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China

China briefing for today — markets, trade, and policy moves overnight:

Trade & tariffs: The tit-for-tat escalated. On Oct 9, China announced limits on exports of refined rare earths it dominates, and President Trump said the US would impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports plus broad tech export controls from Nov 1. This comes after a parallel track where the US and China agreed to cut tariffs on about $60B in annual trade — roughly $30B each way.

EU-China: European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic is in Beijing until Friday and will meet Commerce Minister Wang Wentao to try to ease trade tensions.

Economy / stimulus:

• Beijing allocated 550 billion yuan ($82B) in unused government debt quotas today to support local government finances and infrastructure, as it pushes to hit its 4.5%-5% growth target after soft readings.

• Securities regulator published draft rules to lower the threshold for setting up equity mutual funds to support the stock market after blue-chips neared a one-year low.

• Tax crackdown on offshore trusts is pressuring luxury — wealthy Chinese have until Oct 22 to declare back taxes under new rules.

Tech & industry:

• New guidelines on "new productive forces" including AI: China will build monitoring, risk warning and emergency response systems to keep AI safe and controllable, and hold accountable those responsible for major losses from blind investment.

• Fuel exports resuming after Golden Week pause — October exports of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel approved at ∼3.7 million tons.

Consumer / climate:

• Golden Week travel spend: 738.38 billion yuan ($110.28B) domestic travel spending, 826 million domestic trips taken Oct 1-7.

• China's climate centre said a Super El Niño officially formed in September.

Markets are watching the rare-earths vs tariffs exchange today — want a deeper dive on how that hits tech supply chains?

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China