Yuan stablecoin, China-EU summit and more
人民币稳定币、中欧峰会等要闻

The week that was
本周回顾

• Sustained growth: China’s economy largely weathered trade tensions in the second quarter, with growth only cooling to 5.2 per cent from 5.4 per cent in the preceding three months. The figure, which was in line with expectations, keeps the economy on track to meet a full-year growth target of about 5 per cent. June exports rose by 5.8 per cent and imports by 1.1 per cent, both of which beat expectations. New-home prices fell 0.3 per cent in June from a month earlier, the biggest decrease in eight months. June retail sales rose 4.8 per cent year on year and industrial output was up by 5.8 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
  持续增长：中国经济在第二季度很大程度上抵御了贸易紧张局势，增长率仅从之前的 5.4%降至 5.2%。这一符合预期的数据使经济保持在实现全年约 5%增长目标轨道上。6 月份出口增长 5.8%，进口增长 1.1%，均超出预期。6 月份新建商品住宅价格环比下降 0.3%，为八个月来最大降幅。国家统计局数据显示，6 月份社会消费品零售总额同比增长 4.8%，工业产出增长 5.8%。
• Trade war: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told investors “not to worry about August 12,” the date when a 90-day tariff truce between China and the United States is due to expire. He also expects a new round of talks with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng in the coming weeks. President Donald Trump announced a fourth bilateral trade agreement, this time with Indonesia (See: SCMP Plus Trump 2.0 Tariff Tracker). US commerce officials have also launched a probe into imports of drones and polysilicon, two sectors in which China holds a global lead.
  贸易战：美国财政部长斯科特·贝塞特告诉投资者“不用担心 8 月 12 日”，即中美之间 90 天关税休战期截止的日期。他还预计在接下来的几周内与中国副总理刘鹤举行新一轮谈判。美国总统唐纳德·特朗普宣布达成第四项双边贸易协议，这次是与印度尼西亚（参见：SCMP Plus 特朗普 2.0 关税追踪器）。美国商务部官员还启动了对无人机和多晶硅进口的调查，这两个领域中国占据全球领先地位。
• Nvidia China: US chip giant Nvidia will resume deliveries of H20 semiconductors in China after the Trump administration dropped curbs imposed in April. Rival AMD will also restart shipments of MI308 processors. Nvidia custom-designed the H20 to comply with earlier US export curbs (See: China Future Tech). China’s antitrust regulator approved US chip-design software giant Synopsys’ US$35 billion acquisition of Ansys less than two weeks after the Trump administration lifted export controls in the sector.
  英伟达中国：美国芯片巨头英伟达将在特朗普政府取消 4 月份实施的限制后，恢复向中国交付 H20 半导体。竞争对手 AMD 也将重启 MI308 处理器的出货。英伟达为符合早前的美国出口限制定制了 H20（参见：中国未来科技）。中国反垄断监管机构在特朗普政府取消该领域出口管制不到两周后，批准了美国芯片设计软件巨头新思科技以 350 亿美元收购安世半导体。
• Taiwan-US transit: Taiwan’s leader, William Lai, plans to stop over in New York and Texas in August on his way to Paraguay, sources told the Post, drawing complaints from Beijing. Paraguay is one of 12 countries worldwide that has formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Paraguayan President Santiago Peña said this week that his country would “stand firmly by Taiwan,” its ally of 68 years, in a speech that coincided with a visit by Taiwan’s foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍).
  台美过境：据消息人士透露，台湾领导人赖清德计划于 8 月访问巴拉圭，途经纽约和德克萨斯，此举引发北京方面的不满。巴拉圭是全球 12 个与台湾建立正式外交关系的国家之一。巴拉圭总统圣地亚哥·培尼亚本周在台湾外交部长林佳龙访美之际发表讲话，表示巴拉圭将“坚定地与台湾站在一起”。台湾是巴拉圭 68 年来的盟友。
• China-Australia: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state visit to China and said that Australia was committed to a one-China policy and opposed to Taiwanese independence. The Financial Times earlier reported that Pentagon officials had pressed Japan and Australia over what they would do in the event of conflict over Taiwan. Albanese said Australia did not support unilateral action in the Taiwan Strait. Separately, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, reaffirmed China-Russia ties in talks with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and agreed a restart of direct flights to India.
  中澳关系：澳大利亚总理安东尼·阿尔巴尼斯在对中国进行国事访问期间会见了中国国家主席习近平，并表示澳大利亚坚持一个中国政策，反对“台独”。《金融时报》此前报道称，五角大楼官员曾就台湾问题向日本和澳大利亚施压，询问两国在台海冲突中将采取何种行动。阿尔巴尼斯表示，澳大利亚不支持在台海采取单边行动。此外，中国国家主席王毅在与俄罗斯外长谢尔盖·拉夫罗夫的会谈中重申了中俄关系，并同意重启中俄直航。

The week ahead  未来一周

• China-EU summit: Top Chinese and EU officials may hold a long-anticipated summit in Beijing on Thursday amid efforts to reset relations in light of Trump’s assault on global trade. The talks have reportedly been pared to one day from two, partly due to EU pessimism about what can be achieved. In the run-up to the summit, Airbus signed a deal with its Chinese partner, increasing localisation of A321 aircraft production.
  中欧峰会：中国和欧盟高级官员可能在周四于北京举行备受期待的峰会，旨在重置关系，鉴于特朗普对全球贸易的攻击。据报道，谈判已从两天缩减为一天，部分原因是欧盟对能取得何种成果持悲观态度。在峰会前夕，空客与其中国合作伙伴签署了一项协议，增加了 A321 飞机的本地化生产。
• Fentanyl action: Stricter Chinese regulations on two chemicals used in the manufacture of fentanyl take effect on Sunday. The government announced in June that it would place 4-piperidone and 1-Boc-4-piperidone under enhanced controls. President Trump this week praised China for “making big steps” in combating the illicit trade in fentanyl, a powerful opioid responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the US.
  芬太尼行动：中国对两种用于制造芬太尼的化学品实施更严格的规定于周日生效。政府于六月宣布将对 4-吡咯酮和 1-Boc-4-吡咯酮实施更严格的管控。特朗普本周赞扬中国在打击芬太尼非法贸易方面“采取了重大步骤”，芬太尼是一种强效阿片类药物，在美国导致数万人死亡。
• Scholarships scrutiny: Seven US universities face a Tuesday deadline to provide lawmakers with information about ties to China’s main body for state-funded scholarships. John Moolenaar, the head of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, sent letters to the institutions last week requesting that they reassess and justify relations with the Chinese Scholarship Council. Dartmouth College, Temple University, the University of Tennessee and the University of Notre Dame were among the seven institutions, along with the Davis, Irvine and Riverside campuses of the University of California.
  奖学金审查：七所美国大学面临周二向国会提供与中国国家奖学金主要机构关系信息的最后期限。负责中国共产党事务的众议院特别委员会主席约翰·穆勒纳尔上周向这些机构发出信函，要求它们重新评估并说明与中国奖学金委员会的关系。达特茅斯学院、坦普尔大学、田纳西大学和诺特丹大学是这七所机构之一，此外还包括加州大学的戴维斯、欧文和河滨校区。
• Legco elections: Nominations to fill 93 vacancies on Hong Kong’s 1,500-strong election committee open on Tuesday. The window closes on August 4, with voting scheduled for September 7. The body will pick 40 of the 90 candidates for the city’s December 7 Legislative Council election. A bill expanding the scope for punishing Hong Kong lawmakers who misbehave in office could be approved as early as Wednesday.
  立法会选举：香港选举委员会 1500 人中的 93 个空缺的提名于周二开放。提名窗口将于 8 月 4 日关闭，投票定于 9 月 7 日举行。该机构将从 90 名候选人中选出 40 名，参加 12 月 7 日的香港立法会选举。一项扩大惩罚在香港议员履职不当范围的法案可能最早于周三获得通过。
• Video game release: China’s next hit video game, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, is released on Thursday. Pre-orders for the title, from Sichuan province-based Chengdu Lingze Technology, have already made it a bestseller on Steam, a digital games store. The release follows the success of Black Myth: Wukong, which has sold 25 million copies worldwide. It was developed by Tencent-backed Game Science.
  游戏发布：中国最新热门游戏《武昌：落羽》于周四发布。来自四川省成都灵泽科技有限公司的这款游戏预售已经在数字游戏商店 Steam 上成为畅销品。此次发布紧随《黑神话：悟空》的成功，该游戏全球销量已达 2500 万份。该游戏由腾讯支持的游戏科学公司开发。