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
- Beijing Area Hit by Deadliest Flooding in a Decade — At least 20 people are dead and 19 missing after Typhoon Doksuri swept through China’s eastern region.
- China Replaces Missile Commander Days After Removing Foreign Minister — The ouster of Li Yuchao was intended to ensure loyalty to leader Xi Jinping, analysts say, in the arm of the military that controls nuclear-tipped missiles that are pointed at the U.S.
- BlackRock, MSCI Face Congressional Probes for Facilitating China Investments — Americans’ retirement funds are unwittingly fueling Chinese firms the U.S. has flagged over security and human-rights issues, lawmakers say.
- DeSantis Says He Will Weigh U.S. Ban of TikTok if Elected President — GOP presidential contender calls confronting China a top economic priority.
The Financial Times
- The factories on the front line of China’s economic slowdown — Manufacturers reel from falling demand, rising geopolitical tensions and sluggish post-Covid recovery.
- Chinese developer’s cancelled share placement fuels property sector woes — Country Garden stock falls 10% after one of country’s biggest real estate groups abruptly calls off issuance.
- US seeks to deepen Tokyo-Seoul security links to boost Pacific deterrence — White House pushes trilateral defence co-operation amid rising threat from China and North Korea.
- Tech cold war: South Korea pivots from China to US — Washington is courting chipmakers and battery manufacturers with large subsidies but demanding they loosen ties with their other major market.
- Why Nissan’s woes in China are not just about electric vehicles — The carmaker’s challenges are partly because of years of poor decision-making.
- China’s overseas investment in metals and mining set to hit record — Beijing intensifies efforts to lock up access to renewable energy supply chain.
- China ousts top generals from nuclear Rocket Force — Purge comes amid wider crackdown on People’s Liberation Army to ensure loyalty.
The New York Times
- Solar Supply Chain Grows More Opaque Amid Human Rights Concerns — The global industry is cutting some ties to China, but its exposure to forced labor remains high and companies are less transparent, a new report found.
- A Poet Captures the Terror of Life in an Authoritarian State — A memoir by Tahir Hamut Izgil, a Uyghur intellectual who escaped China, explores the corrosive effect of repression and surveillance on his community.
- Eleven Dead and 27 Missing, as Heavy Rains Batter Beijing — Landslides and flash flooding have threatened outer districts of the city, and more than 52,000 residents were evacuated from their homes, the authorities said.
Caixin
- In Depth: Race Is on to Become China’s SpaceX — LandSpace Technology became the world’s first private company to launch a methane-liquid oxygen carrier rocket, marking a major breakthrough for China’s new low-cost liquid-propellant rockets.
- China’s Factory Activity Shrinks for First Time in Three Months as Recovery Falters, Caixin PMI Shows — Activity in China’s manufacturing sector shrank in July following sluggish expansion in the previous two months as output and new orders weakened, adding to evidence the country’s economic recovery is faltering, a Caixin-sponsored survey showed Tuesday.
- Two People Killed as Extreme Downpours Swamp Beijing — Torrential rains swept Beijing and surrounding regions as the remnants of tropical storm Doksuri lashed northern China, killing two people and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate.
South China Morning Post
- China urges public to join ‘grim and complex’ anti-espionage fight as new law takes effect — Ministry also calls on security agencies to implement revised law, which broadens definition of spying and expands investigative powers of law enforcement.
- China’s Big Tech companies revive expansion plans after Beijing vows to give the green light on more deals, ends regulatory crackdown — The reinvigorated state of the tech sector is reflected in the recruitment efforts of several large firms, including Alibaba, ByteDance and Meituan.
- Southern China firms refraining from big investments amid ‘cautious’ confidence, AmCham finds — China’s recent GDP figures offered some hope, but concerns aren’t going away – including over deflation risks and low youth employment, according to the regional business chamber’s president.
Nikkei Asia
- China tightens export restrictions on two chipmaking materials — Supply fears hit Japan, dependent on China for 40% of its gallium and germanium.
- Chinese companies flock in record numbers to Turkish defense fair — Opportunities abound in growing Turkish market and surrounding region.
- Toyota boosts China R&D in electrified vehicles — Automaker aims to keep pace with changing market.
Bloomberg
- China Investors Sell Tencent as Outlook Darkens — Tencent Holdings Ltd. has fallen out of favor with mainland Chinese investors burned by volatility and sentiment-driven trading. Getting them back on side may prove elusive.
- Chinese Developer Country Garden Slides as Funding Woes Worsen — One of China’s last major developers to have so far avoided defaults amid the nation’s property debt crisis slid in equity and credit markets Tuesday, after canceling a share placement.
- Chinese Investment in Coal-Based Steel Mills Still Running Hot — Chinese steelmakers received approvals from provincial authorities to invest about $100 billion in new coal-based mills over the past two-and-a-half years, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
- Commerce Secretary Raimondo Plans August China Trip as Tensions Over Tech Controls Simmer — US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is planning to visit China in late August, according to people familiar with the matter, part of the Biden administration’s effort to reduce tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Reuters
- ‘Not found’: China’s ex-foreign minister is gone but wait for explanation goes on — Qin does not feature on the website’s list of “former ministers”, and for several more days a search for his name had been turning up: “Sorry, Qin Gang is not found”.
- Hong Kong removes requirement to flag China risk in listing applications — Hong Kong’s stock exchange will no longer require companies to spell out China-related business risks in listing applications from Tuesday, in a move that aligns the city more closely with disclosure changes ordered by Beijing.
- Exclusive: China asks some banks to reduce or delay dollar buying to ease pressure on yuan -sources — China’s currency regulators have in recent weeks asked some commercial banks to reduce or delay their dollar purchases, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Other Publications
- Politico: Heritage’s new natsec boss wants ‘everything’ to be about China — When Victoria Coates takes over the Heritage Foundation’s Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy on Tuesday, she will push her team to consider the China angle to, well, “everything.”
- Foreign Policy: Energy Is Taiwan’s Achilles’ Heel — In the U.S.-China tech standoff, supply vulnerabilities give Beijing leverage.
- The Guardian: TikTok ban on Australian government devices should also cover WeChat, parliamentary committee recommends — Senate committee examining foreign interference on social media says it is ‘concerned’ with ‘unique national security risks’ the companies pose.
