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
- China Detains Two Activists, Adding to Tension With Washington — The arrests of a citizen journalist and an artist are drawing criticism from U.S. lawmakers and human-rights groups.
- Chinese Brokerages to Merge, Creating a $228 Billion Entity — Efforts to consolidate China’s financial-services sector took a big step forward as two of the country’s largest state-backed brokerages agreed to combine to create a giant with about $228 billion in assets.
- Jean Paul Gaultier Owner Puig Shares Drop After Warning on China Challenges — Puig Brands’ first set of results as a public company sent shares to the lowest level since its listing in May, after the beauty group forecast further challenging conditions in China.
- More Debts or Not, Beijing Faces a Thorny Question — With monetary easing constrained by worries around an extended bond rally and banks’ squeezed profit margins, economists are increasingly zeroing in on lagged fiscal support, raising questions about authorities’ reluctance to take on extra debt.
- Japan Bid for U.S. Steel Runs Up Against U.S. Politics — With its $14 billion offer likely blocked, Nippon Steel now must find another way to counter glut from China.
- China’s One-Child Policy Sent Thousands of Adoptees Overseas. That Era Is Over. — Beijing formally ends a program that was propelled by birth restrictions and that had been largely on hold since the pandemic.
- China Detains AstraZeneca Employees Over Alleged Transport of Unapproved Drug — Chinese authorities have detained several employees of British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca on suspicion of bringing an unapproved cancer drug into the country, people familiar with the matter said.
The Financial Times
- China must act on deflation, former central bank governor warns — Yi Gang calls for looser monetary policy in rare admission of pressing economic concern.
- Can globalisation survive the US-China rift? — Rivalry between Washington and Beijing has put global trade under intense pressure. But the system is proving more resilient than many expected.
- Elon Musk’s China dream stalls as hybrids rush past Tesla — Consumers shift to plug-in models from local rivals such as BYD.
- Nvidia’s AI chips are cheaper to rent in China than US — Supply of processors helps Chinese start-ups advance artificial intelligence technology despite Washington’s restrictions.
- Chinese groups to create country’s largest brokerage with $230bn in assets — All-shares deal comes against backdrop of weak markets and government pressure to consolidate financial sector.
- Hong Kong targets tenants with luxury cars over misuse of social housing — Chinese territory under pressure from Beijing to ensure affordable homes are allocated to those who need them.
- Opinion: America’s dollar stores are now living in a Temu world — The Chinese online retailer has made inroads among low-income shoppers. By Lex.
The New York Times
- China Stops Foreign Adoptions, Ending a Complicated Chapter — Beijing said the move was in line with international trends, as more countries have limited such adoptions. Many would-be adoptive families were left in limbo.
- U.S. Election Looms Over Climate Talks with China — Experts believe the outcome of the race for the White House could determine how ambitious China’s climate efforts will be.
Caixin
- China Will Need 9,000 New Aircraft Over Next Two Decades, C919 Plane Designer Says — China operated 4,270 aircraft by the end of 2023, including 4,013 passenger planes and 257 freighters, data from the Civil Aviation Administration showed.
- Most Chinese Mainland-Listed Firms See First-Half Profits Drop — More than 5,300 companies traded on the mainland posted total revenue of around 34.9 trillion yuan ($4.9 trillion) for the period.
- JD.com’s Fintech Arm to Buy Troubled Consumer Lending Firm, Sources Say — The government of Tianjin — where the troubled consumer finance firm is based — is supporting the deal, which is pending approval from the National Financial Regulatory Administration.
- Fans Cry Foul as China vs. Japan World Cup Qualifier Only Available on Paid Live Stream — Fans anxious to watch the game were faced with the option of buying a 318-yuan ($45) annual iQiyi package or paying a smaller fee of 9 yuan to access the game through a monthly membership.
- Jiang Jianqing: Using the Internet to Return to the Essence of Finance — An exclusive interview with Jiang Jianqing, Chairman of ICBC, on evolution of ICBC and the seismic changes that have occurred within China’s banking industry.
South China Morning Post
- China’s state-owned firms splash 1 trillion yuan on emerging hi-tech industries — Funds have been directed towards hi-tech industries, such as new information technology, artificial intelligence, aerospace and new energy.
- China sets historic Mars mission for 2028 as US plan remains in limbo — In the race for the red planet, China has taken the lead, with its Tianwen-3 mission launch date brought forward two years.
- Chip war: Taiwan accuses 8 mainland Chinese firms of poaching talent, stealing secrets — The eight companies named include Naura Technology Group, which counts mainland China’s largest chip makers as clients.
- China eyes medical tourism boost, but still a long way to go amid regional competition — China is not generally considered a go-to option for healthcare and treatments, with the US, South Korea, Japan and Turkey already on the map.
- New AI supply chain standard brings together Ant, Tencent, Baidu and Microsoft, Google, Meta — The new standard, introduced under a UN framework, is meant to guard against risks such as data leaks, model tampering and supplier non-compliance.
Nikkei Asia
- Alibaba accelerates U.S. push with AI sourcing tool — Chinese e-commerce giant eyes more overseas expansion as supply chains diversify.
- China’s regional banks move quicker to shed bad real estate debt — Net interest margins strained by government pressure to lend more.
- BYD’s new German strategy under scrutiny after August sales slump — Lack of trust in after-sales services, low brand recognition seen as problems.
Bloomberg
- German Envoy Says China Emissions Key to World Climate Goal — Germany’s chief climate envoy said China’s commitments to rein in emissions may determine whether the world can attain a target of limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial averages.
- China’s $100 Billion Short Against Dollar Enriches Hedge Funds — State-owned banks are helping support the yuan and the trade is saddling them with huge potential losses.
- China Vanke’s Sales Slump Worsens After Debt Cracks Show Up — China Vanke Co.’s sales slump worsened in August amid concerns about the developer’s ability to repay debt.
- Germany Cracks Down on China Green Fraud in Deepening Scandal — Authorities have rejected carbon credits linked to China-based projects with ‘irregularities,’ while Berlin public prosecutor investigates 17 people on suspicion of ‘commercial fraud.’
- Opinion: China’s Economic Pain Is an Opportunity for India — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Singapore is a chance to step up as a leader of the Global South. New Delhi isn’t seizing the moment. By Karishma Vaswani.
Reuters
- China’s global battery ram will be hard to stop — The Chinese-made batteries that power the vehicles are an obvious next target for trade restrictions. But that battle will be even harder for the West to win.
- New Pizza Hut concept stores in China help frugal diners save — The first Pizza Hut Wow store opened in Guangzhou in May and there are now more than 100 around the country, with a target of 200 by the end of the year, Yum China said.
Other Publications
- CFR: Why Tensions in the South China Sea Are Bolstering the U.S.-Philippines Alliance — Manila has fully allied with Washington amid increasingly dangerous standoffs with Beijing in the South China Sea, heightening the prospect of a wider war.
- Foreign Policy: Is America’s China Policy too Hawkish? — Not so, argues the White House’s ambassador in Beijing, Nicholas Burns.
- Foreign Affairs: Reagan Didn’t Win the Cold War — How a Myth About the Collapse of the Soviet Union Leads Republicans Astray on China.
- The Economist: Liberalism is far from dead in China — Despite an intense clampdown, it may even be drawing more adherents.
- The Information: Apple’s China Rival Huawei Faces Production Snag With New Phone — Huawei Technologies, whose phones are a major competitor to Apple’s iPhones in China, has scheduled a big product announcement for next Tuesday, the day after Apple is expected to unveil its next iPhone.
- PIIE: Will China’s latest urbanization push work? — The ruling Communist Party at its recent major meeting—usually referred to as its third plenum—released plans to relax some of these restrictions to spur more movement, particularly to smaller cities with fewer than 5 million people.
