The New York Times reports, "China is demanding that the Obama administration return a wealthy and politically connected businessman who fled to the United States, according to several American officials familiar with the case. Should he seek political asylum, he could become one of the most damaging defectors in the history of the People's Republic. The case of the businessman Ling Wancheng, has strained relations between two nations already at odds over numerous issues before President Xi Jinping's first state visit to the United States in September, including an extensive cybertheft of American government data and China's aggressive territorial claims. Mr. Ling is the youngest brother of Ling Jihua who for years held a post equivalent to that of the White House chief of staff, overseeing the Communist Party's inner sanctum as director of its General Office. Ling Jihua is one of the highest profile casualties of an anticorruption campaign that Mr. Xi has made a centerpiece of his government."
"Southeast Asian countries on Tuesday backed a U.S. call to halt land reclamation in the South China Sea, underlining unease in the region over Beijing's continued expansion on disputed islands. China has said it does not want the issue raised at this week's meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Kuala Lumpur. But Malaysia Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said member nations agreed that "exercising self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate tension must be enhanced" in the South China Sea. Philippines Foreign Minister Albert Del Rosario accused China of carrying out 'massive reclamation activities' in the disputed waters," writes Reuters.
The Wall Street Journal reports, "As China's summer stock slide deepened, threatening a key plank of Beijing's plan to overhaul the world's No. 2 economy, the country's premier pounded the table and demanded that regulators get their act together. Meeting with senior financial and economic officials in Beijing on July 4, Li Keqiang criticized them for failing to anticipate the severe market plunge, officials with knowledge of the gathering said. Then he urged them to act in a coordinated way to stanch the bleeding, these officials said. 'I want strong measures to rescue the market,' ordered the usually mild-mannered premier, according to the officials. At the meeting were those in charge of China's central bank, the country's securities and banking regulatory agencies and the Finance Ministry."