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
- Chinese Jets Tail Japanese Air Patrol in Close Encounter — Fighters from China aircraft carrier followed aircraft at close range, risking accident, Japan says.
- Supply Chains Become New Battleground in the Global Trade War — U.S.-China talks on trade resemble arms-control negotiations, with export controls the key weapons in each side’s arsenal.
- China Puts Six-Month Limit on Its Ease of Rare-Earth Export Licenses — Tentative deal reached in London gives Beijing leverage in trade talks.
- China’s Lock on Rare Earths Dictated Path Toward Trade Truce — Control of minerals used in electronics gives Beijing powerful leverage in trade dispute with Trump.
- Trump Says Deal Restoring China Trade Truce Is Done — President says ‘full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China’ as part of the deal.
- Opinion: Trump Has No China Trade Strategy — Washington and Beijing stage a tactical retreat that shows China’s leverage. The Editorial Board.
- Opinion: Chinese Spyware, Only $6.99 — Nebraska sues Temu for siphoning sensitive data from Americans. By The Editorial Board.
The Financial Times
- Chinese carmaker Xpeng develops advanced chips for VW cars — EV group claims its self-designed Turing processors outperform those of US semiconductor leader Nvidia.
- BYD brings EV price wars to small cars in Europe — EU tariffs may limit discounting but Chinese carmakers will appeal to consumers with advanced technology.
- China demands sensitive information for rare earth exports, companies warn — Extensive licensing requirements raise concerns about intellectual property theft.
- Pentagon launches review of Aukus nuclear submarine deal — Ending the pact would be a blow to security alliance with Australia and UK.
- EU targets Chinese banks over Russian trade links — Proposed sanctions would be the first time Brussels has moved against third-country lenders supporting Moscow.
- Opinion: How China beat Trump before the trade battle even started — Beijing has used rare earth controls to win the first skirmishes in the war over commerce. By Alan Beattie.
- Opinion: Trump’s message to Asian students will hurt US universities — Trump’s policies risk making it harder for institutions to compete against international rivals. By June Yoon.
The New York Times
- Japan Says Chinese Fighter Jet Flew Too Close to Its Military Plane — The maneuvers over international waters in the Pacific last weekend prompted Japanese officials to warn China not to repeat them and risk a collision.
- The Art of the Stall: China’s Strategy for Dealing With Trump — Beijing has gained time to build up its own strengths by drawing out negotiations with the United States, using its chokehold over critical minerals.
- How Washington Has Tried to Control China’s Tech — Under three presidential administrations, officials in Washington have used export controls to hold back China’s access to advanced technology.
- U.S. Reviewing Aukus Submarine Deal With Australia, Britain — The 2021 pact, meant to help counter China’s ambitions in the Asia Pacific, will be examined to ensure that it meets “America First criteria,” a U.S. official said.
- New China Trade ‘Deal’ Takes U.S. Back to Where It Started — If a handshake agreement holds, it would merely undo some of the damage from the trade war that President Trump started.
Caixin
- Global Student Flows are Changing as Chinese Families Seek Better Value — Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia rise as cost-effective contenders to Western universities amid shifting student priorities.
- Trump’s Tariff Flip-Flopping Has Chinese Exporters Hedging Their Bets — Some foreign trade companies are stockpiling inventory, freezing new orders or shifting production to less-affected regions like Southeast Asia.
- Cash-Strapped Vanke Dumps Repurchased Shares at 62% Discount to Raise Funds — Vanke intends to sell 51 million repurchased A shares gradually to avoid shocking market.
- China Defends Panama’s Sovereignty Amid Scrutiny of Li Ka-shing’s Global Ports Sale — China’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said it firmly supports Panama as an independent, sovereign state and emphasized its opposition to economic coercion.
- Opinion: In a Post-Tariff World, China Should Make Unshackling Investment a Bigger Priority — China should adapt its mode of global economic engagement, moving from a trade-centric approach to one that equally prioritizes investment. By Tu Xinquan.
South China Morning Post
- China to remove tariffs on nearly all goods from Africa as both criticise US trade moves — Plan expands on policy announced last year granting 33 least-developed African countries zero-tariff treatment.
- China’s photonic chip debut to power AI, 6G and quantum computing advances, expert says — TFLN wafer line is well-positioned for aggressive push into cloud and supercomputing, AI model training and inference, expert says.
- US Treasury chief slams ‘unreliable’ China at House hearing on Trump trade policy — His claim Beijing has ‘most unbalanced economy in the history of the world’ fails to sway Democrats’ scepticism over administration’s ‘whims’.
- China’s PLA Daily slams US Golden Dome missile defence plan, warns of space arms race — Plan ‘reveals dangerous trends such as the US Space Force’s attempts to develop offensive capabilities’, official military newspaper says.
- Opinion: Why China remains world’s best chance for peace in Ukraine — With its diplomatic access and record of engagement with all parties, China could be the ingredient required to bring peace in our time. By Wang Huiyao.
Nikkei Asia
- Xi Jinping’s generals face a treacherous political battlefield — The fate of one missing officer was confirmed at his predecessor’s funeral.
- Tesla faces uphill battle in China as Trump-Musk dust settles — Rift could make billionaire less useful to Beijing but SpaceX tech holds allure.
- Opinion: The new US-China dance — A Rubicon has been crossed, and the world is no longer big enough for both superpowers. By Abishur Prakash.
Bloomberg
- Why Rare Earths Are China’s Trump Card in Trade War With US — Rare earths are among the most critical raw materials on the planet, embedded in the technologies that underpin modern life. Few people have heard of them or know what they do.
- Ant International Seeks Stablecoin Permits in Hong Kong, Singapore — Jack Ma-backed Ant Group Co.’s international unit is planning to apply for stablecoin licenses in Singapore and Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter.
- EU Mulls Sanctioning Two Small China Banks for Russia Trade — The European Union has proposed sanctioning two small Chinese banks for helping Russia get around the bloc’s existing trade restrictions, according to documents seen by Bloomberg.
- Tencent Said to Study Deal for $15 Billion Game Developer Nexon — Tencent is studying a potential deal for Nexon Co., as the Chinese internet giant looks for ways to bolster its lucrative gaming operations, people with knowledge of the matter said.
- Opinion: The China Trade Deal Can’t Go Soft on Chips — Ending the tariff war may be important, but Trump shouldn’t negotiate away one of America’s most important controls. By Hal Brands.
Reuters
- China-backed militia secures control of new rare earth mines in Myanmar — In the hillsides of Shan state in eastern Myanmar, Chinese miners are opening new deposits for extraction, according to two of the sources, both of whom work at one of the mines.
- Synopsys restarts some China services, sales of core tools still blocked, source says — Synopsys resumed some services last week, however, including sales of non-core hardware and intellectual property that allow it to serve some existing clients.
- French cognac makers offer China minimum import prices to fend off tariffs — The prices are part of efforts to avoid permanent tariffs of up to 39% amid negotiations with China’s commerce ministry, which has opened an anti-dumping investigation.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: A Smuggled Pathogen Raises Specter of Chinese Agroterrorism — The FBI says Chinese scientists may have targeted the U.S. food supply.
- Foreign Policy: U.S. and China De-escalate Supply Chain War—for Now — This will give factories a temporary reprieve, but both sides could still leverage economic chokepoints in the future absent a larger deal.
- The Economist: China’s “low-altitude economy” is taking off — The authorities have found a new industry they want Chinese firms to dominate.
- The Economist: China’s booze business looks smashed — First terrified officials went off the lash; now young people are going dry.
- Rest of World: The global stakes of the U.S.-China AI rivalry — A focus on “who’s winning the AI race” can overlook key concerns around safety, governance, and equity, experts tell Rest of World.
- CNAS: Countering AI Chip Smuggling Has Become a National Security Priority — An Updated Playbook for Preventing AI Chip Smuggling to the PRC.
