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
- China’s ‘Cash-for-Clunkers’ Underlines Need for Structural Reform — A major shopping holiday—“618” —is around the corner.
- AstraZeneca Enters Deal With CSPC Pharma Valued at Up to $5.33 Billion — The collaboration boosts AstraZeneca’s presence in China.
- Chinese AC & Heat Tech Company Plans $1 Billion IPO in Hong Kong — The company has entered into cornerstone investor agreements for as much as 57.7% of the shares on offer.
- Chinese AI Companies Dodge U.S. Chip Curbs by Flying Suitcases of Hard Drives Abroad — Engineers carry data to countries where Nvidia chips are available, frustrating Washington’s aims.
The Financial Times
- Vietnam risks being the trade war’s biggest loser. Does it have a plan B? — The south-east Asian country benefited hugely from US-China tensions, but the Trump tariffs strike at the heart of its economy.
- China delays approval of $35bn US chip merger amid Trump’s trade war — Beijing’s antitrust regulator postpones sign-off on Synopsys and Ansys deal.
- China’s car industry runs on empty as supply chain bills go unpaid — Beijing has acted to ease stresses of a damaging price war with carmakers pressed to settle invoices within 60 days.
- Chinese carmaker Xpeng develops advanced chips for VW cars — EV group claims its self-designed Turing processors outperform those of US semiconductor leader Nvidia.
- Opinion: How my views on Hong Kong’s future have evolved — While governance problems and linkages to weak mainland economy persist, its financial sector has benefited from US-China tensions. By Stephen Roach.
The New York Times
- Chinese Labor Rights Group Led by Former Tiananmen Protest Leader Closes — The China Labor Bulletin, founded by Han Dongfang, tracked factory closures and worker protests in China. It cited financial difficulties for its dissolution.
Caixin
- As China Pursues Carbon Goals, Coal Heartland Faces Uphill Struggle — Reaching China’s “dual carbon” goals — peaking emissions by 2030 and hitting neutrality by 2060 — will be a challenge for every part of the country.
- Beijing Gives Magnet-Maker Green Light to Export Rare Earths to U.S. — The announcement cheered the markets, with a bevy of related stocks rising by double digits.
- Western Degrees Lose Their Cachet as Chinese Returnees Face Harsh Job Market — Overseas Chinese graduates are coming home as geopolitical tensions and layoffs in key industries dim job prospects in the U.S.
South China Morning Post
- China warns of fallout from Israel’s strikes on Iran – and eyes role in easing crisis — Beijing voices ‘grave concern’ over Israel’s attacks, while analysts say future of conflict depends on how the US and China intervene.
- Crypto, China, critical minerals to top Pakistan army chief’s US visit agenda: analysts — South Asian country’s most powerful figure seeks bilateral reset after armed conflict with India and as US concern rises over its China ties.
- South China Sea needs US-China ‘security talks mechanism’ to prevent conflict: think tank — Big power rivalry in strategic waters still ‘manageable’ but likely to be prolonged structurally, Beijing-based Grandview Institution says.
- Huawei’s HarmonyOS gains traction in China with 103 million smartphones shipped — Nearly half of smartphones and tablets running the Chinese tech giant’s Android alternative were shipped in 2024.
- Opinion: Trump cannot hope to solve a China ‘problem’ he has misdiagnosed — The US president fails to grasp that a rising China is a new question to answer, not an old mistake to correct. By Terry Su.
Nikkei Asia
- AI robots will narrow China’s GDP gap with the US, says think tank — JCER expects trend to flip after 2057 as populations decline at different rates.
- China’s single moms win more acceptance as birthrate worries mount — Official insistence on marriage before motherhood begins to fade.
- Opinion: Ukraine’s audacious asymmetric attack on Russia inspires Taiwan — Drones, AI-driven strikes offer clues for Taipei’s offensive strategy vs. China. By Derek Grossman.
Bloomberg
- Chinese Firms in Talks to Join Group for Li Ka-Shing’s Ports — China’s largest shipping company is among the firms in talks to invest in a multinational consortium seeking to buy ports in an effort to ease Beijing’s concerns over the controversial deal.
- China Forced to Keep Unprofitable Firms Alive to Save Jobs and Avoid Unrest — Saddled with the most loss-making industrial companies since 2001, Xi Jinping is trying to clean up his economy without triggering mass layoffs.
- US Says Export Controls to Keep Huawei AI Output Limited in 2025 — Commerce Under Secretary Kessler argued for increased funding for export controls programs, including a more than doubling for enforcement, to counter China’s tech advances.
- Hong Kong Bets the Future on a Vast Tech Zone by China’s Border — Northern Metropolis could align the city even more with the mainland, at a time when its finance and property sectors are faltering.
- Opinion: Why Is Huawei Downplaying Its Chips? — High praise from Nvidia’s CEO aside, homegrown AI hardware in China is at a crossroads. By Catherine Thorbecke.
Reuters
- China solar industry to address overcapacity challenge but turnaround far off — Losses in the photovoltaic manufacturing value chain reached $40 billion last year, while for the industry as a whole, totalled $60 billion, Trina Solar Chairman Gao Jifan said.
- China says Taiwan politicising cable damage issue, after ship’s captain jailed — A Taiwanese court sentenced the captain of the Togo-flagged ship to 3 years in jail after finding him guilty of intentionally damaging undersea cables off the island in February.
- China issues draft guidance on transfer of car-generated data — The industry ministry detailed different scenarios where it may or may not require security assessments for companies seeking to transfer data abroad.
Other Publications
- Foreign Affairs: What If China Wins the AI Race? — America Should Aim for Victory but Prepare to Finish Second.
- Foreign Policy: Trump Will Lose the Trade War — Multifront conflicts have never ended well for the countries that provoked them.
- POLITICO: Trump wanted ‘90 deals in 90 days.’ Instead, he’s finding wins where he can. — The president’s celebratory tone on his China “deal” belies the uncomfortable reality that he has made little tangible progress since this spring’s tariff spree.
- The Washington Post: Opinion: Trump miscalculated on China. Now the administration is trying to fix the mess. — The two nations have a chance for a reset. But both must recognize they remain mutually dependent. By The Editorial Board.
- The Economist: If China invaded Taiwan, who would enter the war? — Japan and the Philippines would struggle to stay out. But what about the rest?
- The Economist: Bride prices are surging in China — Why is the government struggling to curb them?
- CSIS: Building a New Market to Counter Chinese Mineral Market Manipulation — Chinese companies have been flooding the market with excess supply, driving prices down to levels that force mines in countries like the U.S. and Australia to shut down.
- The Guardian: New Zealand PM to meet Xi Jinping as former leaders warn against becoming an ‘adversary’ of China — Christopher Luxon’s visit to Beijing comes as former NZ PMs warn the country must not become part of defence arrangements ‘explicitly aimed at China’.
