A world superpower loses steam

Hello from London where we avoided extreme heat but are watching the rest of Europe with great concern. The big story for us early this week was China, which has long stood out as one of the world’s biggest engines of growth. Now it is stuttering. Weaknesses abound?across the board, from the country’s ailing property market to falling exports and business investment.

Despite growing calls for state intervention, Xi Jinping appears in no rush to roll out a weighty stimulus. Few economists?expect the world’s second-largest economy to unleash?anything like the “bazooka” measures it took during the global financial crisis.

China’s health reporting has also come under scrutiny, after?our Beijing reporters revealed?that Covid death data for Zhejiang province had been deleted. Could this be a further blow to foreign confidence?

My picks this week

1.?Tourist hotspots across southern Europe have closed their doors as heatwaves blanket the continent in dangerous temperatures. Our correspondents?paint a concerning picture.

2.?“This is a signal that anything goes.” Vladimir Putin and his trusted circle are closing in on western assets in Russia. Moscow handed Danone and Carlsberg’s Russian operations to two of the Kremlin’s cronies in?this gripping tale of power and influence.?(free to read)

3.?Big artificial intelligence companies are running out of high-quality data to develop their generative models. So what do they do? Create “synthetic data”. It’s a?curious case of AI eating itself?— expertly explained by Madhumita Murgia.

(If you would like to read this fascinating article for free,?please download our iPhone app FT Edit. The Edit gives you access to eight handpicked articles every weekday, and the first month is free.)

4.?Armenia: the new silk road for goods to Russia.?Armenia exported $800,000 worth of cars to Russia in January 2022, before Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine. In January 2023, it sent more than $180mn. Our reporters dig into the trend with an illuminating dispatch from this trading hotspot.

5.?This deep?dive into the financial woes afflicting British universities?stirred much reader discussion this week. “We cannot be the generation [that] squanders the advantages we have in our university system,” said Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK.

6.?It’s hard not to get swept up in the bubblegum-coloured buzz surrounding the?Barbie?film, released tomorrow. Our film critic assesses both the style and substance of?Greta Gerwig’s latest comedy?in this vibrant review. (free to read)

Thanks for reading,

Roula

P.S The Tories are braced for pain in three by-elections today. Watch the drama unfold by subscribing to Stephen Bush’s award-winning newsletter, Inside Politics, which will guide you through what this means for British politics.?Sign up here for free for 90 days. No card details needed.

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