#3 I dWP-VW.THEMENAUSWAHL I dWP-ECON.TOPIC SELECTION

China's economic growth exceeded expectations in the second quarter, with gross domestic product expanding 5.2% in April-June from a year earlier. Analysts at Morgan Stanley expect GDP growth to slip below 4.5% in the second half of the year due to "payback of front-loading, weaker global trade amid renewed tariff escalation, and continued deflation loop." Michelle Lam, Greater China economist at Societe Generale SA, said "it's a picture of strong supply but weak domestic demand, and export resilience is not going to last" and described the data as "not a good set of data despite the GDP beat."

Global banks channeled more than $385 billion to the coal power industry over the past three years, with annual flows increasing last year from 2023. Katrin Ganswindt, financial research director at Urgewald, said "It's as if Glasgow never happened" in reference to the COP26 climate summit pledges to phase down coal. According to Urgewald, Chinese banks are the top providers of coal-related financing, allocating almost $250 billion to the industry between 2022 and 2024.