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 Long Blueprint for Economy Falls Short on Details, Raising Concerns — The leadership in Beijing signaled commitment to near-term growth, but questions on entrenched debt and property problems remain.
- China’s Rate Cuts Welcomed, But More Still Needs to Be Done — The Chinese central bank has answered calls to help boost the economy with a flurry of rate cuts, but it may be fiscal policy that needs to come to the rescue.
- Chips and Taiwan Are a New Cloud for Tech Earnings — Security for Taiwan is vital to the chip industry—and to all the tech companies that use those chips.
- An Unfinished Skyscraper Complex Covered With Graffiti Finds a Lifeline — A Los Angeles developer is in talks to buy Oceanwide Plaza after its Chinese owner stopped work in 2019.
- Feared in the West, China’s Manufacturers Struggle at Home — Huge overinvestment, weak domestic sales and trade barriers abroad have depressed companies’ profits and pushed many to the brink.
- EU Set to Impose Tariffs on Chinese Biofuels in Anti-Dumping Probe — The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has proposed duties of between 12.8% and 36.4% in an attempt to reverse the damage on domestic producers from China’s dumping practices.
- Opinion: China Makes a Port Play in Peru — It won’t be surprising if Middle Kingdom naval vessels begin docking at Chancay. By Mary Anastasia O’Grady.
The Financial Times
- China cuts interest rates in bid to prop up lagging economic growth — Reductions come in wake of Communist party’s third plenum but impact likely to be moderate, warn analysts.
- Can the solar industry keep the lights on? — Global supply glut of panels is hurting producers but also helping installations.
- Beijing and Manila strike deal to reduce tensions in South China Sea — ‘Provisional’ agreement reached to allow Philippines to resupply military outpost on contested reef.
- Taiwan’s military drills turn serious as China threat escalates — Annual Han Kuang exercise pivots from scripted performances to realistic battlefield scenarios.
- Nomura banker leaves mainland China after exit ban lifted — Charles Wang Zhonghe was prevented from leaving the country last year.
- Opinion: The lightness of Beijing’s third plenary — The Chinese economy needs a clearer strategy to boost its lacklustre demand. By The Editorial Board.
- Opinion: We must not mistake China’s success on green energy for a global one — Beijing’s exponential growth in renewables is propelling a dangerous narrative that masks wider political failure. By Brett Christophers.
The New York Times
- A New Candidate Must Now Defend Biden’s Legacy Abroad — More than any election in decades, this one will be marked by starkly different approaches to an era of simultaneous confrontations, from China to Russia to the Middle East.
- China Shows Few Signs of Tilting Economy Toward Consumers in New Plan — The Communist Party rebuffed calls from economists to shift away from investment-led growth and toward consumer spending.
- 7 Takeaways From Our Investigation Into a Secret Investor in Jack Ma’s Companies — Behind the scenes, China’s most celebrated and its most notorious billionaires were linked through investments worth at least $1 billion.
- The Billionaire Criminal Who Secretly Profited Off Jack Ma’s Deals — Confidential documents show that Xiao Jianhua, a corrupt investor tied to China’s political elite, backed the country’s most successful and revered entrepreneur.
- Dozens Dead or Missing After China Highway Collapse — It was the second such rain-related disaster in less than three months, as extreme weather challenges the country’s extensive network of newly built expressways.
Caixin
- China Commerce Ministry Official Set to Become Vice Finance Minister, Sources Say — Guo Tingting is expected to fill the position to be left by Zhu Zhongming, who was named deputy chief of Shanghai’s Communist Party committee last week.
- China General Nuclear Launches Nation’s First Fully Green Virtual Power Plant — The plant, which uses aggregated renewable power, will supply electricity for 80% of an industrial park in Ningbo.
- Beijing Offers 20,000 Extra EV License Plates to Boost Auto Sales — Capital relaxes auto ownership restrictions for first time in 10 years to meet demands of families without cars.
- Lithium Producers Cut Production as Prices Plunge — Output of crucial EV battery element reduced as price is still below break-even price for some producers.
- China’s Top Prosecutors Order Arrest of Former Vice Chair of Hunan Legislature — Peng Guofu is suspected of accepting bribes and has already been booted from the Communist Party.
South China Morning Post
- Xiaomi founder Lei Jun said US sanction fears spurred smartphone maker’s EV push — Within two months of being temporarily placed on a US military blacklist, Xiaomi announced plans to enter China’s saturated electric vehicle market.
- Chinese leadership says retirement age should rise in ‘voluntary and flexible’ way — The leadership have repeatedly discussed the step, but it could prove to be unpopular in some sections of society.
- Research body from EU and Nato nation joins China-led ILRS moon project — Robert Fay-Siebenburgen, president of Hungarian Solar Physics Foundation signed MOU with officials from China’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory in Hefei, bringing ILRS partners to around 25.
- First Hong Kong e-commerce festival to help city brands expand into mainland China to be held — Financial Secretary Paul Chan says ‘considerable room for growth’ in e-commerce and new festival will boost profile of city businesses on mainland.
- CrowdStrike-Microsoft outage: Chinese cybersecurity firms take victory lap — 360 Security, QAX and Tencent took swipes at CrowdStrike online after the American firm caused global Microsoft outages, wreaking havoc on businesses.
Nikkei Asia
- Marcos says South China Sea claim isn’t ‘imaginary,’ urges diplomacy — In his third State of the Nation address before a joint session of Congress, Marcos said that the Philippines will assert its rights and sovereignty in the “way that it has always done.”
- Five takeaways from China’s economic blueprint — The third plenum came against the backdrop of slowing economic growth exacerbated by a major downturn in the property sector as well as rising trade tensions with the U.S. and other countries.
- PALM10: Pacific leaders discuss China, trade, and climate change — Japan has hosted a PALM meeting every three years since 1997, with this year’s edition focusing on strengthening bilateral ties as China increases its clout in the region.
- Hong Kong plays leading role in sanctions evasion: report — The surge of Hong Kong shipments to Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 underscores the city’s extensive role in helping U.S. adversaries avoid international sanctions.
- Opinion: The tragic cost of Taiwan’s silence on its South China Sea claims — Pressure from Washington undermines Taiwan’s sovereignty and self-advocacy. By William Han.
Bloomberg
- China Social Media Embraces Trump After Harris Steps Into Race — US Vice President Kamala Harris became a trending topic on Chinese social media, with users betting her bid for the Democratic presidential ticket would return Donald Trump to the White House.
- China Drops Sanctions on US Communications Firm in Rare Reversal — China said it was removing sanctions on a US communications company, a rare reversal after it targeted the company over proposed arms sales to Taiwan.
- PetroChina Joins Big Oil’s Pledge to Eliminate Methane Emissions — Chinese state-owned oil giant PetroChina Co. has joined 50 other oil and gas producers in the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, a pledge made last year by the fossil fuel industry to eliminate methane emissions by the end of the decade.
Reuters
- Nvidia preparing version of new flagship AI chip for Chinese market — Nvidia will work with Inspur, one of its major distributor partners in China, on the launch and distribution of the chip which is tentatively named the “B20”, two of the sources said.
- Western miners push for higher metals prices to ward off Chinese rivals — Western miners say their competitors have inherent cost advantages that enable rapid production expansions even as prices for cobalt, lithium and nickel have plunged more than a third in the past 18 months.
- China faces growing scepticism over its commitment to decade-old policy pledges — As imbalances in China’s economy deepen, pressure is growing on Beijing to deliver on the decade-old policy promises it revived at an agenda-setting leadership meeting last week.
Other Publications
- Foreign Affairs: China’s Dangerous Nuclear Push — To Temper Beijing’s Ambitions, Washington Should Threaten to Share Weapons With Japan and South Korea.
- The Information: Don’t Be Surprised to See Chinese EVs Manufactured in the U.S. — In a surprising turnabout, support in the U.S. and Europe is now growing for welcoming local Chinese EV and battery manufacturing, despite the threat it would pose to Western companies.
- The Guardian: Donald Trump says Xi Jinping wrote him a ‘beautiful note’ after rally shooting — US presidential contender’s reference echoes the ‘love letters’ he received from North Korea’s Kim Jong-un as he calls authoritarian leaders ‘smart, tough’ people.
