The Caixin-Sinica Business Brief

Welcome to the 94th installment of the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, a weekly podcast that brings you the most important business stories of the week from China’s top source for business and financial news. Produced by Kaiser Kuo of our Sinica Podcast, it features a business news roundup, plus conversations with Caixin reporters and editors. This week: We discuss how China’s yuan dropped below seven per dollar as the trade war escalated. We note that troubled Hengfeng 恒丰 Bank has received official approval for a restructuring plan that involves investments from a provincial government and a unit of China’s sovereign wealth fund. We dive into the story of Hu Huaibang 胡怀邦, the former chairman of policy lender China Development Bank, who is under investigation for allegedly using his position to funnel billions of dollars of dodgy credit to fallen energy and financial group CEFC China Energy and prop up the heavily indebted real estate conglomerate HNA Group. We analyze Huawei’s new operating system “Harmony,” which marked the Chinese smartphone giant’s latest step toward creating its own software ecosystem. We report that several Chinese automakers’ sales of new-energy vehicles hit the skids in July as the industry navigates government subsidy cuts. We hear that Foxconn and customer Amazon face renewed criticism from a labor advocacy group for allegedly slashing wages and flouting labor laws at a Chinese factory as pressure from U.S. tariffs mounts. We find out that Tesla’s Shanghai facility is on track to officially start production at the end of this year, the company said Wednesday in a message posted to its official Weibo account. We chat about mini-programs — bare-bones applications that run instantly on web platforms — which are the new front line as China’s internet giants battle for traffic and corporate business, and the country’s biggest search engine is keen to get in on the act. In addition, we talk with Tanner Brown, head of real-time news at Caixin, about deadly heat waves in China. We also chat with Doug Young, managing editor of Caixin Global, about recent news about Huawei. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to the 64th installment of the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, a weekly podcast that brings you the most important business stories of the week from China’s top source for business and financial news. Produced by Kaiser Kuo of our Sinica Podcast, it features a business news roundup, plus conversations with Caixin reporters and editors. This week: We note that China stocks went for a wild ride last week, with the benchmark index hitting it lowest level in years Monday, then rebounding with its best weekly performance since 2016. We discuss how Nur Bekri (努尔·白克力), director of the National Energy Administration and a vice chairman of the country’s economic planning agency, was placed under investigation for suspected corruption. We hear that China canceled plans over the weekend to hold trade talks with the U.S. We learn that the Executives of Bank of China’s Guangdong branch may soon take a pay cut to compensate lower-income employees. We find out that Jack Ma said there is “no way” Alibaba will be able to meet an earlier pledge to create 1 million U.S. jobs due to deteriorating U.S.-China trade relations. We explore how China plans to ban foreign TV shows in prime time and to limit overseas content on streaming platforms. We report that China’s top film regulator has signaled it will ban companies from subsidizing online movie-ticket sales. We learn that China’s tobacco sales returned to near-record highs three years after a significant hike in tobacco taxes in the world’s largest producer and consumer of cigarettes. In addition, we talk with Caixin Global reporter David Kirton about the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, in particular how Premier Li Keqiang talked about the Belt and Road initiative at the forum. We’d love to hear your feedback on this product. Please send any comments and suggestions to [email protected]. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to the 40th installment of the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, a weekly podcast that brings you the most important business stories of the week from China’s top source for business and financial news. Produced by Kaiser Kuo of our Sinica Podcast, it features a business news roundup, plus conversations with Caixin reporters and editors. This week, we learn about the latest data on China’s exports, which hit a three-year high in February, greatly surpassing market expectations. We note China’s determination to take “powerful” measures to defend its interests against the tariffs on imported steel and foreign-made aluminum issued by Trump last week. We explore why delegates to this year’s two big political meetings in Beijing are urging the central government to spend more on preschool education and childcare facilities. We discuss how Chinese regulators are targeting social media accounts that are used by cryptocurrency exchanges to continue reaching Chinese investors despite being banned on the mainland six months ago. We hear that outbound travel from China hit another record last year due to rising incomes, favorable exchange rates, and easier visa processes. We find out that Foxconn Industrial Internet, a unit of the world's largest contract electronics manufacturers, which assembles Apple's iPhones, won speedy approval for its IPO in China. In addition, we talk with Doug Young, managing editor of Caixin Global, about Chinese stock market trends in general and some recent IPO-related stories. We’d love to hear your feedback on this product. Please send any comments and suggestions to [email protected]. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.