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
- Trump Is Shifting to Dealmaking Mode on China — White House puts a priority on doing business with Beijing as it prepares for bilateral talks next week.
- A Failed Microsoft Security Patch Is the Latest Win for Chinese Hackers — The path to a worldwide hacking campaign began with a contest for cash and a free laptop.
The Financial Times
- Chinese investment into Hong Kong surges to record high — Inflows through Stock Connect show how city’s fortunes have become increasingly dependent on capital from mainland.
- Chinese kindergartens in crisis as enrolments plunge 25% in 4 years — Demographic decline hits vast education system as drop-off in births leads to school closures.
The New York Times
- China and E.U. Issue Joint Climate Statement — A joint statement promised new efforts to cut emissions at a time when China is positioning itself as the world’s one-stop shop for clean energy technologies.
Caixin
- Beijing Brings Legacy Brokerage Back to Life with State-owned Firm’s Takeover of Credit Suisse Securities — Beijing Securities deal resolves lingering ownership issues over UBS’s China brokerage ventures.
- Veteran Chinese Banker, Mideast Dealmaker Team Up to Bet on Emerging Markets — With the backing of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, BlueFive Capital is targeting opportunities in emerging industries and growth markets in the Global South.
- Notarized Will Secures Wahaha Heiress’s Succession Amid Family Dispute — A legal document shows how Zong Fuli inherited her father’s stake in the Chinese beverage giant, insulating the shares from a separate court battle over a $1.8 billion fortune.
- China’s Upstart Universities Are Beating Elite Rivals in Admissions Race — A new crop of elite, heavily funded research universities in China is shaking up the country’s higher-education landscape.
- China’s Booster Robotics Lands New Funding as it Hits a Winning Streak — Chinese embodied AI startup Booster Robotics has raised more than $13.9 million in its latest funding round, as a new wave of investment sweeps through the robotics sector.
South China Morning Post
- Labubu, soft power of a stealthy ‘ugly-cute’ sort, takes on America — The Chinese-made dolls, a playful global megahit, give Beijing an opportunity to make inroads into deep US distrust.
- What do we know about the site of China’s mega dam in Tibet and what is its significance? — The location in the remote and sparsely populated Tibetan borderlands has the potential to cause environmental and political ructions.
- Opinion: Where US jealously guards tech, China offers a collaborative ecosystem — US firms see talent as a moat to be captured and defended but China treats talent as an asset to be distributed across strategic domains. By Jeffrey Wu.
Nikkei Asia
- US State Department’s China House gets new head, new structure — Unit reports directly to top diplomats under Trump policy shift.
- China smartphone export prices to US drop 45% in June — Suppliers appear to be absorbing tariff burden to maintain market share.
- China’s struggling EV maker Neta in deep trouble in Thailand — Company received $84m in subsidies but hasn’t met local production criteria.
Bloomberg
- China’s Stealthy Solar Exports Stay One Step Ahead of US Tariffs — Chinese solar firms appear to be assembling products in Indonesia and skirting tariffs. A crackdown under President Trump may soon close this loophole in a global cat-and-mouse trade strategy.
- China Premier Links Factory Boom to Hard Work, Not Subsidies — Li Qiang had a self-deprecating response when faced with criticism from an EU official that China’s subsidies contributed to imbalances in manufacturing output and demand.
- China’s Unitree Offers a Humanoid Robot for Under $6,000 — Unitree is marketing one of the world’s first humanoid robots for under $6,000, reducing the entry price for what’s expected to grow into a wave of versatile machines for the workplace and home.
- China Budget Gap Hits Record in Spending Blitz to Offset Tariffs — China’s budget deficit climbed to a fresh record in the first half, highlighting intensified government efforts to shore up domestic demand as Donald Trump’s tariffs reduce exports to the US.
- Opinion: China’s Surprise Move on Capital Gains Tax Is Genius Timing — After an impressive US bull run, Beijing is asking residents with overseas stock portfolios to pay up. By Shuli Ren.
Reuters
- Nvidia AI chips: repair demand booms in China for banned products — Demand in China is surging for a business that, in theory, shouldn’t exist: the repair of advanced Nvidia AI chipsets that the U.S. has banned the export of to its trade and tech rival.
- Shanghai bourse gives bond investors a taste of high yields with new framework — The deals were made possible after firms under the new framework were required to make more timely disclosures about businesses, and to bolster measures to protect investors.
- Chinese e-commerce leaders brush off regulatory risk to continue price war — Alibaba, JD.com, and Meituan were summoned to the State Administration of Market Regulation which called for “rational competition” aligned with the government agenda.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: Why Isn’t China Wooing Europe? — Beijing thinks it holds all the cards as Trump attacks allies.
- Foreign Affairs: China’s Overlooked AI Strategy — Beijing Is Using Soft Power to Gain Global Dominance.
- The Washington Post: Opinion: U.S.-China trade war is a battle to build walls — Asians want to be self-reliant, but America is too big to ignore. By Keith B. Richburg.
- The Atlantic: Why China Won’t Stop the Fentanyl Trade — The opioid that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year has become a source of political leverage that Beijing won’t easily give up.
- The Economist: “Comrade” is making a comeback in China — Or so the government hopes.
- CSIS: Electric Vehicles, China, and the Industrial Strategies Reshaping Mobility in Emerging Economies — Developing countries are actively engaging with policy experimentation, often in direct response to growing Chinese exports and investment, as well as growing international demand.
