Good Morning. Welcome to The Wire’s daily news roundup. Each day, our staff gathers the top China business, finance, and economics headlines from a selection of the world’s leading news organizations.
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The Wall Street Journal
- Scatter and Survive: Inside a U.S. Military Shift to Deny China ‘Big, Juicy’ Targets — America is upgrading far-off runways and reviving World War II airfields to counter the threat of China’s enormous missile arsenal.
- Threat of Chinese Overcapacity Looms Over Memory Chips — Vital technology component could be next industry to grapple with abundance from Asian country.
- China Cuts Benchmark Lending Rates as Easing Push to Boost Economy Continues — The one-year and five-year loan prime rates were both cut by 25 basis points.
The Financial Times
- Chinese AI groups get creative to drive down cost of models — 01.ai, Alibaba and ByteDance have cut ‘inference’ costs despite Washington curbs on accessing cutting-edge chips.
- China cuts interest rates in battle to hit year-end growth target — Beijing steps up efforts to reboot economy amid mounting pressure to achieve goal of about 5% growth.
The New York Times
- Why Chinese Are Rushing Into a ‘Casino’ Stock Market — Steps to bolster the economy have set off a stock buying frenzy. Li Yuan spoke to Chinese investors about why they are jumping in knowing the risks.
- Putin Brings Together Economies He Hopes Will Eclipse the West — The Russian leader hopes to use the meeting of the so-called BRICS group, which includes China and India, as a counterweight to the West.
- Want to Rent a Panda? Here Are 5 Things China Demands in Return. — Normally confidential contracts show that U.S. zoos are accepting increasingly strict terms governing panda cams and public statements.

Caixin
- China Tries New Tack to Spur Economic Growth Through Stimulus Effort — China has unveiled a wave of fiscal stimulus policies, signaling a shift in its approach to overcoming the nation’s economic headwinds.
- Robotaxi Operator Pony.ai Opts for Nasdaq as it Files for U.S. Listing — The company did not disclose the size or price range of its planned offering.
- The Human Toll of China’s Beverage Boom — Facing relentless demands, tight deadlines and surveillance, workers at coffee and milk tea chains endure harsh conditions that have sparked a widespread debate online.
- Analysis: Making Sense of China’s Latest Initiative to Boost the Property Market — Efforts include renovating dilapidated homes, expanding bank lending and allowing local governments to use bond proceeds to buy undeveloped land and unsold homes.
South China Morning Post
- Chad Sbragia on why a breakdown of US-China defence links could be ‘really dangerous’ — The former senior Pentagon official discusses the past and present state of relations between the two countries’ militaries.
- International airlines cut China flights over Russian airspace ban, economic concerns — Fewer flights to China by Western airlines seen as a reflection of reduced demand for business travel amid economic slowdown.
- China could fend off EU tariff moves with more direct investment: analyst — Chinese researcher expects more restrictions to follow as Brussels tries to reduce reliance on China’s critical raw materials.
- Microsoft closes Azure subscription for individuals to access OpenAI in mainland China — Owing to local regulatory requirements, only enterprise customers are eligible to subscribe to Azure OpenAI Service in mainland China.
- Sinopec leads 23 firms in China’s US$1.55 billion stock buy-back rush — Firms waste no time answering Beijing’s call to use a relending facility designed to bolster the stock market.
Nikkei Asia
- Russia and China gear up for bigger BRICS summit in push for new order — Gathering in Kazan to focus on further expansion of bloc, new financial architecture.
- Chinese drone giant DJI sues Pentagon over military listing — Company says designation as ‘Chinese military company’ has hurt business.
- China and North Korea boost Russian military ties to uncharted levels — Moscow turns to Pyongyang for Ukraine war support, ramps up drills with Beijing.
- Britain, China strike conciliatory note during top diplomat’s visit — Beijing faces tense relations with other Western governments.
- China’s SenseTime using ‘a lot’ of Huawei, other domestic AI chips — Country is pushing to develop homegrown tech, but Nvidia still chip of choice.
Bloomberg
- China Traders Bet PBOC Will Keep Yuan in Hand Even If Trump Wins — China’s domestic yuan traders appear to be more confident than their offshore counterparts that the currency’s turbulence will be contained around the US presidential election period.
- China’s Steel Demand Has Shrunk to Less Than Half Global Total — China will account for less than half of global steel consumption in 2024 for the first time in six years.
- Japan Pressed by US Lawmakers to Strengthen Chip Curbs on China — Key US lawmakers urged Japan to strengthen restrictions on sales of chipmaking equipment to China.
- Mixing Hotpot With Horsepower. Have Chinese Car Gimmicks Gone Too Far? — A new marketing campaign underscores the lengths Chinese EV makers will go to to stand out in an ultra-competitive market that’s also weathering a bruising price war as sales growth slows.
Reuters
- Beijing bourse plans to help smaller tech companies to list — The Beijing Stock Exchange will help small and medium-sized tech companies with training and access to finance as part of government plans to foster innovation.
- China boosts export controls on dual use items, state media says — The regulations aim to improve transparency and standardization of export control policies and to boost export control capabilities of items that may be used either for civilian or military purposes.
- India, China strike border patrol pact that could ease ties, top official says — India and China have reached a deal on patrolling their disputed Himalayan frontier to resolve a four-year military stand-off.
Other Publications
- The Guardian: Is China cannibalising the EU car industry? — Troubles at VW point to growing doubts about the future of the Europe-wide sector as imports of cheap EVs rise.
- The Washington Post: BRICS is key to Putin’s fight against the U.S. Not all members agree. — With Putin confident of a Russian victory in Ukraine, the summit is designed to send a message that Russia is back as a powerful global player with many friends.
- Foreign Policy: Prigozhin’s Ghost Lives On in China — The dead Wagner founder still inspires Chinese military bloggers and advocates of privatized security.
- Foreign Policy: How the United States Can Win the Battery Race — To leapfrog China, Washington should shift away from lithium-ion batteries.