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.
Paid subscribers automatically have this list emailed directly to their inboxes every day by 10 a.m. EST. Subscribe here.
The Wall Street Journal
- Trump Keeps China Guessing on Tariff Threats — The president postponed what appeared to be a looming clash on trade and expressed a willingness to talk business, but he remains critical of Beijing.
- Chinese Shares Fall After Trump Repeats Tariff Threat — Markets in China and Hong Kong fell Wednesday after U.S. President Trump reiterated a threat to impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods.
- Sunac China Becomes First Chinese Developer to Restructure Onshore Debt — The property developer said plans to restructure debt issued by a unit were approved.
- Putin and Xi Stick Together in Video Call After Trump’s Inauguration — The U.S.’s two most powerful adversaries agreed to work more closely on overhauling a world order they see as orbiting around the West.
The Financial Times
- Ships carrying missile propellant set to sail from China to Iran, say officials — Intelligence suggests vessels will be laden with critical weapons ingredient sodium perchlorate.
- China stocks and renminbi hit by Trump’s 10% tariff threat — Benchmark Hong Kong share index down 1.6% after trade shot at Beijing.
- TikTok owner asks Chinese staff in Singapore to pay taxes to Beijing — ByteDance’s missive comes as China steps up enforcement of global tax collection.
- China sees room to avert trade war with Trump despite tariff threat — New US president hints at potential agreement linking TikTok ownership with tariffs.
- Banks compete for Hong Kong’s blockbuster listing with 0.01% fees — Chinese lenders’ ultra-low pitches for CATL secondary offering reflect scarcity of business on mainland.
- TikTok owner ByteDance plans to spend $12bn on AI chips in 2025 — Chinese company seeks growth from new technology as social media business comes under pressure in US.
- Five takeaways on Trump’s opening trade salvo — President vows to correct ‘unfair practices’ as US trading partners prepare for an era of tariffs.
- Taiwan lawmakers risk alienating Trump with defence funds freeze — US president has claimed Washington is providing ‘insurance’ for Taipei.
The New York Times
- Trump’s Hint at Deal Making Gives China a Little Breathing Room — Whether it is over TikTok, fentanyl or trade, Beijing might welcome a compromise to buy time to address its ailing economy and bolster its position globally.
- Trump Says He Plans to Impose 10% Tariffs on Chinese Imports on Feb. 1 — The president said the planned duties were a response to China’s failure to curb fentanyl exports.
- Opinion: America Is a Nation of Immigrants That Has Not Lived Up to Its Promise — The huddled masses yearning to breathe free have not always been received with open arms. By Ana Raquel Minian.

Caixin
- China and Indonesia Team Up on Cross-Border Digital Payments — UnionPay and the Indonesia Payment System Association are working to integrate their separate QR code systems.
- Panama Starts Audit of China-Linked Port Operator Amid Trump Takeover Threat — Financial and compliance review gets underway as Panama’s president rejects Trump’s claim that China is operating the canal.
- Export Tax Rebate Removal Raises Hopes for Clean Aviation Fuel in China — The change affects used cooking oil, a biodiesel feedstock, but industry insiders warn production and cost constraints could limit the near-term use in aviation.
South China Morning Post
- China’s most popular AI app gets facelift with ByteDance’s Doubao 1.5 — The closed-source model bested leading models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Alibaba in some benchmark tests.
- China keen to engage as Gaza war halts, but will US-Israel ties hinder efforts? — Top Chinese envoy’s trips to Israel and Palestine signal Beijing’s desire to play Middle East role, but it may face obstacles, analysts say.
- Big drop in internal investigations into China’s corruption busters in 2024 — Despite the fall, the effort to root out ‘bad apples’ in the inspection body remained at a ‘high intensity’.
- Tencent ramps up global AI efforts with roll-out of advanced Hunyuan 3D-generation system — The open-source Hunyuan3D 2.0 is expected to lower barriers to entry for using AI models across video gaming, social media and other sectors.
- ByteDance launches AI code editor based on Microsoft software as TikTok ban is delayed — The Chinese owner of TikTok rolled out the new software targeting overseas Chinese coders after a reprieve from the Trump administration.
Nikkei Asia
- Elon Musk and China: 5 things about the ties of Trump’s ‘first buddy’ — Tesla tycoon enjoys unusual perks from Beijing, walks fine line in Washington.
- China foundry Hua Hong taps ex-Intel exec to lead logic chip pivot — Speculation grows of tie-up with SMIC to boost Chinese semiconductor supply chain.
- Opinion: Hong Kong’s rule of law has been derailed — Nations like Japan should stand up and reject the tyranny of China. By Patrick Poon.
Bloomberg
- China Welcomes Back Hollywood Films in Bid to Boost Spending — On her way to catch a foreign flick in Beijing, Jane Yao bought a cinnamon roll, had ramen, visited a bookshop, and dropped by a supermarket to grab some snacks.
- Alphabet CIO Porat Warns US Lead Over China on AI Not Guaranteed — The US isn’t guaranteed to maintain a lead over China in the race to develop artificial intelligence, according to Alphabet Inc. President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat.
- Bangladesh Eyes Deeper Ties With China as India Relations Suffer — Bangladesh is planning to build closer economic ties with China, and other East Asian economies, at a time when the relationship with India remains strained.
- Opinion: TikTok Saga Shows Americans Can’t Be Bothered to Take On China — A vast majority of US citizens consider Beijing a threat, but giving up a silly video-sharing app is apparently too great an inconvenience. By Hal Brands.
- Opinion: China’s EV Makers Have a Good Reason to Delay Paying Bills — Electric-car companies are taking longer to pay their suppliers. That may not be such a bad thing. By David Fickling.
Reuters
- China orders pay cap at state-owned financial firms, sources say — The bulk of cuts will be made by shrinking bonuses, said two of the three people, who have direct knowledge of the plan but declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
- Aiming to weaken US foes, Trump faces an ‘unholy alliance’ — Trump, who took office Monday, has vowed to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, curb Iran’s nuclear program and counter China while building up the U.S. military.
Other Publications
- CFR: What Trump’s Appointments Tell Us About His Asia Policy — Security is likely to take priority over trade tensions in a second Trump administration.
- POLITICO: The Japanese Tech Titan Who Came to Kiss Trump’s Ring — Masayoshi Son once acted as a bridge between the U.S. and China. Now he’s picked sides. Here’s why.
- AP: China and US partners are moving closer as Trump returns to the White House — China has long railed against Biden’s strategy of building partnerships with “like-minded countries” to counter its growing influence.
- MIT Technology Review: Opinion: There can be no winners in a US-China AI arms race — AI competition is not a zero-sum game. Instead, the world’s superpowers need to work together to make sure AI benefits humanity. By Alvin Wang Graylin and Paul Triolo.
- The Guardian: Opinion: China’s economic need and soft diplomacy spur about-face on visa-free entry — It was once a privilege afforded to only Singapore, Brunei and Japan but now travel rules have been relaxed for dozens of countries. But are many people coming? By Helen Davidson.