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
- Jensen Huang Walks an AI Tightrope Between the U.S. and China — With Intel deal, Nvidia CEO signals support for Trump administration’s aims while seeking more access to Chinese chip market.
- FedEx to Lean on Domestic Shipping as Tariffs Slow China Volume — Company’s profit and sales rise on improvement in U.S. shipping.
- Pony AI Set to Hit Key Profit Target by Early 2026 — Pony AI Set to Hit Key Profit Target by Early 2026.
The Financial Times
- China warns PNG against signing Australia security treaty — PM Anthony Albanese’s second diplomatic shortfall in Pacific this month points to rising competition for influence.
- Oil market brushes off predictions of supply glut — Price of Brent is little changed from late June, with some analysts pointing to China stockpiling as possible explanation.
The New York Times
- The Race Is on to Make Rare Earth Magnets Outside China — After Beijing exerted its power over the valuable magnets as leverage, other countries started to add production, but only incrementally. And China is far ahead.
- How China Stands to Gain as the U.S. Steps Away From the U.N. — U.S. funding cuts are straining the United Nations and giving Beijing an opening to strengthen its influence, at a fraction of the cost Washington once paid.
- Autocrats Move Quickly to Fill Void as Trump Retreats From U.N. — As President Trump pulls back U.S. funding of the United Nations, countries like China, Russia and Qatar are seeking to influence the body’s work on human rights and labor.
- How Xi Is Using a TikTok Tradeoff to Court Trump — Agreeing to a deal suggests that the fate of TikTok matters less to Beijing than gaining leverage on issues it cares most about, like tariffs, technology and Taiwan.
- Trump and Xi Set to Finalize TikTok Deal — The two leaders are expected to speak Friday to discuss a deal to keep the wildly popular app from going dark in the United States.
Caixin
- Hong Kong and UAE Ink Mutual Fund Recognition Deal to Deepen Market Links — New pact allows mutual recognition of investment funds, expands cross-border opportunities, and strengthens Hong Kong’s role as a bridge to the Middle East.
- Youth Unemployment Surge Exposes Cracks in China’s Economic Transition — White-collar slowdowns, shrinking recruitment, and automation challenge Beijing’s growth-employment link.
- China Drafts Rule to Disable Assisted-Driving Systems for Inattentive Drivers — Proposed regulations would mandate auto-shutdown features and driver-monitoring systems in new vehicles.
South China Morning Post
- Could the EU dust off its trade bazooka to take on China? — Alarm bells have failed so the bloc is considering a weapon that it originally planned to fire at the U.S.
- Listed Xinjiang firms soar as region’s growth beats national economy — Shares in several listed companies rise by the daily maximum of 10 per cent as investors discern strong earnings prospects.
- How are U.S. tariffs affecting China’s export hubs? Answer: it’s complicated — Some Chinese provinces have recorded sharp drops in U.S. exports amid the trade war. Others have seen shipments soar as much as 265%.
Nikkei Asia
- Japan’s petrochemical makers pressed by China overproduction — August ethylene capacity utilization fell below red line for 37th straight month.
- China’s Didi to expand food delivery services in Brazil — Ride-hailing giant looks to grow in Latin America as Chinese market loses steam.
- EV battery metal prices stay sluggish despite China correction measures — Global overproduction, in anticipation of soaring demand, snuffs out rebounds.
- U.S. soybean farmers face crisis as China keeps orders frozen — Growers lean on ‘hope and prayers’ for Trump-Xi trade detente.
Bloomberg
- China Seeks Trade Edge by Shunning U.S. Soy in First Since 1990s — Beijing is once again using agriculture as leverage in its trade fight with Washington.
- CATL’s Stock Touted as Cheap Even After a $110 Billion Rally — Banks say the stock isn’t yet pricing in the potential for growth.
- The AI Pioneer Who Wants to Replace Teachers With Algorithms — Derek Li pulled his sons out of school to be taught by artificial intelligence. Now he’s betting the U.S. is ready for machine-led learning.
- Jung Chang: ‘China Is at a Turning Point’ — The historian talks about the follow-up to her book Wild Swans, witnessing famine and revolution, and her frustrations with modern China.
Reuters
- China’s DeepSeek says its hit AI model cost just $294,000 to train — The paper is likely to reignite debate over Beijing’s place in the race to develop artificial intelligence.
- Trump and Xi seek TikTok win to break U.S.-China gridlock — The agreement is at the top of the agenda alongside trade for the leaders’ first known call in three months.
- Exclusive: Trump intelligence advisers met with Taiwanese official, sources say — It was an unusually sensitive meeting for the previously obscure group, the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.
- Exclusive: China snaps up Australian canola after trade spat with Canada, sources say — Chinese state trading firm COFCO has bought up to nine 60,000-metric-ton cargoes of Australian canola, sources said.
- China’s chipmakers upend Beijing’s best laid plans — Beijing’s best policy may be to step aside and let them fight it out amongst themselves, and against Nvidia.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: Trump nixed $400 million in Taiwan military aid, pushing future arms sales — President Donald Trump declined to approve a package of weapons to Taiwan this summer, as he tries to negotiate a trade deal and potential summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
- WIRED: China Turns Legacy Chips Into a Trade Weapon — As Washington pushes for a TikTok deal, Beijing is countering with probes into American chipmakers.
- The Economist: Don’t fret over China’s new climate targets — The ambitions of its clean-tech industry matter more than any humdrum pledges.
- POLITICO: ‘We want our Americans back’ — U.S. prisoners loom over Trump-Xi summit — The prisoners’ supporters see a summit between Trump and Xi as an opportunity to place a release request on the leaders’ meeting agenda.
- ProPublica: Pentagon Bans Tech Vendors From Using China-Based Personnel — The Defense Department has tightened cybersecurity requirements for its cloud services providers.
- Foreign Policy: China’s Plunging Birth Rate Is a Crisis of Belief — New subsidies aren’t selling young people on the future.
- Foreign Affairs: What China Doesn’t Want — Beijing’s core aims are clear — and limited.
