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 Is Mapping the Seabed to Unlock a New Edge in Warfare — Beijing’s exploration of distant waters bring security fears and complaints.
- Walmart Gets an Earful From China Over Response to Trump Tariffs — Beijing, under economic pressure, seeks to help local factories facing requests to cut prices.
The Financial Times
- Taiwan revokes residency for Chinese TikTok influencer — Spouse of Taiwanese citizen had advocated for annexation by Beijing.
- The railway that China hopes will take on the US in Africa — Tazara project showcases Beijing’s leaner approach to overseas development just as western aid appears to retreat.
The New York Times
- U.S. Investigation Into Global Antidoping Agency Continues Under Trump — The World Anti-Doping Agency will report to its board that federal officials questioned one of its U.S. employees last month in the inquiry into the agency’s handling of positive tests by Chinese athletes.
- Chinese Warships Circle Australia and Leave It Feeling ‘Near-Naked’ — The unusual deployment by three navy ships over the past month has prompted a debate in Australia about its aging fleet and reliance on the United States.
Caixin
- China’s Regions Power Up AI and Robotics Innovation with Financial Incentives — Provinces set ambitious policies to become global leaders in intelligent automation.
- Why Individuals May Need to Shoulder More of China’s Social Insurance Burden — Funding benefits like pensions and health insurance has grown increasingly dependent on subsidies from already cash-strapped local governments.
South China Morning Post
- Trump is diving into crypto headfirst. Has China missed the boat? — China has kept unregulated digital currencies at arm’s length, but the U.S. is going all-in on crypto. Will this big bet give the U.S. dollar new life?
- Global banks see upside in Chinese stock rally as international capital ‘rotates’ in — ‘A short-term fluctuation doesn’t equal a pullback, and markets might go up if there are new catalysts,’ CICC Research analyst says.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s COSCO teams with Germany’s BLG to ship cars to Europe — Shipper looks to reduce mounting costs for Chinese EV makers.
Bloomberg
- As China’s Birth Rate Drops, Pampered Pets Reap the Benefits — With furry friends on track to outnumber toddlers 2 to 1 by 2030, the mainland is developing a $49 billion pet economy.
- China Piles the Pressure on India in Its Own Backyard — The Diego Garcia archipelago is now at the center of a wider push by the U.S. and India to counter China’s growing presence in the region.
Reuters
- Exclusive: Mercedes to develop smart cars for global markets with China’s Hesai lidar — The U.S. has intensified efforts to restrict the adoption of Chinese components and software solutions in vehicles developed by global automakers.
- Exclusive: TSMC pitched Intel foundry JV to Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom, sources say — At stake is the future of the U.S. chipmaking giant, whose shares have lost more than half of their value in the last year.
- Exclusive: Geely-backed Ecarx in talks with VW to develop smart cars for Europe, US, CEO says — The plan underscores growing efforts by Western automakers to leverage Chinese prowess in smart driving technologies to hold on to their global market share after sales declined sharply in China in recent years.
- China, Russia, Iran to hold nuclear talks in Beijing on Friday — Ties between Iran and Russia have deepened since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022. Both have good relations with China.
Other Publications
- The Economist: China’s AI boom is reaching astonishing proportions — What might derail it?
- The Information: Europe’s Banks, Unlike U.S. Rivals, Play With DeepSeek — European banks’ willingness to experiment with DeepSeek adds to pressure on AI leaders to compete with the Chinese upstart.
- Washington Post: Chinese naval modernization may be aided by foreign firms, report says — The striking growth of China’s shipbuilding industry — commercial and military — poses national security concerns for the United States, analysts say.
- Rest of World: How BYD undercuts Tesla around the world, by the numbers — BYD is more affordable than Tesla in at least 10 places outside the West.
- WIRED: Chinese Companies Rush to Put DeepSeek in Everything — From video game developers to a nuclear power plant, companies across China are adopting DeepSeek’s AI models to boost stock prices and flaunt their national pride.
- Brookings: Can China fill the void in foreign aid? — A careful examination of the nature, size, type, and motivation of China’s aid reveals the improbability of China replacing the U.S.
