China’s long-running battle to stabilize its shaky real-estate market appears to be entering a troubling new phase, with data showing waning demand as a wave of home listings hits the market, the Wall Street Journal reported. Shoring up the market is crucial for Beijing: Real estate accounts for as much as a quarter of economic activity in China. It is also the primary source of wealth for everyday Chinese.

The value of Chinese debt relief decreased by over 50% between 2021 and 2022, a report from Rhodium Group showed, with Angola alone receiving two thirds of deferrals despite China backing multilateral efforts to standardise support for poor countries, Reuters reported. As the world's largest bilateral creditor, China is central to talks on making tangible progress in providing debt relief to emerging and frontier markets through the Group of 20-led "Common Framework" as well as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Chinese tech giants Tencent Holdings and Ant Group said that they would allow users to link international credit cards to their platforms, an issue that has long plagued foreign visitors as the country’s payment system has kept credit cards out for years, Reuters reported. Tencent, operator of the popular chat app WeChat and payment network WeChat Pay, said on Wednesday that WeChat users overseas can link credit cards issued by Visa Inc to their WeChat app from next month. Foreign tourists can then pay with WeChat when traveling in mainland China.

China’s local government funding problems last year were even worse than most economists thought. At least $12 billion worse. That is the boost Chinese local governments got to their revenues after a series of fictitious sales of land and other state-owned assets, according to the country’s national audit office, the Wall Street Journal reported. The disclosure means that even the official data, which showed a sharp drop in land sales and local government revenues last year, painted a more positive picture than was accurate.

China will continue to provide assistance "within its capabilities" for Sri Lanka's economic and social development, China Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Sunday, Reuters reported. Qin Gang, in a meeting with Sri Lanka counterpart Ali Sabry in Beijing, said China is willing to consolidate and expand the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, according to a statement on the foreign ministry's website. Read more.

The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled a new trade doctrine aimed at curbing China’s ability to squeeze Europe’s economy, and at preventing European companies from exporting sensitive, military-linked technology that could give China an edge, the New York Times reported. The policy, still in its early stages, highlights how the European Union is seeking to align itself with the United States in limiting China’s access to sensitive markets and industrial secrets. It also reflects growing concerns about Beijing’s deepening alliance with Moscow.

Chinese banks trimmed benchmark interest rates on loans to households and businesses, a telegraphed move that follows earlier rate cuts aimed at reigniting a fading economic recovery, the Wall Street Journal reported. Economists say lower borrowing costs might not be the right medicine for China’s economy, however, as households and businesses have shown little appetite to borrow with debt levels already high and prospects for jobs and growth deeply uncertain.

A development bank China launched with its fellow Brics countries was supposed to reshape international finance. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine now risks turning it into a zombie bank, the Wall Street Journal reported.

China's economy stumbled in May with industrial output and retail sales growth missing forecasts, Reuters reported. The economic rebound seen earlier this year has lost momentum in the second quarter, prompting China's central bank to cut some key interest rates this week for the first time in nearly a year, with expectations of more to come.

Beijing is planning major steps to revive the country’s flagging economy, including the possibility of billions of dollars in new infrastructure spending, and looser rules to encourage property investors to buy more homes, the Wall Street Journal reported. The push follows a series of interest rate cuts by China’s central bank this week, including one on Thursday which cut a key policy rate for the first time since August, as fresh data showed the country’s economic recovery is flickering out.