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 Ascent in Biotech Rousts U.S. Venture Capitalists to Adapt — China’s nascent challenge has U.S. biotech startups hustling to emulate China’s efficiency and speed in drug development.
- China Weighs Limits on the AI Models American Companies Love — As the race for artificial-intelligence supremacy heats up, Beijing is considering tightening its grip on homegrown technology.
- China’s Zhipu AI Shares Surge on $4 Billion Fundraising — Shares of the Chinese artificial-intelligence company rose sharply after it announced plans for a U.S.$4 billion fundraising to support growth, despite pricing the new shares at a discount.
- China’s Factory-Price Growth Quickens, Consumer Inflation Eases — China’s factory-gate inflation accelerated in June as the effects of the Middle East conflict continued to ripple through the economy, but consumer-price gains cooled, suggesting persistent weakness in domestic demand.
- Opinion: I’m Free. Now Pray for China — Eight members of the church I founded are still behind bars. By Ezra Jin.
The Financial Times
- China’s factory gate prices surge over Iran war turmoil — Producer price index rises for fourth straight month as Strait of Hormuz closure roils supply chains.
- Chinese companies use rare earths ban to squeeze out foreign rivals — Manufacturers seize ‘historic’ opportunity to move up value chain after Beijing cuts exports of key materials to Japan.
- Opinion: China could be the U.S. tech hedge — Diversification is not about finding a market without risk — it is about finding a market whose risks are different. By Seema Shah.
The New York Times
- Factory Fire in China Causes ‘Significant’ Casualties, Xi Says — At least a dozen people appeared to be trapped on the roof of a shoe factory, in video released by state media.
Caixin
- The Dark Side Behind China’s Youth ‘Correction’ Industry — A shadow industry of “behavior correction” centers is charging parents in China thousands of yuan to “cure” their children of burnout. The treatment? Abduction, illegal confinement and beatings.
- China Courts Nordic Countries as Trade Frictions With the EU Mount — Beijing is eager to prevent a broader shift in economic ties as the European Union weighs protective measures in response to a widening trade deficit with China.
- Octopus Energy Looks to Deepen China Ties Amid U.K. Political Uncertainty — “China is absolutely leading the way in most clean energy and electrification technologies,” said founder and CEO Greg Jackson in an interview with Caixin.
South China Morning Post
- U.S.-China scientific decoupling: the hidden costs of geopolitical rivalry — As Washington and Beijing lock horns over national security, political friction may be dismantling decades of fruitful shared discovery.
- Why lithium battery and radar pioneers won China’s top science award — Chen Liquan and Ben De recognised for advances in solid-state energy storage and military aviation defence.
- Why AI race with U.S. is a ‘knockout game’ China cannot afford to lose — China must overhaul innovation ecosystem or risk a power decline that could even shift cross-strait leverage, academic warns.
Nikkei Asia
- China automakers shift gears to exports as domestic demand weakens — New markets in Latin America and Southeast Asia drive growth plans.
- Bookseller died ‘in line of duty’ resisting Xi Jinping’s rule — Exiled free speech advocate’s death comes as China stretches extraterritorial reach.
- China bolsters protections for older workers to boost labor force — Rules lay out wage requirements, prohibit overtime in bid to keep seniors working.
Bloomberg
- China Climate Plan Pushes Renewables in Factories, Data Centers — China, the largest source of climate-warming greenhouse gases, plans to more deeply integrate its massive renewable power fleet into factories, data centers and transport in a new plan.
- Fujimori Legacy Shows Limits of Trump’s Push Against China in Peru — Alberto Fujimori’s first trip to Beijing 35 years ago helped turn Peru toward China, anticipating a broader Latin American realignment that Washington is still struggling to reverse.
- China’s Reflation Shows Signs of Peaking as War Shock Fades — China’s reflationary momentum showed signs of stalling in June, a reminder that the outlook for domestic prices is fragile as the economy emerges from deflation after an easing of tensions over Iran led to a pullback in commodity costs.
Reuters
- U.S. criticizes China for short notice ahead of missile test — China only gave the United States a few hours notice ahead of a ballistic missile test launch on July 6 and provided insufficient detail, a State Department official said.
Other Publications
- The Information: China Plans to Let Top AI Firms Buy Limited Amount of Nvidia H200 Chips — Chinese officials have told firms that they may soon receive permission to buy H200 chips, and will need to say how many chips they need, and why, to get approval.
- The Economist: China may struggle to fund Xi Jinping’s tech ambitions — The comeback capital markets are staging may not be enough.
