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
- A Buddhist Monk’s Alleged Indulgence in Money and Sex Transfixes China — An official probe into the jet-setting abbot of China’s Shaolin Temple has fueled cynicism about capitalism and religion.
- Cadence Design Systems Pleads Guilty to Export Violation, Will Pay $140.6 Million in Settlement — Separately, the company posted higher revenue in the second quarter and boosted its full-year earnings outlook as demand for its AI products continues to rise.
The Financial Times
- Trump’s tariff blitz brings US levies to highest levels since 1930s — Washington has locked in tariffs on almost 45% of American imports.
- China struggles to break its addiction to manufacturing — Local governments are steering investment into new factories, adding to overcapacity and eroding profit margins.
- At least 30 killed as storms lash Beijing — Chinese authorities relocate more than 80,000 people as almost 200mm of rain falls in 12 hours.
- Trump blocks Taiwan’s President Lai from New York stopover — Move comes as US and China hold trade talks and seek to stabilise relations.
- China lays out its AI vision in foil to Trump’s ‘America First’ plan — Beijing plugs global co-operation and open-source models at first industry show since DeepSeek breakthrough.
- Opinion: Global AI rivalry is a dangerous game — When a foreign competitor gains an unexpected technological capability, it can precipitate conflict. By Julian Gewirtz.
The New York Times
- Apple Is Shutting a Store in China, Its First Closure in the Country — The move speaks to slowing spending by consumers and Apple’s continuing struggles in China, its second-largest market.
- Heavy Rain and Flooding in China Kill at Least 30 — The rains set off flooding and landslides, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes in the capital and neighboring Hebei Province.
- Shaolin’s ‘C.E.O. Monk’ Accused of Embezzlement, Affairs With Women — China’s famed Shaolin Temple said its celebrity abbot, Shi Yongxin, was under investigation over misuse of funds and “improper relations” with women.
Caixin
- Cosco Tipped to Join Revamped Bid for CK Hutchison’s Global Ports — Inclusion of state-backed shipping firm may help clear regulatory barriers in Beijing.
- Morgan Stanley Joins Rush for Cheap China Capital With Landmark Bond Deal — Wall Street bank is first U.S. company to go wild over low-cost Panda bonds.
- China Names Duo Helming Construction of World’s Largest Hydropower Dam — Beijing appoints seasoned energy executives to lead developer of the $167 billion Yarlung Tsangpo project.
- Why Helping Exporters Can Ease China’s Price Problem — At the core of the issue is insufficient domestic effective demand, which has been exacerbated by the global tariff war waged by U.S. President Donald Trump.
- Faith, Greed, and Power: The Unraveling of the Shaolin Kingdom — The investigation into Shi Yongxin, the abbot who made the Shaolin Temple a global business, is the culmination of a long fight battling local authorities over control of one of the country’s most valuable cultural assets.
South China Morning Post
- Boeing’s orders in China may rise as Beijing surveys airlines’ needs — As US-China trade talks advance, the American aircraft manufacturer could enjoy some early benefits from any broader trade deal.
- ‘Own the story’: China urged to control narrative and engage Asia to counteract the West — Discourse power has become a key arena of international competition, according to experts in Chinese politics, media and party ideology.
- China says new Mazu weather warning AI will help developing nations prepare for disaster — China Meteorological Administration nods to sea goddess in unveiling Multi-hazard Alert Zero-gap and Universal system.
Nikkei Asia
- China Evergrande Group’s delisting deadline expires without action — Home prices slumped further in June as sector faces long road to recovery.
- China embraces US YouTubers in push to enhance soft power — MrBeast, IShowSpeed among foreign influencers tapping into China’s 1.1bn internet users.
- North Korea’s beach umbrella imports surge 47-fold as resort opens — Water park equipment also shipped from China, trade data shows.
Bloomberg
- China Social Spending Hits Highest Level in Nearly 2 Decades — China’s government spending has pivoted toward social welfare to a degree unseen for at least a generation, as it runs a record budget deficit with a focus on boosting consumption to cushion the blow from Donald Trump’s tariffs.
- China Crypto Firm Bitmain Plans First US Factory in Trump Gambit — The world’s largest manufacturer of crypto mining hardware, plans to open its first US facility in the coming months, a strategic pivot riding the “Made in America” boom in digital assets.
- Opinion: US Trade Deals Come With Defense Strings Attached — The strategy delivers short-term wins, especially against China, but at a long-term cost. By Karishma Vaswani.
Reuters
- Nvidia orders 300,000 H20 chips from TSMC due to robust China demand, sources say — One of sources said that strong Chinese demand had led the U.S. firm to change its mind about just relying on its existing stockpile.
- Outrage in China after reports exploitative images of Chinese women shared in Telegram groups — China has strict obscenity laws and regularly scrubs content deemed pornographic from its heavily-controlled domestic internet, so the scale of the image sharing has shocked many in China.
- China stake in CK Hutchison port sale could ease Beijing pressure but US geopolitical risks remain — While the U.S. government might oppose the inclusion of state-run COSCO over perceived geopolitical risks posed by Chinese influence, bringing in the shipping giant could provide a more level playing field.
Other Publications
- CFR: China is also Fighting a Trade War with Europe (and Winning) — The tools of China’s trade war have been industrial policy and a weak currency, not tariffs. They are working.
- The Washington Post: The U.S. military is investing in this Pacific island. So is China. — New U.S. radar sites are designed to keep China in check. But Chinese developments, some with questionable connections, could create vulnerabilities.
- The Economist: Can China save South Africa from Donald Trump? — South African leftists dream of telling the West to get lost.
- Brookings: US drug supply chain exposure to China — Myths, omissions, and related insights.
