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
- ByteDance to Lay Off Staff at Indonesian E-Commerce Unit — TikTok’s parent will lay off staff at its Indonesian e-commerce unit to cut costs in the wake of a deal that let the video-sharing app reopen its online shop in the Southeast Asian country.
- Stellantis Moves Some EV Production Out of China — Stellantis has shifted its production plans for electric vehicles made with Chinese joint-venture partner Leapmotor because of higher European import duties.
- Microsoft Grilled on Capitol Hill Over Security Failures — Lawmakers asked about a series of recent breaches, the company’s business practices in China.
- Tesla May Raise Model 3 Price in Europe Due to Tariffs — Tesla will likely raise the price of its Model 3 in Europe as of July 1 in response to planned EU tariffs on electric vehicles made in China.
The Financial Times
- Draghi says Europe must not be ‘passive’ in face of China import threat — Former Italian premier says EU should be ready to use more tariffs and subsidies to counter ‘unfair advantages’.
- China’s support for Russia is ‘long-term threat’ to European security, warns G7 — Leaders discuss measures to counteract Beijing’s economic policies, which they say are unbalancing global trade.
- Shein tries to suppress chair’s claim that fashion retailer is ‘American’ — Donald Tang’s remarks are said to have annoyed Chinese officials who need to approve London IPO.
- UBS closes in on sale of Credit Suisse’s China unit to Beijing state-backed fund — Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities also bid for securities business.
- Chinese companies rush to tap US convertible bond market — Issuers encouraged by ready pool of specialist hedge fund buyers for hybrid debt.
- Stellantis to shift some Chinese electric vehicle production to Europe — Tariff announcement from Brussels prompts Citroën and Fiat brand owner to move part of Leapmotor output.
The New York Times
- F.A.A. Investigating How Counterfeit Titanium Got Into Boeing and Airbus Jets — The material, which was purchased from a little-known Chinese company, was sold with falsified documents and used in parts that went into jets from both manufacturers.
- Chinese Activists Who Gave #MeToo Victims a Voice Are Found Guilty — Huang Xueqin, a journalist, and Wang Jianbing, a labor activist, were convicted of subversion, a vaguely worded charge long seen as a tool for muzzling dissent.
- Lawmakers Question Brad Smith About Microsoft’s China Business — Brad Smith testified before a House committee a year after Chinese hackers infiltrated Microsoft’s technology and penetrated government networks.
- G7 Leaders Gather in Italy to Discuss an Unruly World — The Group of 7 gathers major industrialized countries, but its leaders are politically weak and Ukraine and Gaza remain unsolved.
Caixin
- In Depth: How China’s Pricing Regime Penalizes Innovative Drugmakers — The country’s system for negotiating drug prices is making it hard for the companies to make money, both at home and abroad.
- China’s Top Financial Regulator Rotates Local Leadership in Ongoing Reshuffle — New leaders have been appointed to branches of the National Financial Regulatory Administration in Guizhou and Sichuan provinces, and sources say the same will soon happen to the Shaanxi branch.
- China Anti-Graft Investigators Detain Top Leaders of 17 Listed Firms This Year — Yang Yongping, chairman of Xuerong Biotechnology, is one of the latest to fall under investigation for possible involvement in suspected crimes or violations of law by public officials.
- China Set to Massively Surpass Its 2030 Wind and Solar Goal — The country’s cumulative capacity is ‘very likely’ to reach 2,400 gigawatts, nearly double its target, expert says.
- Evergrande Auto Ordered to Repay $262 Million of Government Subsidies — Hong Kong-listed EV unit has 60 days to seek an administrative review of the decision.
South China Morning Post
- How three MIT scientists and Tencent’s backing created Hong Kong’s new investor darling — QuantumPharm’s IPO has been portrayed as a prime example of the city’s major role in supporting China’s technology drive.
- China’s aviation leader puts cargo drone to test in Beijing’s push for strategic industry — Uncrewed vehicles are essential to China’s low-altitude economy, which the government has bolstered with policies and regulations since 2021.
- Shanghai’s Yangpu district eyes smaller tech firms to complete its growing digital ecosystem — Shanghai’s northeastern Yangpu district , which has already attracted Big Tech firms such as Meituan and Bilibili, has set its sights on smaller technology businesses to form an ecosystem for its growing digital economy.
- Could China strangle Europe’s weapons output with cotton? — European politicians and arms producers have complained that China has cut its supply of nitrocellulose, known as guncotton, but experts say Europe would rather not ramp up production.
- China’s AI giants cosy up to virtual companions as loneliness drives chatbot revenue — Microsoft spin-off Xiaoice remains the market leader, but Baidu, Tencent and ByteDance are all looking to capitalise on the latest Chinese AI trend.
Nikkei Asia
- Chinese AI academy vows startup support to take on U.S. rivals — At its flagship annual conference, the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI) presented a series of large language models.
- China training Global South in ‘authoritarian’ ways, report says — The report says 795 online seminars were funded by the Chinese government in 2021 and 2022 pushing an overall message that authoritarian control is essential for economic development.
- China eyes Sea of Japan access via Russia-North Korea border river — The waterway, the Tumen River, flows east along the border of China and North Korea, and eventually also of Russia, before emptying into the Sea of Japan.
- China’s new maritime rule to take effect; Filipinos at risk, experts say — The provision issued last month allows for detaining “trespassing” foreigners for up to 60 days without trial.
- Opinion: China isn’t giving Taiwan’s Lai Ching-te any honeymoon — KMT parliamentary leader Fu Kun-chi indicated to Nikkei Asia that he will likely resist proposals to raise defense spending and calling on Lai to “end his hostility” toward China. By Derek Grossman.
Bloomberg
- Germany Trying to Prevent or Soften EU Tariffs on China EVs — The German government is working to prevent the European Union’s new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles from coming into force — or at least soften them.
- China’s Oil Refiners Are Slowing Down After Decades of Growth — China’s decades-long boom in oil processing could falter this year in a blow to global demand and the aspirations of OPEC+ producers seeking to return supply to the market.
- Foreign CEOs Slightly More Confident About Business in China — Top foreign executives in China grew marginally more confident in the mainland during the first half of the year, even as concerns over the economy and rising geopolitical tensions forced many to reassess their presence.
- Opinion: US Needs More Nuclear Weapons Against China, Russia, Iran, North Korea — Some Americans worry that building up the arsenal will start an arms race. Sorry, but China has already begun one. By Hal Brands.
Reuters
- Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic — The U.S. military launched a clandestine program amid the COVID crisis to discredit China’s Sinovac inoculation – payback for Beijing’s efforts to blame Washington for the pandemic. One target: the Filipino public. Health experts say the gambit was indefensible and put innocent lives at risk.
- China firms seek probe into EU pork as trade row deepens — The move opens a new front in bilateral strains in one of the world’s key trading relationships after Brussels slapped tariffs of up to 38.1% on EVs made in China to shield its auto industry from competition.
- China banks walk narrow path past property crisis — Profitability, though, is being squeezed amid sluggish loan demand and an uptick in deposits from households.
- China’s zinc imports reflect shifting market dynamics — Spot treatment terms for imported mine concentrates are currently trading at levels that are uneconomic for many Chinese smelters, forcing them to rely more on domestic mine supply.
Other Publications
- CFR: China’s Stockpiling and Mobilization Measures for Competition and Conflict — Zongyuan Zoe Liu’s testimony to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on China’s approach to self-sufficiency, stockpiling, and sanctions preparedness.
- Foreign Affairs: Why China Is Sabotaging Ukraine — Beijing Has No Interest in a Peace Agreement It Can’t Help Broker.
- POLITICO: Rich countries unite against China … sort of. — Under pressure from the U.S., the G7 is rolling out new initiatives to counter China’s economic reach. There’s little agreement on how much further to go.
- The Washington Post: Katie Ledecky on China doping scandal: ‘There’s supposed to be consequences’ — Decorated American was on the relay that finished second to a China team that included a swimmer who had tested positive months earlier.
- The Economist: The new front in China’s cyber campaign against America — Big powers are preparing for wartime sabotage.
- The Economist: A price war breaks out among China’s AI-model builders — It may stymie innovation.
- Los Angeles Times: A new threat to cannabis users: Smuggled Chinese pesticides — Some of the poisons are so unfamiliar that few chemical analysis labs in the state would be equipped to test for them if California required it.
- The Guardian: ‘Thanks for the free rent’: Cheng Lei jokes about China detention in comedy debut — The journalist spent three years in prison but teams up with dissident Vicky Xu for gags about bad food, weight loss and giving Xi Jinping a hug.
