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
- Most-Wanted Fentanyl Producer Is Extradited to U.S. After Brazen Escape — Zhi Dong Zhang, an accused Chinese drug boss, fled house arrest in Mexico, traveled to Cuba and was denied entry by Russia.
- Full Impact of Tariffs on Asia-Pacific Still to Come, IMF Warns — The report comes ahead of a highly anticipated visit by U.S. President Trump in Asia, during which he is expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
- Will India and China Be Able to Resist U.S. Sanctions on Russian Oil? — New Delhi and Beijing have so far resisted U.S. calls to stop buying Russian crude, but far-reaching sanctions will be hard to ignore.
- China’s New Strategy for Trump: Punch Hard, Concede Little — For Xi, rare-earths bombshell signaled a new toughness, while TikTok was ‘spiritual opium’ that could be turned into a low-cost bargaining chip.
- U.S. Set to Examine China’s Compliance With 2020 Trade Deal — The move reopens an old trade dispute ahead of Trump’s meeting with China’s Xi Jinping.
- Trump Pardons Convicted Binance Founder — The pardon follows months of efforts by Changpeng Zhao to boost the Trump family’s own crypto company.
- Chinese Air-Bag Parts Have Exploded and Killed Six. Now Regulators Want Answers. — A NHTSA investigation into a Chinese manufacturer comes after a new report this month linking a counterfeit air bag to a death.
- Opinion: Xi Is Watching as Chinese Christians Pray — Zion Church moved many of its services online. Beijing still arrested its pastor. By Mindy Belz.
- Opinion: Britain’s Do-It-Yourself Version of Chinese Sabotage — A ‘spying’ case that may have been a mistake all along sows more distrust than Beijing ever could. By Joseph C. Sternberg.
The Financial Times
- Australia’s ‘rock star’ rare earth miners profit from US-China tensions — Canberra emerges as key partner with Washington to counter Beijing’s critical mineral supply chain.
- Overseas renminbi lending surges as China steps up campaign to de-dollarise — Beijing’s push will speed moves to multi-polar monetary system, analysts say.
- Taiwan’s new opposition leader risks US ire with soft tone on China — Cheng Li-wun’s surprise election as leader of the KMT party is also likely to widen domestic political divisions.
- Opinion: For China, ‘involution’ is a blessing as well as a curse — Ferocious competition at home equips the strongest companies to prosper abroad. By Yanmei Xie.
The New York Times
- South Korea Tries to Curb Anti-China Protests Ahead of Xi Visit — The recent surge in demonstrations by far-right groups presents a challenge for the South Korean government, as it prepares to host both Xi Jinping, the leader of China, and President Trump.
- With Power Move on Rare Earths, China Plays Both Victim and Bully — In weaponizing its dominance over the crucial minerals, Beijing is using tactics that it once denounced, potentially alienating nations it wants to court.
- ‘Brother Wang,’ Accused of Being Drug Cartel Fixer, Is Arrested in Cuba — Zhi Dong Zhang, who escaped house arrest in Mexico this summer, is accused of supplying cartels with fentanyl from China, smuggling and money laundering millions under the alias “Brother Wang.”
- Opinion: How Trump and Xi Can Stop a War Before It Starts — Dangerous close calls are rising, but the U.S. and China still lack the communication channels needed to stop a crisis from becoming a war. By Eric Rosenbach and Chris Li.
Caixin
- The Vast Funding Network Outside Vanke — Caixin’s investigation into former President Zhu Jiusheng’s off-the-books arrangements reveals how they stranded investor funds and deepened the property giant’s liquidity crisis.
- China’s Road Freight Grows for First Time in Three Years — G7 Connect’s chief executive says the sector is entering a new phase driven by green vehicles and artificial intelligence, after road freight demand grew more than 5% year on year.
- Pharma Giants Scale Back in China Amid Price Wars and Regulatory Pressure — The delisting of drugs from companies like Pfizer, Sanofi, and Bayer underscores the intense competition, price cuts, and pivots forcing multinationals to rethink China operations.
- China’s Neolix Raises $600 Million to Scale Autonomous Delivery Vehicles Globally — The Beijing-based startup says its delivery bots are already profitable monthly—and expects to achieve full-year profitability by 2026.
- Innovent Strikes $11.4 Billion Cancer Drug Deal With Takeda — The Chinese biotech secures $1.2 billion upfront in landmark partnership to co-develop three oncology drugs and expand its global reach.
South China Morning Post
- Chinese firm Gotion’s plans for battery plant in US abandoned, days before Trump meets Xi — Gotion scraps building of electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan after years of lawsuits and controversy over the firm’s ties to China.
- Does Switzerland beat China in innovation? New ranking raises questions about bias — China leads in knowledge and tech outputs but takes 10th place overall on Global Innovation Index, leading to doubts about methodology.
- US lawmakers urge Trump to press Xi on American detainees, exit bans — Legislators call Beijing the ‘world’s largest hostage-taker’ that uses exit bans and detentions as ‘tools’ for leverage.
Nikkei Asia
- Ford CEO flags Nexperia fears, China overcapacity worries — Jim Farley says chip spat needs political solution to avoid industry output loss.
- Indonesia says deal reached with China on railway debt extension — Jakarta negotiates with Beijing as Belt and Road project struggles to turn a profit.
- Pakistan seeks China support to join BRICS bank amid likely India objection — Membership of Shanghai-based lender requires approval from four of five founder countries.
- Trump plans to host Central Asian leaders in pushback against Russia, China — Meeting of C5+1 scheduled for early next month in Washington.
- Labubu doll frenzy starts to fizzle as resale, stock prices fall — Boom-or-bust business model offers cautionary tale to Japanese companies.
Bloomberg
- What We Still Get Wrong About Trump’s Approach to China — The US president’s “tough on China” reputation belies his interest in striking a deal with the nation, not decoupling from it.
- China’s Pharma Leverage Is ‘Nuclear Option’ in US Trade Talks — The US dependence on China for API exports creates a risk, as China has not directly threatened drug supplies, but could change its stance if the trade war escalates.
- US Weighs Quantum Computing Boost in Effort to Counter China — The Trump administration is in conversations with quantum computing firms to discuss financial support for an industry that’s part of the growing race with China for tech supremacy.
- China’s Pokémon Craze Is Stirring an Anti-Foreigner Backlash in Japan — What began as a Happy Meal promotion ended in chaos and xenophobic outrage, revealing Japan’s growing tensions over immigration and tourism.
- Opinion: China Is Closing the Quantum Technology Gap — A surge of patent filings suggesting Beijing’s push to be a global leader is beginning to bear fruit. By Catherine Thorbecke.
Reuters
- Reliance races to get battery gear orders out of China ahead of export curbs, sources say — Beijing introduced new rules this month requiring companies to seek permission before exporting battery supply chain equipment.
- China vows to raise household consumption ‘significantly’ — China will increase the proportion of government investment for people’s livelihoods and raise the percentage of household consumption of GDP “significantly” over the next five years.
- China state oil majors suspend Russian oil buys due to sanctions, sources say — A sharp drop in oil demand from Russia’s two largest customers will put a strain on oil revenues and force the top importers to seek alternatives and push up global prices.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: Xi May Have Miscalculated on Rare Earths — China’s complex new rules take on the entire world at once—and give Trump an opportunity.
- POLITICO: ‘Throw of the iron dice’: Inside Trump’s most perilous foreign trip yet — A week-long swing through Asia could cement Trump’s image as master dealmaker — or trigger the economic crisis he’s long vowed to prevent.
- The Atlantic: China Gets Tough on Trump — Beijing explores the leverage it now has to work its geopolitical will.
- The Economist: China has a grave problem — Forget huge tombs—why not scatter your loved one’s ashes at sea?
- The Information: TikTok Empowers Chinese Executives in Management Revamp — TikTok is implementing drastic leadership changes that pull the video app closer to the orbit of its parent ByteDance.
