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
- Baidu’s AI Push Powers Profit Beat — Chinese search-engine giant Baidu reported better-than-expected profit as its AI-related business continued to grow, offsetting headwinds from a slowing economy.
- U.S. Officials Meet Dalai Lama in New York, Triggering Protest From China — America’s show of support for the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader sparked an angry reaction from China, as anxiety grows in Beijing over his succession.
- Auto Industry’s EV Retreat Hastens — Ford’s move to delay certain projects follows rivals and comes as automakers face pressure from regulators and China.
The Financial Times
- Global investors pile into Chinese bank bonds — Overseas buyers defy Beijing authorities’ unease over fear of debt market bubble.
- PwC braced for 6-month ban in China over Evergrande audit — Expected punishment for work on failed property developer’s accounts would be toughest by Beijing against a Big Four firm.
- Sephora cuts jobs in China in further sign of softness in beauty sector — LVMH-owned brand latest to signal weakness following L’Oréal and Estée Lauder.
Caixin
- China’s Banks Approve $196 Billion in Loans to Support New Home Delivery — Some 5,000 property projects have qualified for financial support program.
- Nio Aims to Build Charging Station in Every Chinese County by Mid-2025 — Nio signs deals with six companies to charge up ambitions for battery service network.
- Tencent-Backed Black Myth: Wukong Gives China’s Gaming Industry a Shot in the Arm — Despite its chart-topping debut, long-term profitability remains uncertain for developer Game Science.
- A New Chinese Food and Beverage Wave Hits Southeast Asia — Despite some localization and supply chain hiccups, Chinese food and drink brands are aggressively expanding into new markets.
South China Morning Post
- Robotaxi start-up WeRide delays US IPO days before Chinese approval expires — The postponement complicates WeRide’s listing plan, as Beijing’s approval for the deal is set to expire at the end of this week.
- Guosen Securities plans to buy 53% of Vanho, heeding China’s call for brokers to combine — Shenzhen’s regulator of state-owned assets pushes move under Beijing’s effort to create bigger firms to compete with global leaders.
- PLA sends advanced landing craft for ‘high-intensity’ drills amid South China Sea tensions — ‘Recent’ exercises involving the Type-071 Jinggang Shan took place against a backdrop of regular clashes between China and the Philippines.
- Is China curbing rare earth production to raise prices as its global dominance wanes? — A potential decrease in mining output this year, plus big demand in sectors that use critical metals, could help boost rare earth prices that are down almost 20 per cent this year.
- Opinion: The seeds of Deng Xiaoping’s legacy have yielded remarkable progress — Ambitious and rapid transformations in China over the last four decades have few historical parallels. By Edward Tse.
Nikkei Asia
- U.S. election could dictate Xi Jinping’s political schedule — Xi Jinping is determined not to be caught off guard by the policies of whoever wins the U.S. presidential election in November, Democrat Kamala Harris or Republican Donald Trump.
- China and Russia drive global nuclear power capacity to record high — With as many reactors as France, China is building more while pursuing new tech.
- China high-speed rail operator forced to hike fares as debt balloons — Rapid expansion leaves China Railway with $859bn in debt along with unused stations.
Bloomberg
- Sinopec Joins Alliance to Boost China’s Green Hydrogen Progress — Sinopec Group and more than a hundred of its Chinese peers will work together to speed up the building of a supply chain for green hydrogen and accelerate the nation’s transition to non-polluting fuels.
- China’s Promotion of Disgraced Covid Official Sparks Backlash — The promotion of a Chinese official disgraced for abusing Covid controls has sparked a fresh firestorm, prompting claims online that her elevation underscores ingrained institutional injustice.
- Taiwan’s Chips, AI Billionaires Are Reshaping Island as China Looks On — Billionaires are reshaping economy, property market and, arguably, adding to the island’s security.
Reuters
- Taiwan president to visit frontline islands at centre of China tensions — Lai’s office said on Thursday that he would travel to Kinmen on Friday for events marking the 66th anniversary of a key military clash with Chinese forces.
- China’s fresh urbanisation push may thwart ‘birth-friendly society’ goal — Given the pace of population decline and ageing in China, the impact of the fast-paced, expensive city life on birth rates should be treated with more urgency by Beijing, demographers say.
- China Evergrande subsidiary dealings raises prospects for offshore creditors — The possibility of Evergrande’s offshore creditors recouping funds through subsidiaries adds another chapter to the downfall of what was once China’s biggest property conglomerate.
Other Publications
- The Guardian: Morality and rules, and how to avoid drowning: what my daughters learned at school in China — Our twins spent two years at primary school in Chengdu. Their lessons featured alarming cautionary tales and stories of Chinese superiority, but there was fun and irreverence, too.
- The Economist: Apple can’t do cars. Meet the Chinese tech giants that can — Baidu, Huawei and Xiaomi have built thriving auto businesses.
- Foreign Affairs: Industrial Policy Needs an Immigration Policy — Why Bringing Jobs Back to the United States Requires Letting in More Foreign Workers.
- Foreign Policy: Why Everyone’s Suddenly Talking About Iranian Election Hacking — America’s Middle Eastern adversary is occupying an arena typically dominated by Russia and China.
