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.
Paid subscribers automatically have this list emailed directly to their inboxes every day by 10 a.m. EST. Subscribe here.
The Wall Street Journal
- China’s Economy Is in Trouble. Xi Jinping Has Other Priorities. — As policy conclave gets under way, Chinese leader remains focused on economic security, leaving some long-running problems to fester.
- China Puts Power of State Behind AI—and Risks Strangling It — Government support helps China’s generative AI companies gain ground on U.S. competitors, but political controls threaten to weigh them down.
- Japan, U.S. Banks Back Atop Asia Investment Banking — Asia investment banking revenue fell 15% from a year earlier in the first half.
- Cartier Owner Richemont Hit by Sluggish Demand in China — Sales in China, Hong Kong and Macau fell 27% during the fiscal first quarter, following similar weakness in the region at luxury peers.
The Financial Times
- Intel venture arm’s China tech stakes raises alarm in Washington — Silicon Valley chipmaker has invested in more than 40 Chinese start-ups while also receiving billions in US grants.
- Luxury brands roll out 50% discounts as Chinese shoppers rein in spending — Country’s once-voracious middle-class consumers have become more frugal.
- China poses ‘deadly’ threat to UK, says former Nato boss — Warning from Lord George Robertson as he heads British strategic defence review.
The New York Times
- Taiwan’s Blunt-Talking Leader Faces China’s Backlash — China is putting more military and political pressure on Taiwan and its new president, whose rhetoric has been sharper than his predecessor’s.
- China Will Host Senior Officials of Hamas and Fatah, Longtime Adversaries — A rapprochement between the rival Palestinian factions could make postwar governance of Gaza more feasible.
Caixin
- Charts of the Day: China’s World-Beating Solar, Wind Power Construction — China is building almost twice as much wind and solar power capacity than the rest of the world combined, a new analysis has revealed.
- Xiaomi Wins Independent Automaker Badge — Xiaomi Corp. received the green light to independently produce its own electric vehicles (EVs), marking a departure from its reliance on a state-owned auto partner and another milestone in its rapid expansion into the EV market.
- China’s Audit Office Exposes $34 Million Scams Selling Government Data — The National Audit Office of China has revealed that seven entities from four government departments made 248-million-yuan ($34 million) profit by illegally charging for external access to public data without proper authorization.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese finance firms ask Hong Kong staff to pay back part of their bonuses — Some of China’s largest state-backed financial firms are asking employees in Hong Kong to return a portion of their pay, extending President Xi Jinping’s ‘common prosperity’ campaign to the offshore business hub.
- Huawei completes US$1.4 billion campus in Shanghai ‘with 100 cafes’ to lure foreign talent — Around 30,000 Huawei research and development personnel are expected to move into the Shanghai campus, which will start operations this year.
- China’s third plenum: US executives eye first-hand insights from economy-centric conclave — Companies including Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, Nike and Qualcomm are on the list to head to Beijing next week following the conclusion of China’s third plenum.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s state rare-earth players bleed red ink as prices fall — Loss warnings for first half come amid Beijing-led consolidation, controls.
- Palau says China exerting ‘new level’ of pressure — President cites rejection of delegation to Macao and suspect cyber assault.
- China’s Tibet policy under brighter spotlight after U.S. law, U.N. review — Beijing rejects West’s rights recommendations as Dalai Lama turns 89.
Bloomberg
- Hong Kong Employees at China Financial Firms Face Pay Clawbacks — Some of China’s largest state-backed financial firms are asking employees in Hong Kong to return a portion of their pay, extending President Xi Jinping’s “common prosperity” campaign to the offshore business hub.
- Trump VP Pick Vance Says China Is the ‘Biggest Threat’ to US — JD Vance branded China the biggest threat to America in one of his first interviews since being named Donald Trump’s running mate, underscoring the likely hawkish stance of their administration toward Beijing if elected.
- Xi Jinping’s Great Economic Rewiring Is Cushioning China’s Slowdown — Advances in electric vehicles, solar and semiconductors are helping the nation navigate its property slump.
- Swiss Luxury Watch Market Succumbs to a Brutal China-Led Slump — Sales of Swiss-made luxury watches are in sharp retreat as nervous consumers reconsider splashing out on expensive timepieces and demand slumps in one of the industry’s key markets.
Reuters
- Chinese state-owned brokerage to ramp up investment banking business in Southeast Asia — A unit of state-owned brokerage China Galaxy Securities plans to expand its investment banking team in Southeast Asia to 50 people next year from 30 now, a senior executive said, betting on a rise in dealmaking in the region amid a sluggish market at home.
- China tries to hit more birds with one stone in property rescue push — After Beijing ordered Chinese cities to buy newly-completed apartments and turn them into affordable housing, the first steps they took were to unveil plans to broaden eligibility for subsidies and fix other economic headaches in the process.
- For global investors, China is a slow-burning trade — For global investors with money in China’s stock markets, the latest economic numbers are not of any comfort and just a reminder that the recovery they are betting on will take a while to happen.
Other Publications
- Washington Post: Housing, once the ticket to wealth in China, is now draining fortunes — Communist Party officials are meeting this week to try to stabilize the slowing Chinese economy. But they’re not tackling the biggest problem: the property crisis.
- BBC News: T-shirts showing Trump after shooting pulled in China — Chinese e-commerce platforms have taken down t-shirts featuring an image of Donald Trump pumping his fist into the air moments after he was shot at.
- Associated Press: New deal establishes a hotline Chinese and Philippine presidents can use to stop clashes at sea — A recently signed agreement will open a direct line of communication between the presidential offices of China and the Philippines to help prevent any new confrontation from spiraling out of control in the disputed South China Sea, according to highlights of the accord seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
- Foreign Policy: Modi’s China Bind — India is becoming more dependent on China economically, but the prime minister’s base demands a hardline approach.
- The Guardian: China’s emissions of two potent greenhouse gases rise 78% in decade — Figure represents 64-66% of global output of tetrafluoromethane and hexafluoroethane, MIT study finds.
- CNBC: The next front in U.S.-China tech battle? Underwater cables that power the global internet — Subsea cables hit the headlines earlier this year after four out of 15 critical submarine cables in the Red Sea were cut amid attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Israeli U.S., and U.K. ships.
