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
- Kweichow Moutai Expects to Meet Revenue Growth Target Despite China Market Woes — The company expects its 2024 revenue to rise around 15% to $23.81 billion.
- China Expands Consumer Subsidies to Electronics to Spur Spending — Shares of smartphone makers rose in Hong Kong following the announcement.
- Essay: Banning TikTok Would Violate America’s Free Speech Tradition — It’s up to the Supreme Court whether the U.S. will join China, Afghanistan and other authoritarian countries that have barred their citizens from using the popular social media app. By Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff.
- Opinion: The Dangers of China’s Planned Megadam — The Great Bend hydroelectric project would harm the environment in South Asia and hinder Chinese human development. By Thomas J. Duesterberg.
The Financial Times
- China’s central bank plans policy overhaul as pressure mounts on economy — People’s Bank of China will start to behave more like U.S. Fed in using one main interest rate to steer demand for credit.
- Magic monkey tale inspires China’s gaming industry to seek blockbuster success — As Beijing eases regulations, developers are tooling up to produce big-budget titles with international appeal.
- Opinion: A new Monroe doctrine is unlikely to work for the U.S. in South America — Washington’s leverage over countries in the region is waning as China’s influence grows. By Will Freeman.
The New York Times
- U.S. Weighs Ban on Chinese Drones, Citing National Security Concerns — The Commerce Department requested that private companies comment on the implications of the rule by March. The final decision will fall to the Trump administration.
- Trump’s Falsehoods Aside, China’s Influence Over Global Ports Raises Concerns — The president-elect inaccurately said that Chinese soldiers operate the Panama Canal. But China’s strategic positions in shipping worry Washington officials.
Caixin
- Will 2025 Herald an IPO Revival in China? — Venture capital firms are cautiously optimistic they’ll be able to cash out of their investments as the stock market warms up again and regulators encourage alternative exit channels.
South China Morning Post
- What happened when mainland China recruited Taiwanese for governance — The efforts started more than a decade ago to integrate Taiwanese into the mainland’s economy, society, and culture but there were bumps along the way.
- Chip war: U.S. may unveil new rules limiting China’s access to AI chips before Biden leaves office — The changes aim to control global shipments of powerful GPUs essential for training AI models by closing existing regulatory loopholes.
- Alibaba ties up with Lee Kai-fu’s unicorn as China’s AI sector consolidates — Alibaba Cloud signs a deal with start-up 01.
Nikkei Asia
- China may be pressured to hasten economic stimulus in 2025, analysts say — Lackluster economic data and the threat of U.S. tariffs blur outlook.
- AI-hungry Middle East nations retreat from China to please U.S. — UAE, Saudis want American tech, but need other partners like Japan.
- Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan cash in on China international deal pickup — Some see last year’s momentum in offshore listings continuing into 2025.
Bloomberg
- Computers of Senior U.S. Treasury Leaders Accessed in Hack — The hackers were able to access unclassified material stored locally on the senior officials’ computers.
- China Lets Yuan Weaken After Defending 7.3 Per Dollar for Weeks — The move opens up room for the managed currency to drop further amid a sluggish economy.
- China Flexes Lithium Dominance With Plans for Tech-Export Curbs — The plan appears aimed at protecting innovations that China has developed during its rise to dominate global battery and electric-vehicle production.
- South Africa Launches Tax Break, Helping to Lure China EV Makers — South Africa is the world’s biggest producer of manganese, mines nickel and has deposits of rare earths.
Reuters
- China will sharply increase funding from treasury bonds to spur growth in 2025 — Special treasury bonds will be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins.
- Tesla’s China sales hit record high in 2024, bucking global decline — But exports from China dropped to about 260,000 last year, their worst performance since 2021.
Other Publications
- Washington Post: Biden decides to block U.S. Steel sale to Japanese buyer — Move comes after a year of political and economic drama. It leaves the future of the once-iconic American business in doubt.
- The Information: TikTok Promises Ban Refunds to Keep Advertisers Spending — The possibility of a ban has not stopped TikTok’s ad sales representatives from pushing advertisers to commit to spending big on TikTok ads in 2025.
- The Economist: China approves the world’s most expensive infrastructure project — It has China’s neighbours on edge.
- Foreign Policy: Xi Jinping’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good Year — The irony of his leadership is that a seemingly transformational figure cannot embrace change.
