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
- Chinese Military Launches Drills Encircling Taiwan in Test of New President — Large-scale operations a ‘punishment for separatist acts,’ China military says, days after Lai Ching-te’s inauguration.
- China’s New Sovereign Bond Prices Go Haywire Amid Search for Safe Assets — Demand in China has risen for investments seen as a better bet than stocks or property.
- Congress to Fund U.S. Deep-Sea Mining Project — Pentagon to explore feasibility of ocean-floor mineral refining in U.S., according to documents seen by the Journal, amid concerns over China’s control of key minerals.
- Xiaomi’s First-Quarter Profit, Revenue Beat Expectations — The Beijing-based company’s quarterly revenue rose 27%.
- Opinion: China’s Sea Power Leaves U.S. Adrift — With Beijing pursuing global supremacy across the oceans, America must rebuild its maritime sector. By Rep. Mike Waltz and Sen. Mark Kelly
The Financial Times
- Segantii to return capital amid Hong Kong insider dealing probe — Hedge fund tells investors firm will ‘return their capital in an orderly manner.’
- Jamie Dimon admits to ‘tough’ going for JPMorgan in China — Investment banking business has ‘fallen off a cliff’, chief executive tells bank’s flagship Shanghai conference.
- China kicks off ‘punishment’ drills around Taiwan — Move marks Beijing’s first military reaction to inauguration of Taiwan’s president.
- China asks carmakers to use up to 25% local chips by 2025 — Policy push aims to purge foreign automotive semiconductors in coming years.
- Opinion: America must face reality and prioritise China over Europe — This does not mean abandoning US allies on the continent but is based on a sober assessment of military capabilities. By Elbridge Colby
The New York Times
- China Launches Military Drills Around Taiwan as ‘Punishment’ — China said the sea and air drills were meant as a “stern warning” to its opponents after Taiwan’s new president asserted the island’s sovereignty in defiance of Beijing.
- TikTok Moves to Limit Russian and Chinese Media’s Reach in Big Election Year — The platform will keep state-affiliated media accounts out of users’ feeds if they “attempt to reach communities outside their home country on current global events and affairs.”
- Opinion: America Is Losing the Green Tech Race to China — On May 14, President Biden announced a major escalation of the country’s emerging climate trade war with China, raising existing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to 100 percent — a unilateral quadrupling. By David Wallace-Wells
Caixin
- In Depth: China’s Dwindling AI Chip Stockpile Leaves Little Room for Sora Copycats — The release three months ago of Sora, a program developed by OpenAI to convert text prompts into computer-generated videos, has placed significant pressure on Chinese firms in the space.
- IDG Capital Partner Possibly Provided Info in Insider Trading Case, CSRC Says — A partner at IDG Capital has possibly provided information about a Shenzhen-listed company to a bank employee who was fined earlier this month for insider trading, according to an official notice.
- FAW and Nio Join Forces to Charge Up Battery-Swap Network — Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio has entered a strategic partnership with state-owned automaker FAW Group in the latest expansion to its battery swapping alliance.
South China Morning Post
- Xiaomi posts better-than-expected quarterly sales on growing smartphone shipments, as EV target remains on track — The Chinese smartphone and electric vehicle (EV) maker Xiaomi grew its first-quarter revenue by a better-than-expected 27 per cent year on year, as handset shipments recovered globally.
- China’s solar panel industry seeks to curb ‘vicious competition’ with M&As and easy exits to control capacity as EU, US turn up heat — Falling prices and ‘operational pressures’ are flagged at a meeting of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association amid domestic overcapacity concerns.
- AI-enabled ‘covert’ detention monitoring cameras, drone disrupters headline China police gear fair — A new camera surveillance system can monitor a detainee’s vital signs, facial expressions and suicide risk.
Nikkei Asia
- China EV makers Xpeng, Li Auto shift focus to Mideast and Central Asia — Price cuts, overseas expansion eyed as automakers battle in crowded domestic market.
- Tesla pushes suppliers to produce parts outside of China and Taiwan — Move comes amid rising geopolitical tensions and competition from Chinese rivals.
- Analysis: Xi Jinping weighs options as Taiwan inaugurates a new president — China can consider a blockade or hope the opposition KMT undermines Lai Ching-te.
Bloomberg
- Ferrari CEO Says the Emergence of Chinese EVs Should Be a Call to Action for Europe — The emergence of Chinese electric vehicles should sound a clarion call for Europe to be less complacent, Ferrari NV Chief Executive Officer Benedetto Vigna said.
- China’s App Xiaohongshu Taps Niche Rich Female Gen Zers — Teresa Cheung fired up her Xiaohongshu app, turned on her camera and dazzled her nearly 1.8 million online followers over a seven-hour livestream.
- China State Media Warns on Speculative Trading in Special Bonds — China’s state media urged investors to refrain from engaging in speculative trades in the latest special sovereign bond, as an illiquid part of the market saw a retail buying scramble Wednesday.
Reuters
- China launches ‘punishment’ war games around Taiwan — A furious China launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan on Thursday in what it said was a response to “separatist acts”, sending up heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated President Lai Ching-te.
- China’s food security dream faces land, soil and water woes — China, the world’s biggest agriculture importer, has set targets to drastically reduce its reliance on overseas buying over the coming decade in line with its push for food security, but they will be exceedingly difficult to meet, experts say.
- Exclusive: Boeing deliveries to China delayed by state regulator review, source says — Boeing’s (BA.N) plane deliveries to China have been delayed in recent weeks due to a Chinese regulatory review of batteries powering the cockpit voice recorder, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Other Publications
- CNBC: JPMorgan says China can’t be ignored: ‘You have to do business there’ — China is too big to be sidelined, and investors “have to do business there,” JPMorgan Asia Pacific CEO Sjoerd Leenart said Thursday, adding that the country had emerged as the second world power.
- The Economist: How the Chinese state aims to calm the property market — Officials appear willing to spend public money on private capitalists.
- Washington Post: TikTok says it removed an influence campaign originating in China — In a transparency report, TikTok also detailed other influence campaigns it took down.
- POLITICO: How two sets of House members are deploying FARA as a bogeyman — On Wednesday, new House Select Committee on China Chair John Moolenaar and Rep. Elise Stefanik wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland to demand an investigation into whether the Drone Advocacy Alliance, an industry coalition sponsored by the Chinese drone maker DJI Technologies, might be required to register as a foreign agent.
- Quartz: Stellantis CEO says tariffs on Chinese EVs are a ‘major trap’ — The automaker is working with China’s Leapmotor to sell electric vehicles outside of the country.
- The Guardian: US challenges Shapps’ claim China is sending ‘lethal aid’ to Russia — UK defence secretary said on Wednesday that Moscow was receiving help with combat equipment for use in Ukraine.
