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
- Hong Kong’s Economy Slowed in First Quarter, But Beat Expectations — Hong Kong’s economy lost steam at the start of the year, as consumer and government spending weakened, but export strength helped growth beat consensus views that had tipped a much sharper slowdown.
- BYD’s First-Quarter Story Is in The Margins — BYD, the world’s largest electric-vehicle maker, paid a price for aggressively cutting prices on its cars, grinding revenue growth to a four-year low in the first quarter. But the bigger story is in its margins.
- NIO Shares Jump After Strong Sales Amid EV Price War — The Chinese electric-vehicle maker’s shares are on track for their largest one-day gain in more than two years.
- The Exodus of China’s Wealthy to Japan — Frustrations with Beijing’s autocratic political system and the economic slowdown have driven some people to leave China and settle in Japan.
- Europe Takes Radical Steps to Boost Production; ‘There Is No Other Option’ — EU official Thierry Breton wants state spending to support domestic manufacturing to compete with China and the U.S.—a reversal of longtime policy to clamp down on national subsidies.
The Financial Times
- Hong Kong launches insider trading prosecution of Segantii Capital — Regulator brings criminal proceedings against hedge fund, its founder Simon Sadler and former trader Daniel LaRocca.
- US law firm Mayer Brown to hive off China operations — Company is latest to rethink its business in the region as market conditions remain weak.
- Solomon Islands elects former diplomat who signed China security pact as PM — Jeremiah Manele was the Pacific country’s foreign minister during switch to recognise Beijing over Taipei.
The New York Times
- Giant Pandas Are Returning to San Diego, China Announces — “Panda diplomacy” has represented an area of cooperation between the United States and China despite tension over weighty issues of trade and national security.
- U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Chinese Companies for Aiding Russia’s War Effort — The penalties came after top Biden administration officials warned China not to help Moscow restock its arsenal to attack Ukraine.
Caixin
- China Signals Support for Private Funds With Toned-Down Rules — Regulators have softened proposed requirements, including parameters for forcing small funds into liquidation, and given them more time to adapt to the new framework.
- China’s New Economy Industries Gain Ground — The contribution of high value-added industries such as biomedicine to total economic inputs rose to 30.7% in April.
- Huawei Moves CEO of Terminal Business to Chairman Role — Chinese tech giant names Richard Yu, who has already served as CEO of the business arm that includes smartphones and smart car solutions for 10 years.
- China’s Solar Giants May Need to Open Factories in U.S., Longi Chairman Says — The comment comes after an American industry group accused Chinese manufacturers of sidestepping U.S. tariffs by moving a portion of their supply chains to Southeast Asia.
South China Morning Post
- Beijing steps up calls for disaster preparedness in southern China after dozens die amid severe rainfall — Central government authorities urge emergency officials to ‘strengthen’ prevention measures after deadly highway collapse.
- China’s migrant workforce getting older as pay rises lag behind general population — Over-50s now make up almost a third of China’s vast migrant workforce, while the number aged under 30 has dropped over the past five years.
- China property: new stimulus is on the way as Politburo pledges to cut housing inventory, say analysts — A new wave of property stimulus measures is brewing that should fuel a recovery in market sentiment across China as the country’s top decision-makers pledged to tackle housing inventories, according to analysts.
Nikkei Asia
- Anti-China sentiment in U.S. grows over past 4 years, Pew survey says — Forty-two percent of Americans see China as an enemy while only 6% of Americans see it as a partner, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.
- Xi Jinping sends a message but no flowers to Antony Blinken — China’s symbolism indicates that relations with U.S. are deteriorating further.
- China woos Argentina, Bolivia and Peru to advance Belt and Road — Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino in Beijing. This is the first trip by Argentina’s top diplomat to China since President Javier Milei took office in December.
- Opinion: Xi Jinping’s vision of war seen in creation of ‘Information Force’ — The latest restructuring of China’s People’s Liberation Army has put a spotlight on President Xi Jinping’s concept of information as a central element of modern warfare. By Anushka Saxena.
Bloomberg
- China Launches Rockets From Sea in Bid to Win the Space Race — Offshore launches can improve takeoff positioning and save money on transporting rockets, but there are logistical challenges.
- Huawei Secretly Backs US-Based Research With Millions in Prizes Through DC Group — The Chinese telecommunications giant blacklisted by the US, is secretly funding cutting-edge research at American universities including Harvard through an independent Washington-based foundation.
- French Cognac Producers Push for Deal on China Dumping Probe — Cognac makers hit with allegations of dumping French brandy in China called for a deal to end the dispute ahead of President Xi Jinping’s state visit to France.
- Philippines Summons China Envoy After Water Cannon Incident — The Philippines summoned China’s envoy in Manila on Thursday to protest China’s use of water cannons against its ships in the disputed South China Sea, prompting Beijing to accuse Manila of infringing on its territory.
- Opinion: China Has 350 Warships. The US Has 290. That’s a Problem. — As Beijing’s naval power grows, America needs to bring together a coalition of allies in the South China Sea. By James Stavridis.
Reuters
- Xi’s trip to Europe may lay bare West’s divisions over China strategy — Xi travels to France, Serbia and Hungary at a time when the European Union is threatening to hammer China’s electric vehicle and green energy industries with tariffs.
- China travel surges for May holiday but consumers remain wary — Travel of all kinds has rebounded since China lifted strict COVID control measures at the end of 2022, but consumer spending on those trips has failed to keep up, limiting the boost to the broader economy.
The Economist
- China and America trade blame for a world on fire — A global contest is under way to recruit like-minded countries as supporters.
- Chinese EV-makers are leaving Western rivals in the dust — They have shone at Beijing’s car jamboree.
- China mulls a bold test of taxation without representation — With revenue declining, its leaders must figure out how to collect more money.
- Why China’s companies are recruiting their own militias — Officials want to keep things calm in an era of slowing growth.
- The Chinese scientist who sequenced covid is barred from his lab — The Communist Party is still hounding experts whose work might expose its pandemic missteps.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: Nobody Is Competing With the U.S. to Begin With — Conflicts with China and Russia are about local issues that Washington can’t win anyway.
- Foreign Affairs: The Myth of the Asian Swing State — Great-Power Competition No Longer Dominates the Region’s Politics.
- POLITICO: Schumer, at-risk Dems ask Biden to hike tariffs on China — The new pressure from Capitol Hill comes from a number of at-risk Democratic senators — particularly Sens. Sherrod Brown, Bob Casey and Tammy Baldwin.
- The Washington Post: China’s propaganda units harvest data from overseas tech firms — Beijing’s propaganda engine is pulling data from Chinese tech firms, including popular shopping and gaming apps with hundreds of millions of U.S. users, researchers say.
- The Guardian: Number of writers jailed in China exceeds 100 for first time, says report — Freedom to Write index says there are 107 people in prison for published content in China, with many accused of ‘picking quarrels’.
