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
- China Bets Trump Will Back Down on Tariffs — Chinese officials call for full repeal of levies and dismiss suggestions that trade talks with Washington have begun.
- Xi Is Ratcheting Up China’s Pain Threshold for a Long Fight With Trump — Censorship and surveillance have helped keep the Communist Party in control and are getting stronger.
- For Baby Strollers, There’s No Way Around China Tariffs — China makes a huge share of U.S. strollers, cribs and toys, with few other options for sourcing baby products elsewhere.
- U.S. Farmers Face Steep Drop in China’s Soybean and Pork Buying — Purchases of U.S. pork by China this week are off 72% from the prior week.
- China Aims to Step Up Policy Support Amid Trade Uncertainty — Beijing also pledges to maintain a stable and active capital market.
- BYD First-Quarter Profit Doubled on Strong EV Sales — Healthy demand for its cars in China and overseas drove its revenue 36% higher.
The Financial Times
- Engine maker Safran says China is exempting aerospace parts from tariffs — Company CEO says deliveries of engines and other parts are being let in without import taxes.
- China grants some tariff exemptions for US imports as trade war bites — Sign of relief for foreign businesses comes as Donald Trump insists talks are under way to reduce levies.
- ADRessing the dragon in the room — Delisting dangers.
- Baidu founder highlights ‘shrinking’ demand for DeepSeek’s text-based AI — Search group’s chief makes rare criticism of China’s generative artificial intelligence darling.
- Apple aims to source all U.S. iPhones from India in pivot away from China — FT Exclusive: Tech giant plans to shift assembly as soon as next year in response to Donald Trump’s trade war.
The New York Times
- Will Cars, Phones and Other Goods Be Too Big to Tariff? — Washington and Beijing increasingly look likely to de-escalate their trade war. But the economic damage and ongoing uncertainty may persist for a while.
- Markets Rise on Hints of Easing Trade Tensions — Stocks were pointing toward a fourth straight positive trading session.
Caixin
- Race Is on to Design a New Breed of Battery to Power China’s Fleet of Flying Cars — China’s eVTOL fleet needs more powerful batteries if the low-altitude economy is to take off.
- Mapping the U.S. Tariff Shock on Chinese Manufacturing — From exports to jobs, a look at which Chinese industries are most reliant on the U.S. market as tariffs bite.
South China Morning Post
- Why Reed Bank could be the next flashpoint for South China Sea tensions — Resource-rich area is likely to become hotspot for Beijing and Manila, but business and politics could delay a clash, analysts say.
- China-born scientist Wang Jianping forged a rare-earth-free magnet. Will it help the West? — The race is on to commercialise technology that could overcome China’s dominance of the supply of critical minerals.
- China to fund Kenyan road and rail schemes as it seeks support in opposing Trump tariffs — President Xi Jinping promises to fund a number of projects in a meeting with his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto in Beijing.
- Multinationals vow big China investments, defying tariffs and bucking wait-and-see trend — A US$2 billion deal between Toyota and Shanghai shows how foreign direct investment is still finding its way to China despite trade war with the U.S.
Nikkei Asia
- Temu, Shein kick off price hikes as Trump hits China e-tailer model — Platforms’ ad spending plunges as they seek clarity on trade war direction.
- China weighs excluding some U.S. products from trade war tariffs — AmCham says members asked about vital imports; Beijing Politburo offers no new stimulus.
Bloomberg
- The Wild and Wonderful New Cars on Show in China Right Now — A range of wild and wonderful marques were on display at China’s premier automotive event.
Reuters
- Air India in talks with Boeing to take 10 planes snubbed by Chinese airlines, sources say — Any difference in jet configuration between Air India’s fleet and the incoming planes meant for Chinese customers may be factored into price negotiations, a source said.
Other Publications
- TIME: Exclusive: Inside Trump’s First 100 Days — Trump says China’s President Xi Jinping has called him, and that his administration is in active talks with the Chinese to strike a deal.
- Foreign Policy: Trump Can’t Force a Global Decoupling From China — If the goal of his trade war is a coalition against Beijing, it will backfire in three ways.
- CFR: As Beijing Tightens Its Grip, Hong Kong’s Democratic Party Dissolves Itself — This marks a milestone in Beijing’s efforts to push Hong Kong toward illiberal rule.
