News Briefing for Thursday, September 8, 2022

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

Soho China’s billionaire duo are stepping down: The real estate empire announced on Wednesday that its co-founders, Pān Shíyì 潘石屹 and his wife, Zhāng Xīn 张欣, will resign as company chairman and CEO, respectively, but will remain as executive directors. The couple had “personified the Chinese economy’s broader rags-to-riches rise,” and their retreat is another sign of the end of the freewheeling private sector boom that defined the past few decades.

Chinese and Indian troops are “disengaging” in a bid to keep peace along the disputed border, two years after they clashed in the Galwan area, though thousands of soldiers are still lined up along both sides of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Biden still can’t make up his mind on tariffs: The U.S. president delayed a decision on whether or not to scrap the Trump-era tax on Chinese imports, which Beijing says continues to hurt U.S. companies and consumers.

Another U.S. delegation is in Taiwan: Led by Florida Democrat Stephanie Murphy, the trip adds to the slew of foreign lawmakers who have paid visits to the self-ruled island since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited in August.

More than 11 million people want to be teachers in China, according to the number of applications for the National Teacher Certification Examination this year, as a wave of fresh graduates flock to public sector jobs to weather a dismal job market.

Renewable energy now accounts for 31.8% of China’s total power generation capacity, according to the National Energy Administration. For details, see today’s very brief Business briefs from the Chinese media, where you can also find quick facts and links on these topics:

• Textile exports down
• Cement industry pain

Want more business and technology news from The China Project in your inbox? Click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter that goes out at the end of every business day in China (coffee time in New York).