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
- Beijing’s ‘Made in China’ Plan Is Narrowing Tech Gap, Study Finds — Xi industrial strategy criticized by U.S. unleashes enormous state support to increase competitiveness with West.
- How Images of the Dalai Lama’s Hands, Feet Landed a Tibetan Woman in China’s Dragnet — The rare account of the woman who escaped from Tibet sheds new light on China’s harsh policies aimed at bringing the region to heel.
- Philips Cuts Earnings Margin Target On China-U.S. Trade War — First-quarter sales fell, mainly due to lower demand in China and royalties phasing.
- CATL Files Initial Prospectus for Hong Kong Listing — Analysts say the fundraising could be the largest since ByteDance rival Kuaishou Technology’s $5.4 billion initial public offering in 2021.
- China Services Sector Gauge Slips to Seven-Month Low Amid Trade Spat — The Caixin services purchasing managers index dropped to 50.7 in April from 51.9 in March.
The Financial Times
- Mattel quickens effort to move production from China as tariffs hit toys — Maker of Barbie dolls warns of potential price increases for US shoppers and suspends financial guidance for 2025.
- ‘Made in China’ airliner faces trade turbulence — C919 jet’s reliance on U.S. suppliers puts at risk China’s ambitions to take on Boeing and Airbus.
- China’s diplomatic charm offensive — Leaders are touring the world both to push back against U.S. influence and also to shore up its export markets as its trade surplus rises.
- Chinese exporters undervalue cargo to skirt Trump tariffs — Suppliers to small U.S. businesses claim to reduce costs of duties in fraud that is difficult to police.
- Opinion: No quick fix for trade rift between China and U.S. — A deal could lower tariffs’ current prohibitive levels but they will still probably be meaningfully higher than at the start of the year. By Chetan Ahya.
- Opinion: China will not be a big winner from Trump’s policies in Latin America — Region has little appetite and little chance of boosting links with Beijing further. By Michael Stott.
The New York Times
- How Trump’s Closing a Tariff Loophole Will Hurt UPS and FedEx — President Trump has ended a tariff loophole that generated lots of business for delivery companies shipping inexpensive goods from China to the U.S.
- Opinion: Xi Can’t Trust His Own Military — An unending purge in China’s top military ranks raises serious questions over the country’s readiness for offensive war. By Phillip C. Saunders and Joel Wuthnow.
Caixin
- China’s New Economy Industries Slow as Capital Inputs Dwindle — Caixin BBD New Economy Index came in at 33.1 in April, the lowest since October.
- Foreign Travelers to China Jump in Wake of Visa Waivers, Bigger Tax Refunds — The Labor Day holiday drew a 43% increase in trips made by foreigners, following government policies to encourage shopping and travel.
- China Breaks Ground on Key Rail Tunnels in Central Asia — Construction begins on long-delayed China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan line as urgency grows for alternative freight routes to Europe.
South China Morning Post
- China’s dying EV batteries, solar cells are powering a circular economy in new-energy era — Recycling critical materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel are driving profits and shoring up China’s resource security as trade war with U.S. hits supply chains.
- China on African charm offensive to rally opposition to ‘bullying’ U.S. — While Trump targets critical minerals and specific nations, China expands influence through bilateral and multilateral engagement.
- China’s biggest trade fair breaks records despite U.S. tariffs — Canton Fair’s strong overseas attendance figures surprised exhibitors and analysts, but transaction volume failed to beat pre-pandemic heights.
Nikkei Asia
- Alibaba’s Qwen is foundation for more and more Japanese AI models — Company’s latest version beats Chinese peer DeepSeek in Nikkei ranking.
- Ford warns of industry vulnerability to China rare-earth restrictions — U.S. automaker withdraws annual earnings guidance due to Trump tariff uncertainties.
- Under China’s shadow, Germany aims to build EU lithium supply chain — Vulcan Energy to begin production of EV battery material to cut Chinese dependence.
- China’s Xiaomi opens first physical stores in Japan, targeting families — New outlets sell smart home appliances; Oppo makes play for TV market.
Bloomberg
- One Ship, $417 Million in New Tariffs: The Cost of Trump’s Trade War — A closer look at the Chinese cargo aboard the an LA-bound ship highlights the wide-ranging impact of Trump’s trade war with the world’s second-largest economy.
- China’s Firm Hand Restores Calm After Asia’s Wild Currency Moves — China signaled it’s not ready to let the yuan strengthen dramatically against the dollar, helping restore calm to Asia’s foreign-exchange market.
Reuters
- Chinese holiday spending inches up but trade war weighs on services — Consumption has suffered amid sputtering growth and a prolonged property crisis, and the fallout from the U.S.-China trade war is set to deepen the pain.
Other Publications
- The Economist: How China is still getting its hands on Nvidia’s gear — Inside the shadowy business of AI-chip smuggling.
- WIRED: Shein Bet Big on Donald Trump. It Lost Big, Too — The fast-fashion giant launched an elaborate PR campaign in Washington, hiring at least three high-ranking Trump officials. But it wasn’t enough to save Shein from Trump’s tariffs.
- The Washington Post: Opinion: How the trade war endangers national security — When China stops exporting rare earths and magnets, American military readiness suffers. By The Editorial Board.
- CFR: Why Didn’t Tariffs Push up the U.S. Dollar? — Tariffs were supposed to push the dollar up, Brad Setser writes. What happened?
- Brookings: Xi Jinping’s Moscow visit highlights China’s strategic vulnerabilities — Between Western skepticism and Russian hedging, China’s global ambitions are under strain.
- CSIS: China’s Blockchain Playbook: Infrastructure, Influence, and the New Digital Order — Chinese entities dominate global blockchain innovation, filing over 90% of all blockchain-related patents in 2023.
