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
- At the World’s Largest Shipyard, U.S. Courts an Ally to Face Up to China — South Korea offers shipbuilding capacity, know-how and talent that rivals China, whose maritime dominance is growing.
- China’s Central Bank Announces Rate Cut, Injects Liquidity — The People’s Bank of China cut the 14-day reverse repurchase interest rate by 10 basis points to 1.85%.
- Mercedes, BMW Flash Warning Lights on China — Top-end German cars have joined expensive French handbags among the products hit by weak consumer sentiment in the country.
- Opinion: Exploding Pagers and the Tech Race With China — Israel’s attack against Hezbollah points to the risks and opportunities of an interconnected world. By Mike Gallagher
The Financial Times
- Western nations join forces to break China’s grip on critical minerals — Coalition of 14 governments announces financing network for projects to provide raw materials required by tech industry.
- It’s no longer glorious to get rich in China — it’s dangerous — Why no one wants to be the nation’s top tycoon any more.
- European steelmakers plead with Brussels to tackle flood of Chinese exports — European prices drop below cost of production as world market is deluged.
- HSBC hit by sixfold surge in Hong Kong property loan defaults — UK-based bank has more than $3bn in exposure to defaulted commercial real estate loans in the territory.
- China’s electric carmakers warn of EU investment cuts over tariff threat — Statement comes as talks continue between Beijing’s commerce minister and European trade commissioner.
- Opinion: It’s no longer glorious to get rich in China — it’s dangerous — Why no one wants to be the nation’s top tycoon any more. By Ruchir Sharma
The New York Times
- U.S. Research Aided Chinese Military Technology, House Republicans Say — A congressional report argues that Beijing has exploited ties with American universities to advance technologically, and that further guardrails are needed.
- Biden Administration Proposes Ban on Chinese Software in Vehicles — Federal officials acknowledged that few Chinese vehicles were on U.S. roads now, but said that the administration wanted to take proactive measures to strengthen national security.
Caixin
- Cover Story: China’s Record Class of College Graduates Face Final Test in Shrinking Job Market — China’s record class of 2024 college graduates — 11.8 million students strong – are entering the weakest job market the country has endured in years as the former growth sectors of internet companies, education employers and real estate developers reduce their payrolls.
- Weekend Long Read: China’s Clean Energy Rise Offers Lessons for the West — As the transition away from fossil fuels accelerates, world leaders have perhaps never been so ambitious about targets for clean energy. So it may be surprising — especially to many in China — to see Western governments that have long advanced free-trade agendas rushing to impose protective tariffs on clean-energy technologies.
- Flying Car Startup Vertaxi Secures $28.3 Million in New Funding — Vertaxi, the Chinese flying car startup, said it has raised more than 200 million yuan ($28.3 million) in a new funding round as capital floods into the emerging sector.
South China Morning Post
- China tightens military-civilian export controls ‘just in time’, experts say — State Council approves regulation to unify ‘fragmented and imperfect’ rules covering sensitive dual-use technologies and minerals.
- China’s 100-billion-yuan question: does rare government bond purchase alter policy course? — Speculation is rife on what a US$14 billion treasury bond buy means for China’s money-supply mechanism, and whether the rare move equates to quantitative easing.
- As China’s job market shrinks, graduates forced to scale back career ambitions — Viral story of postgraduate student’s pivot from physics to school janitor highlights anxieties about youth unemployment.
Nikkei Asia
- Japan and China top diplomats to meet over boy’s killing — Yoko Kamikawa to demand Wang Yi provide details of the Shenzhen incident.
- China local finance chief’s killing sparks shock and speculation — Police say official was killed by two men, who then jumped off building.
- Germany finds 45 irregular Chinese carbon-cut projects, begins review — ‘Shadow system’ of fake data uncovered, casting doubt over EU green plans.
Bloomberg
- Economists Urge China to Ramp Up Housing Rescue to Propel Growth — China’s housing rescue package offers the best path for putting the country on track to expand around 5%, in the view of most economists, assuming it’s deployed to maximum effect in the face of a real estate crisis expected to last as long as five more years.
- China Steel Mills Are Facing a Wave of Bankruptcies, BI Says — China’s steel crisis is setting the stage for a wave of bankruptcies and speeding a much-needed consolidation of the industry, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
- China Says It Doesn’t Teach Hatred of Japan After Child Killed — China said that it doesn’t teach its people to detest Japan, comments that came after diplomats from the two nations met to discuss the stabbing death of a Japanese child.
Reuters
- EU challenges China’s dairy product probe at WTO — The European Commission launched a challenge at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Monday against China’s investigation into EU dairy products, initiated after the European Union placed import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
- Micro dramas shake up China’s film industry and take aim at Hollywood — On a film set that resembles the medieval castle of a Chinese lord, Zhu Jian is busy disrupting the world’s second-largest movie industry.
- China backs establishment of a national recycling group — China’s state planner said on Monday it supports the establishment of a national resources recycling group as part of its efforts to improve recycling in various industries.
- Biden proposes banning Chinese vehicles from US roads with software crackdown — The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday proposed prohibiting key Chinese software and hardware in connected vehicles on American roads due to national security concerns – a move that would effectively bar nearly all Chinese cars from entering the U.S. market.
Other Publications
- CNBC: India rules out joining world’s largest trade deal, accuses China of ‘very opaque’ trade practices — India’s commerce and industry minister ruled out the idea of joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, maintaining that it is not in the country’s interest to be part of a free trade agreement with China.
- CBC News: ‘From hell to limbo’: Michael Kovrig describes more than a thousand days as China’s prisoner — ‘It was psychologically, absolutely, the most gruelling, painful thing I’ve ever been through.’
- Washington Post: Opinion: Aging China will need more workers. But immigration is off the table — Concerns about maintaining racial purity and political control trump worries about a shrinking workforce. By Keith Richburg
- Rest of World: China’s biggest AI model is challenging American dominance — Alibaba’s Qwen has been shining on benchmark tests, despite chip restrictions.
- The Telegraph: The British travel bloggers ‘sugarcoating’ China’s Uyghur problem to the delight of Beijing — Some influencers claim to be exposing Western media lies about Xinjiang, claiming they have not seen human rights abuses taking place.
