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
- Pump-and-Dump Worries Prompt Nasdaq to Tighten China Listing Rules — China-based companies will have to raise at least $25 million to go public.
- How China’s New Naval and Air Sites Would Aid an Attack on Taiwan — Satellite images show major infrastructure expansion, including on the Taiwan Strait.
- Chinese Robotics Company Geekplus Eyes New Listing as It Nears Profitability — An A-share listing in the next one to two years is under consideration, its CEO said in an interview.
- Opinion: China Won’t Get Addicted to America’s Chips — Beijing’s strategy seeks to develop indigenous and controllable tech to achieve self-reliance from the West. By Craig Singleton.
The Financial Times
- Anthropic to stop selling AI services to majority Chinese-owned groups — Policy will also apply to U.S. adversaries including Russia, Iran and North Korea.
- China hits EU pork imports with temporary duties of up to 62% — Anti-dumping levies come after Brussels raised tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports.
- Fear of China denies Taiwan film businesses a ‘Zero Day’ payout — Hit war drama highlights reluctance to risk access to vast Chinese movie market by upsetting Beijing.
- U.S. and Taiwanese defence officials held secret talks in Alaska — Discussions came after a planned higher-level meeting with island’s defence minister was cancelled by Washington.
- Xi and Kim hold talks as west fears emergence of ‘autocratic alliance’ — First in-person meeting in six years of Chinese and North Korean leaders comes as Pyongyang and Moscow deepen ties.
- Opinion: A new Russia-China gas pact could reshape global energy markets — Gazprom’s planned Siberian pipeline to Beijing is a geopolitical pivot with global repercussions. By Tatiana Mitrova.
- Opinion: A stress test for global trade — The WTO core still holds, but members must use this crisis to push reform. By Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The New York Times
- Former F.B.I. Spy Hunter Compromised China Inquiry, Watchdog Says — The Justice Department’s inspector general disclosed new details about the extent of misconduct by a top F.B.I. counterintelligence official, Charles McGonigal.
- Kim Jong-un Leaves Beijing With Big Diplomatic Wins — Mr. Kim’s presence at a Chinese military parade was a sign of his growing geopolitical leverage and that North Korea was being accepted as a de facto nuclear power.
Caixin
- Chinese Illegal Margin Financing Mastermind Surrenders U.K. Assets — Song Shijie has been on the lam from Chinese authorities over his alleged involvement in criminal securities transactions and money laundering.
- Trump’s Crypto Pivot Puts Binance’s Zhao Back in Play — After prison and penalties, the Binance founder bets on a thaw in U.S. regulation as Trump-backed WLFI surges across major exchanges.
- China Slaps Up to 78% Tariffs on U.S. Fiber Optic Imports in First-Ever Anti-Circumvention Case — Move follows six-month probe as Beijing accuses American producers of skirting existing trade duties.
- Alipay Fined by Luxembourg Regulator for Anti-Money Laundering Breaches — The 214,000 euro penalty, for what the watchdog calls ‘important breaches,’ highlights the compliance challenges Chinese payment giants face when expanding into Europe.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese provinces prep for business trips to U.S. amid shaky tariff truce — Temporary stability in bilateral relationship prompts renewed exploration of ‘subnational exchanges’ between localities.
- Could China’s hi-tech military display help it surpass Russia in arms sales? — China is poised to gain a bigger share of global weapons exports, but entering markets with U.S. ties is a challenge, analysts say.
- Chinese province floats new use for digital yuan: paying long-delayed debts — Authorities in Hunan province have suggested China’s digital currency could be employed to clear opaque ‘chain debts’ more easily.
- China’s ‘silent sanction’ on U.S. semiconductors creates a weapons generation gap — Export controls on gallium nitride and other critical minerals hold back development while Chinese military technology surges.
Nikkei Asia
- Mexico considering imposing tariffs on China, president says — Duties would be imposed on countries that don’t have trade agreements with Mexico.
- Alibaba pushes ahead in U.S. with AI agent despite tariff headwinds — Chinese tech giant’s B2B arm logs 20% growth in America amid strong SME demand.
- Japan payment provider PayPay teams up with China’s WeChat Pay — Partnership, which starts this month, seeks to tap demand from tourists.
- China challenges U.S. energy dominance with Russian deals — Prospect of Moscow doubling gas exports to neighbor rattles global industry.
- China’s Shenghe raises bid for Australian rare earth miner Peak by 23% — Beijing-backed company cites ‘big change’ in strategic minerals market since May announcement.
Bloomberg
- Xi Unites World Leaders Sick of Being Pushed Around by Trump — Xi, Putin and Modi’s rare show of unity holds the potential for deeper economic shifts beyond the photo ops.
- TikTok Rival Xiaohongshu Expects Profit to Triple to $3 Billion — It is making progress with commercialization on the way to a potential public listing.
Reuters
- Exclusive: Starbucks China valued at about $5 billion by bidders, sources say — That quotation would make a potential deal one of the most valuable China unit divestments by a global consumer company in recent years.
- Chinese alchemy: Cheap fuel powers coal-to-gas and chemicals boom — China is turning the country’s abundant coal into oil, gas and chemicals, reducing the need for energy imports that could be cut off in a conflict.
- With diplomatic tour de force, China’s Xi shows he’s ‘totally in charge’ — His display of diplomatic clout, stamina and geopolitical ambition has helped quell concerns among some China observers about his vitality and potential succession.
- Former China securities regulatory chief Yi under investigation, sources say — China was rocked last year by corruption probes into high-profile individuals.
- Record $322 billion in China loans for stock bets feeds volatility and prompts caution — The mounting concerns of retail investors and regulators underscore the risk of bubbles.
Other Publications
- The Economist: China’s urban planners could determine the future of city life — They are betting big on interconnected city clusters.
- CSIS: Parading China’s Nuclear Arsenal Out of the Shadows — China’s Victory Parade not only put these nuclear capabilities on full display for the first time but also gave some indications as to where they will fit in China’s strategic arsenal and doctrine.
