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
- Satellite Images Show Expansion of Suspected Chinese Spy Bases in Cuba — Analysts identified four electronic eavesdropping stations, including a previously unreported site near a U.S. naval base.
- Shein, Temu Are Swamping Airfreight Capacity, Sending Rates Soaring — The e-commerce shipments out of Asia are squeezing airfreight space, with the sector’s peak shipping season still months away.
- China and U.S. Both Eye Breakthrough EV Technology — Solid-state batteries could be the future.
The Financial Times
- Global investment banks cut jobs in China retreat — Wall Street and European groups scaled back in 2023 in ‘challenging’ environment.
- Chinese exporters raise fears of Christmas freight crisis — Red Sea attacks push up costs and put pressure on profits during critical season for trade.
- China ETF assets register ‘explosive’ growth — Booming sector has enjoyed annual growth rate of 40% since 2018 as actively managed funds have slumped.
Caixin
- Microsoft Shuts Physical Stores in China in Shift to Online-Only Sales — Microsoft has closed all its remaining bricks-and-mortar retail stores in the Chinese mainland as part of its global strategy revamp to shift retail operations online.
- Dozens of Rural Governments Shortchange Student Meals to Shore Up Budgets — Dozens of China’s cash-strapped local governments misappropriated billions of yuan earmarked for rural student meals from 2021 to 2023 to repay debt and boost other spending, a national audit report showed.
- Matrix Partners Renames India and China Units to Stress Their Independence — American venture capital firm Matrix Partners is rebranding its India unit to DZ47 while its China arm, Matrix Partners China, will be renamed MPC, effective July 1.
South China Morning Post
- China ‘at risk’ of wider decoupling after US, EU as Asean trade partners balk at imports flood — Word of caution comes from Chinese trade consultancy with the commerce and agricultural ministries and customs authorities among its clients.
- Chinese official calls for Japanese investment, reaffirming vow to widen market access — China’s efforts to woo foreign investment continue, as an official invited business from Japan at a meeting where both countries mourned the victims of a knife attack believed to be aimed at Japanese students.
- ‘Wartime’ situation as worst flooding in 70 years hits county in central China — One-third of Pingjiang’s old town and half of its new town is said to be under water and more than 5,300 people have been evacuated so far after torrential rains.
Nikkei Asia
- Chinese shadow bank Zhongzhi’s liquidation prompts fallout fears — Liquidator seeks consolidation in ‘complicated’ case with ‘enormous’ debts.
- China’s leaders to choose economic path at high-pressure third plenum — Historically pivotal policy gathering expected to focus on tech as property woes fester.
- China charms Hong Kong with economic boosts, from pandas to visas — Chief Executive John Lee urges city to ‘capitalize’ on what Beijing offers.
- Opinion: Asia is set to embrace protectionism in face of China’s overcapacity — Pressure growing across region as West imposes more tariffs on Beijing. By Sonal Varma
Bloomberg
- Hong Kong Residents Seek Holiday Escape to China With 1 Million Visits — Hong Kong residents made more than 1.1 million trips to the rest of China during a three-day holiday ending July 1, piling more pressure on local retailers and restaurants who are struggling for business.
- China’s New Carbon Market Rules Aim to Reduce Oversupply — China has published new rules for its national carbon market, aimed at reducing an oversupply of permits to compel large polluters to accelerate their green transitions.
- China’s Plastics Boom Is Set to Create Another Trade Headache — A surge of Chinese plastic supply is threatening to overflow in the face of weak domestic demand, morphing into a fresh trade challenge for the rest of the world.
Reuters
- China’s BYD posts 21% jump in quarterly EV sales, closes gap with Tesla — China’s BYD posted a 21% rise in second-quarter electric vehicle sales, closing the gap with Tesla (TSLA.O) after handing back the world’s top EV vendor title to the U.S. rival in the first quarter.
- China says US targeting of AI not helpful to healthy development — U.S. targeting of certain investments in artificial intelligence in China is not helpful to the “healthy development” of AI technology and will be divisive when it comes to global governance, China’s U.N. envoy said on Monday.
- Chinese robot ‘guide dog’ aims to improve independence for visually impaired — It’s less furry than a traditional companion, but a six-legged Chinese robot “guide dog” could one day help vision impaired people live more independently, according to its research development team in Shanghai.
Other Publications
- The Economist: China is struck by floods and drought—at the same time — A looming water crisis threatens everything from data centres to farms.
- Associated Press: UN adopts Chinese resolution with US support on closing the gap in access to artificial intelligence — The United Nations General Assembly adopted a Chinese-sponsored resolution with U.S. support urging wealthy developed nations to close the widening gap with poorer developing countries and ensure that they have equal opportunities to use and benefit from artificial intelligence.
- Foreign Affairs: The looming crisis in the Taiwan Strait — How Washington can lower the tension between Taipei and Beijing. By Bonnie S. Glaser and Bonny Lin
- Quartz: Apple briefly outpaced Google and Huawei in China’s smartphone market, analysts say — iPhone sales volumes grew more than Android and Huawei smartphones during China’s 618 shopping festival.
- The Guardian: China’s tech firms vow crackdown on online hate speech after knife attack — Clampdown follows fatal stabbing of Chinese woman who tried to stop attack on Japanese mother and child.
- CNBC: China’s young people are ‘revenge saving’ even as Gen Zers around the world are piling up debt — Revenge saving has become a trend on Chinese social media websites, with Chinese youth setting extreme monthly savings targets.
