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
- Biden Prods Mexico to Better Police Evasion of Tariffs — The U.S. government pushed the trade partner to boost monitoring of whether metals are coming from China as domestic companies have complained about pressure from lower-cost goods.
- Germany to Remove Huawei From Mobile Networks — Germany will remove Chinese components from the country’s 5G mobile networks by the end of 2029, addressing what the U.S. has warned was a key vulnerability.
- Shein to Address Fashion Industry Waste Ahead of Potential Listing — Online fast-fashion giant Shein will invest about $270 million in the U.K. and Europe over the next five years to address industry waste as it prepares for a potential London listing.
The Financial Times
- China rejects Nato accusations of supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine — Beijing accuses military alliance of ‘lies and smears’ and warns it to stay out of Asia.
- China probes claims that cooking oil was hauled in unwashed fuel tankers — Latest food safety scandal erupts over allegations of mixing toxic and edible liquids.
- Chinese social media sensation Xiaohongshu wins major foreign VC backing — Yuri Milner’s DST Global takes stake at $17bn valuation in rare investment from overseas after China’s tech crackdown.
- China plays down hopes for ‘strong medicine’ on economy at third plenum — Communist party’s third plenum next week expected to focus on investment in cutting-edge tech and fiscal policy.
- Hong Kong regulator clears PwC over whistleblower claims but Evergrande probe continues — Accounting and Financial Reporting Council rejects quality control allegations.
The New York Times
- Cooking Oil in Dirty Fuel Tankers? Report Raises Alarms in China. — Officials said they would start an investigation after a newspaper reported that a tanker used to carry liquefied coal was then used to transport soybean oil.
- What NATO’s Warning to China Means — NATO’s rare rebuke of China could lead to actions pressuring the country to curb exports to Russia. Beijing denounced it as “prejudice, smears and provocation.”
- NATO Accuses China of Supplying Russia’s Attacks on Ukraine — The statement was a major departure for the alliance, which until 2019 never officially mentioned China as a concern.
Caixin
- Ex-Central Bank Official to Take Over as UnionPay’s President — Guo Dayong, a former deputy governor of the PBOC’s Jiangsu branch, is set to assume the position at China’s largest payment settlement service provider, sources say.
- Processing Firm Says It Is a ‘Victim’ of Contaminated Cooking Oil Scandal — Xinli Oil says it is cooperating with a local government probe into a potentially contaminated delivery of soybean oil.
- Vanke Executives to Buy $27.5 Million of Shares to Show Their Faith in Company — Pledge to stabilize investor confidence comes as developer warns of widening losses.
- Land Sales Slashed by More Than a Third in First Half of 2024 as Real Estate Slump Bites — Loss of revenue from land auctions has left provinces reliant on central government transfer payments, says report.
South China Morning Post
- US President Joe Biden renews Hong Kong’s ‘emergency status’ in executive order — The original order, issued in 2020 by Donald Trump after the imposition of a national security law, removed the city’s preferential trade status and other privileges.
- Do these satellite images hint at China’s strategy for war with US? — Pictures published online suggest PLA has been practising strikes on stealth fighters and aircraft carriers.
- East China’s Suzhou latest to join ‘tighten belts’ call as Beijing leads austerity drive — Spending cuts, judicious use of government assets and focus on green energy among new rules rolled out by Suzhou government.
- China’s military commits to full ‘rectification’ in corruption investigations’ wake — The Central Military Commission says political education is crucial to advancing the PLA and war preparations.
- China’s ‘rising star’ in chip design software cuts up to half its workforce amid market headwinds — A leading Chinese chip design software start-up is slashing as much as half of its workforce, casting a shadow over Beijing’s efforts to achieve tech self-sufficiency, according to multiple sources.
Nikkei Asia
- Military purges put Xi Jinping’s singer-wife in the spotlight — As Chinese supreme leader Xi Jinping deals with “complicated challenges” that his top military brass is presenting him, he is likely leaning more on a longtime aide, his wife, Peng Liyuan.
- U.S. and Mexico clamp down on Chinese steel imports — In a joint effort with Mexico, Washington said that steel products entering the U.S. across the southern border that did not originate in North America will be subject to additional tariffs.
- China hopes senior citizens can spend the country out of its doldrums — China has one of the world’s most rapidly aging societies, with the over-60 age group poised to account for around 30% of the total population by 2035.
- Chinese listed steelmakers flag losses at home, raising export urgency — Domestic industry trapped by ‘three highs and three lows’ while trade barriers rise.
- Opinion: China goes whole hog in EU trade tussle over pork imports — The Chinese Commerce Ministry’s investigation into pork imports from the European Union is a calculated message from Beijing to Brussels: Protectionist measures will have far-reaching consequences. By Adriel Kasonta.
Bloomberg
- Fast Retailing’s Push Into Western Markets Softens China Slump — Fast Retailing Co.’s expansion into the US and Europe is paying off, with a strong performance in those markets helping to make up for a sharp deceleration in China.
- China Sends Most Warplanes Ever Across Key Line With Taiwan — China sent a record number of warplanes across a US-drawn boundary in the Taiwan Strait — a move that comes as the new president of the archipelago mulls a trip that may include a stop in America.
- Chinese Lose Confidence in Meritocracy as Path to Greater Wealth — Chinese people are blaming inequality in the economic system for diminishing their chances at amassing wealth, as urgency builds for Beijing to revive confidence at a key policy meeting.
- How Xi Can Surprise World With Big-Bang Moves at China Plenum — China has the firepower to end its housing crisis at a high-stakes policy meeting, including with a “big-bang solution” that involves pumping money like the Federal Reserve. But it’s unlikely to pull the trigger.
- India-China Ties: The Border Dispute That Troubles Relations — China and India, nuclear-armed neighbors, have had thousands of troops facing off in a disputed region of the Himalayas since 2020, when skirmishes led to the first deadly clashes in four decades.
Reuters
- China plenum to deliver policy agenda hindered by conflicting goals — The communique at the end of the closed-door meeting, chaired by President Xi Jinping, may contain lofty goals but offer few pathways to them.
- China is building two-thirds of new wind and solar globally, report says — China is building 339 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale wind and solar, or 64% of the global total, a report from U.S.-based think tank Global Energy Monitor (GEM) found.
- Taiwan monitors Chinese military surge, calls China a threat to stability — In its daily update on Chinese military activity over the past 24 hours, released on Thursday morning, Taiwan’s defence ministry said it had detected 66 Chinese military aircraft around the island.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Xi Jinping really is unshakeably committed to the private sector — He balances that with being unshakeably committed to state-owned enterprises, too.
- The Economist: The EV trade war between China and the West heats up — But Elon Musk’s carmaker is somehow escaping the worst of it.
- The Information: Temu Breaks With Direct-From-China Strategy In Threat to Amazon — Chinese bargain site Temu has been a big hit with American shoppers in the past year or two, drawing increasing scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers over its approach to importing goods and attention from rival Amazon.
- Foreign Policy: How China Trapped Itself in America’s Fentanyl Crisis — Central policy and money laundering have created networks that aid traffickers.