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
- Top Economist in China Vanishes After Private WeChat Comments — Government adviser is detained as Xi Jinping targets negative comments about Chinese economy.
- Beijing Threatens to Block Calvin Klein Owner’s Access to China — Possible inclusion of PVH on ‘unreliable entities list’ comes as U.S. challenges Chinese firms.
- China Moves to Jolt Ailing Economy — Central bank cuts interest rates and dangles loans for stock-market investors as concerns around world’s second-largest economy intensify.
The Financial Times
- China unleashes stimulus blitz to lift growth — Central bank cuts benchmark rate and unveils support for property and stock markets to boost demand.
- Greater China is now a ‘growth engine’ for Asia ETFs, BBH says — Consultancy forecasts strong growth in investor demand in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong over next 12 months.
- Huawei laptop reveals China’s progress towards tech self-sufficiency — A look inside the bestselling Qingyun L540 shows how the campaign to use locally made components is progressing.
- Foreigners are piling into China’s free money trade. How long can it last? — Foreign investors including hedge funds, banks and wealthy families have piled into a $130bn carry trade that takes the other side of China’s attempt to support its currency.
- US proposes banning Chinese software and components in vehicles — Move prompted by fears Beijing could collect data on American drivers and hack internet-connected cars.
- ‘Too boring’: Chinese students are sleeping through propaganda — Hours of political education are supposed to reinforce loyalty but young people struggle to stay awake.
The New York Times
- China Is Striking Deals to Cement Its Role as Asia’s Trade Hub — Beijing’s leaders are working with regional neighbors on the country’s western, northern and southern borders to develop new rail and sea links.
- China Cuts Interest Rates and Mortgage Down Payments — The country’s central bank also freed commercial banks to lend more money in a package of moves aimed at rekindling growth in a stagnant economy.
- Chinese Automakers’ Answer to E.U. Tariffs: Build in Europe — BYD, which leads China’s electric vehicle sector, is constructing a plant in Hungary while its Chinese rivals expand through joint ventures in Europe.
- China to Investigate U.S. Retailer, Sending a Message Over Xinjiang — PVH, which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, is targeted for allegedly avoiding purchases from the region where the Chinese government has cracked down on Muslim minorities.
Caixin
- China Rolls Out Fresh Stimulus to Boost Sluggish Economy — China announced a slew of stimulus measures Tuesday, including lowering rates on existing home mortgages and cutting a key policy lending rate, as it steps up support for an economy hamstrung by a prolonged property sector slump and lackluster consumer confidence.
- Chart of the Day: China’s Urban Youth Unemployment Hits Record for Second Month — The surveyed urban unemployment rate for Chinese people aged between 16 and 24, excluding students, climbed to the highest in August since the data series was first released in January, official data showed.
- Analysis: What Is Driving Down China’s Crude Demand? — China’s consumption of crude oil has been affected by an economic slowdown, sluggish construction and manufacturing sectors, and extreme weather events, but its shift to new energy vehicles is also dramatically reducing its reliance on fossil fuels.
South China Morning Post
- China urges ‘calm, rational’ response from Tokyo after fatal stabbing of Japanese boy — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi tells Japanese counterpart last week’s attack in Shenzhen was an ‘individual’ case and should not be ‘politicised’.
- China to probe Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger parent firm over Xinjiang cotton — China’s Ministry of Commerce has begun an investigation into PVH Group over what it terms ‘discriminatory measures’ related to Xinjiang.
- Nanotechnology pioneer Wang Zhonglin leaves US to work in China ‘full time’ — The ‘father of nanogenerators’ and one of the most influential scientists in the United States, takes role at Beijing institute.
Nikkei Asia
- Denmark-based Saxo Bank to join retreat from Hong Kong and China — Despite Chinese ownership, country’s economic woes prompt office closures.
- Cash-starved China local governments step up fines with ‘grabbing hands’ — Property crisis and shrinking tax revenues force scramble for other income.
- International effort launched to crack China dominance of critical minerals — Partnership of major countries aims to ‘collectively finance and de-risk projects.’
Bloomberg
- China Probes Calvin Klein Parent Over Suspected Xinjiang Boycott — China said it will investigate US apparel maker PVH Corp. for suspected boycotting of cotton sourced from its Xinjiang region, a probe that could lead to punishment for the parent company of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.
- Universal Music Extends Push Into China With New Label Division — Universal Music Group NV has set up a label division in the Greater Bay Area surrounding Hong Kong, giving the world’s largest music company a bigger foothold in China’s south.
- BlackRock ‘Long Way’ From Investing More in China’s Real Estate — BlackRock Inc. will refrain from investing more in China’s real estate market until it sees a significant return in investor confidence and an improvement in supply-demand fundamentals for the property sector there.
Reuters
- China’s retirement age reforms not enough to fix pension headache — China’s move to raise retirement ages is a starting point to plug gaping pension deficits and bolster a shrinking workforce but more pain lies ahead as the economy slows, making further reforms urgent, say economists and demographers.
- On US visit, Dutch politician talks importance of ASML, China trade — On a visit to Washington, the Netherlands’ economy minister on Monday underlined the importance of China as a trading partner and repeated that Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML must be allowed to “do business as freely as possible.”
- China’s Leapmotor and Stellantis open orders in Europe for budget EVs — China’s Leapmotor is set to start taking orders in Europe for a city car and an SUV, the automaker and its partner Stellantis said on Tuesday as they expand their budget electric vehicle (EV) offering in the region.
Other Publications
- CNN: Goodbye Louis Vuitton. China’s Gen Z leans into ‘dupe economy’ as growth prospects stall — China’s growing love for dupes isn’t just a problem for established brands such as Louis Vuitton.
- China Media Project: After a Savage Attack, Brutal Silence — The killing last week of a Japanese schoolboy in south China is the latest in a pattern of anti-Japanese hate — but the hard lessons of the tragedy are lost on the country’s media.
- The Economist: A new class struggle is brewing in China — As the economy falters, resentment between social groups is growing.
- POLITICO: Mission Impossible: Germany’s bid to kill EU duties on Chinese EVs — Germany has one last chance to overturn the tariffs at a vote by member countries. But getting the required blocking majority looks to be out of reach — and would be without precedent.
- CNBC: China launches probe into Calvin Klein parent over Xinjiang supply chain ‘disruptions’ — China’s Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday it was launching a probe into Calvin Klein-parent PVH Group over alleged business disruptions around its Xinjiang supply chain.
- Washington Post: Opinion: How America can defeat the world’s most formidable information warrior — The PRC is increasingly controlling global narratives and silencing critics. By Amanda Bennett
- Council on Foreign Relations: The United States Should Steer Toward Better Automotive Data Privacy — New proposed rules on connected vehicles would keep China and Russia out of key parts of the automotive supply chain.
