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
- China’s Central Bank to Examine Financial Institutions’ Bond Risks — The planned checks are aimed at preventing risks stemming from potential rate fluctuations in the future.
- U.S. and China Tied for Gold at the Olympics. Some in China Disagree. — National pride spreads after Chinese delegation tops gold column for first time since 2008, but it isn’t enough for everyone.
- Tech Bros Are Betting They Can Help Win a War With China — Billions of dollars of venture capital is flowing into defense-tech startups focused on futuristic, AI-enabled weapons. Palmer Luckey’s Anduril is their biggest bet.
- U.S. Lawmakers Move to Restrict Trade Provision Favored by China’s E-Commerce Giants — A bipartisan group wants to make it harder for companies such as Shein and Temu to ship their products stateside.
The Financial Times
- China’s milk producers target adults as population ages — Intense competition forces companies to seek out new areas of growth in one of world’s biggest dairy markets.
- Multinationals sound alarm over weak demand in China — World’s second-biggest economy is slowing, appetite for foreign brands has weakened and local competition is intense.
- China challenges Brussels’ electric car tariffs with WTO complaint — Beijing says EU trade measures undermine global co-operation on climate.
The New York Times
- U.S. Officials to Visit China for Economic Talks as Trade Tensions Rise — The recently established U.S.-China Financial Working Group is set to meet for discussions about financial stability and curbing the flow of fentanyl.
- The Filipinos Living in the Shadow of China’s Military Might — More than 200 civilian settlers on a contested island in the South China Sea find themselves on the frontier of a possible conflict with China.
- Tim Walz’s Long Relationship With China Defies Easy Stereotypes — Mr. Walz, the Democrats’ vice-presidential nominee, taught in China and has visited the country around 30 times. But he has also been critical of the Chinese government’s human rights record.
- China’s Great Wall of Villages — China has moved thousands of people to new settlements on its frontiers. It calls them “border guardians.”
- Ross Terrill, Insightful Expert on Communist China, Is Dead at 85 — In the 1960s, he was among the first Westerners allowed into the country, and for decades he helped the rest of the world understand it.
- U.S. Vies With Allies and Industry to Tighten China Tech Controls — The Biden administration must navigate the interests of U.S. companies and allied governments as it tries to close off China’s access to advanced chips.
Caixin
- Cover Story: Fixing China’s Trade Imbalance Needs a Home Remedy — Amid a prolonged real estate downturn and lukewarm domestic consumption, exports have once again emerged as a key driver of China’s economic growth.
- U.S. Tech Giant Intel Unveils New Discrete Graphics Processing Unit for Chinese EVs — Intel Corp. has introduced a new discrete graphics processing unit for cars on the Chinese mainland as the American chip giant seeks to strengthen its hold on automotive chips in the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market.
- Taiwan Container Ship Rocked by Explosion at Ningbo Port — An explosion rocked a container ship operated by Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. at Beilun container terminal in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, on Friday afternoon, according to a statement released by the local branch of the port’s operator.
South China Morning Post
- Guangdong’s AI industry reaches US$25 billion as province competes with Beijing, Shanghai — Shenzhen’s AI industry accounts for more than 40 per cent of Guangdong’s output, but Beijing still reigns with AI output worth US$34.9 billion.
- China admits Hong Kong-flagged ship destroyed key Baltic gas pipeline ‘by accident’ — Beijing passed on findings to Finland and Estonia which are conducting criminal probes into incident involving NewNew Polar Bear: sources.
- Giant Chinese cargo drone lifts off on first test flight — The unmanned aircraft is the latest addition to attempts to exploit the potential of the ‘low-altitude economy’.
Nikkei Asia
- From Sony to Lenovo, companies tap China’s $12bn fandom culture — July convention highlights growing enthusiasm over anime and video games.
- Strikes hit China’s property, manufacturing sectors as growth slows — Labor disputes reflect disparities in the country’s social safety net.
- China court rulings on AI accelerate race to set standards — Judges establish precedents on voice and images as Beijing embraces the tech.
Bloomberg
- Foreign Investors Pull Record Amount of Money From China — Foreign investors pulled a record amount of money from China last quarter, likely reflecting deep pessimism about the world’s second-largest economy.
- China Rapidly Expands Battery Fleet But Needs to Start Using It — China is rushing to build battery-storage systems to allow electricity grids to cope with rapid increases in intermittent power generation from wind and solar farms. But to truly capitalize on the technology, it needs to ensure they’re used more frequently.
- China Regulators Tell Some Rural Banks to Renege on Bond Trades — Regulators told commercial banks in China’s Jiangxi province not to settle their purchases of government bonds, taking some of the most extreme measures yet to cool a market rally that has alarmed Beijing.
Reuters
- China trials cargo drones, air taxis as low-altitude economy gains speed — Engineers sent China’s biggest-yet cargo drone on a test run over the weekend while a helicopter taxi took to the skies on a soon-to-open 100-km (62-mile) route to Shanghai, laying new milestones for the country’s expanding low-altitude economy.
- Philippines urges China to de-escalate tensions after air incident over Scarborough Shoal — The Philippines urged Beijing on Monday to heed calls to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea after what it described as “very dangerous” actions by its air force which came after the two nations have agreed to better manage maritime disputes.
- Foreign airlines lose interest in China as domestic carriers expand abroad — Chinese airlines are gaining market share on international routes, industry data shows, as foreign rivals are deterred by weak China travel demand and rising costs and extended flight times because of the need to avoid Russian airspace.
Other Publications
- Associated Press: Hong Kong’s top court upholds convictions of 7 prominent pro-democracy activists over 2019 protest — Hong Kong’s top court on Monday upheld the convictions of seven of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy activists over their roles in one of the biggest anti-government protests in 2019.
- Washington Post: Opinion: The 12 medals that Chinese swimmers won in Paris will forever be tainted — Apparent systemic doping among Chinese swimmers must be investigated. By Leana S. Wen
- The Guardian: Opinion: Threat to stock markets comes from China and Middle East, not the US — US economy has staying power but China’s growth prospects have worsened and too little attention is paid to war in Gaza. By Larry Elliott
