The Wall Street Journal
- Xi Jinping, EU Officials Seek to Ease Economic Tensions at Summit — Europe’s relations with Beijing have grown tense in recent months after the EU’s trade deficit with China swelled.
- Apple Aims to Make a Quarter of the World’s iPhones in India — Supplier Foxconn plans to build more factories and give India a production role once limited mostly to China.
- The World’s Most Anonymous CEO Is About to Take Center Stage — The founder of fast-fashion juggernaut Shein has managed to stay out of the spotlight despite his company’s meteoric rise. With an IPO looming, he likely won’t remain under the radar for much longer.
- How China Made a Youth Unemployment Crisis Disappear — When autocratic governments cancel unflattering statistics, the problem becomes the purview of anecdotes and guesswork.
- ‘Asia’s Detroit’ Wants an EV Makeover. Enter: Chinese Carmakers. — China’s assertive entry into Thailand shows its ambition to dominate the global EV market and edge out traditional giants like Japan.
- Big Labor Is a Big Barrier to Apple’s India Ambitions — India’s moment as a manufacturing hub is here but to truly capitalize on that, it needs labor market reforms.
The Financial Times
- Xi Jinping warns China economic recovery at ‘critical stage’ — Communist party Politburo promises ‘proactive’ fiscal and ‘effective’ monetary policy to support growth.
- Hong Kong’s ‘patriots-only’ election tests China’s vision for territory — Authorities hope higher turnout will demonstrate public support for the political order imposed by Xi Jinping.
- China dismisses EU trade deficit concerns as leaders meet — Xi Jinping holds ‘candid’ talks with heads of European Commission and EU Council in Beijing.
- Chinese property is beyond repair. How can creditors delay its collapse? — Patch up the roof, ignore the foundations, feed the hedgies.
The New York Times
- China’s Electric Car Factories Are Facing a Worker Shortage — China misjudged the rapid expansion of its electric vehicle sector, leaving a shortfall of skilled technicians as young people shun manufacturing careers.
- Lawmakers Press Biden Administration for Tougher Curbs on China Tech — Republican legislators argue that the Biden administration has been ill-equipped and unmotivated in a technology fight with Beijing.
- U.S. and Mexico Try to Promote Trade While Curbing Flow of Fentanyl — In her Mexico City visit, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen sought to deepen economic ties while countering drug trafficking.
Caixin
- Saudi Wealth Fund Pushes for Closer Ties with Asia — The $700 billion Saudi PFI is thinking of opening offices on the Chinese mainland and India, its governor said during a Hong Kong summit.
- Battery-Maker Gotion Rebuked Over Late Disclosure of Planned U.S. Factory — Company gets a black mark on its compliance record for taking too long to inform China’s securities regulator about its deal to build the plant.
- China Plans 3-Million-Ton of Backup Coal Production Capacity by 2030 — Major coal mining companies given guidelines to build up reserve production capacity to ensure future supply and reduce price fluctuation.
- Heytea Takes Down ‘Hey Buddha’ Tea Latte After Complaints From Public — Teahouse chain withdraws controversial drink after being summoned to the Shenzhen religious affairs bureau.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, Huawei to build HarmonyOS-based Alipay app amid growing adoption of home-grown operating system — The strategic cooperation between Ant and Huawei underscores the growing momentum of HarmonyOS’ adoption in the world’s biggest e-commerce and smartphone market.
- China bans new steel plants in drive to ‘defend the blue sky’ and cut atmospheric pollution — The main goal of a new plan, published by the State Council, is to reduce the most harmful small particles in the air by 10 per cent by 2025.
- China, Singapore to let each other’s tourists pay with digital yuan as Beijing seeks to globalise its e-CNY currency — The use of digital yuan for small transactions can pave the way for its application in trade and other high-value scenarios, one expert says.
- China dispatches massive vessel to catalogue fisheries, scale up industry presence — China’s largest fishery research vessel has embarked on a survey mission, a high-profile move intended to assess marine resources and establish the country’s role as a major player in the booming industry.
- Binance withdraws Abu Dhabi licence application as crypto exchange deems it ‘not necessary’ — The withdrawal comes two weeks into the tenure of CEO Richard Teng, who previously led the regulator at Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone.
Nikkei Asia
- China won’t win trust of Japan and South Korea: Kurt Campbell — “I’m confident that China will be unsuccessful in building the kinds of bonds of trust that we’re doing now with Japan and South Korea,” said Campbell at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing.
- U.S. rules force South Korea’s EV battery makers to rethink China deals — Washington aims to exclude China from supply chains.
- Nvidia CEO sees potential in Southeast Asia as AI market — Southeast Asia has strong potential as a market for artificial intelligence (AI) and chips, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Friday during a trip to meet key business partners in Malaysia and Singapore.
- Apple to move key iPad engineering resources to Vietnam — Apple is for the first time allocating product development resources for the iPad to Vietnam, sources briefed on the matter said, as an alternative manufacturing hub outside of China.
- Opinion: China’s tightening grip on AI puts other nations at risk — Technology put at CCP’s service likely to be used to further its agenda. By Benjamin Qiu and Dennis Kwok.
Bloomberg
- Country Garden’s Chair Says Confident in Repairing Balance Sheet — Country Garden Holdings Co.’s Chair Yang Huiyan says she is “very confident” the company can repair its balance sheet and pledged the founding family’s support for the ailing Chinese property giant.
- Xi Jinping’s Quest for China Unity Threatened by Genghis Khan, Mongolian History — Beijing is rewriting history, banning plays, and restricting what and how children learn in schools, fueling criticism from the West.
- China to Step Up Fiscal Support to Strengthen Economic Recovery — China’s Politburo, comprising the top 24 leaders of the Communist Party, pledged to strengthen the government’s fiscal measures and make monetary policy more effective, bolstering efforts to stabilize growth.
- Opinion: China Is Not the Real Champion of the Global South — The country isn’t anywhere near as generous as its Western rivals and the shine is quickly wearing off its success story. By Minxin Pei.
- Opinion: The Rest of Asia Can Benefit From the EU-China Chill — The European Union is de-risking from China. There are other markets in the region it should pay attention to. By Karishma Vaswani.
Reuters
- In China’s slowing beauty market, big brand discounts won’t cut it — This restraint, which has taken hold amid a slowing economy, spells bad news for global firms such as L’Oreal, Estee Lauder, and LVMH who for years banked on China’s $52 billion beauty market for growth.
- Chinese fighters, balloon cross Taiwan Strait a month before election — Taiwan said on Friday that 12 Chinese fighter jets and a suspected weather balloon had crossed the Taiwan Strait’s sensitive median line, in a ratcheting up of tensions about a month before the island’s presidential election.
- Fear of cheap Chinese EVs spurs automaker dash for affordable cars — That urgency can be seen everywhere. Renault said last month it plans 40% cost reductions for its EVs to reach price parity with fossil-fuel models.
- Taiwan intelligence says China leadership discussed election interference – sources — Senior Chinese leaders held a meeting in early December to “coordinate” government efforts to sway upcoming elections in Taiwan, according to intelligence gathered on the island.
Other Publications
- Inside Asian Gaming: Suncity’s Alvin Chau pens open letter to China President Xi Jinping — Chau was one of 13 former Suncity employees convicted by the Macau Court of First Instance in January, with prison sentences ranging from five months suspended to Chau’s 18 years, with eight employees sentenced to 10 years or more.
- AP: Lawmakers seek action against Elf Bar and other fruity e-cigarettes imported from China — Members of a new congressional committee on U.S.-China relations sent the request Thursday to Justice Department and Food and Drug Administration leaders, calling attention to “the extreme proliferation of illicit vaping products.”
- POLITICO: A China brawl looms for House Republicans — GOP lawmakers are struggling to cut a deal to curb U.S. investment funds flowing to China.
- The Economist: The case of China’s vanishing chairmen — What some mysterious goings-on mean for Chinese business.
- The Economist: Could China, Russia’s “no-limits” friend, help rebuild Ukraine? — How big a role might it play in post-war reconstruction?
- ChinaFile: China’s Vision for World Order — Xi Jinping Wants China to Shape Other Countries’ Sense of Themselves.
- CNAS: Resisting China’s Gray Zone Military Pressure on Taiwan — China uses gray zone operations as part of a comprehensive strategy to pressure Taiwan that spans the areas of diplomacy, information, economics, and security.
