In Depth: China Intensifies War on Toxic Competition as Economy Suffers

China-U.S. trade talks: Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials are set to meet in Sweden later this month for a new round of trade talks. A commerce ministry spokesperson said Wednesday that Vice Premier He Lifeng will be in Sweden from July 27 to July 30 for the negotiations. On Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said that U.S. and Chinese officials will meet in the Swedish capital Stockholm from July 28 to 29 to discuss how to balance their trade relationship.

Thawing ties: India is set to resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens starting July 24, ending a five-year suspension that began during the Covid-19 pandemic and was compounded by escalating border tensions. The move marks the latest step in a gradual thawing of relations between the two Asian nations, following a meeting between their leaders at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, last year. Earlier this month, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar traveled to Beijing for the first time since the pandemic, where he met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. Both sides have pledged to enhance people-to-people exchanges, with ongoing discussions aimed at restoring direct flights, which have remained suspended since 2020.

Dell’s legal challenge: Dell Technologies Inc. is facing a legal challenge in China from one of its largest and oldest distributors, escalating a months-long commercial dispute that has already severed their business ties. Highly Information Industry Co. Ltd., a unit of Chinese electronics conglomerate TCL Technology Group, has filed a lawsuit against Dell in Fujian province, claiming the U.S. computer maker owes it 374 million yuan ($52 million) in unpaid bills. The complaint also seeks an additional 14.7 million yuan in overdue interest. The case was accepted on July 14 by the Xiamen Intermediate People’s Court. Dell declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

Vehicle-to-grid: Britain’s largest electricity supplier is joining forces with Chinese electric-car maker BYD Co. to let customers turn their vehicles into miniature power plants—a novel move aimed at slashing energy bills and easing pressure on the national grid. Octopus Energy, the U.K.’s top power provider, launched a commercial vehicle-to-grid (V2G) service in late June. The initiative pairs a leased BYD Dolphin electric car with a two-way charger, enabling users not only to draw power from the grid but also to sell electricity back to it during peak hours. The project represents one of the most ambitious commercial deployments yet of V2G technology, which has long been touted as a solution to the challenges posed by the erratic output of wind and solar energy.

Property lending: Outstanding real estate loans grew 0.4% year-on-year at the end of June, marking the second consecutive quarter-end of growth following a prolonged downturn, central bank data show. Outstanding personal mortgage loans fell 0.1% year-on-year, narrowing from a 0.8% drop at the end of March.