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
- U.S. and Chinese Militaries Find Reason to Start Talking Again — Pentagon, Beijing revive communication as disputes over Taiwan, South China Sea raise risk of conflict.
- China’s Midea to Raise $4 Billion in Hong Kong’s Biggest Listing This Year — The appliance giant plans to use most of the offering proceeds for business expansion.
- PwC China Hit With Six-Month Ban Over Evergrande Crisis — Chinese regulators said the firm failed to maintain professional skepticism for its work related to the country’s recent real-estate bust.
- Gloomy Summer Signals Worsening Picture for China’s Economy — Economists say more support is needed to fend off the threat of a Japan-style slide into deflation.
- For Years, Chinese Workers Could Retire at 50. Now, China Can’t Afford It. — To bolster China’s pension system, Beijing moves to raise the retirement age for men to 63 from 60, and for some women to 55 from 50.
- China Is Risking a Deflationary Spiral — Pressures are building amid excess capacity and insufficient stimulus from Beijing.
The Financial Times
- Adrian Cheng: Hong Kong’s third-generation property scion under pressure — New World Development chief confronts prolonged real estate slump and succession speculation.
- EU rejects Chinese EV makers’ bid to avert hefty tariffs — Commission dismisses offers to adjust pricing of allegedly subsidised vehicles.
- China to raise retirement age for first time since 1978 — Beijing battles demographic crisis and pressure on pension system by keeping population in workforce for longer.
- PwC banned for 6 months in China for ‘concealing fraud’ at Evergrande — Big Four firm pays $62mn fine and fires 11 staff over audit of collapsed developer.
The New York Times
- Ex-C.I.A. Officer Who Spied for China Is Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison — The former officer, who also worked as a contract translator for the F.B.I., provided classified documents to Beijing.
- Why House Republicans Are Targeting China Weeks Before the Election — The G.O.P. pushed through an array of legislation to get tough on China, seeking to persuade voters that they are the party that will protect Americans from economic and military threats from Beijing.
- China Fines PwC $62 Million for Botching Its Work for Evergrande — Authorities also imposed a six-month suspension on the local operations of the global firm, which was once a dominant auditor in China.
Caixin
- In Depth: China’s PE Investors Left Empty-Handed as Cash-Strapped Startups Flout Compensation Deals — Private equity and venture capital investors in China, struggling to exit their investments amid a slump in the IPO market, are facing additional hurdles to recovering their capital as the founders of portfolio companies that fail to list on time renege on compensation deals.
- Huawei Opens Preorders for Second EV Made With Chery — Huawei on Tuesday began taking preorders for the second electric vehicle (EV) co-developed with automaker partner Chery, after seemingly overcoming production hurdles that dogged their earlier model.
- Canada Considers Imposing Surtax on Chinese Batteries, Chips and Solar products — Canada is launching a 30-day consultation period to consider the imposition of a surtax on batteries, battery parts, semiconductors, critical minerals and metals and solar products from China.
South China Morning Post
- China raises retirement age by up to 5 years amid growing pressure from ageing population — The top legislative body agreed the measures following warnings the pension system could run out of money by 2035.
- What China’s Belt and Road Initiative has in store for coming decade as priorities evolve — With focus of global trade plan shifting, gone may be the days when huge infrastructure projects left partner countries holding a big bill and facing environmental implications.
- China’s foreign joint venture universities feel chill as political controls tighten — Students and faculty at the institutions, once known for liberal campus culture, report clampdown on clubs, curriculum and classroom speech.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s foldable phone rush to boost local display makers — Top 3 players set to have over 50% of folding display market this year: report.
- China slaps PwC with 6-month suspension over Evergrande audit — Accounting firm fined total of $62m, says it is ‘disappointed’ in mainland arm.
- Foreign investors lukewarm on China stocks despite Fed rate cut buzz — Property worries persist, but some say worst is over for Chinese markets.
Bloomberg
- China Levies Record Penalty on PwC Over Evergrande Fraud — China suspended the operations of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for six months and imposed a record fine over lapses in its auditing of China Evergrande Group.
- China Holidays Test Consumer Stocks Mired in Spending Gloom — China’s two upcoming public holidays are putting a spotlight on consumer-related shares amid a struggling spending recovery.
- PDD’s Status as Top China Growth Stock in Doubt After 30% Drop — PDD Holdings Inc.’s position as China’s top-performing tech stock is in danger, amid a crisis of investor confidence over the e-commerce firm’s worse-than-expected sales and growing competitive threats.
Reuters
- China, Russia chide West at annual security forum in Beijing — Chinese and Russian defence officials on Friday took swipes at the West at a military diplomacy forum in Beijing, with China pitching to the Global South and Russia saying the United States was shifting military conflicts to the Asia-Pacific.
- China wants academic exchange but historians say increased censorship makes research hard — At Beijing’s largest antiques market, Panjiayuan, among the Mao statues, posters and second-hand books are prominent signs warning against the sale of publications that might have state secrets or “reactionary propaganda”.
- A Trump 2.0 wrinkle for U.S.-China relations: sanctions on U.S. officials — As he campaigns for a second term, former president Donald Trump has made a tough stance toward China central to his pitch on foreign policy.
Other Publications
- China Media Project: Married Out — The New York Times recently became the latest international news outlet to cover the issue of the rights of female villagers in China. The issue has quietly brewed in China’s domestic media for years — without serious action.
- The Economist: China is beating America in the nuclear-energy race — They have pioneered a new generation of reactor.
- Council on Foreign Relations: What Is China’s Role in Combating the Illegal Fentanyl Trade? — Those seeking to profit from fentanyl and governments seeking to control its supply are locked in a never-ending competition, with each new countermeasure spurring further innovation to circumvent it. By Zongyuan Zoe Liu
- ChinaFile: Southeast Asia Doesn’t Want to Choose between China and the U.S. — Over the past 10 years, the U.S. has framed its vision for the region as the democratic, human rights-focused alternative to Xi Jinping’s world order, but many Southeast Asians doubt America’s commitment to upholding ASEAN interests alongside their own.
- POLITICO: ‘Dragon-Bear’: How China and Russia’s spy operations overlap in Europe — Beijing is recruiting agents among EU politicians who have demonstrated fealty to Moscow, underscoring their alignment, according to a senior European intelligence official.
