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
- China to Expand Private Pension Program Nationwide — Workers covered by the nation’s basic pension insurance system can voluntarily open private pension accounts.
- Chinese Solar Stocks Shrug Off New U.S. Tariffs — Chinese solar stocks largely shrugged off new U.S. tariffs on imports of China-made solar wafers and polysilicon, key materials used in manufacturing solar cells.
- China Comes Out Swinging as Trump Trade War Looms — Beijing is brandishing an expanded arsenal of countermeasures as President-elect Donald Trump threatens across-the-board tariffs on Chinese-made goods.
The Financial Times
- Philippines considers new UN case against Beijing over South China Sea activity — Manila hopes to enlist other countries to add to pressure on China.
The New York Times
- How a Feminist Comedy Came to Rule China’s Box Office — “Her Story” touches on sensitive topics in China, like censorship and gender inequality. But its humorous, nonconfrontational approach may have helped it pass censors.
Caixin
- Baidu-Geely EV Brand Pledges to Maintain Deliveries as Backers’ Support Wavers — Ji Yue said it will continue to deliver cars, even as sources say that the internet giant has cut off its investment and the automaker has stopped contract manufacturing the brand’s vehicles.
- How China is Cracking Down on Border Trade Smugglers — Regulations that offer border residents a duty-free income are coming under greater scrutiny amid growing abuse.
- Saudi Arabia Presents Promising Market for Chinese Green Tech — Nestled in the Saudi Arabian desert, plants and vegetables grow inside a greenhouse constructed with rows of glass panels.
South China Morning Post
- Nobel Prize-winning research on institutions gains traction in China to aid private sector — Hu Deping, son of a late former liberal leader, calls for rethink inspired by Nobel Prize-winning research and better protection for private enterprises.
- Beijing decries South Korean leader Yoon’s ‘Chinese spy’ defence of martial law — China responds to Yoon Suk-yeol’s remarks about alleged espionage targeting military facilities, calling the comments ‘deeply unsettling’.
- Police in China take hi-tech rolling robot out on patrol — The device is equipped with tear gas, cameras and flashing lights, and can track and identify targets.
- China’s massive Yiwu wholesale hub at the forefront of trade-reform efforts — Deeply ingrained institutional problems will be resolved, and better Belt and Road Initiative promotional efforts will be made under new State Council plan.
- Black Myth: Wukong inspires Chinese video game studios to go overseas, executives say — One example of ‘cultural confidence’ is that the game has inspired the use of more Chinese pinyin instead of English.
Nikkei Asia
- Bashar Assad’s fall reminds Xi Jinping of a Donald Trump bombshell — China’s president was with Trump in Florida in 2017 when U.S. missiles struck Syria.
- U.S. House passes defense budget with Chinese lobbying limits — $895bn spending bill also pushes Pentagon to explore Japan’s participation in AUKUS.
- Opinion: China’s tech giants take new collaborative approach in Southeast Asia — Likes of Tencent and Alibaba use region as testing ground for more nuanced business philosophy. By Vivian Toh.
Bloomberg
- China’s Instagram-Style Xiaohongshu Crosses $1 Billion in Profit — Xiaohongshu, the Instagram-style app that took off among younger Chinese during the pandemic, is on track to double profits to more than $1 billion in 2024 ahead of a potential IPO.
- Thousands of Chinese EVs Clog Up Brazil’s Ports in Slowdown — Brazilian ports have been clogged this year with upwards of 70,000 unsold Chinese EVs, in a sign of how hard it’s becoming for China’s automakers to keep up their robust growth.
- China’s Lust for Gold Exploited by Scammers, Money Launderers — Jewelry stores across China have been receiving mysterious, unusually large orders for gold bars from customers who ask for the precious metal to be posted to faraway addresses in the nation.
Reuters
- UK regulator’s Shein IPO decision slowed by challenge from Uyghur group — Shein is also awaiting approval from China’s securities regulator for its London IPO, two separate sources said, adding that the approval would likely come after the FCA’s decision.
- Weaker Chinese yuan talk raises spectre of FX race to the bottom — While a weaker yuan had been widely expected, framing it as a policy shift may herald the start of a new round of global tariffs, trade tensions and currency intervention.
- China pledges more debt, rate cuts as Trump tariff threats loom — Officials said they would switch to an “appropriately loose” monetary policy stance, “more proactive” fiscal levers, and step up “unconventional counter-cyclical adjustments.”
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: Was a Philippine Mayor a Secret Chinese Spy? — Alice Guo’s case has ignited fears of Beijing’s espionage.
- Foreign Affairs: What China Must Do to Stop the Flow of Fentanyl — It’s Time to Get Tough on the World’s Most Dangerous Opioid Supplier.
- The Washington Post: A Uyghur man escaped China’s Xinjiang. Cambodia deported him back. — Rahman’s secret repatriation is a starkly chilling example of how China increasingly exerts its will extrajudicially outside its borders.
- The Atlantic: The Government’s Disturbing Rationale for Banning TikTok — Vague national-security concerns don’t justify shutting down the popular Chinese-owned app.
- The Economist: What a censored speech says about China’s economy — If growth is on target, why is inflation so low?
- Brookings: The consequences of Trump’s tariff threats — If Trump issues additional threats of further tariff and trade measures, China’s response will be a function of President Xi Jinping’s strategy for countering Trump.
- BBC: Australia turns to rugby to curb China influence in PNG — The Pacific nation has produced many stars of Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) and has long been lobbying to join the franchise.
