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
- Xi Jinping’s ‘Common Prosperity’ Was Everywhere, but China Backed Off — The signature economic policy, aimed at reducing inequality, rattled businesses last year but has faded as Beijing refocuses on shoring up growth.
- In Shanghai, Strict Covid Rules Separate Children From Parents — Video footage showing crying toddlers and infants in a Shanghai hospital sparks outrage at China’s pandemic rules. The hospital says it is a temporary situation as it responds to a surge in infections.
- Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Won’t Seek a Second Term — Her decision comes after five years of political and social turmoil that included mass antigovernment protests and a national security crackdown.
- U.S.-listed Chinese Firms Get a New Lease on Life—Maybe — Beijing is eager for a deal to let at least some U.S.-listed Chinese firms keep their places in American stock exchanges.
- China’s Bet on Sending Its Exports Through Russia Hits Setback — Ukraine war threatens to hold up billions of dollars worth of Chinese products bound for Europe on Silk Road rail corridor.
- Australian Miner to Compete With China With New Rare-Earths Refinery — Iluka Resources secures loan to help feed demand for materials critical for electric vehicles, smartphones and wind turbines.
The Financial Times
- Carrie Lam says she will not seek a second term as Hong Kong leader — Chief executive’s tenure was buffeted by pro-democracy protests and devastating Covid outbreak.
- Beijing maintains silence over allegations of Russian atrocities in Ukraine — Chinese government has backed Moscow’s war but some social media posts reveal public misgivings.
- Shanghai lockdown tests the limits of Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid policy — The city of 26mn is dealing with rising cases of Omicron but there are signs of growing public anger at the stringent measures.
- Australian casino inquiry puts spotlight on Chinese money laundering — Probe into Star Entertainment’s Sydney venue is latest hit to country’s gambling industry.
- What Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory means for its future in China — US EV giant’s Shanghai plant is under pressure as rivals catch up.
- Shanghai residents plead for food and medicine as authorities lock down city — Children separated from their parents as officials struggle to contain Covid outbreak.
- China changes audit secrecy rules in bid to stop US delistings — Watchdog will allow foreign regulators to access sensitive financial information on overseas-listed companies.
- Coronavirus treatments/China: strong demand for traditional remedies drives record profits — Beijing is promoting Chinese medicine as a global export but not all countries share the enthusiasm.
The New York Times
- Bristling Against the West, China Rallies Domestic Sympathy for Russia — China’s Communist Party is mounting an ideological campaign aimed at officials and students. The message: The country will not turn its back on Russia.
- A Flight Over China in Clear Skies, Followed by a Nosedive — Investigators face a formidable challenge in figuring out why China Eastern Flight 5735 crashed on March 21.
- Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s Leader, Won’t Seek Second Term — The territory’s chief executive has been criticized by residents and pro-Beijing lawmakers for mixed messaging and mishandling the city’s fifth coronavirus outbreak.
- In Shanghai, Covid Is Separating Parents From Children — As China’s largest city struggles to contain a coronavirus outbreak, outrage erupted online after images circulated of small children isolated from parents.
- A top China official signals a commitment to ‘zero Covid’ as Shanghai battles an outbreak. — Many have wondered why infected residents must go to isolation centers instead of isolating at home. Ms. Sun’s instructions offered little hope that Covid policies in the city would relax anytime soon.
Caixin
- China Proposes Revised Rules to Enable Sino-U.S. Audit Cooperation — As authorities move to keep Chinese stocks from being kicked off American exchanges, draft regulations would set up a cross-border audit inspection system.
- Huawei Appoints CFO Meng Wanzhou as Rotating Chairman — Appointment comes just six months after returning from almost three years of house arrest in Canada as the U.S. sought her extradition on fraud charges.
- In Depth: As Tencent Lays Off Staff, Is Its ‘Winter’ Approaching? — President warns the company faces ‘fundamental changes and challenges’ as the tech titan grapples with rising rival ByteDance and the tech crackdown.
- Bankrupt Unigroup Gets $9.4 Billion to Advance Restructuring — Strategic investors led by JAC Capital and Wise Road Capital pony up promised funds on deadline, clearing overhaul to proceed.
South China Morning Post
- China’s tech sector is losing its shine but remains top career choice for young talent — China’s tech sector is losing its shine as a career choice for the country’s best educated and most entrepreneurial.
- Buffet-backed BYD stops making oil-fuelled cars in complete shift to electric vehicles — China’s largest new electric vehicle (NEV) maker BYD said it stopped producing purely oil-fuelled vehicles last month and currently only makes electric and hybrid cars, as the country pushes towards its national goal of reducing carbon emissions.
- No 2 government official John Lee ‘forming team for possible leadership bid’ as nomination window opens for delayed race — Multiple pro-establishment sources told the Post that Lee, 64, who led the Security Bureau for five years from 2017 before being promoted to chief secretary, was likely to sign up for the May 8 election.
Bloomberg
- Hong Kong Leader to Step Down With China Now Firmly in Control — Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she wouldn’t seek a second term, ending a tumultuous tenure that saw China cement control over the once-freewheeling financial hub.
- China Tries to Win Global Acceptance for Traditional Covid Cures — As Hong Kong’s outbreak became the deadliest in the world, among the aid Beijing sent to the financial hub were 1 million packets of honeysuckle, rhubarb root, sweet wormwood herb and other natural ingredients, all mixed according to principles of traditional Chinese medicine.
- Online Giant Shein Said to Raise Funds at $100 Billion Value — Chinese fast fashion e-commerce startup Shein is weighing a funding round at a valuation of about $100 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
- China Removes Key Hurdle to Allow U.S. Full Access to Audits — China modified a decade-long rule that restricted offshore-listed firms’ financial data sharing practice, potentially removing a key hurdle for U.S. regulators to gain full access to auditing reports of the majority of the 200-plus Chinese companies listed in New York.
Reuters
- CanSinoBIO’s mRNA COVID vaccine candidate cleared for trials in China — Unlike other major countries, China is yet to approve any foreign-made mRNA vaccines.
- China central bank expands digital yuan pilot scheme to more cities — Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen and six cities in the coastal Zhejiang province will be added to the existing 10 major “pilot” cities to test the use e-CNY.
- Shanghai to extend lockdown of 26 million people as it reviews test results — The city began its two-stage lockdown on March 28, initially in Shanghai’s eastern districts, and later expanded to cover the whole city.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: War-Gaming Taiwan: When Losing to China Is Winning — What military planners learn when they simulate a Chinese attack.
- Quartz: China discovers a new omicron subvariant — The subvariant, labeled BA.1.1., does not match other coronavirus types sequenced in China or reported to the global variant database, and was found in a mild covid case in Suzhou, a city next to Shanghai.
