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 Gauge Shows Expansion in Factory Activity — A private gauge showed China’s factory activity expanded in March, marking a fifth successive monthly improvement in the country’s manufacturing sector.
- U.S. Tech Giants Turn to Mexico to Make AI Gear, Spurning China — Some of the biggest U.S. companies in artificial intelligence have asked their Taiwanese manufacturing partners to step up production south of the U.S. border.
- Early Clues Emerge on Senate’s Plans for TikTok — Some lawmakers backing a crackdown on the popular Chinese-controlled app worry that overly broad changes to a House bill by the Senate could significantly delay the effort or derail it permanently.
- It Only Takes a $7,000 Debt to End Up Trapped in China — Exit bans have left foreign executives stuck inside the country—often with no idea when they will be allowed to leave.
- China’s Recovery Picks Up as Stimulus Measures Sink In — China’s sprawling manufacturing sector returned to expansion in March after five months of decline, adding to signs of a stabilizing economy as recent stimulus measures start to kick in.
- He Turned 55. Then He Started the World’s Most Important Company. — Morris Chang had decades of experience before he founded a business that’s indispensable to the global economy. What can other middle-aged entrepreneurs learn from him?
- Authoritarians Threaten Journalists Around the Globe — More than 520 reporters are locked up around the world, reflecting rising pressure on independent media.
- Huawei Bounces Back From U.S. Sanctions as Profit Doubles — The results are a stunning comeback for the Chinese tech-giant, years after U.S. export controls cut it off from advanced technology.
- Opinion: How Green Energy Makes Us Vulnerable to Cyberattack — EVs and other digital-controlled products open extra access to the grid, which enemies can exploit. By Allysia Finley.
- Opinion: Biden’s Order: Let There Be Electric Trucks — EPA’s latest EV mandate is the most costly and fanciful to date. By The Editorial Board.
The Financial Times
- Soaring coffee prices will squeeze Asia’s café culture — Extreme temperatures and droughts in big bean-producing countries have led to lower harvests.
- China’s hypocrisy on trade — Complaining about US protectionism to the WTO while protecting your own economy is rich indeed.
- How Gulf states are putting their money into mining — Hungry to diversify their economies beyond fossil fuels, Middle Eastern powers are investing in the resources needed to produce clean energy.
- Hong Kong’s port loses ground as exporters pivot to mainland China — Cargo volumes fall 14% while other Chinese cities record rise in throughput.
- China’s factory activity adds to signs of recovery — Statistics bureau says companies still suffering from ‘insufficient market demand’ and calls for more policy support.
- Shein profits double to over $2bn ahead of planned listing — Fast-fashion group is seeking Chinese approval for IPO in New York or London.
- China wades into tea wars brewing in the Himalayas — Exports of Nepalese tea to China jump in what analysts say will relieve pressure on Darjeeling producers.
- Macau roars back as gamblers return to ‘Las Vegas of the east’ — Chinese territory set to become one of world’s fastest-growing economies as it recovers from Beijing crackdown.
- We must stop the smartphone social experiment on our kids — China has been way ahead of the west in seeing the dangers of raising a generation of zombies.
The New York Times
- China’s Advancing Efforts to Influence the U.S. Election Raise Alarms — China has adopted some of the same misinformation tactics that Russia used ahead of the 2016 election, researchers and government officials say.
- Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou to Visit China — A rare visit to mainland China by Ma Ying-jeou, who’s now in the opposition, is a chance for political messaging on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
- Radio Free Asia Leaves Hong Kong, Citing Security Law — Radio Free Asia, which ran a small operation in Hong Kong, said its staff was at risk because of the law’s sweeping definition of “external interference.”
- Opinion: Can Intel Serve Two Masters? — Biden is counting on it to be a national champion chipmaker, but it still has shareholders to please. By Peter Coy.
Caixin
- Chinese Banks Raise Purchase Thresholds for Gold Products in Warning to Retail Investors — At least six banks including Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China made the increase this month as spot gold has surged to fresh records, signaling caution about future fluctuations.
- Exclusive: China’s Financial Watchdog Reshuffles Veterans — He Guofeng will lead the unit at the National Financial Regulatory Administration that drafts qualifications for banks and insurers, with his current job to be filled by Zhang Xun, sources say.
- Foreign Direct Investment Into China Plummets to 23-Year Low — The 2023 figure falls to less than a quarter what it was the previous year, official data show.
- Analysis: Xiaomi Launched Its Debut EV With Much Fanfare, But Can It Now Deliver on Its Promises? — Whether Xiaomi can attract buyers for its debut electric car beyond its established fanbase once the initial hype wears off will be crucial, industry insiders say.
- China’s Manufacturing Sector Expands for Fifth Straight Month, Caixin PMI Shows — The index rose to 51.1, the highest reading in 13 months, driven by rising demand both at home and overseas.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese navy live-fire drills a ‘timely and forceful response’ to Philippines’ tilt to US, expert says — PLA warships simulate attacks on ‘armed enemy fishing boats’ ahead of the annual Balikatan military exercises.
- China quietly making progress on new techniques to cut reliance on advanced ASML lithography machines — China is quietly making progress on a new technique to develop advanced chips without the need for EUV systems from Dutch giant ASML, a breakthrough that could potentially thwart US trade sanctions.
- Tesla raises price of its Shanghai-made Model Y electric car, shrugging off price war squeezing its rivals in China — The US giant raised the price of its Shanghai-made Model Y on Monday, bucking the trend set by a discount war that is squeezing the profit margins of most of its rivals in the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market.
- Behind China’s new-energy overcapacity as it changes the face of manufacturing and raises the stakes of competitiveness — Amid price slashing and Western threats, on-the-ground accounts reflect how China’s new productive push is creating forces to be reckoned with.
- Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei focuses on digital transformation, tech innovation in meeting with PetroChina chairman — The meeting underscores Huawei’s long-standing ties with PetroChina in projects that have helped modernise its operations in the energy industry.
Nikkei Asia
- Indonesia’s Prabowo meets Xi in rare pre-inauguration China visit — Indonesia’s defense minister and president-elect, met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday in Beijing, cementing his relationship with Beijing ahead of his inauguration in October.
- Chinese warships spotted again at Cambodia naval base — Chinese warships first visited Ream in early December. The latest sighting comes amid U.S. concerns that China is building a facility at the base for its exclusive use.
- Opinion: Why appeasing China will never work — In the contested waters of the South China Sea, the confrontation between China and the Philippines is intensifying. By Hiroyuki Akita.
- Opinion: South China Sea cooperation better for China than conflict — Heightened tensions between China and the Philippines over their rival territorial claims are casting a growing shadow over development of these hydrocarbon-rich waters. By Vandana Hari.
Bloomberg
- Top China Lithium Firms Look Past Profit Slump and Vow Expansion — Undeterred by slumping profits, China’s lithium giants are planning to grab a bigger slice of the market.
- China Home Sales Drought Persists With Little Recovery Sign — China’s home sales slump dragged on in March, signaling a much-hoped turnaround for the sector isn’t in sight yet.
- China’s Solar-Sector Battle Puts Quality at Risk, Longi Says — The fierce competition sweeping China’s solar sector is threatening the quality of production at some companies, as plunging profits trigger a scramble to cut costs.
- Opinion: Shein and Temu Are Driving Oil, Not GM and Toyota — Petroleum consumption in the world’s biggest emitter these days isn’t so much about vehicles as the shirt on your back. By David Fickling.
- Opinion: The US Can’t Let China Dominate the Small-Drone Market — A new law and Pentagon procurement program should help tilt the playing field back to level for domestic manufacturers. By Thomas Black.
Reuters
- Exclusive: China power firm GCL revives LNG ambition after solar spin-off — GCL’s return to gas after several years comes as global spot LNG prices have fallen to near three-year lows on growing supply, and as demand is set to expand in China.
- Exclusive: China’s SAIC aims to slash jobs at GM, VW ventures and EV unit, sources say — Large-scale workforce reductions are rare at state-owned Chinese firms and come amid a cut-throat automotive price war as the nation’s economy falters.
- Chinese state media stoked allegation Taiwan’s president would flee war — They are among the many unsupported tales of Tsai’s preparations to escape harm that have been fed into the island by Chinese state media outlets, according to an analysis conducted for Reuters.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: Opinion: Power Is the Answer in U.S. Competition With China — A fight for global values demands a stronger coalition. By Michael Mazza.
- Foreign Affairs: The Trouble With “the Global South” — For Brazil, China, and India in particular, claiming leadership of the global South offers clear advantages, including opportunities to expand their global diplomatic heft.
- POLITICO: US, Japan, Philippines plan joint South China Sea naval patrols — The collective show of maritime force against China will be a centerpiece of next month’s trilateral summit in Washington.
- The Washington Post: Preparing for a China war, the Marines are retooling how they’ll fight — U.S. troops are preparing for conflict on an island-hopping battlefield across Asia, against an enemy force that has home-field advantage.
- AP: France presses China on trade and Ukraine ahead of upcoming Xi Jinping visit — “The rebalancing of our economic partnership is a priority, as it is for our European partners,” Séjourné said at a joint news conference with Wang.
- The New Yorker: How Chinese Students Experience America — Covid, guns, anti-Asian violence, and diplomatic relations have complicated the ambitions of the some three hundred thousand college students who come to the U.S. each year.
- The Economist: How Xi Jinping plans to overtake America — Digital twins, nuclear fusion and the small matter of fixing China’s economy.
- Rest of World: EV companies are hungry for Argentina’s lithium. Little is left for Argentines — Local projects stall as the mineral’s fourth-largest producer exports to the U.S. and China, and courts Elon Musk.
- The Guardian: Tory immigration policies risk over-reliance on Chinese students, ex-universities minister warns — Chris Skidmore says restrictions on international students in UK risk a funding crisis.
