News briefing for Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 made his first public appearance in two weeks in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, in a sign that the Communist Party’s annual secretive summer retreat at the seaside resort of Beidaihe, east of Beijing, has ended.

• Premier Lǐ Kèqiáng 李克强, China’s No. 2 leader, also stepped back into the public eye: In Shenzhen, he reiterated calls to boost the economy after a dismal performance report for the month of July.
• Li also pledged to keep “preferential policies” for the production and purchase of electric cars at a tour of BYD’s headquarters in the city on Wednesday.

Tencent reported its first-ever revenue drop since it listed in 2004, the company said on Wednesday, falling short of analysts’ predictions. The Shenzhen-based giant’s revenue fell 3% to 134 billion yuan ($19.8 billion), while net income also missed estimates, plunging 56% in the June quarter.

China is sending troops to Russia to participate in joint military exercises along with other countries, including India, Belarus, and Tajikistan, the Chinese defense ministry said on Wednesday. China’s participation was “unrelated to the current international and regional situation,” the ministry said in a statement.

Hong Kong Stock Exchange loses money: The Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission reported a net loss of HK$94.81 million ($12.09 million). For details and links to Chinese data sources, click through to our daily business briefing from the Chinese media, where we also note new government attempts to raise China’s declining birth rate.

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