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
- Alibaba Earnings Hit by Food-Delivery Battle — Chinese e-com titan Alibaba Group reported a drop in a key profitability metric as it continued heavy spending on consumer discounts to seize market share in the fiercely competitive food-delivery industry.
- Alibaba Creates AI Chip to Help China Fill Nvidia Void — Chinese chip companies and artificial-intelligence developers are building up their arsenal of homegrown technology, backed by a government determined to win the AI race.
- Cambricon Technologies Warns of Trading Risks After Stock Surges — The chip maker overtook liquor maker Kweichow Moutai as China’s most valuable stock this week.
- Chinese Money Launderers Are Moving Billions Through U.S. Banks — The black market for U.S. cash may have driven as much as $312 billion in illicit money flows through financial institutions.
- Opinion: Jimmy Lai’s Trial Ends, His Persecution Doesn’t — China’s smartest play would be to release Mr. Lai home to his family, unless it wants even more international grief. By The Editorial Board.
The Financial Times
- BYD misses quarterly earnings forecasts due to supplier payments crackdown — Chinese carmaker’s revenues also affected by Beijing’s campaign against discounting which has cooled EV price war.
- China’s ‘big five’ banks pressured by consumer woes — Slower economic growth and stagnant wages have knocked confidence and lending.
- Investors bet on Cambricon to be China’s next AI champion — The young chipmaker has software advantages over much larger rival Huawei as it aids Beijing’s race for tech self-sufficiency.
- US warns China-linked groups may be laundering billions for Mexican cartels — Treasury urges US banks to be vigilant to avoid being drawn into such schemes.
- Opinion: China gains from Trump’s alienation of India — America’s unpredictability risks pushing New Delhi and Beijing closer together. By The Editorial Board.
The New York Times
- In Hong Kong, Eric Trump Lauds Growing Influence of Crypto — The president’s son, who helps run the Trump family’s business interests in digital currency, predicted that Bitcoin will someday exceed $1 million.
- De Minimis Tariff Exemption Has Ended. How Will It Affect Shoppers? — The exemption ended in May for small shipments from mainland China and Hong Kong, and now it has closed for goods from the rest of the world.
- China Is Trying to Expand Its Social Safety Net. Yet Many Chinese Are Worried. — A move to force employers to pay into benefits for their employees has left people worrying that small businesses will close and jobs will be lost.
Caixin
- Cambricon Tops China’s Market as Domestic AI Chip Drive Creates a New Billionaire — Brainchild of China’s brilliant brothers sees its share price soar to new heights.
- Chinese Micro-Drama Apps Expand Overseas, But Fierce Competition Hits Profits — Revenue is rising but losses are widening as mirco-drama platforms pour in investment.
- China’s Private High School Teachers Bear Brunt of Enrollment Slump — Once a growing industry, private high schools are now laying off staff and cutting pay as they lose students to an expanding public system and more practical vocational programs.
- Policy Bets Send Chinese Commodities on a Rollercoaster Ride — A speculative frenzy has gripped China’s commodity futures markets, creating volatility as prices for industrial materials such as lithium and polysilicon surge and collapse in a matter of days.
- Trade-In Programs Spur Sales, but Not Without Costs — When Apple Inc. reported that it had achieved its first quarterly Greater China sales growth in nearly two years in the June quarter, CEO Tim Cook cited Beijing’s trade-in program as a key reason.
South China Morning Post
- China doubles down on AI – but calls for rational, not ‘blind’, growth — Beijing wants regions to shape AI to local needs, avoiding the fierce competition plaguing some sectors and weighing on the economy.
- The former Nasa scientist who became China’s semiconductor trump card — Chinese company Innoscience in high-stakes competition against US and European giants, thanks to rising star founding scientist.
- Why are China’s ‘comfort women’ still waiting for courts to accept landmark lawsuits? — Lawyers and survivors of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery urge courts in China to hear cases as 80th anniversary of end of WWII approaches.
Nikkei Asia
- China trade data points to drone parts exports to Russia, Ukraine — Manufacturers see ‘opportunity’ in hard-to-track shipments of dual-use tech.
- Hegseth seeks phone call with Chinese counterpart but differences remain — Pentagon weighing seniority of delegation to Xiangshan Forum in Beijing.
- Russian LNG from US-sanctioned plant arrives in China for first time — Vessel carrying fuel from Arctic LNG 2 project tracked to Guangxi terminal.
Bloomberg
- China Politburo Reviews Draft Law to Push Ethnic Unity Agenda — The purpose of the measure is to turn the party’s theories and practices on ethnic affairs into “the will of the state,” it said.
- China Is Running the World’s Most Powerful Floating Wind Turbine — As rising costs and political opposition hold back projects from Rhode Island to Japan, Beijing is extending its clout in yet another clean-energy industry.
- Bain Is Said to Draw Chinese Bidders for $4 Billion Data Centers — The China data center business owned by Bain Capital’s Chindata Group Holdings Ltd. has drawn interest from local bidders seeking to expand in the sector to tap a boom in artificial intelligence, according to people familiar with the matter.
Reuters
- Defying West, China gathers ‘Axis of Upheaval’ at military parade — Xi will be flanked by leaders of some of the world’s most heavily sanctioned nations – Russia, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar – at a military parade, in a show of solidarity against the West.
- Taiwan estimates China spent 40% more on Pacific drills last year to hit $21 bln — China, which views Taiwan as its own territory over the objections of Taipei’s government, has repeatedly said its military spending is transparent and presents no threat.
- Signs of Chinese influence abound in Moscow before Putin’s Beijing visit — Although China remains Russia’s biggest trading partner, trade turnover with China has fallen this year, a trend that Putin will seek to reverse at his summit with Xi, three Russian sources told Reuters.
Other Publications
- CFR: A China-India Reset? What to Know About the Modi-Xi Summit — The upcoming meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization could bring the two Asian giants closer together amid worsening U.S.-India relations.
- Foreign Policy: China’s Military Parade Is a Powerful Diplomatic Display — Xi Jinping is trying to link past, present, and future.
- The Economist: On parade in China: Putin, the PLA and purges — Military pomp follows the removal of top military commanders.
- Rest of World: Why China has a tech manufacturing advantage over the U.S. — Author Dan Wang compares China’s “engineering” state that is enabling its rapid rise on the tech ladder, with U.S. policy and immigration rules that threaten to dent its edge.
- BBC: National security or xenophobia? Texas restricts Chinese owning and renting property — Texas Senate Bill 17 of 2025, also known as SB 17, will take effect on 1 September, restricting people and companies from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from purchasing and renting property.
