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 Ramps Up Support for Its Stock Markets — State-owned insurers and mutual funds are expected to play a pivotal role in the process of stabilizing the stock market.
- China Pushes Neighboring Countries to Rein In Scams After Rare Public Outcry — The abduction of a young Chinese actor, who was trafficked from Thailand to Myanmar, prompted an unusually powerful public-pressure campaign and official actions.
The Financial Times
- Record number of US companies weigh China exit as Trump tensions rise — Technology and R&D groups among most likely to consider relocation amid brewing trade conflict.
- Beijing tells insurers to buy more Chinese stocks — Equities rally as authorities set explicit investment targets for mutual funds and state-owned insurance companies.
- Polestar seeks new suppliers after US ban on Chinese software in EVs — Carmaker backed by China’s Geely maintains US growth strategy despite mounting uncertainty.
- Opinion: How to stop Donald Trump exporting trade wars — Distortions from US tariffs need not be disastrous. By Alan Beattie.
The New York Times
- How Chinese A.I. Start-Up DeepSeek Is Competing With Silicon Valley Giants — The company built a cheaper, competitive chatbot with fewer high-end computer chips than U.S. behemoths like Google and OpenAI, showing the limits of chip export control.
- Trumps Threatens Tariffs Feb. 1 on Canada, Mexico and China — The president said he will impose tariffs Feb. 1 on products from Canada, Mexico and China, countries that together account for more than a third of U.S. trade.
- Opinion: China Will Be Thrilled if Trump Kills America’s Green Economy — President Trump seems poised to roll back the very incentives that are reviving American manufacturing. By Jennifer Granholm.
- Opinion: Trump Is Already Making America Weaker and More Vulnerable — Favoring TikTok over national security, releasing rioters, undermining global health efforts — these actions put all of us at risk. By Nicholas Kristof.

Caixin
- Venture Capital in China Flounders as State Takes Over — Many in the industry believe that while GGFs have led to distortions in VC investments, such funds are here to stay.
- China Will Treat Foreign and Domestic Firms Equally, Vice Premier Tells Davos — Ding emphasized the importance of continued reform and opening up, listing it as one of the major trends that characterize the Chinese economy.
- Beijing’s Influence Could End Ukraine War, Finnish President Says — In response to a question from Caixin on Europe’s view of China’s role in resolving the crisis, Stubb said China is in “a strong position with Russia right now” that it can influence Russian President Vladimir Putin if the country chooses to be a peacemaker.
South China Morning Post
- China’s anti-spy agency urges travellers to protect state secrets during holiday trips — As Lunar New Year approaches, anti-espionage authority warns Chinese tourists that foreign agents could try to steal sensitive data.
- Salary caps spread in China’s finance sector amid ‘common prosperity’ drive — Some state-backed securities firms have already implemented annual pay caps for senior executives – and large banks, insurance firms and stock exchanges are next.
- Rising US-China tensions top concerns of American firms in China, US trade group finds — AmCham China survey, conducted in weeks before and after Trump’s election, finds concerns over deteriorating relations have not been this high since Trump’s first term.
- Opinion: How Hong Kong can ride the ‘China travel’ wave to boost tourism — Hong Kong and the mainland are seeing rises in foreign arrivals, and working together could drive the city’s tourism industry to new heights. By Ken Chu.
Nikkei Asia
- How Trump expects Xi to help end war in Ukraine — Beijing’s involvement can affect U.S.-China ties in new era.
- China loses spot as Germany’s top trade partner after 8 years — U.S. takes over following Berlin’s ‘shift in priorities’ on economic front.
- China’s $137bn Tibet dam plan triggers backlash: 5 things to know — Plans for world’s biggest hydropower project stoke environmental, security fears.
- More U.S. companies in China expect bilateral ties to turn sour — Survey shows firms’ profitability and interest in China fell.
- Opinion: Don’t be fooled by the calm before Trump’s trade storm with China — Zero-sum-game mercantilism has the president anxious to don his ‘Tariff Man’ cape. By William Pesek.
Bloomberg
- Rubio Slams Beijing Over South China Sea, Sparking Rebuke — Secretary of State Marco Rubio sparked a sharp rebuke from Beijing over his comments on the South China Sea in one of his first foreign policy statements since taking office.
- Trump Downplays Threat of China Using TikTok to Spy on Americans — President Donald Trump downplayed the national security risk posed by TikTok in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, days after offering the social video app a reprieve from legislation that would have forced it to shut down.
- Opinion: Trump the Peacemaker Faces Implausibly Long Odds — As he confronts Russia, China, North Korea and Iran, the president must understand what his adversaries have to lose. By Andreas Kluth.
Reuters
- ByteDance plans $20 billion capex in 2025, mostly on AI, sources say — The privately held technology giant plans to spend about half of the amount abroad on AI-related infrastructure, primarily data centres and networking equipment, they said.
- ‘De minimis’: the trade perk Trump may end as China tensions rise — Shipments claiming de minimis have soared more than 600% over the past decade to over 1 billion items in fiscal 2023, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
- Philippines to pick venue soon for second South China Sea case against Beijing — China was incensed by the 2016 arbitration case and has refused to recognise it, doubling down on its efforts to assert its sovereignty claim with an armada of coast guard and fishing militia.
Other Publications
- POLITICO: GOP China hawks mum as Trump throws TikTok a lifeline — Trump’s 75-day extension ignores a law passed with overwhelming bipartisan majorities.
- The Washington Post: How China is reacting to Trump amid tariff threats, TikTok bans — Beijing was steeling itself for a first-week assault from Donald Trump. That hasn’t happened — yet — so Chinese leaders are making nice and hoping to cut a deal.
- The Economist: Chinese AI is catching up, posing a dilemma for Donald Trump — The success of cheap Chinese models threatens America’s technological lead.
- Brookings: How will South Korea navigate US-China competition in 2025? — The anticipated intensification of U.S.-China competition under President Donald Trump, and political uncertainty following Yoon’s impeachment may portend a recalibration of Seoul’s relationship with Washington and Beijing.
- ChinaFile: Opinion: Can the U.S. Find a Balance between Scientific Openness and Security? — The real threat of Chinese espionage should not lead to wrongful persecution of Chinese scientists and students. By Yaqiu Wang.
- The Guardian: Trump says China is ‘operating’ the Panama Canal – here are the facts — The US president has singled out China during his complaints about the Panama Canal – so what influence does Beijing have?
- BBC: ‘I had anti-government views so they treated me for schizophrenia’ — While there have been reports for decades that hospitalisation is used in China as a way of detaining dissenting citizens without involving the courts, a leading Chinese lawyer has told the BBC that the issue has recently seen a resurgence.