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
- In One Nation, Anger Over U.S.’s Gaza Policy Opens Door Wider for China — The U.S.’s relationship with Malaysia—a key node in the semiconductor supply chain—has grown rockier.
- China’s Consumer Inflation Rises — Consumer inflation in China rose more than expected last month, but the data didn’t paint a strong enough picture to dispel concerns about weak demand.
- Chip Maker SMIC’s Shares Jump on Earnings Beat, Strong Guidance — Shares in Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. rose sharply in Hong Kong on its better-than-expected quarterly results and rosy guidance, signaling a stronger recovery in demand.
- Foreign Accounts Push Political Lies on TikTok — A flood of anti-Trump videos, generated with the help of AI, traced back to hidden overseas networks.
- U.S. Lawmakers Move to Restrict Trade Provision Favored by China’s E-Commerce Giants — A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers have proposed a new law to restrict a trade provision, favored by retailers such as Temu and Shein, that lets goods flow in from China with little scrutiny and no duties.
- Tim Walz Is Fascinated by China—and Disturbed by Its Human-Rights Record — The Democratic vice-presidential candidate has made dozens of visits to China as an educator, businessman and politician.
The Financial Times
- Hong Kong’s Olympic success overshadowed by political dispute — Fans dismayed by gold medal fencer’s apparent support for Beijing’s crackdown on Chinese territory.
- China deflation fears ease as consumer prices rise — Beijing’s focus on industrial output keeps downward pressure on factory prices.
- China names and shames buyers of its government bonds — Authorities are trying to push yields up from record lows after warning of sovereign debt bubble.
- China’s leaders sweat over economy at summer retreat — Experts worry Xi’s emphasis on high-tech manufacturing overlooks need to increase household spending.
- British Airways to suspend flights to Beijing as Russia diversion adds costs — Demand for flights to China has also struggled to rebound from the pandemic.
- Opinion: Product patriotism isn’t pretty for Asia’s beauty groups — Improving quality means Chinese consumers aren’t choosing domestic cosmetic brands for their affordability alone. By Lex.
- Opinion: L’Occitane and the trouble with trying to leave Hong Kong — Prada and Samsonite must be watching with interest the skincare group’s attempt to delist. By Kaye Wiggins.
The New York Times
- China Battery Tech Reflects Research Boom and Big Spending — Stressing science education, China is outpacing other countries in research fields like battery chemistry, crucial to its lead in electric vehicles.
Caixin
- Foreign Investors Stay Cautious About China Stocks, UBS Report Shows — Holdings of Chinese stocks by 800 active institutional funds tracked by the Swiss firm were broadly unchanged for the April-to-June period.
- PDD’s Bare-Knuckle Tactics Upend E-Commerce Landscape — As more merchants protest an opaque regime of fines, critics say the e-commerce company is dragging its rivals to a race to the bottom.
- China-Backed Apollo Future Mobility Offloads Holding in Sensitive U.S. Business — Hong Kong firm sells shares in 3D printing company citing concerns over U.S. national security scrutiny.
- Airplane-Maker’s Founder Gets Over Three Years Behind Bars for Fraud — Zhu Songhua was convicted of defrauding $28,000 in government incentive funds — a charge he calls ‘illogical’ considering the millions of dollars he has invested.
South China Morning Post
- China’s C919 waiting in the wings as Shanghai announces plane replacement plan — In a recent plan suggesting its airlines replace their older aircraft by 2027, Shanghai has opened the door for newer models – like China’s home-grown planes – to repopulate the city’s sizeable fleets.
- Agents ‘implanted’ anti-China content in overseas university applications, ministry says — Top spy agency says some education consultants ‘stirred up sensitive issues’ in submissions to boost Chinese students’ chances of success.
- China tests high-speed hyperloop ‘flying train’ in 2km vacuum tube — Ultra-high-speed train – designed to reach 1,000km/h – achieves controlled navigation, stable suspension and safe stopping, report says.
- Chinese sneakerheads’ favourite shopping app Dewu to cut 500 jobs as weak spending persists — The niche Shanghai-based e-commerce platform said it is cutting about 5 per cent of its workforce of 10,000 and reducing spending on ‘low-yield’ projects.
- Xiaomi to adopt Google’s Gemini AI model on next flagship smartphone for overseas markets — The Xiaomi 15-series Android smartphone will integrate Gemini for its release outside mainland China later this year.
Nikkei Asia
- Moutai bucks China liquor slump with strong results — The popular spirit brand’s share prices saw a bump on Friday after posting strong first-half numbers.
- SMIC says China’s localization push is boosting chip demand — Top chipmaker’s revenue grows 22% in April-June but profit sinks amid price battle.
- Opinion: India is well placed to become the ‘next China’ and drive global growth — Nation faces opportunities and challenges in becoming an economic powerhouse. By Amit Kumar.
Bloomberg
- Temu Owner PDD’s Billionaire Founder Colin Huang Now China’s Richest Person — After several moderately successful ventures in gaming and e-commerce, Colin Huang got sick and retired. At one point, the young entrepreneur stayed home for a year thinking about his next move.
- China Challenges EV Tariffs Imposed by Europe With WTO Complaint — China has lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the European Union’s decision to impose anti-subsidy duties on Chinese electric vehicles, escalating a dispute that’s straining their already fraught relationship.
- Deustche Bank-Backed Harvest Fund Chairman Resigns Amid Probe — Harvest Fund Management Co., one of the largest mutual fund firms in China, said its long-term chairman Henry Zhao Xuejun has resigned amid an investigation by Chinese authorities.
Reuters
- China tells some brokerages to conduct compliance checks on bond trading, sources say — The brokerages, all of which are domestic, have been told to conduct compliance checks on all parts of their bond trading operations, said the people, of whom two had direct knowledge of the instructions.
- Foreign airlines lose interest in China as domestic carriers expand abroad — The proportion of international flights to and from China operated by the country’s carriers is higher than before COVID-19 grounded much of global aviation and continues to rise.
- China looks to its shipyards to beat US in any future war — It is bringing one of the world’s largest warships into existence in less time than it currently takes U.S. or European shipyards to refit a much smaller ageing frigate or destroyer.
The Economist
- China’s manufacturers are going broke — Overcapacity is leading to soaring bankruptcies.
- How China views the popular uprising in Bangladesh — The government is quiet. Others blame America.
- China is now the world leader in coffee shops — But the average Chinese person still guzzles much less than a typical American.
- China is overhauling its company law — Its leaders want to make business less volatile—and easier to control.
- China’s new plan for tracking people online — Is a digital-ID proposal meant to protect consumers or the Communist Party?
- A reform that could turbocharge the Chinese economy — Why won’t the government give farmers more freedom to sell their homes?
- China develops a divorced dating scene — Older Chinese looking to remarry face revealing obstacles.
Other Publications
- CFR: Fentanyl Supply Chains in China: Chinese Fentanyl Makers and Domestic Circulation — China’s industrial policies may boost its number of small-scale chemical intermediate producers, increasing the risk that certain opportunistic firms may venture into supplying various precursors for synthetic drugs such as fentanyl.
- Foreign Policy: Can Indonesia’s Nickel Industry Break Free From China’s Grip? — Years of Chinese investment have transformed Jakarta into a nickel powerhouse. But that support has come at a price.
- The Washington Post: Vietnam accelerates island building to challenge China’s maritime claims — As tensions mount in the South China Sea, Vietnam is dredging and filling in land, fortifying barriers and erecting new structures to create hundreds of acres.
- AP: Facing budget crunches, Chinese tax collectors descend on companies — More than a dozen listed Chinese companies say they were slapped with millions of dollars in back taxes in a renewed effort to fix local finances that have been wrecked by a downturn in the property market.
