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.
Paid subscribers automatically have this list emailed directly to their inboxes every day by 10 a.m. EST. Subscribe here.
The Wall Street Journal
- American Business Stalls in China — Companies see their China trade diminish amid geopolitical tensions and the country’s weak economy.
- A Lot of Chinese Viewers Wish Netflix Had Stripped China Out of ‘3 Body Problem’ — Adaptation of Liu Cixin’s science-fiction novel earned generally positive reviews in China, but some took issue with how their country is depicted.
- More Chinese Companies to Be Added to U.S. Import Ban List — A list of companies banned over forced labor concerns is expected to grow in the next few months, says Laura Murphy, a Homeland Security adviser.
- Chinese President Xi Meets With U.S. Business Leaders — During the meeting, Xi called for more exchange and cooperation between the two countries.
- Chinese Train Maker CRRC Drops Bid for $665 Million Bulgarian Contract — The European Commission last month announced an investigation into the CRRC unit over the tender in Bulgaria.
- China Top Critic’s Exit From Congress Threatens Anti-Beijing Momentum — Mike Gallagher made companies tremble over their China ties. Fresh from a TikTok bill win, he leaves Congress.
- Suicide Attack Kills Chinese Nationals Working in Pakistan — Chinese workers in Asia and Africa have come under attack as Beijing extends its influence.
- China Industrial Profits Return to Growth — Industrial profits jumped 10.2% in the first two months of 2024, compared with a 2.3% decline for all of 2023.
- Can Apple and AI Make Baidu Cool Again? — China’s search leader was long viewed as an also-ran, but shifting political and technological winds might change that.
The Financial Times
- Xi tells US CEOs China’s growth prospects remain ‘bright’ — Beijing seeks to revive investor confidence as concerns mount about oversupply and potential dumping.
- Will Xi’s manufacturing plan be enough to rescue China’s economy? — The president has won praise for ending a credit boom, but trading partners now fear a flood of cheap exports.
- China’s ‘battery king’ dismisses solid-state EV commercialisation as years away — CATL chief Robin Zeng says much-vaunted tech for electric vehicles is impractical and unsafe.
- Chinese-made EVs set to take 25% of European market this year — EU car manufacturers warn that a wave of cheaper models from China will undercut those produced by local companies.
- China megaport builder hits back as Peru moves to scrap exclusivity deal — Lima reverses course on right to operate controversial Chancay project.
- Sunak promises ‘careful’ crackdown in wake of China cyber attacks — PM is facing pressure from hawks in his party to take tough action, while trying not to hurt trade links.
- BYD misses profit forecasts as Huawei challenge emerges — Warren Buffett-backed company loses some market share to sanctions-hit Chinese telecoms group.
The New York Times
- Yellen to Warn China Against Flood of Cheap Green Energy Exports — The Treasury secretary, who plans to make her second trip to China soon, will argue that the country’s excess industrial production warps supply chains.
- How Elon Musk Became ‘Kind of Pro-China’ — Mr. Musk helped create China’s electric vehicle industry. But he is now facing challenges there as well as scrutiny in the West over his reliance on the country.
- Tesla’s Pivot to China Saved Musk. It Also Binds Him to Beijing. — Tesla and China built a symbiotic relationship, with credits, workers and parts that made Mr. Musk ultrarich. Now, his reliance on the country may give Beijing leverage.
- The U.S. Investors Caught in the Scrum Over TikTok — Major U.S. investment firms such as General Atlantic, Susquehanna and Sequoia Capital own stakes in ByteDance, the parent of TikTok. Their investments are increasingly under fire.
- Filmmaker Draws Censors’ Wrath: ‘A Price I Have to Accept’ — Wang Xiaoshuai is among the few Chinese artists who refuse to bend to state limitations on the subjects they explore.
Caixin
- Rivals Vie to Fill Market Void as U.S. Business Ban Looms Over TikTok — The looming threat of a business ban on TikTok in the United States is driving millions of users and advertisers to seek alternatives to the popular short video platform, presenting a significant opportunity for rivals such as YouTube and Meta.
- Smart Driving Startup Horizon Robotics Seeks Hong Kong Listing — Horizon Robotics, a Chinese autonomous driving solution provider, has filed for an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, taking advantage of China’s fast growing intelligent driving market.
- Cities Revise Housing Policy as Families Turn to Larger Homes — Authorities in two of China’s largest cities have revised a longstanding policy governing residential housing development, signaling a significant change in real estate market dynamics to allow for larger families and more space.
South China Morning Post
- Strategic Support Force: China’s mission to win future wars hinges on this shadowy military branch — SSF is tasked to future-proof PLA with superior intelligence and reinforced joint operations.
- China faces US$50 billion shortfall in Southeast Asia as belt and road funds miss their mark — An estimated US$50 billion pledged by China for infrastructure in Southeast Asia has yet to manifest in completed projects according to a recent study, raising questions over the efficacy of the country’s Belt and Road Initiative.
- Alibaba’s logistics unit Cainiao to double year-end bonus for employees, in morale-boosting move after scrapped IPO — E-commerce logistics giant Cainiao will launch an ‘entrepreneurship incentive plan’ that will double the bonus pool allocated for its financial year ending March 31, 2025.
Nikkei Asia
- Xi Jinping meets top U.S. executives, then Dutch PM in Beijing — China’s leader seeks ‘common ground’ with America, eyes more Netherlands imports.
- Temu to make Japan’s PayPay payment service available on platform — Rapidly growing Chinese site will offer a Japanese payment option for first time
- Chinese state telecoms’ 5G investment tops out while dividends surge — Capex to decline further as government pushes for enhanced market values.
Bloomberg
- Xi Says US CEOs Should Invest in China, Economy Hasn’t Peaked — President Xi Jinping met with a group of American business leaders in Beijing including Blackstone Inc.’s Stephen Schwarzman and Qualcomm Inc.’s Cristiano Amon as China is seeking to restore confidence in the economy and keep relations with the US on a stable footing.
- Yellen Warns China’s Industry Ramp-Up Is Distorting World Economy — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she plans to press China in an upcoming visit to the country on a ramp-up in its industrial capacity that’s distorting the global economy.
- China Confuses Yuan Traders With Surprise Changes to Fixing — Traders seeking to navigate the most crucial part of China’s foreign-exchange management are finding visibility getting increasingly cloudy.
Reuters
- China’s Xi warns against tech ‘confrontation’ in talks with Dutch PM — Creating technological barriers and severing industrial supply chains would only lead to confrontation, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned on Wednesday, as new Dutch policies on chip exports to China threaten to strain bilateral ties.
- China’s Country Garden hires Kroll to carry out liquidation analysis, sources say — Country Garden has hired Kroll to carry out a liquidation analysis ahead of a court hearing in mid-May, according to three sources, as the embattled Chinese developer pushes ahead with its offshore debt restructuring plan.
- WTO says Australian duties on Chinese steel products were flawed — A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has found that duties imposed by Australia in a steel products dispute with China were flawed – a ruling that Canberra said it accepted.
Other Publications
- Business Insider: Apple’s iPhone China shipments in February look even worse than estimated — Apple’s iPhone shipments in China have fallen again, government data shows.
- Rhodium Group: Overcapacity at the Gate — China’s policy plans will compound the growing imbalance between domestic supply and demand, setting China on course for a trade confrontation with the rest of the world.
- POLITICO: TikTok’s troubles just got worse: The FTC could sue them, too — A privacy case against TikTok would add fuel to the bipartisan chorus of criticism directed at the company over its ties to China.
- The Economist: What to make of China’s massive cyber-espionage campaign — America and others offer rich details of what Chinese spies are up to.
- Foreign Affairs: China’s Economic Collision Course — As growth slows, Beijing’s moves are drawing a global backlash.
- Rest of World: ByteDance shuts down its WhatsApp clone in Africa — TikTok’s owner launched LetsChat in 2021, aimed at young Africans and boosted by heavy marketing, but it couldn’t crack WhatsApp’s dominance.
- MIT Technology Review: Four things you need to know about China’s AI talent pool — Researchers from China make up over one-quarter of the world’s top AI experts, and they are increasingly staying put rather than moving overseas.
- The Guardian: Australian foreign influence register ‘focused almost exclusively on China with little success’, committee finds — Parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security report says scheme set up in 2018 public register has ‘significant flaws.’