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 Restricts Fentanyl Chemicals After Years of U.S. Pressure — The progress on a diplomatic sticking point between the two countries suggests Beijing is eager to smooth ties ahead of the November election.
- Tesla Recalling Cars in China Over Hood Problem — The carmaker is recalling 1.68 million cars in China to fix the same hood problem that recently affected models in the U.S..
- China Export Growth Slows But Recovery Seems Intact — China’s exports slowed unexpectedly in July but imports grew at a faster-than-expected clip, signaling some improvement in domestic demand.
The Financial Times
- China’s exports miss target in warning signal for Beijing — Policymakers are relying on strong trade to weather weak domestic economy.
- Qatar invests in US-backed fund to loosen China dominance of critical minerals — First such collaboration between western and Gulf states to challenge Asian nation over supply of clean energy minerals.
- Can India’s economy thrive without China’s help? — The country’s restrictions on technology and people from its rival risk stifling its ambitions to become a manufacturing superpower.
- Chinese battery industry faces consolidation wave — Companies cancel investments and smaller players leave amid slowing EV sales, fierce competition and stricter regulations.
- China imposes restrictions on fentanyl chemicals after pressure from US — Move is the first time in six years that Beijing will restrict the ingredients used in the drug.
- China Evergrande liquidators launch legal action against PwC — Filings to Hong Kong court accuse Big Four auditor of ‘negligence’ in its work for collapsed Chinese property group.
The New York Times
- In Xi’s China, Politics Eventually Catches Up With Everyone — The author Peter Hessler posed a question with an elusive answer: How could Chinese society open up so profoundly while its politics stagnated or even regressed?
- Queens Man Is Convicted of Spying on Dissidents for China — Shujun Wang, who co-founded an organization devoted to democracy in China, used it to gather information for the authoritarian country’s government, prosecutors said.
- Opinion: An Overdue Strategy for Cracking Down on the Fentanyl Trade — A former F.D.A. commissioner thinks we’ve ignored two crucial avenues that are fueling the opioid crisis. By Scott Gottlieb.
Caixin
- Legal Scholars Urge Revisions to State Compensation Law to Boost Payouts — With a round of amendments on the horizon, observers also call for greater clarity on how property losses are calculated.
- Former Shenzhen Mayor Gets Life Sentence for Taking $15 Million Bribes — Chen Rugui’s case linked to Guangdong campaign to demolish unfinished projects abandoned by developers which he oversaw.
- Huawei Unveils First Luxury Sedan Model Under Partnership with BAIC — The Stelato S9 was conceived under Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance.
South China Morning Post
- US first, China second-to-last and US$100,000 between them in diplomatic pay rankings — Beijing’s salaries ahead of only Jakarta’s among 16 analysed G20 countries as Washington eyes recruitment and private-sector competition.
- China’s Wang Yi calls for international community to unite behind Gaza ceasefire — Beijing stands firm with Arab nations, Wang says, adding that only resumption of talks will de-escalate ‘very dangerous’ situation.
- Top Chinese research firm CEBM halts operations amid ‘nuclear winter’ in securities sector — The firm, which serves top mutual-fund houses, puts all employees on unpaid leave amid a Beijing crackdown on illegal behaviours and extravagance in the securities sector.
- South Korea tops China for shipbuilding orders as competition heats up — South Korean shipwrights took 40 per cent of global intake for ship orders last month, surpassing their Chinese peers for the second time this year.
- TikTok owner ByteDance revs up nascent market for Sora-style services with Jimeng AI app — Jimeng is now available on Apple’s mainland App Store and various local Android app stores, following the desktop version’s release in May.
Nikkei Asia
- Tim Walz and China: Close personal ties and sharp criticism of Beijing — Harris’ VP pick taught and honeymooned in country before becoming vocal on human rights.
- HP plans its most aggressive shift of production away from China — Thailand emerges as major factory destination as PC maker hires engineers in Singapore.
- Chinese yuan rally puts central bank’s next moves in spotlight — Firmer currency could enable more monetary easing, analysts say, with caveats.
Bloomberg
- China Is Rapidly Building Nuclear Power Plants as the Rest of the World Stalls — The world’s second-largest economy is expected to leapfrog France and the US as the top source of atomic power.
- Harris VP Pick Walz’s Long History With China May Prove Awkward — Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz has connections to China dating back decades that could help inform Kamala Harris’s approach to the world’s second-biggest economy, but may also spell trouble with leaders in Beijing and Republicans back home.
- China Urges Officials to Stop Playing ‘Throwing Eggs’ Card Game — China called on officials to stop playing a widely popular poker game because it’s hurting their work, an issue that hints at President Xi Jinping’s long-running frustration with the nation’s millions of public servants.
- China’s Battle Against Bond Bubble Escalates as Yields Sink More — A battle between China’s central bank and government-bond buyers is intensifying, as traders keep snapping up the debt despite growing evidence of official displeasure.
- China Patrols Disputed Sea as US, Allies Hold Defense Drills — China said it held naval and air combat patrol near a contested South China Sea area on Wednesday, as the US and three other allies announced joint maritime drills.
Reuters
- US to increase force projection from Australia in face of ‘coercive’ China — After annual AUSMIN talks in Annapolis, Maryland, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said there would be an increase in the presence of rotational U.S. forces in Australia.
- China’s commodity imports show economy struggling for momentum — The headline-grabber in Wednesday’s official data release was the drop in crude oil imports to 9.97 million barrels per day in July, the lowest on a daily basis since September 2022.
- China’s mounting bad debts have fewer places to go — After years of rapid expansion, balance sheets, capital base and profitability are all under strain.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: The U.S. Must Prepare to Fight China and North Korea at the Same Time — A conflict in Taiwan is likely to draw Pyongyang in—and the U.S. military isn’t ready for it.
- Foreign Affairs: The Taiwan Fallacy — American Power Does Not Hinge on a Single Island.
- Rest of World: Vietnam is the latest battleground in BYD’s bid to dominate Southeast Asia’s EV market — BYD, the top EV maker, faces challenges in Vietnam, where VinFast dominates the charging infrastructure, and consumers are wary of Chinese goods.
- ChinaFile: How Safe Is China’s Food in Light of the Fuel-Tanker Cooking-Oil Scandal? — What are Chinese consumers saying about their food, and what should they know about what they are eating?
- CNAS: Over the Brink — Escalation Management in a Protracted War.
