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
- Dozens Die in China Floods as Typhoon Remnants Batter North — Two weeks after making landfall, Doksuri still wreaks mayhem—and another storm is coming.
- China Drafts Rules for Facial-Recognition Use — Authorities proposed restricting the use of the technology to instances where it has a specific purpose, while leaving large carve outs for national security.
- Taiwan’s TSMC to Build First European Chip Plant in Germany — Move reflects Europe’s efforts to increase its resilience to geopolitical shocks.
- Country Garden, China’s Largest Surviving Developer, Sinks Into Debt Crisis — Company’s U.S. dollar bonds plunge after it misses interest payments.
- Chinese Exports Fall at Steepest Pace Since February 2020 — Slide in outbound shipments reflects fraying trade ties with the Western world, even as exports to Russia boom.
- China Reassures Russia on Ukraine After Meeting on How to End the War — Chinese foreign minister vows Beijing will remain ‘independent and impartial’ in seeking solutions to the conflict.
- Opinion: Your Business in China May Be Uninsurable — Political-risk coverage is getting harder to find. By Elisabeth Braw
- Opinion: Geopolitical Climate Denialism — Officials start to see the world is more dangerous than they thought in 2021. By Walter Russell Mead
The Financial Times
- Britain’s Chinese student diaspora should not live in fear — The Communist party’s influence extends internationally, to chilling effect.
- China’s Country Garden misses bond payments as turmoil grips property sector — Real estate crisis continues to drag on world’s second-largest economy.
- Chinese exports suffer worst fall since start of pandemic — Flagging trade piles pressure on Beijing to take greater measures to revive economic growth.
- Law firm Dentons hives off China business as Beijing tightens regulation — Move comes after Chinese government broadened scope of cyber security and data protection laws on national security grounds.
- The new commodity superpowers — In the first part of a series, countries that produce the metals central to the energy transition want to rewrite the rules of mineral extraction.
- EU struggles to ‘de-risk’ trade with China — Bloc faces ‘devilishly difficult’ task of reducing dependence on Beijing after stepping into gaps left by US, say analysts.
- Cross-border debt boom aids China’s efforts to widen renminbi use — Issuance of ‘panda’ and ‘dim sum’ debt hits record pace as economic slowdown depresses borrowing costs.
- The truth about decoupling — The US and China are tightly linked in more problematic ways than anyone had ever imagined.
The New York Times
- UAE, a US Ally, Looks to China and Russia for Deeper Ties — The United Arab Emirates, which has translated its wealth into outsize global influence, is diverging from U.S. foreign policy — particularly when it comes to isolating Russia and limiting ties with China.
- As China’s Youth Unemployment Soars, Pressure on Colleges Grows — Under pressure from Beijing, Chinese schools have been told to do more to secure jobs for students, who are facing bleak prospects.
- Foreign Ministers of China and Russia Confer After Jeddah Talks — China underscored its desire to “actively promote” efforts to end the war in Ukraine “on any multilateral occasion.”
Caixin
- China Issues Draft Rules for Tighter Facial Recognition Oversight — The technology should only be used when there is a specific purpose and if non-biometric identification cannot meet the same objectives, cyberspace regulator says.
- What Has China’s State Iron Ore Giant Achieved in Its Inaugural Year? — China Mineral Resources Group, established in July 2022, secured benefits in pricing, delivery and product types for Chinese steelmakers, but its power to bring down the cost of the commodity remains limited, sources say.
- CATL to Sue Intellectual Property Rights Regulator Over Patent Invalidation — China’s biggest EV-battery maker seeks to overturn ruling on two patents at the heart of a years-long legal tussle with a smaller rival.
- Huawei Partners With Chery on New Electric Vehicle — Tech giant unveils Luxeed coupe equipped with Huawei’s HarmonyOS 4.0 mobile operating system.
South China Morning Post
- Foxconn’s Shenzhen-based subsidiary to ‘exclusively’ supply Apple with AI servers made in Vietnam: report — The reported deal with Apple would represent another high-profile order for Shanghai -listed Foxconn Industrial Internet, which also supplies servers to Amazon Web Services, ChatGPT creator OpenAI and chip maker Nvidia.
- Can China’s second-gen factory owners give ‘made in China’ a second chance in crisis? — Like young monarchs, suddenly thrust at the helm of their family’s legacy, China’s Gen Z and millennials are returning home to oversee decades of business growth in difficult times.
- Chinese EV maker BYD challenges rival Li Auto with launch of second premium SUV in a month via Mercedes-Benz venture — The plug-in-hybrid N8 SUV challenges rival Li Auto’s bestselling L8 model in the high-end segment of a red-hot market.
Nikkei Asia
- In Taiwan, Aso says Japan must show ‘will to fight’ to deter China — Former prime minister meets presidential front-runner WIlliam Lai.
- Japan blockchain startup seeks to build Asian digital payment network — System would link Japan, India, China and Southeast Asia using Cambodia’s digital currency.
- U.S. needs a team to counter China’s political warfare: CSIS — Weaken Great Firewall, tap Beijing’s data on own population, scholars suggest.
Bloomberg
- Xi Speak and Closed Doors Obscure China’s $18 Trillion Economy — Taking the pulse of China’s $18 trillion economy is getting tougher for foreign visitors who previously could count on holding informative meetings with key policy makers.
- Paytm Founder to Take Control From Ant Without Paying Cash — Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma will acquire a 10.3% stake from China’s Ant Group Co., in an unusual transaction that will make the entrepreneur the company’s single biggest shareholder without paying any cash.
- Wanda Executive Taken Away by China’s Police, Local Media Says — A senior executive of Dalian Wanda Group Co. was taken away by police in China, according to a local media report, spurring fresh concerns over the conglomerate.
- Bankers Forced to Study Xi’s Thoughts as Party Tightens Grip — Study sessions on his ideology have also become mandatory for staff at many state-owned and private-sector companies.
Reuters
- Indonesia delays China-funded rail project’s trial run for passengers — The project, which is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, was originally set to be completed by 2019 but has been beset by problems.
- Exclusive: India bars makers of military drones from using Chinese parts — India in recent months has barred domestic manufacturers of military drones from using components made in China over concerns about security vulnerabilities.
- China’s imports of major commodities lose some steam in July — China is the world’s biggest buyer of crude oil, copper and iron ore, and imports of these key commodities underperformed in July.
- China, Philippines’ dispute over grounded warship heats up — China’s embassy in Manila criticised Washington for “gathering” its allies to continue “hyping up” the South China Sea issue and the boat incident.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: China hacked Japan’s sensitive defense networks, officials say — Tokyo has strengthened its defenses after a major cybersecurity breach, but gaps remain that could slow information-sharing with the Pentagon.
- The Washington Post: Australian aid policy to focus on climate — and countering China — Australia has put the climate and job creation in the Pacific at the center of its new foreign aid policy, part of an effort to woo back island nations that have fallen under China’s deep-pocketed influence.
- The Economist: Hong Kongers are bracing for an even wider clampdown on dissent — Officials are sowing fear with vaguely worded warnings against “soft resistance”.
- CSIS: Assessing U.S. and Chinese Influence in Southeast Asia — Southeast Asian attitudes toward the United States and China—and views of their respective strategic and economic roles in the region—are a vital component in this strategic competition.
- The Guardian: Chinese political slogans spark graffiti free-for-all on east London wall — After artists painted 24 bold red characters in Brick Lane, other people began to add their thoughts – until the council stepped in.
