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’s Defense Minister Being Removed From Post, U.S. Officials Say — Li Shangfu, who hasn’t appeared in public since late August, is latest of several senior Chinese officials to disappear without explanation.
- China’s Economy Shows Fresh Signs of Fragile Recovery — Spending in stores climbs, but the property sector continues to threaten growth.
- China May Dodge Deflation, After All — But it will probably be a near miss, and economic data still hints at a bottom rather than a strong rebound.
- Hypersonic Missiles Are Game-Changers, and America Doesn’t Have Them — The U.S. military is pouring resources into the superfast weapons but has struggled to develop them. China and Russia are far ahead.
- A Nation Goes for Dominance—of World’s Stinkiest Fruit — Farmers in China are racing to unlock the secrets of the cultivation of durian, which some say smells like gym socks.
- Taiwan Rebukes Elon Musk for Describing Island Democracy as China’s Hawaii — Taipei implies that the American entrepreneur has sold out to Beijing and points to the country’s censorship of X.
The Financial Times
- Chinese economic activity data signals optimism after stimulus measures — Retail sales and industrial production beat August forecasts but home prices continue to slide.
- EU warns of ‘possible’ Chinese retaliation over electric car probe — Brussels is wary that Beijing could target specific sectors in individual countries of the bloc.
- BlackRock China funds named in US lawmaker probe suffer outflows — But analysts say the decision to sell out was mainly prompted by their long-term poor performance.
- EU tries to buy time in electric car race with China — Europe’s carmakers fear being eclipsed by Chinese rivals with superior battery technology.
- Riding the Chinese dragon gets a lot harder for investors — The economic downturn has driven away many retail savers but brave souls still search for value.
- Taiwan opposition candidate to push US for clarity on defence commitments — KMT’s Hou Yu-ih calls for ‘dialogue and exchanges’ with China to reduce tensions across Strait.
- Chinese defence minister under investigation by Beijing, US believes — Li Shangfu has not been seen in public for more than two weeks.
- Sunak admits UK needs more investment to combat China’s security challenge — Prime minister responds to parliamentary criticism of Britain’s approach to spying by Beijing.
The New York Times
- China’s Slumping Economy: What the Latest Numbers Are Signaling — Consumers are spending a little more, but apartment prices and the pace of construction keep falling.
- China’s Defense Minister Has Not Been Seen in Weeks, Fueling Intrigue — General Li Shangfu was promoted to his position in March. His absence points to questions about the highest-level upheaval in China’s military in years.
- Senate Committee Backs Bill to Deepen U.S. Economic Ties With Taiwan — Legislation to end double taxation between Taiwan and the United States is intended to spur semiconductor investment but is likely to rankle U.S. relations with China.
- TikTok Fined $370 Million for Mishandling Child Data — The data-collection practices of TikTok that were cited by the European Union are becoming a common target for global regulators.
Caixin
- Chinese NEV Industry Hits Back at EU Anti-Subsidy Probe — The European Union’s decision to launch an investigation has cast a shadow over a booming market that’s already propelled China to become the world’s biggest vehicle exporter.
- Chinese Tech, Media and Telecom Share Sales Shrink by Half — Initial public offerings by Chinese technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) companies shrank by almost half in the first six months this year in a languid Chinese stock market.
- HKMA Chief Eddie Yue Appointed to Key BIS Role — Eddie Yue Wai-man, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, was appointed to a key post at the Bank for International Settlements, a top international financial institution backed by most of the world’s central banks.
South China Morning Post
- China blacklists Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin unit over Taiwan arms sales — Beijing does not specify the sanctions against Northrop Grumman and a unit of Lockheed Martin warns they will be ‘resolute’.
- China to send Vice-President Han Zheng to UN General Assembly – not top diplomat Wang Yi — Han Zheng, whose role is largely symbolic, will take part in UN’s annual policymaking sessions in New York next week, but Wang could still make separate US trip.
- China will train Venezuelans as astronauts to join Beijing’s moon project, says visiting President Nicolas Maduro — Chinese and Venezuelan presidents meet for the first time in five years, agreeing to boost collaboration in areas from oil and trade to space exploration.
Nikkei Asia
- Turkey close to deal with China on nuclear power plant — Energy minister says finalization likely in ‘a few months’ after years of talks.
- China leads high-tech research in 80% of critical fields: report — Aggressive investment puts country far ahead of U.S., Europe, Japan.
- Coal prices jump to 4-month high on China’s power demand — Nation leans on coal-fired plants as drought cuts into hydroelectricity.
- Vietnam’s factory doldrums show limits of shift out of China — Export contraction continues into eighth month, but Biden deals bring hope.
Bloomberg
- Zambia, China Agree to Increase Use of Local Currency in Trade — Zambia and China agreed to encourage greater use of their own currencies in trade and investment, after a meeting in Beijing between Presidents Xi Jinping and Hakainde Hichilema.
- China Shrinks Budget Deficit in Sign of Weak Fiscal Support — China’s budget deficit continued to contract so far this year, a sign of weak fiscal support for the economy despite a slowdown in growth.
- ‘Stakes Are High’ as China Has Tools to Strike Back at EV Curbs — The European Union launched an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles this week, highlighting the growing industrial and geopolitical competition between the two economies.
- China Economy Shows More Signs of Stability on Policy Boost — China’s economy picked up steam in August as a summer travel boom and a heftier stimulus push boosted consumer spending and factory output, adding to nascent signs of stabilization.
Reuters
- Chinese defence minister under investigation for corrupt procurement — Defence Minister Li Shangfu, who has been missing from public view for more than two weeks, has been placed under investigation by Chinese authorities, according to 10 people familiar with the matter.
- Broken dreams, shattered families in China’s unfinished apartments — When Reuters visited earlier this week, around 60 home buyers gathered on site to protest government inaction, holding up their housing contracts while shouting: “We want our homes!”
- What is driving Chinese EV exports and their price competitiveness? — The European Commission began investigating on Wednesday whether to set punitive tariffs to protect its producers from imports of cheaper Chinese electric vehicles that it says benefit from state subsidies.
Other Publications
- Center for Strategic & International Studies: Electric Shock: Interpreting China’s Electric Vehicle Export Boom — Exports of EVs made in China have critical implications for both legacy carmakers and policymakers in regions like Europe and the United States that have strived to diversify clean tech supply chains away from China while also advancing decarbonization.
- Washington Post: GOP lawmakers call for heavier sanctions against China’s Huawei, SMIC — The two companies displayed a domestically manufactured advanced smartphone chip, circumventing U.S. export controls and triggering Washington’s ire.
- Associated Press: China welcomes Cambodian and Zambian leaders as it forges deeper ties with Global South — China and Zambia upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership on Friday, the latest move by America’s chief global rival to forge deeper ties with the Global South.
- Politico: All thanks to ‘Big Yellow Taxi’: How State discovered Chinese hackers reading its emails — The State Department relied on a clever alert system to uncover and unravel an advanced Chinese spying campaign that involved breaches of officials’ emails.
- Foreign Affairs: The Myth of Chinese Diversionary War — Chinese leaders have rarely, if ever, started a conflict purely as a diversion, even during moments of domestic crisis.
- Quartz: China was “de-risking” long before the term caught on in the West — Beijing’s efforts to manage its trade and supply chain risks can trace their origins back to the 1980s.
- Brookings Institution: India—China: Reversal of fortunes? — Geopolitics has turned attention away from China—and toward India. Economics is responsible for this change, not geopolitics.
