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
- Pinduoduo to Invest More Than $13 Billion Over Three Years to Support Merchants — The Chinese bargain shopping platform plans to allocate over 100 billion yuan in capital, traffic and other resources to strengthen its e-commerce ecosystem and support merchants.
- China Says It Has Agreed to EV Tariffs Negotiations With EU — China’s commerce ministry has said that China and the European Union have agreed to restart negotiations on electric-vehicle tariffs, coming hot on the heels of Trump’s announcement of more tariffs.
- China Services Gauge Shows Acceleration in Activity Expansion — China’s services-sector activity expanded at a faster pace in March, thanks to improving demand boosted by government stimulus measures, according to a private survey.
- AppLovin and Amazon Emerge as TikTok Bidders Ahead of Trump’s Deadline — President Trump was briefed Wednesday on a framework to keep the video-sharing app operational.
The Financial Times
- Samsung turns to China to prop up ailing chip business — Deals with Chinese tech giant Baidu come as South Korean giant loses ground in US and navigates Washington’s curbs.
- Apple and other US tech groups hit as Trump targets suppliers — Shares in big retailers also tumble as they face turmoil in China and other manufacturing bases.
- White House close to approving sale of TikTok’s US unit to investors — Blackstone and Andreessen Horowitz among firms that would wrest control of social media site from China’s ByteDance.
- Opinion: AI race gives Washington another reason to be tough on TikTok — It is pouring US money into China’s artificial intelligence ecosystem. By Chris Miller.
The New York Times
- A Stunned World Reckons With Economic Fallout From Trump’s Tariffs — Not even America’s closest trading partners were spared by a policy broadside that spooked investors and left policymakers scrambling to formulate responses.
- China Will Face at Least 54 Percent Tariffs With Trump’s New Order — The 34 percent tariff announced on Wednesday is in addition to two rounds of import taxes the president already imposed since January.
- With Trump’s Tariffs, the Chasm Between Allies and the U.S. Widens — President Trump announced sweeping levies on countries across the world. The tariffs create a dilemma for longstanding friends — and an opportunity for foes.
- Trump’s New Tariffs Test Apple’s Global Supply Chain — The iPhone maker spent years trying to move production of some products out of China to avoid tariffs. But now that may not matter.
- Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy TikTok in the U.S. — The e-commerce giant put in a last-minute offer for the popular video app, according to three people familiar with the talks. TikTok faces a Saturday deadline to change its ownership structure.
Caixin
- Collapse of China’s LVMH-backed Luxury Gym Chain Leaves Members Stranded and Staff Unpaid — Failing of Will’s Fitness gym chain exposes fragility of prepayment-driven fitness industry.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese universities surpass US rivals in AI ranking – and then there is DeepSeek — Peking University has topped a major AI research output ranking, as China solidifies its challenge to America for AI dominance.
- China battles to stabilise yuan after Trump’s tariffs spark market upheaval — China’s central bank set the currency’s fixing rate at its lowest level since January, as regulators warned of market volatility.
- How Malaysia’s data centres became the engine powering China’s AI ambitions — China’s tech giants are rushing to build data centres in Malaysia, which offers cheap energy and access to cutting-edge chips.
- In a first for China’s Communist Party, Politburo members Li Ganjie and Shi Taifeng swap jobs — The heads of the party’s human resources and influence departments have switched positions.
- Opinion: China showcases its role as a stabilising force amid US turbulence — From the ‘two sessions’ to Boao Forum, Beijing is promoting tech independence, green innovation and support for developing nations. By Yasir Masood.
Nikkei Asia
- Mystery deepens over disappearances of Xi’s ‘trusted’ generals — The Chinese Communist Party’s latest leadership meeting provides some clues.
- China blasts Trump’s ‘bullying’ tariffs, vows countermeasures — Equal tariffs, yuan devaluation and mineral curbs seen as possible responses.
- U.S. revokes duty-free status for cheap China goods used by Shein, Temu — 30% duty rate for packages valued at $800 or less, or $25 per item.
Bloomberg
- US Tariffs Seen as Far Worse Shock to China Than First Trade War — Donald Trump’s latest tariff hikes threaten to inflict a bigger hit on China’s economy than it suffered during his first trade war.
- China Stocks Post Modest Losses as US Tariffs Spur Stimulus Bets — Chinese stocks registered moderate declines after the US hit nearly all of the nation’s products with a record tariff hike, cushioned by bets that Beijing will take more steps to shield the economy.
- TikTok Faces Fine Over €500 Million for EU Data Sent to China — Ireland’s data protection commission, the company’s main regulator in Europe, will issue the penalty against TikTok before the end of the month, according to people familiar with the matter.
Reuters
- Trump’s global tariffs hurt China with ‘all-round blockade’ — No other country comes close to matching China’s annual sales of more than $400 billion in goods to the United States each year. President Donald Trump just hiked tariffs by an extra 34 percentage points on those goods.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: China and India Haven’t Patched Things Up on the Border — Beijing seeks friendly ties with New Delhi—but only on nonnegotiable terms.
- The Atlantic: The Brewing Transatlantic Tech War — How Silicon Valley Got Entangled in Geopolitics—and Lost.
- AP: US bans government personnel in China from romantic or sexual relations with Chinese citizens — Four people with direct knowledge of the matter told the AP about the policy, which was put into effect by departing U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns in January shortly before he left China.
- The Economist: How America could end up making China great again — A big beautiful opportunity.
- The Information: Nvidia Faces Dilemma After Chinese Firms Rush to Order $16 Billion in New AI Chips — Chinese companies including ByteDance, Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings have placed at least $16 billion in orders for Nvidia’s H20 server chips.
- BBC: Are Trump’s Asia tariffs a ‘full-frontal assault’ on China? — China’s Commerce Ministry immediately called the move “a typical act of unilateral bullying” and pledged to take “resolute countermeasures to safeguard its rights and interests”.
