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
- The Self-Driving Truck Startup That Siphoned Trade Secrets to Chinese Companies — TuSimple shared with Beijing a best-in-class autonomous driving system—and became a prime example of Washington’s shortcomings in keeping critical technology in the U.S.
- Xiaomi Delivers Another Earnings Beat on Strong Phone, Car Sales — Sales of its smartphone business, the largest revenue driver, rose by 8.9%.
- China Turns to Consumers to Boost Growth, but Households Are Wary — Beijing has offered incentives to prod shoppers to spend more, but is reluctant to push a bigger shift away from manufacturing.
- China’s Industrial Profit Growth Accelerated in April — Industrial profit rose 3.0% from a year earlier in April.
- Shein Breaking EU Consumer Protection Rules, Watchdog Says — A Shein spokesperson said the company is working with national authorities and the commission to show its commitment to complying with EU laws.
- Meituan Profit Soars as Revenue Beats Estimates Despite Rising Competition — The stock has declined about 15% so far this year, underperforming its peers.
- Chinese Auto Stocks Fall on Fears of Fresh Price War — Analysts expect BYD’s peers to also offer discounts.
- U.S. Aims to Keep Chinese Navy Guessing With New Missile System — As China dominates swaths of the Pacific, the U.S. is looking for ways to push back. The Nmesis is a key part of that.
- Trump’s Trade War Sends Chill Through Southern California Port Economy — Declining shipments take a toll on dockworkers, truckers and Big Nick’s Pizza.
- The 90-Day Rush to Get Goods Out of China — American and Chinese firms are racing to clear a backlog of orders during a pause in trade war hostilities.
- The Fed Economist Accused of Espionage for Beijing — John Rogers voiced admiration for China before U.S. prosecutors alleged that he sent secrets to Beijing.
- Behind Xi’s Strongman Image, a Demanding Father Always Loyal to the Party — From harsh discipline to memorizing Mao, Xi Zhongxun shaped China’s powerful leader, a new biography recounts.
The Financial Times
- Chinese solar billionaire steps back as industry turmoil deepens — Leading players report successive quarterly losses amid overcapacity and falling prices.
- Chinese EV shares tumble as BYD sparks ‘rat race’ price war fears — Electric vehicle leader announces fresh round of price cuts for its models.
- China pushes for mergers to create global banking and securities giants — Sweeping consolidation expected to accelerate as Beijing tries to better equip institutions to weather crisis.
- China improves ability to launch sudden attack on Taiwan, officials say — Military build-up enables Beijing to switch from peacetime to war operations quickly.
- How Heineken tapped into China’s beer market — The country’s biggest brewer is using its Dutch partner to reach more of the growing premium segment.
- China’s ‘special forces’ tourists flock to Hong Kong but spend little — Cost-conscious day-trippers from mainland are replacing luxury shoppers, hitting the retail sector.
- Opinion: Don’t underestimate the Chinese consumer — Reforms, urbanisation and demographic shifts could all sustainably boost domestic spending. By Tej Parikh.
- Opinion: Xi’s history shapes China’s diplomatic strategy — The Chinese leader doesn’t want a negotiated settlement. He wants a long war of resistance. By Lizzi Lee.
The New York Times
- Trump’s China Tariffs Are Having a ‘Massive Impact’ on Small Business — A small Vermont business that sells water bottles used by cyclists and others is struggling to adapt to President Trump’s tariffs even after they were temporarily lowered.
- Trump’s Plan to Revive US Shipbuilding Would Take Billions and Many Years — President Trump and members of Congress want to revive U.S. shipbuilding with subsidies and penalties against Chinese-built ships. But there are obstacles.
- China’s Soft Spot in Trade War With Trump: Risk of Huge Job Loss — A chronic housing slowdown and high youth unemployment rate have made China more vulnerable than it was in President Trump’s first term.
- Trump’s Tariffs and Tax Bill May Derail U.S. Battery Industry — Domestic factories that make batteries to store power to meet America’s rising energy demand depend on Chinese components and federal subsidies.
- What’s Trump’s Vision on China, Russia and the World? — President Trump’s recent actions and statements suggest he might want an arrangement where the United States, China and Russia each dominate their sphere of influence.
- Plastic Spoons, Umbrellas, Violins: A Guide to What Americans Buy From China — The things the U.S. imports a lot, the things it doesn’t and everything in between.
- How China Stands in the Way of a U.S.-Vietnam Trade Deal — Among dozens of countries that were hit with steep tariffs, Vietnam was among the most publicly willing to meet the demands of the Trump administration. But China is a sticking point.
- Why Making an iPhone in the U.S. Would Be So Difficult — Apple has resisted pressure to make its most important product in the United States since 2016, and instead has moved some production to India.
Caixin
- China Stresses Soon-to-Launch National Digital ID Will Be Voluntary — Experts cautioned the system could become mandatory in practice, posing a risk to privacy, if required by government departments and key industries.
- Strong First Quarter Shows Promise of China’s Robotaxi Business — Industry leaders including Pony AI and WeRide report falling costs and higher sales, with an improved domestic policy environment and overseas expansion driving growth.
- Why the Economy Is Key to Calming Online Rage in China — The frequent eruption of furious online scandals in China stems from a deeper societal disappointment in the progress of common prosperity.
- Trump’s Industrial Revival Plan Faces Hurdles, Including His Policies — Shifting tariffs and retreat from Biden-era CHIPS subsidies complicate strategy.
- State-Backed Chip and Server Firms to Merge Amid Self-Reliance Drive — The merger seeks to pool resources to fund R&D and reduce reliance on foreign technology.
South China Morning Post
- The problems with China’s efforts to patch things up with Europe: ‘there are limits’ — They may be stuck in a stalemate, with Beijing unlikely to yield on demands to intervene in Russia’s war on Ukraine or change economic model.
- On this Chinese island, patients are trying latest experimental drugs for cancer — A medical revolution quietly unfolds on Hainan, allowing patients to access cutting-edge therapies before they hit the market.
- Time for China’s belt and road partners to pony up as debt comes due, think tank finds — Report by Lowy Institute finds that China has shifted from a net capital provider to developing countries to their biggest debt collector.
- China’s mega bridges: build smarter, build higher, build where others won’t dare — Chinese engineering smashes world records while creating some of the world’s longest and most impressive bridges.
- China’s corruption busters eye key tech sectors as Beijing gears up to challenge US — Crackdown on the big data industry’s heartland in Guizhou may be a mark of the importance the central government places on the sector.
Nikkei Asia
- China tariffs will push up US prices in coming weeks, manufacturers warn — Trump’s trade war hits makers of goods ranging from clothing to highchairs.
- ASEAN tilts toward China and Gulf states as Trump tariffs bite — First trilateral summit to launch task force on trade, investment.
- China chipmaker Hygon, server maker Sugon agree to merger — Move comes as Beijing races to boost domestic supply amid growing US tensions.
- CK Hutchison navigates rough waters in sale of Panama Canal ports — Hong Kong group tries to move forward without angering Beijing or Washington.
- Opinion: China must rein in overcapacity to avoid a global backlash — The path forward lies not in fueling new rivalries, but in forging a sustainable, shared prosperity. By Yoosuk Kim.
Bloomberg
- Tax Bill to End US Reliance on China Solar Will Slow Green Shift — A massive tax-and-spending bill passed by the House of Representatives last week marks the culmination of nearly two decades of efforts to decisively wean the US off cheap Chinese solar panels.
- Xi Mulls New Made-in-China Plan Despite US Call to Rebalance — President Xi Jinping’s government is considering a new version of its master plan to boost production of high-end technological goods, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Malaysia Stirs ‘Hotpot Diplomacy’ With Palm-Based Fat for China — Malaysia is seeking to expand its palm oil market in China by offering a plant-based alternative for use in mala hotpot.
- Opinion: China Wins in the Clouds But Loses on Earth — Despite Beijing’s strength in AI and aerial weaponry, it’s starting to lag behind the US in rare earths and real estate. By Tobin Harshaw.
- Opinion: China Has Special Access to Rare Earths — From Myanmar — Allowing warlords to funnel critical minerals straight to Beijing is not in the world’s interest. By Mihir Sharma.
Reuters
- Chinese savers decry falling deposit rates but still won’t spend more — Successive cuts to deposit rates in recent years have failed to curb explosive growth in Chinese household savings, intensifying concerns over the side-effects that lower returns have on the country’s consumers.
- Stimulus helps drive China’s industrial profits as trade risks loom large — U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to single China out in his global trade war has stirred significant worries about an economy that has been reliant on an export-led recovery to drive momentum.
- Nvidia to launch cheaper Blackwell AI chip for China after US export curbs, sources say — The GPU or graphics processing unit will be part of Nvidia’s latest generation Blackwell-architecture AI processors and is expected to be priced between $6,500 and $8,000.
- Mining giant puts new spin on China resource push — The People’s Republic is resource-hungry, and Zijin’s overseas spending spree helps Beijing’s strategy to secure self-reliance in critical minerals.
- Long advantageous, Harvard’s China ties become a political liability — Initiatives include research partnerships and training provided to a U.S.-sanctioned Xinjiang group.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: How China Captured Apple — A giant firm and a superpower have become deeply entangled.
- Foreign Affairs: The Case for a Pacific Defense Pact — America Needs a New Asian Alliance to Counter China.
- BBC: Tensions rise as superpowers scrap for a piece of the Arctic — China might not instinctively spring to mind when you think about the Arctic – but it’s determined to be a big Arctic player.
