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 Makes More Cars Than It Needs. Now, It’s Shakeout Time. — An “elimination round” is likely to cull weaker players in a market dominated by EVs and plug-in hybrids. Among the early losers are foreign brands.
- TikTok Ban at the Supreme Court: What to Know Ahead of Oral Arguments — The Chinese-owned app is battling for survival as a deadline looms over its fate.
- China Blasts EU’s Foreign Subsidies Law as Unfair Trade Barrier — Beijing has called out the European Union for imposing unfair trade barriers on Chinese companies, ending a monthslong investigation into the bloc’s efforts to protect its businesses from foreign subsidies.
- Moderna Is Gambling on China as Other U.S. Companies Pull Back — The biotech’s efforts to bring its vaccines to the country mean navigating political pushback in the U.S. and the risk of intellectual-property theft in China.
- China to Issue Central Bank Bills in Hong Kong Amid Weakening Yuan — The People’s Bank of China’s move is seen as efforts to stabilize the yuan’s exchange rate in the offshore market.
- China’s Consumer Prices Inched Higher in 2024 — Consumer prices eked out growth, capping yet another year marked by stubborn disinflationary pressures that have dented business confidence and troubled policymakers.
The Financial Times
- China steps up defence of renminbi against Wall Street bets — Currency softens over weakness in world’s second-largest economy and fear of Trump tariffs.
- Chinese consumer prices barely rise as deflationary pressure weighs — Beijing has struggled to stimulate domestic demand in economy.
The New York Times
- In Tibet, Chinese Boarding Schools Reshape the ‘Souls of Children’ — Across China’s west, the Communist Party is placing children in boarding schools to assimilate a generation of Tibetans into the national mainstream and mold them into loyal citizens.
- TikTok, Facing a US Ban, Is Also Waging Legal Battles Around the World — TikTok is challenging a possible ban or forced sale to new owners in the United States, but has for several years been waging other fights in at least 20 countries.
- Opinion: China Wants to Damage Our Economy, and It’s Succeeding — China’s primary goal is to damage America’s economy and pave the way for it to become the world’s pre-eminent power. By Robert D. Atkinson.
Caixin
- China Expands Equipment Upgrade and Trade-In Subsidies by $11 Billion in 2025 — China unveils bigger push to boost economic activity this year with subsidy program.
- State-Backed Documentary Exposes Minister’s Corruption — The series, co-produced by China’s top graft watchdog and state broadcaster, has become an annual event in China.
South China Morning Post
- Beijing orders Chinese miners to report more of their overseas reserves — Amid tensions with US, Ministry of Commerce expands list of mineral resources that must be declared to include rare earths, titanium ore, zircon and tantalum ore.
- China, Congo draw up a road map for Xi Jinping’s US$50 billion Africa investment pledge — Foreign Minister Wang Yi sas China ‘will help Africa to develop and revitalise itself and move towards modernisation’.
- China concerned by reports of Uygur militants given senior roles in Syrian army — Country’s UN ambassador Fu Cong says new government in Damascus must prevent terrorist forces from threatening other countries.
- US trade office removes Tencent’s WeChat from ‘notorious’ counterfeit sellers list — WeChat was among six online Chinese platforms and nine bricks-and-mortar sellers added to the counterfeit goods list in 2022.
- Opinion: Time for caution is over: China needs drastic action to spark demand — Structural reform is never easy, but for China even a messy pivot to consumption is better than staying cautious and not pivoting at all. By Nicholas Spiro.
Nikkei Asia
- Inside Duterte’s China gamble — Authors examine how ex-Philippine leader sought distance from US and pursued personal grievances.
- China expands anti-graft probes to target SOEs, finance, energy sectors — Police take aim at low-level ‘flies’ and ‘ants’ in the rank and file.
- Lenovo to bring Saudi PC plant onstream by 2026 — Chinese companies look to Middle East for fundraising amid growing U.S. tensions.
Bloomberg
- China’s Biggest-Ever Bid for Foreign Tourists Is Falling Flat — The billions of dollars in spending that an unprecedented lifting of visa requirements could have brought simply hasn’t materialized.
- Why Close Trade Partners China and Japan Can’t Get Along — China and Japan are two of Asia’s most powerful nations and the region’s biggest trading partners. Yet centuries of intense rivalry mean their economic embrace can never be taken for granted.
- White House Rushes to Finish Cyber Order After China Hacks — The Biden administration is racing to put out an executive order meant to shore up US cybersecurity in its dwindling days in office, according to four people familiar with the matter.
- Opinion: China’s DeepSeek Shows Why Trump’s Trade War Will Be Hard to Win — A promising new model shows that innovations in artificial intelligence don’t necessarily depend on the latest chips. By Tyler Cowen.
- Opinion: US-China Tech Breakup Is a Race to the Bottom — The US must clarify the link between consumer tech and national security threats. By Catherine Thorbecke.
Reuters
- Shein aims for London IPO by mid-year, sources say — The head of Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority, which is in charge of assessing and approving flotations like Shein’s IPO, is accompanying Reeves on the trip to Beijing and Shanghai and will meet with regulatory partners there.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: How Trump Could Strike a Trade Deal With China — A Phase Two negotiation isn’t out of the question. Washington must get it right this time.
- AP News: Taiwan demonstrates sea defenses against potential Chinese attack as tensions rise with Beijing — China routinely sends ships and planes to challenge Taiwan’s willingness and ability to counter intruders, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets, activate missile systems and dispatch warships.
- The Intercept: To Ban TikTok, Supreme Court Would Rank “National Security” Before First Amendment — Critics worry that a sweeping ban based on predictions rather than more concrete proof of TikTok’s security risks sets a precedent in line with repressive regimes.
- The Information: Chinese AI Hardware and Robotics Firms Flock to CES, Despite Tariff Threats — Donald Trump takes office in less than two weeks, vowing to impose a new round of tariffs on imports—particularly those coming from China.
- The Guardian: Rachel Reeves heads to China to build bridges, but a new golden era of relations is impossible — Seeking business partners post-Brexit is sound policy, but even in these darker geopolitical times the UK will ultimately side with the US.
