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
- Apple’s Smartphone Sales Slump as China Rivals Rise — Apple’s global smartphone shipments fell sharply in the first quarter, according to a closely followed research firm, toppling the iPhone maker from its perch as the world’s largest phone maker.
- China’s Central Bank Holds Key Policy Rates — The People’s Bank of China kept key policy rates steady and drained liquidity from the banking sector as economic data shows fresh signs of weakness.
- Research for Sale: How Chinese Money Flows to American Universities — Many U.S. colleges have lucrative contracts with companies based in China, despite deepening rivalries between the countries.
- As a Trump Victory Becomes Likelier, Europe Re-Engages With China — A tepid economic recovery, fear of Russian aggression, and the prospect of Trump’s return to the White House are making Europe more receptive to Beijing’s overtures.
- Why Taiwanese Islands With View of China Aren’t Worried About Rising Tensions — The Kinmen archipelago has been on the front line of friction with Beijing for decades, but most of those who live there say a new political reality has provided reassurance.
- China Has Helped Russia Boost Arms Production, U.S. Says — Beijing’s support is helping Moscow at a critical stage in its war in Ukraine war, officials say.
The Financial Times
- China’s capital markets activity falls to multi-decade lows — Mainland equity issuance is the worst on record this year in a sign of low investor confidence.
- Apple loses smartphone crown to Samsung as Chinese rivals gain ground — iPhone sales fall 10 per cent in first quarter of 2024 while groups including Xiaomi and Transsion register huge growth.
- China coastguard blocks Philippine vessels as maritime tension grows — Incident comes just days after Washington reiterated security ties with Manila.
- German companies’ dependence on China will last decades, warns Siemens — Comments from group’s finance chief coincide with German chancellor leading a business delegation to China.
- The untold human stories of China’s economic boom — There’s a personal dimension to the nation’s rapid transformation that is crucial to our understanding of it — yet mostly hidden from view.
- ‘World of Warcraft’ return to China will bring peace to NetEase investors — The gaming giant once made as much as 5% of its total sales from Blizzard games.
- US says China is supplying missile and drone engines to Russia — Washington calls on EU to use influence in Beijing to halt weapons transfers to Moscow.
- Opinion: Gold is back — and it has a message for us — The precious metal’s surge may herald a whole new world. By Rana Foroohar.
The New York Times
- U.S. Scrutiny of Chinese Company Could Disrupt U.S. Supply Chain for Key Drugs — Lawmakers raising national security concerns and seeking to disconnect a major Chinese firm from U.S. pharmaceutical interests have rattled the biotech industry. The firm is deeply involved in development and manufacturing of crucial therapies for cancer, cystic fibrosis, H.I.V. and other illnesses.
- State Dept. Is Sending Its Top Diplomat for East Asia to China — The announcement comes days after President Biden met jointly with the leaders of Japan and the Philippines to discuss Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.
- China’s ‘Special Place’ in Modi’s Heart Is Now a Thorn in His Side — As Narendra Modi seeks a third term as prime minister, India’s rupture with China looms over a pillar of his campaign: making his country a major power.
Caixin
- Exclusive: Chinese Insurer’s Ex-Chairman Disappears From Public View, Sources Say — Li Quan has been unreachable since March, just months after one of his predecessors was convicted of bribery.
- China’s Sovereign Fund Bolsters Big Four Banks with $722 Million Investment — Central Huijin Investment has increased its holding in key banks to help stabilize the ailing stock market and vows to continue.
- State-Owned Chery to Make Cars in Spain — The carmaker has purchased a former Nissan plant near Barcelona.
- Chinese Audio App Ximalaya Revives Hong Kong IPO — The firm filed for listings in the U.S. and Hong Kong in 2021 but both plans were derailed.
- Cover Story: Alibaba Renews Strategy Reset to Revive Growth Momentum — Jack Ma tells employees ‘we must reform for the future’.
South China Morning Post
- In China, Germany’s Olaf Scholz calls for ‘open and fair’ competition as differences weigh on trade — Scholz’s trip comes as the European Union is undertaking an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), and as criticism grows in the United States about Chinese overcapacity.
- China’s ‘critical’ property sector must ensure timely delivery of homes, says Vice-Premier He Lifeng — Vice-Premier He Lifeng completed a two-day inspection tour of Zhengzhou, Henan province, over the weekend with a focus on China’s troubled real estate market.
- Shanghai is the sole commodities bourse to stay open to Russian aluminium, copper and nickel as sanctions drive Moscow towards China — Energy market sanctions imposed on Moscow have already had a dramatic impact on China’s buying habits, helping Russia surpass Saudi Arabia to become the largest oil supplier to Beijing last year.
- Tech war: US sanctions on key Nvidia distributor in China could push more customers towards domestic replacements — Sitonholy, which has been added to the US Entity List, is one of a few ‘elite-level’ Nvidia data centre product solutions providers in China.
- Drone delivery service launches in China’s Greater Bay Area, slashing transport time and costs between cities — Flight between Zhongshan and megacity of Shenzhen takes around 45 minutes and costs 40 yuan (US$5.60) per order, according to UAV-maker Phoenix Wings, which is backed by Chinese logistics giant SF Express.
Nikkei Asia
- China IPOs slow as strict ‘broker butcher’ rules kick in — Total fundraising from Chinese IPOs had already plummeted 64% to 23.6 billion yuan ($3.63 billion) in the first quarter of 2024, versus 65.1 billion yuan a year earlier, according to Deloitte.
- Chinese exodus leaves Cambodia boomtown with 500 ‘ghost buildings’ — An exodus of Chinese real estate companies has left this Cambodian seaside resort littered with hundreds of half-finished projects.
- Uzbekistan chases chemical hub dream with Chinese polymer tech — An ambitious economic transformation effort gaining steam in Uzbekistan hinges on Chinese technology.
- China developer Wanda loses crown jewel mall unit in survival fight — Wanda signed a deal last month to hand over 60% of its mall unit to a group of outside investors in exchange for 60 billion yuan ($8.3 billion) at a ceremony in Dalian.
- China’s foreign auto joint ventures lose luster under EV onslaught — For years, Chinese state-owned automakers could count on joint ventures with major foreign brands as a magic fuel for profit. But the latest earnings suggest those days may be ending.
Bloomberg
- EU Set to Launch China Probe on Medical Device Procurement — The European Union is set to launch an investigation into China’s procurement of medical devices, risking new tensions with Beijing months after opening a probe into the the country’s electric-vehicle subsidies.
- China Vows More Support for Hong Kong as It Touts New Security Law — China’s top official overseeing Hong Kong promised new policies to help the city’s economy — without giving details — a month after the passage of a new Beijing-backed security law that’s raised concern about its future as a financial hub.
- Sephora Turns to Nike E-Commerce Exec to Overhaul China Business — Sephora tapped Nike Inc.’s Asia e-commerce chief to lead its China operations, as the cosmetics retailer faces the challenge of turning around its ailing mainland business.
- Opinion: A China EV Trade War Would Be Self-Defeating for Carmakers — European players have taken a different tone with Beijing than their more hawkish US counterparts. Now is not the time to pick a fight. By David Fickling.
- Opinion: China, Russia and Iran Are Reviving the Age of Empires — Western states that lost their overseas possessions have fared well in the Pax Americana. But Xi and Putin want to regain their nations’ long-lost imperial might. By Hal Brands.
Reuters
- Exclusive: Russia and China trade new copper disguised as scrap to skirt taxes, sanctions — China has become a major destination for Russian companies seeking to export their commodities after the United States imposed sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
- Exclusive: China’s CNOOC stockpiles Russian oil at new reserve base — The stockbuild, estimated at more than 10 million barrels by tanker tracker Vortexa Analytics, helped lift China’s seaborne imports of the flagship Russian export grade to a record high in March.
Other Publications
- Brookings: Private capital is the G7’s best tool to compete with China — Leveraging private capital is the only real alternative for the G7 to deliver at scale and is often the only option for countries seeking alternatives to China.
- AP: Far fewer young Americans now want to study in China. Both countries are trying to fix that — These days, only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of close to 25,000 a decade ago.
- The Washington Post: Opinion: A ‘carbon club’ tariff would speed fight against climate change — A club of nations that imposed tariffs on imports from high emission countries would put the global effort to combat climate change on a more promising. By The Editorial Board.
- Foreign Policy: Who’s Afraid of the Global South? — Revisiting two 50-year-old U.N. resolutions should help dispel fears about a shifting economic world order.
- BBC: China shuts down influencer’s accounts over fake story — Chinese authorities have taken down the accounts of a top influencer who fabricated the viral story of a boy and his missing homework books.
- The Diplomat: 2 Years on, Ukraine’s Sinking of the Moskva Intrigues China’s Naval Strategists — Can studying combat in the Black Sea improve the battle-readiness of the PLA Navy?
