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
- South Korea Plans $7 Billion Push to Pivot EV Battery Industry Away From China — The financial aid involves cheaper state loans and tax incentives.
- Elon Musk Dispatches Tesla’s ‘Fireman’ to China Amid Slowing Sales — Tom Zhu, one of the three executives named on Tesla’s website, returns to China as carmaker seeks to launch Autopilot features there.
- To Survive in China, Global Automakers Tap Local Tech Giants — Competition in China’s auto market is ratcheting up in the form of a price war and in the development of auto-driving and software systems.
- TikTok Sues to Block U.S. Ban — Chinese-controlled app claims new federal law violates First Amendment and unlawfully singles out company for punishment.
The Financial Times
- Xi praises Hungary’s ‘independent’ foreign policy ahead of Orbán meeting — Chinese leader to complete Europe tour with diplomatic outlier that has maintained friendly ties with Russia.
- Hong Kong court bans protest anthem deemed seditious by city officials — Judgment raises pressure on US tech companies operating in Chinese territory to block the song.
- Angola agrees deal with Chinese state bank to ease debt crunch — Africa’s second-biggest oil producer unlocks cash from a Chinese-controlled account to pay interest on a crucial loan.
- US revokes licences for supply of chips to China’s Huawei — Move marks Biden administration’s latest effort to target country’s tech sector.
- China’s dealers ditch foreign-branded petrol cars for homegrown EVs — Showroom makeovers offer on-the-forecourt example of country’s pivot to greener vehicles.
- TikTok challenges ‘extreme’ US divest-or-ban bill in court — Lawsuit including parent company ByteDance claims legislation would breach free speech rights.
The New York Times
- Macron Adds a Personal Touch to His Diplomacy With China — The French president took Xi Jinping to his childhood haunts high in the Pyrenees, hoping to forge a bond. If only the weather had cooperated.
- A New Diplomatic Strategy Emerges as Artificial Intelligence Grows — American and Chinese diplomats plan to meet later this month to begin what amounts to the first, tentative arms control talks over the use of artificial intelligence.
- Hong Kong Court Bans Democracy Song, Calling It a ‘Weapon’ — The decision could give the government power to force Google and other tech companies to limit access to “Glory to Hong Kong,” an anthem of 2019 protests.
- TikTok Sues U.S. Government Over Law Forcing Sale or Ban — The social media company and its Chinese parent, ByteDance, sued to challenge the new law, saying it violated users’ First Amendment rights.
Caixin
- Meituan Tops Hong Kong Food Delivery Market After Just One Year — Meituan has become the largest food delivery service provider in Hong Kong with more than 40% share of the market since its debut in the city a year ago, thanks to generous subsidies and rapidly expanding services.
- Changan Auto Expects to Sign Off Investment in Huawei’s Smart Car Unit by End of August — State-owned Chongqing Changan Automobile said Monday that it expects to sign a final agreement by the end of August to invest in Huawei’s new smart car unit.
- Retired ICBC Executive Expelled From Party for Bribery, Embezzlement — A retired executive of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC), one of the country’s “Big Four” state-owned banks, has been expelled from the Communist Party following a corruption probe, the nation’s top anti-graft watchdog announced.
South China Morning Post
- China’s C919 aircraft to roll off the line faster as developer expands capacity, but reliance on engine imports risks ‘bottleneck’ — A construction firm under C919 maker Comac announced plans to build a big new construction zone in Shanghai, with an assembly plant and parts warehouse, but then the online post was suddenly deleted.
- China’s overcapacity dilemma solvable with ‘painful’ industrial revamp, scholars say — Scholars have suggested a realignment of industries, with some pain in the short term, would go a long way towards resolving China’s overcapacity problem and adapting to trade restrictions in those sectors.
- Chinese unicorn Zhipu AI to launch Sora rival as early as 2024 amid local race to catch up with OpenAI: report — The Beijing-based start-up, dubbed one of the ‘four new AI tigers’ of China, is said to have plans to release ‘high-quality text-to-video tools’ by this year at the earliest.
Nikkei Asia
- Baidu PR chief’s videos spark backlash over harsh workplace culture — Clips posted on TikTok’s sister app prompt criticism about lack of ’empathy.’
- Europe faces up to China’s EV dominance as carbon-zero targets loom — As Xi travels through EU this week, automakers weigh whether to fight or team up with cheaper Chinese rivals.
- Xi’s Europe tour aims to drive wedge in region’s hardening China stance — Leader urges shift from U.S.-led order as he visits France, Serbia and Hungary.
Bloomberg
- China Threatens to Release Audio of Secret Deal With Philippines — China may soon release audio of a purported phone call with a Philippine military official that Beijing claims is evidence of an agreement over disputed territory in the South China Sea, according to Chinese officials.
- China Moves to Cool Battery Boom Amid Overcapacity Concerns — China unveiled draft rules that appear aimed at slowing the breakneck expansion of its battery industry — a key target of US and European complaints about Chinese overcapacity.
- Saudi Arabia’s $100 Billion AI Fund Will Divest China If US Asks — The head of Saudi Arabia’s new investment fund for semiconductor and artificial intelligence technology said the country would divest from China if it were asked to do so by the US.
- Xi Says Eastern Europe Helpful as EU Hardens Line on Trade — President Xi Jinping lauded his nation’s ties with Eastern Europe as a boon for the world’s No. 2 economy as he arrived in Belgrade on a trip designed to promote China’s potential as a trade partner.
Reuters
- In rapidly ageing China, millions of migrant workers can’t afford to retire — After three decades selling homemade buns on the streets of the Chinese city of Xian, 67-year-old Hu Dexi would have liked to slow down.
- Elon Musk proposed to launch robotaxis in China during April visit, state media report says — Elon Musk proposed testing Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance package in China by deploying it in robotaxis, during his recent visit to the country, the state-backed China Daily newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
- Exclusive: US eyes curbs on China’s access to AI software behind apps like ChatGPT — The Biden administration is poised to open up a new front in its effort to safeguard U.S. AI from China with preliminary plans to place guardrails around the most advanced AI Models, the core software of artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, sources said.
- With onsite inspections, China dials up scrutiny of local IPO hopefuls — Chinese regulators are scrutinising old business deals and even the personal bank accounts of senior executives as they ramp up inspections of IPO hopefuls to slow the pace of fresh capital raisings and boost secondary markets, according to 10 sources.
Other Publications
- Associated Press: Albanese rejects China’s argument that Australia was at fault in dangerous aircraft encounter — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday rejected China’s argument that Australia was responsible for a dangerous weekend encounter between their military aircraft in international airspace over the Yellow Sea.
- Washington Post: Commerce Department revokes more export licenses to China’s Huawei — The move is expected to curb chip sales by Intel and Qualcomm to Huawei’s smartphone and laptop business lines.
- POLITICO: Xi Jinping’s European tour — In a mountain pass in the Pyrenees this week, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for talks today in the midst of a fraying relationship between the EU and China.
- Foreign Policy: No, This Is Not a Cold War—Yet — Why are China hawks exaggerating the threat from Beijing?
- Quartz: Tesla’s China-made EV sales fell in April as rival BYD grew — Elon Musk has pushed his company to go all-in on China in recent weeks to drive up sales.
- Center for Strategic & International Studies: The Case for U.S.-China Cooperation on Climate-Smart Agriculture — Growing populations around the world will require more food while climate change and other pressures are limiting agricultural production, including in the United States and China.
- MIT Technology Review: Deepfakes of your dead loved ones are a booming Chinese business — People are seeking help from AI-generated avatars to process their grief after a family member passes away.
- The Information: Shein to Prioritize Compliance Amid U.S. Forced Labor Crackdown — China-founded fashion giant Shein told employees it is stepping up its efforts to keep products made with forced labor off its site, citing tougher U.S. enforcement to screen low-value parcels that previously received little customs scrutiny.
- The Guardian: Serbia prepares warm welcome for Xi in contrast to China-EU tensions — Chinese president hails two countries’ friendship before his arrival, after visiting Pyrenees with Macron.
