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.
Paid subscribers automatically have this list emailed directly to their inboxes every day by 10 a.m. EST. Subscribe here.
The Wall Street Journal
- China Extends Probe Into EU Pork Imports — Six-month extension comes as Beijing seeks to bolster ties amid a trade fight with Washington.
- Huawei Founder Dismisses U.S. Export Control Concerns — The company is finding workarounds to improve its chip performance, Ren said.
- Xi Tightens Leash on Officials’ Boozing and Lavish Living — Chinese leader revises austerity rules in bid to extend his authority and save money.
- Nasdaq Gains on Hopes for U.S.-China Chips Deal — Major indexes have been grinding higher in recent weeks.
- China’s Navy Expands Its Reach With Aircraft Carrier Drills — Vessels sail for the first time near distant Japanese island amid flurry of military exercises in the Pacific.
The Financial Times
- EU targets Chinese plywood in latest defence of domestic industries — Tariffs of up to 62.4% will apply to imports of hardwood varieties.
- US says trade talks with China ‘going well’ as sides reconvene — Howard Lutnick says discussions in London expected to go on throughout Tuesday.
- China’s Huawei plays down its chipmaking capabilities — Founder Ren Zhengfei says US is exaggerating his company’s technology amid trade talks between Washington and Beijing.
- China’s $1.1tn asset manager becomes star player on ‘national team’ — State-owned Central Huijin in spotlight after big intervention in domestic stock markets to boost economy.
- Smelters pay to process copper as China expands capacity — Fee earned to turn concentrate into the refined metal falls further into negative territory this year.
- Chinese drone parts prices double as export controls bite — Beijing severely limits shipments of critical components dominated by country’s suppliers.
- Trump eyes easing US chip export restrictions to secure Chinese rare earths — Top White House official says a deal could be struck as part of trade talks between the two countries.
The New York Times
- US and China Talk Trade as Fight Over Rare Earths Escalates — Officials from the world’s largest economies will try to strike a deal Tuesday to relax painful export restrictions that they have imposed on each other.
- Two Are Charged With Stalking an Artist Who Criticized Xi Jinping — The two men also unsuccessfully tried to illegally export sensitive U.S. military technology to China, prosecutors said.
- China’s Grip on an Obscure Rare Earth Metal Threatens the West’s Militaries — China produces the entire world’s supply of samarium, a rare earth metal that the United States and its allies need to rebuild inventories of fighter jets, missiles and other hardware.
Caixin
- Chinese Chipmaker Hygon to Buy Server Firm in $16 Billion Deal — Hygon and Sugon shares surge after details of the all-stock merger were revealed.
- U.S. Visa Curbs Leave Chinese Students in Limbo as Trump Gambles With Their Future — The number of Chinese students in the U.S. fell 4.2% in the 2023–24 academic year to 277,000, according to the Institute of International Education.
- Opinion: China’s Auto Sector Risks Stalling From Excessive Competition — Auto price wars are upsetting market order, hurting innovation and undermining China’s status as a global EV leader. By Wu Songquan.
South China Morning Post
- China’s solar PV makers seek antidote to market ills as glut, price war, tariffs sting — Market players should aim for technological innovation, enabling higher profit margins and sustainable growth, GCL founder Zhu says.
- Xi Jinping urges South Korea’s new president to set relations with China on ‘right course’ — Lee Jae-myung took office last week after an election campaign in which he had pledged to establish stronger ties with Beijing.
- Chinese premier urges faster tech applications amid US export controls — China needs to move swiftly to turn new technologies into real-world products, Premier Li Qiang says.
Nikkei Asia
- Chinese defense stocks face wild swings amid arms export speculation — Military equipment makers fall back after rally fueled by Pakistan purchase.
- AIIB stresses ‘inclusive’ approach as lender downplays China’s sway — Membership has doubled to 110 — without US, Japan, Taiwan and its allies.
- BYD price cuts spark plunge in global rubber futures — Concerns grow over intense price competition in Chinese auto sector.
- India’s largest dam project on China border opposed by locals — Arunachal Pradesh communities fear displacement and cultural extinction.
- Opinion: China’s solar panel dumping into the US via Southeast Asia comes to an end — Chinese companies face hard decisions on their ASEAN operations. By Tim Daiss.
Bloomberg
- From Visas to Jets, US and China Are Finding New Trade Leverage — Donald Trump brought many of the same grievances to his second trade war against China, but the economic battleground that’s emerged since then is making it harder to avoid a rupture this time around.
- China and US Holding Second Day of Trade Talks in London — The US and China resumed talks into a second day in London, with financial markets on edge as the world’s largest economies try to agree to allow exports of key tech and industrial goods and avoid escalating their trade war.
- Beijing Woos US Influencers With Free Trip to Show ‘Real China’ — China is inviting American influencers to join a 10-day, all-expense paid trip through the country this July, as part of Beijing’s efforts to boost people-to-people exchanges and showcase the “real China.”
Reuters
- Price wars grip China as deflation deepens, $30 for a luxury Coach bag? — As deflationary pressures mount in the world’s second-largest economy, consumer behaviour is changing in ways that could lead to further downward pressure on prices.
- Tesla’s self-driving future under threat from China’s auto, tech giants — BYD shook up China’s smart-EV industry earlier this year by offering its “God’s Eye” driver-assistance package for free, undercutting the technology Tesla sells for nearly $9,000 in China.
- Taiwan indicts four suspected spies for China in case reaching presidential office — In a statement, Taipei prosecutors said the four, all previously members of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, had been indicted on espionage and other charges.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: How the United States Can Win the Global Tech Race — Bans and sanctions aren’t enough to beat China.
- The Washington Post: As trade talks continue, China thinks it has leverage over U.S. — China returns to trade talks with the U.S. holding, from its view, a strong hand: Its economy is bearing up better than expected. And it has an ace card: rare earths.
- Rest of World: Transsion wheels into Africa’s EV market with same playbook that conquered mobile phones — The Chinese company behind 50% of Africa’s smartphone sales now wants to dominate its roads.
- The Guardian: China bans banks from luring customers with popular Labubu dolls — Regulator asks local banks not to give non-compliant perks amid fierce competition as interest rates fall.
- BBC: China’s electric cars are becoming slicker and cheaper – but is there a deeper cost? — BYD is part of a wider expansion of Chinese companies and brands that some believe could change the face of the global motor industry.
