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 Xi Gives Up Air Miles for More Time at Home — The peripatetic statesman has scaled back travel plans and skipped some key summits, but continues active diplomacy—as a host.
- U.S. Says Government Employee Blocked from Leaving China — Exit ban on U.S. Patent and Trademark Office official comes after China confirmed similar restrictions on Wells Fargo banker.
- How China Curbed Its Oil Addiction—and Blunted a U.S. Pressure Point — Government boosts domestic production and EV industry in the name of national security; 14 million chargers.
The Financial Times
- Global pharma companies do record deals with Chinese biotechs — Drugmakers increasingly rely on medicines made in China even as the country faces Trump’s tariffs.
- BYD executive labels UK EV subsidies ‘stupid’ as carmaker expands — Company EVP Stella Li pledges to create more than 5,000 jobs in Britain through dealerships by 2026.
- Trump left a power vacuum at the UN. China saw an opportunity — Beijing makes concerted effort to place officials and push its agenda in Geneva, say western diplomats.
- Taiwan’s once-dominant KMT falls ‘out of step’ with the electorate — Party that has failed three times to win presidency since 2016 faces reckoning over its ties to China in looming recall vote.
The New York Times
- China’s Problem With Competition: There’s Too Much of It — The Chinese government is taking steps to rein in what it calls “involution,” or excessive competition that is hurting local companies and fueling the country’s deflationary spiral.
- Chinese Officers Questioned U.S. Government Employee About His Army Service — The man, a U.S. citizen, is barred from leaving China by the Ministry of State Security, the country’s main intelligence and counterintelligence agency.
- Opinion: Trump Wants to Put America First. He Has No Idea How. — Usually, the U.S. faces a trade-off between cooperating and competing with China, but by announcing huge tariffs, he managed to damage prospects for cooperation and competition alike. By Stephen Wertheim.
Caixin
- Chinese Investors Face 20% Tax Bill on Offshore Trading Profits — Existing legal obligation to be enforced amid Beijing’s push to strengthen tax collection.
- Dozens of Officials Probed in Kindergarten Lead-Poisoning Scandal — The director and investor of a Gansu province kindergarten colluded to use toxic pigments to make their food appear more vibrant in an effort to attract parents of prospective students.
- Opinion: China’s Drive to Slash Red Tape — The move represents Beijing’s latest attempt to improve its business climate for global businesses and investors and boost confidence amid economic headwinds. By Caixin.
South China Morning Post
- China unveils next-gen high-speed rail tech as US puts brakes on bullet train funding — China’s CR450 train is being prepared for 400km/h commercial operation trials with the help of a newly developed material.
- Argentina eases visa requirements for Chinese nationals in new overture to Beijing — Move comes as President Milei seeks to shift foreign policy amid delayed US trade talks.
- China showcases full spectrum of drone technology in ‘border control’ exercise — Simulation features latest OW-5 anti-laser weapon, special combat tactical devices and full range of Norinco’s Flying Dragon series.
- Chinese officials not amused by women’s humour in popular online stand-up shows — Zhejiang officials hope ‘rising stand-up comedy scene can become more rational and profound, with less division and more understanding’.
- Opinion: As China and India perform a balancing act, is a breakthrough possible? — Unless substantive progress is made on core security and trade issues, symbolic gestures will have a limited impact. By Aparna Divya.
Nikkei Asia
- China urged Astellas employee to take plea bargain on spy charge — Japanese national risked longer jail term without confession.
- Women power China’s $1bn romance gaming market — Fewer taboos for female gamers lead to hits like Love and Deepspace.
- EV magnets by Japan’s Proterial do not need heavy rare-earth metals — Technology could help stabilize supply chains amid Chinese export curbs.
Bloomberg
- BlackRock Restricts Use of Company Devices for China Travel — BlackRock Inc. has told staff traveling to China for business trips to use temporary loaner phones and not to bring company laptops, underscoring growing concern among some global firms about employees working there.
- EU Expects Little From China Summit , Eyes Deeper Japan Ties — European leaders will meet their Japanese and Chinese counterparts this week, with high expectations for better defense and trade cooperation with Tokyo contrasting sharply with limited hopes for discussions in Beijing.
- Bessent Says China Talks Could Include Its Russia, Iran Oil Purchases — The next round of US- China talks could include a discussion of China’s purchases of Russian and Iranian oil, a signal that the focus could shift from more traditional trade issues to ones that cross over into matters of national security.
- Opinion: Why Rumors About China’s Political Elite Won’t Stop — Speculation about the opaque inner workings of the Politburo has become an obsession. By Karishma Vaswani.
- Opinion: ‘Wahaha Princess’ Reveals China’s Uncommon Prosperity — A $2 billion inheritance lawsuit raises the question of extreme wealth and who owns what. By Shuli Ren.
Reuters
- Industrial pruning won’t pull China out of deflation as quickly as last time — China’s hardened rhetoric against price wars among producers is raising expectations Beijing may be about to kick off industrial capacity cuts in a long-awaited, but challenging, campaign against deflation.
- Why China’s neighbours are worried about its new mega-dam project — The scheme dwarfs the mighty Three Gorges Dam, currently the world’s largest, and Chinese construction and engineering stocks surged after Premier Li Qiang unveiled it on the weekend.
- US startup xLight raises $40 million in race against China for key chipmaking laser — The U.S. government has worked across multiple presidential administrations to stop EUV machines from being sent to China, with one official calling it the “single most important export control” held by the U.S. and Europe.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: The Nvidia Chip Deal Trades Away the United States’ AI Advantage — Right when the Trump administration should be ramping up export controls, its trade strategy is undermining them.
- Foreign Affairs: America Should Assume the Worst About AI — China is already a near-peer in technology, a handful of private companies are steering development, and AI is spreading to nearly every part of the economy and society.
- The Washington Post: China-backed hackers used Microsoft flaw in attacks — Researchers say Chinese and other criminal hackers have exploited a security flaw in SharePoint software widely used by governments and businesses.
- The Economist: China’s smartphone champion has triumphed where Apple failed — Having conquered carmaking, Xiaomi now has its sights set on world domination.
- Brookings: Chinese perspectives on strategic stability engagement with the United States — Chinese scholars are concerned about the impact of emerging technologies on strategic stability and actively support international dialogue on such issues.
