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 Economy Expands at Slowest Pace in a Year — China said its economy grew 4.8% in the third quarter, a deceleration that nonetheless keeps it on track to hit its official annual target.
- How China Took Over the World’s Rare-Earths Industry — Beijing used bare-knuckle tactics in a multidecade effort to consolidate control over supplies.
- A New Challenge for China’s Economy: ‘Involution’ — Beijing is fighting to limit the damage from a pattern of price wars and excess capacity across multiple industries.
- Xi Removes China’s No. 2 General in Escalating Purge of Military Leadership — Gen. He Weidong is most senior active-duty officer to be taken down by Chinese leader’s campaign.
- Opinion: Why the China Doves Are Wrong — American business leaders cozying up to Beijing refuse to see that the Communist Party wants us to fail. By Shyam Sankar.
The Financial Times
- Nexperia’s China unit says staff can ignore orders from Dutch headquarters — Tensions escalate between Beijing and The Hague over control of Chinese-owned, Netherlands-based chipmaker.
- Rare earths shares soar as US and China battle over export controls — Trump administration plans to set price floors, create strategic minerals reserve and take equity stakes.
- China’s investment push in Europe hits a wall — Geopolitical tensions to slow investment in new ‘greenfield’ projects.
- Why Beijing still loves its five-year plans — Once vital to its former command economy, China still uses five-year plans to convey priorities.
- China’s economy expands at slowest pace in a year — Trade war and property downturn hit momentum as official GDP grows 4.8% in third quarter.
- China set to push high tech in 5-year plan as tensions with US intensify — Central Committee expected to highlight the importance of consumption in an economy threatened by deflation.
- ‘Shoestring’ R&D budgets force India to rely on Chinese tech, says steel tycoon — JSW chair Sajjan Jindal calls for country to boost research and development spending as he prepares to launch EV brand.
- Chinese tech giants pause stablecoin plans after Beijing steps in — Regulators raise concerns about the rise of privately controlled currencies.
- Bessent to meet China’s vice-premier in bid to solve rare earths spat — Gathering next week is seen as progress after new rupture in trade relationship over critical minerals.
- China’s crackdown on unregistered churches angers US — Detention of Zion Church founder and followers underscores Beijing’s intolerance of religious freedom.
- China purges 9 top commanders in People’s Liberation Army — Xi Jinping’s targets in anti-corruption drive include PLA’s No 2 general He Weidong.
- Dispute over court testimony was final straw in UK-China spy case — Crown Prosecution Service kicked off political firestorm when it abandoned charges against two British men.
- Carmakers gear up for chip battle after China curbs Nexperia exports — Industry warns of disruption to European production following Beijing’s retaliation for Dutch government’s seizure.
- Opinion: America’s rare earth delusion — China’s critical minerals chokepoint has been hiding in plain sight for decades. By Rana Foroohar.
- Opinion: China spy case has an aroma of appeasement — Delay and darkness suggest the UK government is scared of making decisions. By Charles Parton.
The New York Times
- Australia Says Chinese Fighter Jet Released Flares Near Its Military Plane — The incident in the South China Sea on Sunday highlights tension in a region where China is demonstrating its growing military capabilities.
- Australia Could Be a Rare Earths Alternative to China for the U.S. — China’s escalating curbs on the critical minerals has given Australia, a longstanding U.S. ally, the opportunity to reposition itself to a transactional president.
- In China, a Forbidden Question Looms: Who Leads After Xi? — Xi Jinping seems to believe that only his continued rule can secure China’s rise. But as he ages, choosing a successor will become riskier and more difficult.
- China’s Economy Held Steady in the Third Quarter, but Consumers Were More Cautious — A further increase in China’s trade surplus failed to fully offset the effects of a worsening housing market, which has left consumers wary.
- How a U.K. Spy Case Against China Abruptly Fell Apart — Evidence prepared for a collapsed espionage trial was published by an under-pressure government in Britain, offering a window into Western countries’ struggle to define Beijing as friend or foe.
- China Ousts Senior General on Corruption Charges — With the fall of He Weidong, the No. 3 figure in China’s military hierarchy, Xi Jinping’s purges have reached the top of the People’s Liberation Army.
- Opinion: Trump’s Crackdown on Chinese Students Ignores a Startling New Reality — Shutting out China’s best minds will only push them into a homegrown Chinese research ecosystem that is eclipsing American universities. By Bethany Allen and Jenny Wong Leung.
Caixin
- China-U.S. Shipping Rates Spike as Exporters Rush to Beat Potential Trump Tariffs — Some shippers are front-loading orders ahead of a potential Nov. 1 tariff hike, though many exporters said they have already diversified away from the American market.
- China’s New Shipbuilding Orders Drop Amid U.S. Fees — Some shipbuilders blame saturated capacity for the slump in large vessel contracts, but a pivot to smaller ships and rising competition from emerging nations signal a more complex outlook.
- China’s ‘New Three’ Exports Jump as Consumer Goods Falter — Shipments of electric cars, lithium-ion batteries and solar cells grew in both volume and value in September, offsetting a continued slump in traditional export categories like apparel and toys.
- Trade War Deepens as U.S. and China Open New Fronts at Sea and in Silicon — Both sides have cast aside diplomatic restraint, rolling out a barrage of targeted trade restrictions that signal a sharp return to confrontation.
South China Morning Post
- Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky — Economist, business executive advocates looking beyond geopolitics, avoiding policy pitfalls and building a culture that celebrates success.
- China accuses US of carrying out cyberattacks on national time centre — Ministry of State Security claims American intelligence agency stole sensitive data and attacked the centre’s internal networks.
- Meet AMIES, China’s new hope in breaking reliance on ASML’s chipmaking machines — Advanced lithography remains a significant bottleneck for China, but a new company founded in February offers new optimism.
- The aircraft carrier champion and naval genius behind China’s blue sea strategy — Admiral Liu Huaqing was a visionary who transformed a backward military force into a modern, effective presence in the South China Sea.
- In Texas, a student trip to China becomes a political act — US academic excursions to China used to just require a passport and curiosity, but today demand a willingness to defy the tide.
Nikkei Asia
- China replaces key negotiator Li Chenggang at WTO, UN — Official sharply rebuked by US remains listed as Beijing’s trade representative.
- Trump risks roiling ties if he tweaks wording on Taiwan to please China — Experts fear US may shift from ‘not supporting’ independence to outright ‘opposing’ it.
- Opinion: Global investors edge back into China just as trade risks resurface — Earnings momentum has revived confidence in Chinese equities. By Laura Wang.
Bloomberg
- China’s Global Network of Shipping Ports Is Too Big for Trump to Unravel — Beijing exerts variable degrees of influence over some 90 deepwater ports overseas.
- Trump Lists Top Demands on China Before Trade Talks Resume — President Trump listed rare earths, fentanyl and soybeans as the US’s top issues with China just before the two sides return to the negotiating table and as a fragile trade truce nears expiration.
- China Gangs Exploit US Gift Cards to Move Stolen Cash, DHS Says — Gift cards, one of the most basic financial products in the US retail market, are now the backbone of a billion-dollar criminal economy investigators say is moving American money to China.
- Opinion: China Is Already Winning the Trade War America Wanted — Trump’s “grand bargain” won’t happen at a time when tariffs and export controls have become combat by other means. By Hal Brands.
Reuters
- China’s economy risks sitting on hold for too long — Expectations have been mounting ahead of Chinese leaders huddling this week in a closed-door session to flesh out their 15th five-year development plan for the People’s Republic.
- New copper demand drivers from US, India as China juggernaut slows — While China is forecast to remain the largest market for copper into the next decade and beyond, analysts expect other demand and price influences to increasingly come into play.
- China’s Xi calls for ‘reunification’ in message to new Taiwan opposition leader — Cheng Li-wun’s election as the new leader of the Kuomintang party came amid accusations of interference by Beijing.
Other Publications
- Foreign Affairs: The Miseducation of Xi Jinping — How a Father’s Struggle Revealed the Price of Power.
