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 Records First Covid-19 Deaths Since May as Cases Edge Toward Record High — Surging cases in Beijing, other major cities challenge government’s push to ease restrictions that have hit economy.
- China Consumer Spending Slumps Under Covid and Property Restrictions — Campaigns to rein in Covid-19 cases and property prices have squelched consumer demand in the world’s second-largest economy.
- Chinese Nickel Producer Lygend Seeks Up to $593 Million in Hong Kong IPO — Lygend is the latest company along the electric-vehicle supply chain to tap public markets this year.
- U.S.-Europe Trade Booms as Old Allies Draw Closer — Russia’s attack on Ukraine and China’s economic travails are encouraging a trade and investment renaissance.
- TikTok Is Still Hiring as Competitors Shed Jobs — Social-media company has said it would add 3,000 engineers, plans to boost head count at Mountain View, Calif., hub.
- Manulife Wins China Mutual Fund Approval — The life insurer is set to be the first foreign firm to convert its Chinese fund joint venture into a wholly owned subsidiary.
The Financial Times
- Sinopec secures one of biggest-ever LNG deals with Qatar — Chinese group agrees to buy more than 100mn tonnes of the fuel over 27 years.
- China’s great debt-for-equity swap — With the dollar carry trade unwinding, Chinese banks are bulking up.
- Hong Kong leader tests positive for Covid after meeting Xi Jinping — Chinese president was not wearing mask at dinner with John Lee.
- ‘More smoke than fire’: China’s Pacific aid falls short of pledges — Beijing’s development spending has fallen despite efforts to build influence in the region.
- MSCI investors at risk of exposure to Xinjiang allegations, report says — China has come under renewed international pressure over its treatment of Uyghur Muslims.
- Xiaohongshu sheds up to half its implied value in private markets — China’s answer to Instagram gained a $20bn valuation last year. Then the tide turned for the country’s start-ups.
- China recruits villagers to restore Foxconn’s iPhone production after staff exodus — Local governments are looking for workers to fill factories ahead of peak holiday sales season.
Caixin
- Cover Story: China’s Halting Steps to Dial Back ‘Zero Covid’ — As most of the world has largely returned to pre-pandemic life, China is quietly easing its stringent “zero-Covid” policies even as several major cities experience a surge in infections.
- Pony.ai Turns to Assisted Driving as Fully Autonomous Tech Hits Barriers — Pony.ai Inc. has established a new department to develop assisted driving systems for makers of passenger vehicles, as the Toyota-backed self-driving startup tries to expand its revenue streams beyond autonomous taxis and trucks.
- Two Former Top Men at Beijing Trust Firm Hit With Graft Probes — A former chairman and an ex-general manager of Beijing International Trust Co. Ltd. (BITIC), a state-owned financial firm, are under investigation for suspected corruption, with possible connections to a local official, Caixin has learned.
South China Morning Post
- China, Cambodia look to upgrade military ties along with expanded naval base — Cambodia’s prime minister thanked China’s defence chief for helping to upgrade its own armed forces, and hopes for further military cooperation.
- Lithuania’s new office in Taiwan not a de facto embassy, Taipei says — Foreign Minister Joseph Wu tells lawmakers it’s a trade office with no consular or political functions.
- Mainland China’s efforts to lure Taiwanese fade with deepening distrust and a slowing economy — Nearly five years after mainland China introduced 31 measures that gave Taiwanese freer access to opportunities and benefits, the soft-power gambit for reunification is losing its lustre due to political tensions and a slowing economy.
- Hong Kong appeal judges reject government bid to take arguments against British counsel for trial of media tycoon Jimmy Lai to highest court — Appeal judges reject Department of Justice argument that use of Owen ‘incompatible’ with aims of Beijing-imposed national security law.
Nikkei Asia
- China COVID cases rise; hard-hit Beijing districts shut schools — Three deaths reported in the capital over the weekend, the first since May.
- U.S. kept quiet on warship transit of Taiwan Strait before Biden met Xi — Unannounced voyage likely attempt to avoid friction with Beijing before summit.
Bloomberg
- Shein’s Cotton Tied to Chinese Region Accused of Forced Labor — Tests link retailer’s apparel to Xinjiang, where US officials say China abuses Uyghurs.
- US, China Defense Chiefs Likely to Meet as Ties Stabilize — The US and Chinese defense chiefs are likely to meet for their first talks since Beijing suspended dialog with Washington over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s August visit to Taiwan — the latest sign that ties between the two nations are stabilizing.
- China Seals One of the Biggest LNG Deals Ever With Qatar — China signed a landmark $60 billion agreement for purchases of liquefied natural gas from Qatar, as the world’s second-largest economy looks to bolster its energy security for decades.
- China Trying to ‘Air Brush’ Over Wolf Warrior Damage, US Ambassador Emanuel Says — Chinese President Xi Jinping’s summits with the US and its partners were likely an attempt to paper over the harm it has caused with numerous countries in recent years, a top US envoy said.
- Buffett’s $5 Billion TSMC Purchase Adds to Wave of Bullish Calls — For investors looking for a dip-buying opportunity in the global chip industry, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. may have a recommendation: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Reuters
- Younger Chinese are spurning factory jobs that power the economy — The rejection of grinding factory work by Zhu and other Chinese in their 20s and 30s is contributing to a deepening labour shortage that is frustrating manufacturers in China, which produces a third of the goods consumed globally.
- Michael Bloomberg apologises for Boris Johnson speech criticising China — Michael Bloomberg apologised last week at a business forum hosted by the news agency he founded for remarks by British former Prime Minister Boris Johnson criticising China as autocratic.
- Germany plans to tighten rules for firms highly dependent on China – document — The proposed measures are part of a new business strategy towards China being drawn up by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government as it seeks to reduce its dependency on Asia’s economic superpower.
- Top U.S. House Republican McCarthy plans special committee on China — Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, said on Sunday he would form a select committee on China if he is elected speaker of the chamber, accusing the Biden administration of not standing up to Beijing.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: For rivals Japan and China, the new space race is about removing junk — No rules govern who is responsible for cleanup — or space-debris mitigation, as it is called — but Japan intends to play a key role in their development. The nation has stepped up cooperation with the United States in response to China’s growing space capabilities.
- Foreign Affairs: Xi Jinping and the Paradox of Power — What Mao’s Failures Reveal About Centralizing Control. By Minxin Pei
