Day: August 13, 2025

4 years after Evergrande crash, Chinese families still stuck in ‘broken houses’

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Rebecca Wei’s new home still looks like a construction site. The road running up to the high-rise housing complex in the central Chinese city of Luoyang is unfinished, dissolving into gravel before reaching the front gate. Advertisement Wei’s apartment itself is little more than a shell. The floors are bare cement. There is no permanent water or electricity supply, and the building does not comply with Chinese fire safety regulations. “The developer delivered the property without even meeting the basic inspection standards, essentially saying, ‘Take it or leave it,’” Wei…

China subsidises consumer loans as deflation spectre looms

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China is offering to cover part of the interest payments on some consumer loans, in policymakers’ latest move to boost tepid household spending and counter prolonged deflationary pressures in the world’s second-largest economy. Under the plan, led by the finance ministry, China’s government will subsidise interest rates on some consumer loans for purchases worth up to Rmb50,000 ($7,000). Individuals will receive a 1 percentage point cut on interest rates, which…

Global stocks buoyed by steady US inflation data

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Global stocks rallied after US markets hit a record high following a steady inflation figure that boosted bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month. The reading eased concerns that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs would stoke inflation, paving the way for an expected quarter-point cut at next month’s Fed meeting. Japan’s benchmark Topix gained 1.1 per cent to an all-time high, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.8…

Chinese military ‘warns off’ US destroyer from vicinity of Scarborough Shoal

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A US destroyer has entered disputed waters in the South China Sea, less than two days after an apparent collision involving a Chinese coastguard vessel and a PLA Navy ship while the former was pursuing a Philippine coastguard vessel in the area. Advertisement The People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command said on Wednesday that the USS Higgins destroyer, type DDG-76, had “illegally entered China’s territorial waters around Huangyan Island without the approval of the Chinese government”. 03:09 Chinese ships collide during clash with Philippine coastguard in contested South China Sea…

Foreign firms ‘created 25% of emissions’ from companies in China over 20 years

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Carbon emissions generated by foreign firms accounted for about a quarter of the total from all companies in China in the two decades from 1997, according to a new study. Advertisement It also found that foreign companies produced more than half of their total carbon emissions in China’s less-developed inland areas in the 15 years up to 2012. Yet these regions were not seeing as much economic benefit from foreign investment as the coastal areas. “The eastern coastal region gained more economic benefits, while the central and western inland regions…

NGOs urge Nandy to halt sale of Telegraph over China links

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A group of nine human rights and freedom of expression organisations have called on the culture secretary to halt RedBird Capital’s proposed £500m takeover of the Telegraph and investigate the US private equity company’s ties to China. The international non-governmental organisations, which include Index on Censorship, Reporters Without Borders and Article 19, have written to Lisa Nandy arguing that RedBird Capital’s links with China “threaten media pluralism, transparency and information integrity in the UK”. A consortium led by RedBird Capital agreed a deal in May to buy the Daily Telegraph…

Durian diplomacy: China welcomes Cambodia’s first direct air shipments of fruit

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The first Cambodian durians arrived in China’s central province of Henan by air over the weekend, marking the official launch of a direct air corridor for fresh fruit between the two nations. Advertisement The two-tonne shipment was transported using cold chain logistics in just four hours, allowing Chinese consumers to enjoy the fruit as if it were freshly harvested, according to a statement released Monday on the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia’s official WeChat account. Durian is now the fifth fresh fruit approved for direct supply from Cambodia to the Chinese…

UK companies in China buoyed by diplomatic thaw

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While weakening consumer confidence and growing geopolitical tensions have cast a pall over many foreign businesses in China, British wine club operator 67 Pall Mall is undaunted. The company is preparing to launch its first mainland Chinese club in a century-old Shanghai mansion originally built by a British merchant, aiming to attract up to 1,500 members paying annual fees of Rmb50,000 ($6,900). “I have looked at probably 20 other sites around the city,” said founder Grant Ashton. “I genuinely believe China is open for business.” Ashton is far from alone…