Beijing intervenes to steady markets, ‘Grand Theft Auto Shanghai’: SCMP daily highlights

From Beijing’s response to tariff-driven turmoil to an ex-CIA official on US-China ties, here’s a round-up from today’s China coverage

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FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump holds a “Foreign Trade Barriers” document as he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo/File Photo

Published: 9:15pm, 7 Apr 2025

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.

1. China’s ‘national team’ intervenes to stabilise markets after Beijing’s pledge of support

China’s Central Huijin, a key “national team” investor, has reportedly begun to intervene in domestic stock markets to counter the panic unleashed by the US trade war, after Beijing earlier signalled it had policy tools available to deal with Washington’s reciprocal tariff blitz.

2. China urges unity, prepared for ‘any shocks’, as US trade tensions soar

China has called on the nation to “weather storms together” amid an escalating trade war with the “capricious” Trump administration after the US president warned that Beijing had miscalculated in striking back at his new tariffs.

3. Will Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ threaten China’s fragile consumer recovery?

Customers apply for subsidies under a government trade-in programme for consumer goods in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. Photo: Xinhua

A barrage of stimulus policies has helped lift consumer sentiment in China, but the recovery is still tentative – and could be dented by a US trade war.