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
- ON Semiconductor Looks to Bolster Supply Chain to Shield Against Rise of Chinese Chip Makers — The manufacturer of power chips and sensors used in electric vehicles recently unveiled plans for a new $2 billion plant in the Czech Republic.
- Tough U.S. Sanctions Packages Are Here to Stay—Whether It’s Harris or Trump — The next occupant of the Oval Office will inherit a powerful and popular sanctions apparatus, though some questions remain about its likely future targets.
- China Launches Anti-Subsidy Probe Into Dairy Imports From EU — China has launched an antisubsidy investigation into dairy imports from the European Union, marking the latest escalation in trade tensions between the two sides.
- JD.com Shares Fall as Walmart Plans Up to $3.7 Billion Stake Sale — Hong Kong-listed shares in JD.com fell by the most in nearly two years after U.S. retailer Walmart moved to sell its stake in the e-commerce giant worth up to $3.7 billion.
- Alibaba, Tencent Cast Wide Net for AI Upstarts — China’s internet giants are betting billions on incubating the country’s OpenAI challengers, with Alibaba Group and Tencent leading the charge.
- Opinion: China Sends a Permitting Wake-Up Call — U.S. restrictions on mining critical minerals give Beijing military leverage. By The Editorial Board.
The Financial Times
- China hits back at EV tariffs with European dairy probe — Beijing escalates trade dispute after Brussels unveils additional levies on vehicles.
- Walmart sells entire stake in Chinese ecommerce giant JD.com — US retailer focuses on expanding its stores and Sam’s Club warehouse outlets in the country.
- The US-backed railway sparking a battle for African copper — Washington’s support for a minerals train connecting the DRC to the Atlantic illustrates its desire to compete with China.
- Walz’s long history with China shaped by horrors of Tiananmen — Democratic vice-presidential hopeful visited country dozens of times and emerged as human rights advocate.
- China’s $70bn property rescue plan limps off starting line — Banks have disbursed only a fraction of the scheme’s target lending to buy up unsold housing.
- Opinion: Why Walmart’s JD.com investment had waning strategic value — China’s ecommerce groups are losing their lustre as an investment. By Lex.
The New York Times
- Walmart Dumps Entire Stake in China’s JD.com — Walmart’s divestiture comes as its e-commerce partner has struggled to maintain its market share in the country’s cutthroat online sales industry.
- China’s ‘Road Trip Auntie’ Is Ready for a New Milestone: Divorce — Su Min became an internet sensation for leaving behind an abusive husband to drive across China alone. Now she’s ending the marriage, but there will be a price.
- Biden Approved Secret Nuclear Weapons Strategy Focusing on China — In a classified document approved in March, the president ordered U.S. forces to prepare for possible coordinated nuclear confrontations with Russia, China and North Korea.
Caixin
- China’s Languishing IPO Market Strains Startup-Investor Relations — PE and VC funds are instead resorting to pre-listing agreements with refund clauses, which in many cases lead to litigation.
- China’s Stricter Rules, Sluggish Market Lead to Surge in Delisting — From January to July, over 40 companies on the Shanghai or Shenzhen stock exchanges were delisted or slated to be so, nearly as many as in all of 2023.
- China Pacific Insurance President to Also Chair Life Insurance Unit — Zhao Yonggang will replace the retiring chairperson, while the subsidiary’s general manager will become its Communist Party committee chief, sources say.
South China Morning Post
- China’s C919 jet gets R&D lift as Comac, HKUST agree to personnel partnership — China’s state-owned aerospace manufacturer has agreed to personnel training and exchanges with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
- ‘Complete success’: China to work with Vietnam on rail upgrade, security and defence — As Vietnamese president ends China visit, joint declaration includes pledges to stop ‘colour revolutions’ and oppose foreign interference.
- China’s Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui meets top Temasek executives from Singapore — Both traditional energy sources and new ones such as wind and solar power feature in talks as Xinjiang eyes foreign investment.
- How China and Japan’s brotherhood of steel – forged by Deng Xiaoping – ultimately corroded — With a lengthy joint venture in steel between China and Japan coming to an end, analysts reflect on its broader meaning in the context of the two countries’ new roles in the global economy.
- World’s largest iPhone factory loses momentum amid supply chain diversification away from China — The world’s largest iPhone factory, in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, is offering bonuses to attract workers for its busy season, but the facility has lost momentum since the Covid-19 unrest in late 2022.
Nikkei Asia
- Turkey lauds improvement in relations with China after long stagnation — President Erdogan reveals possible visit in 2025 by counterpart Xi.
- Opinion: China must decide whether to rein in exploitive ‘Apple Tax’ — Pushback by Tokyo and Seoul against tech group show Beijing the way forward. By Vivian Toh.
Bloomberg
- Chinese Economists Urge Beijing to Borrow More to Spur Growth — A growing chorus of Chinese economists are calling on the central government to take on more borrowing to support growth as the economy continues to struggle from a lack of demand and low inflation.
- SK Group Backs Fund to Bring South Korean Chip Firms to China — SK Group is putting its money into a new fund designed to help South Korean chip firms set up shop in China, even as the US ratchets up pressure on its allies to curb Beijing’s tech ambitions.
- China’s Didi Turns Profitable as Ride-Hailing Grows Ahead of IPO — Didi Global Inc. swung to a profit in the June quarter, a welcome boost for the company as it prepares for a potential re-listing in Hong Kong.
Reuters
- China’s rising youth unemployment breeds new working class: ‘Rotten-tail kids’ — One year on, youth unemployment remains a headache, with the reconfigured jobless rate spiking to a 2024 high of 17.1% in July.
- U.S. clinical trials in China questioned by U.S. lawmakers — Lawmakers are also considering legislation that would restrict U.S. business with certain Chinese biotechnology companies including WuXi AppTec and BGI.
Other Publications
- BBC: Fury as suspected China spy flees the Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said Wednesday that “heads will roll” after officials admitted Alice Guo had left the country undetected one month ago.
- CSIS: China’s Antimony Export Restrictions: The Impact on U.S. National Security — The likelihood of antimony supply disruptions has now increased significantly, necessitating the United States to quickly secure antimony supply chains from non-Chinese sources.
- The Washington Post: The right’s serious minds have a Tim-Walz-Chinese-sleeper-agent theory — Fresh off of completing his failed impeachment investigation, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) appeared on Fox News to wonder if Tim Walz was maybe a Chinese agent.
- Foreign Policy: The U.S. and China Can Lead the Way on Nuclear Threat Reduction — Policies of “no first use” are a model for nuclear states.
