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
- Volvo Car’s Shares Rise on Earnings Growth, But Warns of Sales Hit From EU Duty on Chinese EVs — The group now expects retail sales to grow by 12% to 15%, compared with the previous target of at least 15%.
- TSMC Beats Profit Estimates on Surging Chip Demand — The Taiwanese company produces roughly 90% of the world’s most advanced chips.
- China Investors’ Newest Craze: Saudi Stocks — The enthusiasm for Saudi exposure comes as China’s equities markets are struggling to draw interest.
The Financial Times
- Bosera launches China state-owned enterprise ETF in Hong Kong — Funds tracking the same index have also listed in China and attracted ‘national team’ interest.
- China deploys censors to create socialist AI — Large language models are being tested by officials to ensure their systems ‘embody core socialist values.’
- China’s leaders warn of economic risks and call for stronger social controls — Top Communist party committee outlines need to ‘prevent ideological risks’ at five-year policy conclave.
The New York Times
- Fire at Shopping Mall in Southwestern China Kills 16 — Dozens were trapped inside the building when the fire started on Wednesday evening in Sichuan Province, local authorities said.
- China’s Leaders Offer High Hopes, but Few Details for Road to Recovery — Top officials emerged from a high-stakes meeting about lifting the economy out of its malaise with few signs of a fundamental rethink.
- How to Become a Player in the Global Mineral Trade — A former Soviet Republic, Kazakhstan borders Russia to the north and China to the east and retains close trade ties to Russia. But China is a much larger customer for Kazakhstan’s critical minerals.
Caixin
- In Depth: Tesla’s Chinese Rival Hits Accelerator on Smart Driving — Once mocked by electric-car billionaire Elon Musk, BYD Co. Ltd. has become the chief global competitor to his Tesla Inc., thanks in part to its nous in developing automotive power cells that Musk’s company needs.
- Central Bank Inspects Lenders’ Bond Holdings to Mitigate Risks — China’s central bank has launched an inspection into the bond investment practices of smaller lenders to mitigate risks during an unprecedented bond rally.
- China’s Leading Auto Dealer Faces Delisting as Stock Sinks — China Grand Automotive Services Group Co. Ltd., one of the country’s largest auto dealers, is set to be removed from the Shanghai Stock Exchange after its stock consistently traded below par value, as a cut-throat price war rattles the world’s largest car market.
South China Morning Post
- As Donald Trump’s election odds grow, US allies in Europe and Asia reassess China strategy — Analysts say Trump victory could put new pressure on EU, Japan and South Korea when it comes to defence costs and trade.
- BMW raises prices after China’s brutal discount war fails to boost deliveries — BMW’s decision to stop offering discounts could trigger others like Audi and Mercedes-Benz to follow suit as mainland China’s price war hurts automakers’ financials.
- China steps up European brandy import probe with hearing, focuses on ‘industrial damage’ — China holds an anti-dumping hearing as part of its investigation into imports of European brandy.
Nikkei Asia
- Taiwan braces for transactional Trump after ‘pay for defense’ remark — Experts see pressure to lift military budget, risk of becoming China bargaining chip.
- J.D. Vance says China can’t build middle class at America’s expense — Trump’s Republican running mate warns allies: ‘No more free rides.’
- Analysis: The global economy needs China to be straightforward — Key party meeting reflects Xi Jinping’s favorite ideas after Li’s unintended slip.
Bloomberg
- Secretive China Agency Backtracks on Aggressive Policies After $1 Trillion Rout — The CAC’s rapidly expanding portfolio has also appeared to leave some of its bureaucrats overwhelmed, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Xi to Map Out Vision for China Economy as Key Meeting Wraps — President Xi Jinping will unveil his long-term vision for China’s economy as he wraps up a twice-a-decade conclave on reform, days after unexpectedly weak growth figures piled pressure on Beijing to act urgently to reinvigorate domestic demand.
- Russian Firms Find It Increasingly Hard to Get Paid by China — Several major Russian commodity exporters say trade with China has become a gamble as direct payments made in yuan are increasingly being frozen or delayed after the US in June broadened the criteria for imposing sanctions.
Reuters
- China says it has halted arms-control talks with US over Taiwan — China has halted nascent nuclear-arms-control talks with the United States, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday, in a protest of Washington’s arms sales to the democratically governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.
- Exclusive: Hit by client exits, PwC to slash China partners’ pay — PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has asked its China-based partners to take a pay cut of up to 50%, two people with knowledge of the matter said, as a regulatory probe into the firm and departure of some of its corporate clients prompt cost cuts and layoffs.
- China singles out Danish, Dutch, Spanish firms in anti-dumping probe into EU pork — China on Thursday named Danish Crown A/S, as well as Dutch and Spanish pork firms as targets in an anti-dumping probe into European Union pork imports, as Beijing steps up pressure against the bloc’s curbs on its electric vehicle exports.
Other Publications
- The Economist: The epic bust-up between China and India could be ending — Witness calm in the Himalayas, diplomatic charm offensives and thickening trade links.
- The Atlantic: When the Press Turns Its Back on Press Freedom — A Wall Street Journal reporter in Hong Kong says she was fired for her advocacy.
- Associated Press: China Communist Party policy meeting endorses leader Xi’s high-tech vision for economy — China’s ruling Communist Party wrapped up a top-level meeting on Thursday by endorsing policies aimed at advancing the country’s technological power and fortifying its national security.
- Washington Post: China suspends nuclear talks with the U.S. over Taiwan arms sales — The Chinese announcement comes as U.S. policy on Taiwan hangs in the balance ahead of the November election.
- Quartz: Nvidia and other chip stocks are falling on trade tensions and Trump’s Taiwan tough talk — A potential new export rule and questions about the U.S. commitment to Taiwan under a second Trump administration pressured global chip stocks.
- The Information: Google, Microsoft Help Chinese Firms Skirt Ban on Nvidia Chips — Companies in China can still gain access to some Nvidia chips by renting Nvidia-powered servers at data centers outside China from Google, Microsoft and other global firms — underlining a gap in U.S. export rules.
- The Guardian: ‘Garbage time of history’: Chinese state media pushes back on claims country has entered a new epoch — Authorities unhappy as Chinese chat groups and WeChat feeds buzz with discussion of whether China has entered period of inevitable failure.
- CNBC: JD Vance blames U.S. wage losses on China’s efforts to build its middle class — Presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s new running mate JD Vance stuck to a hard line on China in his first speech since being selected earlier in the week.