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
- Russia and China Double Down on Defying U.S. — Moscow and Beijing are pulling closer after Washington warned China to avoid strengthening Russia’s military capacity as the war in Ukraine drags on.
- Xi Leverages Former Taiwanese President to Send Signal to U.S. — Historic meeting in Beijing emphasizes Xi’s priorities on Taiwan as Biden hosts Japanese, Philippine leaders in Washington.
- Germany Passed its First Chinese Test—This One Is Trickier — Beijing’s drive to flood global markets with exports is the latest threat to a German model in which corporate interests are no longer aligned.
- Fitch Cuts China’s Outlook as Fiscal Strain Starts to Bite — Ratings agency says the change reflects the rising risks to the country’s public finances
- China Pushes Back Against Janet Yellen’s Warnings on Overcapacity — Treasury secretary pressed Beijing to scale back industrial production.
- Fitch Cuts China’s Outlook as Fiscal Strain Starts to Bite — Ratings agency says the change reflects the rising risks to the country’s public finances.
- Blizzard Videogames to Return to China in New Deal With NetEase —Microsoft Gaming and NetEase have also agreed to look into putting NetEase’s game titles on Xbox consoles and other platforms.
- Chinese EV Maker XPeng Makes Inroads in Hong Kong, Macau — XPeng will make its Hong Kong debut in mid-May.
The Financial Times
- Xi Jinping holds talks in China with former Taiwan president — Rare meeting set to be contentious given Beijing’s claims over island.
- Fitch cuts China credit outlook to negative on ‘uncertain economic prospects’ — Rating agency voices concern as Beijing transitions from property-led growth model.
- The rusting Philippine ship forcing Biden to focus on China — US president to hold historic summits with Japanese and Philippine leaders in Washington this week.
- How Yellen struggled to move the needle on US-China trade — Treasury secretary’s week-long trip yields little progress on disagreements over how Beijing should counter slowdown.
- China’s Tianqi Lithium’s $4bn bet on Chile at risk of backfiring — Strategy is at risk as President Gabriel Boric’s government works to take back control of resources.
- EU launches probe into Chinese wind turbine companies — Investigation uses new powers to protect European companies from state-backed foreign rivals.
- China and Russia pledge to work together to maintain ‘supply chain stability’ — Agreement to seek ‘more active’ convergence comes days after US warned Beijing not to help Moscow’s war effort.
The New York Times
- To Counter China’s Rising Power, Biden Looks to Strengthen Ties With Japan — President Biden is hosting Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, for a state visit as part of a broad diplomatic outreach.
- Trudeau to Testify in Foreign Election Interference Inquiry — Intelligence reports released during hearings on Canada’s elections in 2019 and 2021 describe China’s meddling as “sophisticated, pervasive, persistent.’’
- Why Xi Jinping is Meeting Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan’s Ex-President — China is using talks between its top leader and Ma Ying-jeou to signal a willingness to engage with Taiwan — but only on its terms.
- Microsoft and NetEase to Relaunch Warcraft and Other Games in China — The deal between the gaming company Blizzard, now owned by Microsoft, and the Chinese giant NetEase renews a partnership that lapsed more than a year ago.
- Biden’s Trade Moves Raise Tensions With China and Japan but Draw Cheers at Home — The president’s efforts to restrict Chinese imports and block a Japanese steel merger have pleased labor unions and sent a message to rival Donald J. Trump.
Caixin
- In Depth: China’s Mammoth Effort to Help Foreigners Spend, Spend, Spend — On a visit to Beijing last June, Cecilia Skingsley joined her colleagues for dinner at a restaurant in the financial district on the west side of the city near the headquarters of the central bank.
- SDIC Securities Ousts General Manager as Income Plunges — State-owned SDIC Securities Co. Ltd. and its controlling shareholder have unveiled a shake-up of top management as the brokerage house is rattled by plunging investment returns.
- Zara’s Staying Put and Pledges New Flagship Stores Across China — Zara, the Spanish fashion brand, rebutted rumors on Tuesday about its withdrawal from the Chinese market, following speculation sparked by recent store closures.
South China Morning Post
- China creating ‘unfair competition’ for foreign players, German firms say in survey — German businesses operating in China have said they face ‘unfair competition’, complicating the already tense relationship between the two countries in advance of a visit from Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
- China added 1 unicorn per week last year despite slumping global investments thanks partly to AI frenzy, report says — Amid rising geopolitical tensions, most of the top 30 investors that invested in Chinese unicorns are based within the country.
- China’s stockbrokers see salaries slashed for second year amid slumping market, crackdown on flashy finance executives — China’s stockbrokers took another pay cut in 2023 as the double whammy of a slumping equities market and a government crackdown on corporate extravagance eroded the incomes of financial workers. Things don’t look much better this year, one fund manager says.
Nikkei Asia
- Jack Ma memo backs Alibaba reforms, urges staff to grasp AI opportunity — Founder, who has kept low profile of late, praises current execs despite struggles.
- China’s EV-powered auto sales rebound, refreshing quarterly high — Growth comes amid price war and growing global concerns over export glut.
- China insurer Ping An’s trust arm misses payment over property downturn — Product reportedly worth $100m was invested in project by troubled developer Zhenro.
Bloomberg
- Chinese Cement Maker Halted After 99% Crash in 15 Minutes — A Chinese cement producer was in the spotlight after it suspended stock trading Wednesday, following a selloff that nearly wiped out all its market value in the final 15 minutes of the previous session.
- Apple’s India iPhone Output Hits $14 Billion in China Shift — Apple Inc. assembled $14 billion of iPhones in India last fiscal year, doubling production in a sign it’s accelerating a push to diversify beyond China.
- Marcos Says He’s ‘Horrified’ by Duterte Sea Deal With China — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he’s “horrified” to learn of an agreement between his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, and China that bars Manila from shipping construction materials to a military outpost in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
Reuters
- China says EU’s wind turbine subsidy probe ‘discriminatory’ — China said it was concerned by what it called discriminatory measures by the European Union against its firms after the bloc said it would investigate subsidies received by Chinese suppliers of wind turbines destined for its countries.
- China labels US comments on Taiwan and AUKUS ‘dangerous’ — China’s government on Wednesday labelled as “dangerous” comments by a senior U.S. diplomat that the AUKUS submarine project between Australia, Britain and the United States could help deter any Chinese move against Taiwan.
- US considers easing warnings for Americans traveling to China — The U.S. is considering easing advisories against its citizens traveling to China, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said on Tuesday, acknowledging concerns that the warnings may have curtailed exchanges between Americans and Chinese people.
Other Publications
- The Economist: China’s high-stakes struggle to defy demographic disaster — The Communist Party puts its faith in robots, gene-therapy and bathing services.
- Associated Press: China says economy ‘stable,’ rejects Fitch Ratings downgrade of its fiscal outlook — China’s Finance Ministry denounced a report by Fitch Ratings that kept its sovereign debt rated at A+ but downgraded its outlook to negative, saying Wednesday that China’s deficit is at a moderate and reasonable level and risks are under control.
- Foreign Affairs: No Substitute for Victory — America’s competition with China must be won, not managed. By Matt Pottinger and Mike Gallagher
- The Information: Coatue’s Laffont says U.S. and China need to provide clarity on TikTok — Coatue Chief Investment Officer Philippe Laffont, a board member of TikTok parent ByteDance, said the U.S. and China need to “give clarity” about the future of TikTok.
- Semafor: Hong Kong, long an economic crossroads, now faces one — Hong Kong is now at an economic crossroads, trying to keep the take-all-comers commercialism that made it a hub for global companies and markets, while also trying to prove its political fealty to Beijing.
