| Didi isn't the first Chinese tech giant to run afoul of the country's regulators. But there's a key difference between the ride-hailing giant and all the others before it that have drawn Beijing's ire: data. In launching its probe against Didi and banning new downloads of the company's app, the Cyberspace Administration of China cited the need to prevent data security risks and safeguard national security. By contrast, Alibaba was fined $2.8 billion for anti-competitive practices. Ant Group's IPO was scuttled because of concerns about its lending, and the investigation launched in April against Meituan was an antitrust probe. National security wasn't an issue raised for them or for the many other tech companies that have been fined in the past year. While authorities have yet to detail the allegations against Didi, at least one example has surfaced showing why the company may have spooked them. Soon after the probe against Didi was announced, Chinese social-media users began circulating screenshots of a study using its data to track the travel habits of government officials. The study, published in 2015, used playful charts to show, among other things, that on two sweltering July days, traffic at the Ministry of Public Security was the busiest among agencies in the capital, while China's anti-corruption agency was relatively quiet. If it appeared innocuous at the time, that study now suggests Didi's data could be a source of valuable intelligence in the hands of foreign spies. It's not just Beijing that's waking up to how sensitive data can be. Washington is right now conducting a review of services such as TikTok and WeChat to determine what they expose about American citizens to the Chinese government. Bigger Than AmericaChina will likely surpass the U.S. to become the world's biggest economy in 2033. That's the base scenario in a new study by Bloomberg economists Eric Zhu and Tom Orlik. It is not, however, a guarantee. Among the variables the study factored into determining when, and indeed if, China moves ahead of America are how quickly Beijing rolls out reforms and bolsters its fertility rate, and if it can avoid a complete decoupling with the U.S. If things go China's way, it could become the world's top economy as soon as 2031. But if things go poorly, Chinese gross domestic product might never exceed that of the U.S.  Merkel, Macron, XiChina's relationship with the European Union is far from rosy. Tensions have flared over everything from Hong Kong and Xinjiang to the origins of Covid-19. But unlike its strained ties with Washington, Beijing has maintained regular exchanges at the highest levels of power with the EU. President Xi Jinping this week spoke by video with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. It was the third such meeting the trio have had in the past half year. U.S. President Joe Biden, by contrast, has spoken with Xi just once by phone since taking office in January. There's motivation on both sides to sustain these exchanges. Europe wants to keep China open to EU exports and companies, even as Brussels calls out Chinese action it finds objectionable. Beijing wants to prevent Europe from joining the U.S. in an alliance against China. For those reasons, expect more talks in the future. Whether they translate into actions, however, is far harder to predict. Going GreenWithin China's bureaucracy, it is often the case that the more powerful the agency driving an initiative, the more likely it'll get done. This week, it was revealed China put its top economic planning body in charge of getting the country to carbon neutrality by 2060. The National Development and Reform Commission sets energy and industrial policies, including having the authority to approve power projects and set subsidy rates. That puts it in a much better position to induce the sorts of structural changes needed for China to hit its climate target. Getting there won't be easy. China will not only have to balance its climate objectives with its need for jobs and economic growth, but the country will also require massive amounts of investment — $15 trillion by some estimates. This move of responsibilities to the NDRC might also be a recognition of just how challenging it's going to be.  Banning Tall BuildingsChina this week issued an outright ban on the construction of skyscrapers exceeding 500 meters in height. That was after authorities last year imposed an "in-principle" prohibition against such structures. Of the 10 buildings in the world exceeding that height, five are in mainland China. Qiao Shitong, an associate law professor at the University of Hong Kong who studies property and urban law, said one reason for the ban might be that while towers of great height are often "signature projects," they are actually not very efficient. A more important reason though, he believed, was safety. Concern about the security of skyscrapers surged after a 72-story tower in Shenzhen closed in May after tenants reported it was wobbling. Investigators have yet to identify the cause and have since kept the building shut.  The 300-meter SEG Plaza in Shenzhen on May 19, a day after tenants reported the building was wobbling. Photographer: STR/AFP What We're ReadingAnd finally, a few other things that caught our attention: | 
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