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
- Tencent Profit Jumps as High-Margin Businesses Grow — Chinese technology giant Tencent reported a sharp rise in profit for the first quarter, buoyed by rapid growth in its high-margin businesses.
- Why the World Has Gone Cuckoo for Copper — The U.S. and China are competing to acquire the metal, which is essential for EVs and data centers. It is also at the center of a $43 billion takeover battle.
- Biden Levies Sweeping Tariffs on China, Intensifying Trade Fight With Trump — The presumed 2024 election foes are taking competing protectionist approaches against Beijing.
- U.K. Charges Three With Spying Linked to Hong Kong — The prosecution is one of the most high-profile efforts by British authorities to curtail alleged Chinese spying on U.K. soil.
The Financial Times
- US sharply raises tariffs on Chinese EVs and semiconductor imports — Action designed to protect American jobs as Joe Biden campaigns for votes across rustbelt.
- Putin to visit China this week — Russian leader to meet Xi Jinping as Beijing throws economic lifeline to Moscow.
- Chinese car executive calls west’s claim of overcapacity a ‘fake concept’ — Great Wall Motor’s international head defends China’s industry as it exports more vehicles amid slowing domestic demand.
- Danish biotech says companies should tap China’s ‘impressive innovation’ — Genmab argues ‘anti-Chinese sentiment’ should not deter dealmaking.
- Biden orders Chinese crypto miner to sell land near US military base — White House says group has 120 days to exit property near air force’s nuclear facility in Wyoming.
- Chinese solar groups pull out of tender after EU anti-subsidy probe — Two bidders for Romanian photovoltaic park withdraw a month after Brussels launched investigation.
- China accused of ‘transnational repression’ of students — Amnesty International report says Chinese authorities harassing citizens studying in Europe and US.
- Opinion: Putin’s trip to China may show US threats are wishful thinking — They will privately brainstorm options for a sanctions-proof infrastructure before quietly implementing them. By Alexandra Prokopenko.
- Opinion: Why Hong Kong should put debt restructuring back on the legislative agenda — Lawyers say more options are needed to resolve debt problems than simply ‘lose-lose’ liquidations. By Chan Ho-him.
- Opinion: European leaders need to wake up — the world has changed — Germany in particular has been slow to come to terms with significant geopolitical and economic shifts. By Sylvie Kauffmann.
The New York Times
- Biden Will Raise Tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicles, Chips and Other Goods — The president is set to announce increased taxes on Chinese imports in strategic industries, building on former President Donald J. Trump’s tariffs.
- How China Got So Dominant in Cars and Solar — Heavy subsidies for industry, together with weak sales in China, have set the stage for an export boom, raising fears of factory job losses elsewhere.
- How Biden’s Trade War With China Differs From Trump’s — The president is trying a targeted approach, with allies, to beat Beijing in the race to own the clean energy future. Those weren’t his predecessor’s goals.
- Putin Will Visit Xi, Testing a ‘No Limits’ Partnership — Moscow seeks more support for its war in Ukraine. But Beijing risks alienating Europe, a key trading partner needed to help revive China’s economy.
- Biden Bans Chinese Bitcoin Mine Near U.S. Nuclear Missile Base — An investigation identified national security risks posed by a crypto facility in Wyoming. It is near an Air Force base and a data center doing work for the Pentagon.
- U.K. Police Charge 3 Men With Aiding Hong Kong Intelligence Service — The three appeared in court on Monday after being arrested under Britain’s National Security Act. Eight other people detained in the case have been released.
- Opinion: The End of TikTok Is a Propaganda Win for Beijing — A new bill will result in a ban of the app and a propaganda win for Beijing. By Nick Frisch and Dan Wang.
Caixin
- China’s Weaker Insurers Skip Early Bond Redemptions Amid Growing Financial Stress — Several insurance companies have chosen to pay higher interest rates on their supplementary capital bonds rather than exercise an option to redeem them early, a sign they are facing solvency problems.
- China Launches First Major Sodium-Ion Battery Energy Storage Station — The facility in Guangxi is the first use of sodium-ion battery technology on a large scale in China, manufacturer says.
- China Seeks to Eliminate Regulations That Hurt Business Environment — The Ministry of Justice is asking the public for help identifying policies that put certain businesses, especially private companies, at a disadvantage.
South China Morning Post
- Alibaba sees most profitable year since 2021 amid a refocus on e-commerce, AI businesses and rising competition at home — Alibaba net income rose 10 per cent to US$11 billion in the 2023 financial year, the first annual results since co-founder Joe Tsai took over as chairman.
- China signals it will help US tackle illegal migration after halting cooperation in 2022 — Chinese embassy says Beijing is open to talks on repatriation of illegal immigrants following suspension in aftermath of Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit.
- Cleaner air in China causes ‘sudden warming’ in North America, study finds — Researchers say reduced aerosol emissions in China have led to rising sea temperatures and extreme weather in Northeast Pacific, from Alaska to California, affecting biodiversity and causing toxic algae blooms and drought.
- Chinese gaming giants Tencent, NetEase to release new titles back to back in sign of intensified rivalry — Chinese tech giants Tencent and NetEase announced back-to-back new title releases, in a sign of intensified competition among the country’s top two video gaming publishers.
Nikkei Asia
- Hong Kong chief defends foreign offices after manager’s arrest in U.K. — Lee, holding his weekly news conference, stressed that the network of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices “means a lot” to the city and to the places where they operate.
- Nissan and others eye mass-producing solid-state batteries — Challenges loom as Japan seeks lead in game-changing technology against China, South Korea.
- Opinion: India can be a real alternative to China in pharmaceuticals — Dependence on imported ingredients and quality assurance are being addressed. By Gopal Nadadur and Sam Ide.
Bloomberg
- WuXi Says Parent Owned a DNA Pioneer But It Never Accessed Data — WuXi AppTec Co. told the US that its parent previously owned a company that was an early pioneer in widescale genetic sequencing, though it never had access to the data.
- China Tensions Drive Spending at US East Coast Ports — Savannah and Brunswick in Georgia are looking to win business away from Pacific coast rivals.
- Chinese EV Giant BYD to Unveil Plug-In Hybrid Pickup in Mexico — BYD Co., the leader in electric vehicles in China, plans to debut its first truck in Mexico, next door to the world’s largest pickup market.
Reuters
- China’s property ‘whitelist’ lifeline stutters amid sector gloom — Banks have been reluctant to heed Beijing’s repeated nudges to bolster credit to the embattled sector given the risks of more bad loans.
- China-Gulf free trade talks stall on Saudi industrial agenda, sources say — Five sources briefed on the negotiations said the sides were at an impasse over Saudi reservations with a list of goods put forward by Beijing to be exempt from Gulf import duties.
- Exclusive: U.S. and Taiwan navies quietly held Pacific drills in April — Washington and Taipei have been expanding their military cooperation in recent years amid almost daily Chinese incursions into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone.
Other Publications
- CFR: Taiwan’s Democracy Is Thriving in China’s Shadow — Despite China’s growing pressure, Taiwan has developed one of the world’s strongest democracies—one that will be increasingly tested in the coming years.
- Foreign Policy: Peru Learns to Read the Fine Print in China Deals — A mistaken provision has given Beijing control of a key port.
- The Atlantic: Pope Francis’s China Gamble — In trying to hold the Church together, Francis has compromised on the freedom of Chinese Catholics.
- The Information: Chinese Regulators Tell Local Tech Firms to Buy Fewer Nvidia Chips — Officials with government agencies in recent months have told tech firms, including TikTok parent ByteDance, Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu, to cut back on their purchase of foreign-made artificial intelligence chips in favor of buying more domestically made chips.
