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
- U.S. Launches Military Command in Tokyo to Counter China — American forces in Japan to be overseen from a headquarters there as Washington tries to strengthen allies in Asia.
- China Evergrande NEV Shares Fall as Creditors Move for Bankruptcy — Shares of the electric-vehicle unit of property developer China Evergrande Group fell 9.0%.
- Heineken Hit by Impairment on Chinese Investment — The charge reflects concerns about China’s economic environment and consumer demand, Heineken said.
- One of America’s Hottest Entertainment Apps Is Chinese-Owned — Chatbot in Talkie uses AI to allow users to converse with famous people or a virtual romantic partner.
- Apple’s iPhone Lost More Ground in China in Second Quarter — Huawei and Xiaomi’s shipments growth also pressured Apple’s market share.
The Financial Times
- China’s state-owned funds and lenders claw back pay and bonuses — Crackdown on bankers extends to Hong Kong as Beijing broadens scrutiny of finance sector.
- Italy’s Meloni pledges ‘relaunch’ of ties with China — Prime minister seeks to stabilise relations during visit to Beijing but also insists trade must be ‘more fair’.
- US and Japan warn of China threat as they upgrade military alliance — Foreign ministers say Beijing is ‘greatest strategic challenge’ in Indo-Pacific region.
- US reveals security concerns around TikTok and ByteDance — Department of Justice alleges sensitive American user data was stored in China.
- The secret Hong Kong garden that’s a portal to the past — Chan Siun-kuen left rural China in the slipstream of the revolution for a rapidly urbanising Hong Kong. His herb garden restores a connection to forgotten traditions and the healing power of plants.
- Apple’s iPhone elbowed out of top 5 in China by domestic smartphone rivals — Huawei and Xiaomi gain ground in second quarter as Apple’s share of critical market falls.
- Indonesia moves to reduce Chinese ownership of nickel projects — Jakarta wants to help its industry qualify for tax credits under Joe Biden’s initiative to build a US electric vehicle supply chain.
The New York Times
- U.S. and Japan Strengthen Military Ties — The two governments said the moves were a response to growing aggression by China, whose rapid military buildup has many leaders worried.
- Blinken and a Top Chinese Official in Talks on U.S.-China Tensions — The U.S. secretary of state pressed China’s top foreign policy official on Beijing’s support for Russia’s efforts to rebuild its military industries during the Ukraine war.
- Anger Lingers Over Positive Doping Tests for Chinese Swimmers — In Paris, Chinese swimmers have been under extra scrutiny by doping watchdogs, but that hasn’t satisfied competitors like American star Caeleb Dressel.
- China on Alert for Heavy Rain and Floods From Typhoon Gaemi — The storm has already left a trail of destruction in Taiwan and the Philippines, where it killed at least 15 people.
Caixin
- Cover Story: China Charts Course for Future Growth with Major Reforms at Key Meeting — At a key meeting held only twice a decade and concluded earlier this month, China’s top leadership charted the nation’s course for the next five years, with pledges to enhance legal governance and emphasizing a comprehensive deepening of reforms.
- Zhipu Launches AI-Powered Video Generator in Bid to Rival OpenAI’s Sora — Beijing-based large language model startup Zhipu AI launched its artificial intelligence-powered video generator Qingying on Friday, joining an already crowded and competitive sector in China, where developers are racing to create applications to challenge OpenAI’s Sora.
- Former Credit Suisse Exec Appointed HSBC China’s Head of Global Banking, Document Shows — A former China CEO of Credit Suisse AG has been appointed head of global banking at HSBC Bank China Co. Ltd., according to an internal company document seen by Caixin.
South China Morning Post
- Alibaba Cloud raises prices for domain name auctions amid AI compute price war — Auctions for previously owned domain names now start at 99 yuan, a 43 per cent increase over new prices announced just a year ago.
- Xiaomi buys US$116 million site for electric car production in Beijing — The purchase of the 53-hectare site, which is close to Xiaomi’s existing EV factory, comes after early success of its SU7 sedan announced in March.
- As China’s students breathe new life into study tourism, has US gone off their radar? — Despite a broad decline in Chinese family assets, overseas study tours have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, but the destination landscape has changed.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s Hesai CEO calls U.S. accusation of military ties ‘ridiculous’ — Auto lidar maker says Trump sounds ‘crazy’ but would bring ‘business rationale’.
- China’s Xi meets Meloni in wake of Italy’s Belt and Road exit — Both countries aim to reset ties through trade and other cooperation.
- China property winding-up sagas show difficulty of recovering assets — Country Garden gets six-month respite as other cases highlight ‘enforceability’ problem.
Bloomberg
- Meloni Vows to Renew China Ties After Snubbing Xi’s Project — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pledged to relaunch bilateral cooperation with China as she kicked off her first official visit to Beijing since snubbing the country’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative last year.
- China Defends Manufacturing Push, Says World Needs More EVs — China’s manufacturing capacity is helping the world fight climate change and contain inflation, said Vice Finance Minister Liao Min, pushing back against US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s latest criticism of the nation’s industrial excess.
- Heineken Takes $949 Million China Hit Amid Cautious Outlook — Heineken NV took an €874 million ($949 million) impairment on its stake in the largest brewer in China, as consumer spending is under pressure in that key market and in the US and Europe.
- China Investors Pile Into Saudi ETFs as Two Nations Grow Closer — Chinese investors are pouring money into two new exchange-traded funds tracking Saudi Arabian shares as the dismal performance of local equities supercharges demand for overseas assets.
Reuters
- Trump cites China competition in vowing to create bitcoin ‘stockpile’ — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told a bitcoin conference on Saturday that the U.S. must dominate the sector or China would, his latest move to court advocates of cryptocurrency, which Beijing has restricted and which he once dismissed as a “scam.”
- China’s Xie Yu shoots gold in dream debut — Xie Yu of China struck gold in a dream Olympic debut in the men’s 10 metre air pistol and Oh Ye-jin led a South Korean 1-2 in the women’s event on Sunday.
- Quad foreign ministers decry dangerous South China Sea actions — Foreign ministers from Australia, India, Japan and the United States said on Monday they were seriously concerned about intimidating and dangerous manoeuvres in the South China Sea and pledged to bolster maritime security in the region.
Other Publications
- The Economist: China is itching to mine the ocean floor — It wants to dominate critical-mineral supply chains.
- Associated Press: Lawmakers from 6 countries say Beijing is pressuring them not to attend conference in Taiwan — Lawmakers from at least six countries said Chinese diplomats were pressuring them not to attend a China-focused conference in Taiwan, in what they described as efforts to isolate the self-governed island.
- Washington Post: Walking the Line: Chinese migration surge tests President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping — Lei Muhan and her parents crossed 11 nations along the journey from China to the United States, riding on the backs of motorcycles, paying off smugglers and trekking through a scorching desert.
- The Information: China’s Zhipu AI Launches Text-to-Video Model Similar to Sora — Chinese artificial intelligence startup Zhipu AI launched a new AI video generator, as the country’s tech giants and startups are in a race to release text-to-video AI models similar to OpenAI’s Sora.
- The Guardian: Ping-pong the latest vehicle for China’s continuing face-off with Taiwan — Military tension simmers between the entities but a mixed doubles match in Paris still turned into something of a minor classic.