China considers using Elon Musk as broker in TikTok sale

Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter:

• Beijing weighs using Musk as a broker in a TikTok deal

• JPMorgan reshuffles Jamie Dimon’s top lieutenants

• Why China can’t quit cigarettes

Officials in Beijing are discussing using Elon Musk as a broker in a potential sale of TikTok’s US operations, days before the Chinese-owned social media app faces a ban from Washington, according to two people familiar with the talks.

The bill passed by Congress in April, which requires TikTok’s Beijing-based parent ByteDance to sell its stake in the app or face a ban because of security concerns, comes into effect on Sunday.

According to the people familiar with the discussions, Chinese officials are hoping Musk could help broker a deal that might prevent the platform from being forced to shut down.

This includes Musk, the billionaire owner of social media app X and close confidant of Donald Trump, helping to persuade the US president-elect to avoid implementing a ban.

Trump has promised to “save the app” and called for a delay in the implementation of the divest-or-ban law, which comes into force the day before he is inaugurated on Monday.

Here’s what else we know about the talks in Beijing — and why Musk is in an influential position to broker a potential TikTok deal.

• US TikTok ‘refugees’ flock to another Chinese app: Social media platform Xiaohongshu has seen its Chinese app go to the top of the iPhone’s US download charts, in an unexpected reaction to TikTok’s potential ban.

And here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: South Korea and Indonesia report December trade data.

• Monetary policy: Indonesia announces its interest rate decision.

• Oil markets: The Opec and IEA monthly Oil Market Reports are published.

• Results: BlackRock, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase report fourth-quarter earnings.

Five more top stories

1. The EU has threatened to restrict access to Chinese medical devices after finding Beijing has been discriminating against the bloc’s manufacturers in bids for public contracts in the same field. While EU imports of Chinese-made devices doubled between 2015-23, the commission said Chinese policies forced hospitals to choose domestic suppliers.

2. JPMorgan Chase has said Jenn Piepszak will replace Daniel Pinto as chief operating officer but will not seek the job of chief executive, complicating the race to one day succeed Jamie Dimon at the top of the US’s biggest bank. Here’s what the latest reshuffle means for succession planning at JPMorgan.

3. India’s vast information technology outsourcing sector is hoping for a revival of its fortunes under a second Donald Trump presidency. The industry, which derives more than half its revenues from the US, sees opportunity in its largest market after years of anaemic demand and growth.

4. Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick to run the Pentagon, told US senators that a “smear campaign” was trying to stop him taking the job, as he tried to persuade them to approve his appointment. The conservative former Fox News host was grilled about allegations of sexual assault and misogyny during his US Senate Confirmation hearing yesterday.

5. There are “accidents waiting to happen” in private credit because of looser lending standards and the vast amount of capital that has flooded into the sector, the chief investment officer of one of the world’s largest charitable foundations has warned. Read the full interview with Nick Moakes of the £37.6bn Wellcome Trust.

News in-depth

Despite a high-profile push to reduce smoking rates from Xi Jinping, research suggests cigarette sales in China have risen in recent years — a problem that has become more acute as the country’s economic growth has slowed. Today’s in-depth piece explains why China has struggled to kick the habit.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Indonesia’s energy transition: The country will struggle to meet its ambitious plan to retire coal power plants within 15 years without a dramatic policy overhaul, experts warn.

• Pain is coming for emerging markets: Investors are still not pricing in enough risks from the fallout of an expected US-China trade war, writes Manik Narain.

• Age isn’t just a number: When it comes to policymaking, how long people have been alive is not a good yardstick for judging who is “old”, writes Sarah O’Connor.

Graphic of the day

Qantas has been forced to delay flights between Australia and South Africa after the US government warned the airline of the risk of SpaceX rocket parts re-entering the atmosphere in the southern Indian Ocean.

Take a break from the news . . . 

With the Japanese-language mini-series Asura, Palme d’Or-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda delivers one of Netflix’s most unique offerings for a while, our critic Dan Einav writes.