Caixin
- ByteDance Holds Firm Against Selling TikTok Despite U.S. Ban Threat — TikTok’s parent ByteDance doesn’t plan to sell the unit although the U.S. Congress has threatened to ban the popular short-video platform unless it’s divested from its Chinese owner.
- Exclusive: China Merchants Bank Punishes Two Private Banking Executives, Sources Say — China Merchants Bank has removed one private banking executive from his position and essentially demoted another, sources told Caixin, as the bank aims to rein in risk.
- China Kicks off Cleanup of Local Financial Asset Exchanges — Financial authorities in Hunan, Liaoning, Xi’an, and Chongqing have announced the closure of local financial asset exchanges, in a bid to combat financial risks and illegal fundraising activities.
South China Morning Post
- Former Chinese trade negotiator who backed Trump condemns Washington for ‘dismantling the system’ of global trade — Long Yongtu tells the Boao Forum for Asia that ‘globalised economic and trade systems are at stake’, and targeting Chinese companies in Mexico would mean higher prices for Americans.
- Alibaba scraps Hong Kong IPO plan for logistics unit Cainiao as it tweaks restructuring — Alibaba has scrapped the planned Hong Kong IPO for its logistics unit Cainiao, deciding to double down on its investment in the strategically important unit.
- Xpeng, BYD executives say Greater Bay Area firms’ expertise in smart tech, superfast battery charging will drive EV growth in China — Smart technology such as autonomous parking systems and the wide availability of superfast battery charging infrastructure will drive a boom in EV sales over the next five years, according to two of the segment’s leading manufacturers.
Nikkei Asia
- Hong Kong’s new national security law enforced for first time — Authorities in Hong Kong have denied early release to a prisoner convicted of national security-related offenses, the first known case under controversial legislation enacted on Saturday.
- BYD shares rebound on China’s latest push for EV buying — Beijing wants more old cars replaced with new ones.
- New Zealand joins U.K. and U.S. in condemning China-linked hacks — PM Luxon says calling out Beijing is a ‘big step’ for his country.
Bloomberg
- US CEOs Extend China Stay on Last-Minute Invite to Meet Xi — Some US executives in Beijing for a business summit are rejigging their long-planned schedules after receiving an invite to a Wednesday meeting with a top Chinese leader – widely expected to be President Xi Jinping.
- China Manufacturing Drive Risks Higher US Inflation, NY Fed Says — China’s effort to boost manufacturing and shore up the economy amid a real estate slump could put “meaningful upward pressure” on US inflation and push back the start of monetary easing, according to new research by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
- Tim Cook’s Love for China Helps Xi Fight Fears of Economic Slump — China’s efforts to counter the downbeat narrative about a structural slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy got a boost from enthusiastic endorsements from chief executives of top global companies.
Reuters
- China’s Xi Jinping to meet with American executives on Wednesday, sources say — China’s President Xi Jinping will meet with American business leaders in Beijing on Wednesday, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter, in a follow up to his November dinner with U.S. investors in San Francisco.
- China opens dispute against U.S. at WTO over ‘discriminatory subsidies’ — China has initiated dispute settlement proceedings against the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to safeguard its interests in the electric vehicle industry, the Chinese permanent mission to the WTO said on Tuesday.
- China, battling low birth rates and high costs, encourages frugal weddings — Young couples in China planning “simple” weddings, rather than traditional banquets with hundreds of guests, was one of the top hits online after an article urging more frugal nuptials was published by the government body in charge of women’s rights.
Other Publications
- Axios: Johnson taps Rep. John Moolenaar to lead Select Committee on China — Speaker Mike Johnson announced Monday he is tapping Rep. John Moolenaar to head the Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
- WIRED: Chinese Hackers Charged in Decade-Long Global Spying Rampage — US and UK officials hit Chinese hacking group APT31 with sanctions and criminal charges after they targeted thousands of businesses, politicians, and critics of China.
- POLITICO: EU climate envoys plan joint trip to China — The EU’s efforts to broaden its discussions with the world’s biggest polluter come as US-China climate talks face uncertainty.
- The New Yorker: The Aftermath of China’s Comedy Crackdown — Standup flourished during the pandemic. Now performers fear the state—and audience members. By Chang Che
- Associated Press: Academics challenge Florida law restricting research exchanges from prohibited countries like China — Two graduate students from China whose studies were put on hold, and a professor who says he is unable to recruit research assistants, sued Florida education officials on Monday.
- The Information: To fight ban bill, TikTok’s best hopes lie in First Amendment challenge — TikTok users have the right to express themselves and receive information on the app, lawyers say.
