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.
Paid subscribers automatically have this list emailed directly to their inboxes every day by 10 a.m. EST. Subscribe here.
The Wall Street Journal
- How a Chinese AI Company Worked Around U.S. Rules to Access Nvidia’s Top Chips — In Indonesia, semiconductors covered by U.S. export controls are ready to help a Shanghai-based group.
- Baidu Unveils New AI Chips as China Accelerates Tech Self-Sufficiency Efforts — The M100, designed by its chip unit Kunlunxin, is mainly used for large-scale inferencing.
- SMIC Posts Profit Growth Amid China’s Chip Self-Reliance Drive — China’s largest contract chip maker is upbeat on revenue growth in the fourth quarter.
- JD.com Profit Slumps as Heavy Food-Delivery Spending Bites — The Chinese e-commerce giant’s third-quarter net profit was down 55% from a year earlier.
- Tencent Delivers Double-Digit Growth in Profit, Revenue — The tech giant has invested heavily in artificial intelligence for years.
- China ‘Singles’ Day’ Sales Show Modest Growth — The event is a headliner on the Chinese shopping calendar, pulling in billions in sales.
The Financial Times
- Japan and China spar over Taiwan as Trump tilts global ‘chessboard’ — Heavyweights clash as election of hawkish PM Sanae Takaichi and US policy unpredictability change calculus in region.
- Europe’s carmakers face ‘devastating’ chip crisis as Nexperia supply crunch continues — Executives warn production lines could stop within weeks as the Dutch chipmaker is not sending products to China unit.
- Brussels aims to speed up crackdown on cheap Chinese parcels — EU wants charges on small packages ordered from likes of Shein and Temu to kick in two years earlier than planned.
The New York Times
- Solvay of Belgium Creates Rare Earths Deals With U.S. — The contracts are the latest sign of how Europe is lagging the United States in the race to break China’s chokehold on rare earths.
- China’s ‘Wolf Warrior’ Diplomacy Returns With Threat Against Japan’s Leader — A Chinese diplomat’s call to cut off the prime minister’s “filthy head” signaled a revival of a combative style Beijing had tried to dial back.
- Man Accused of Running Southeast Asia Scam Compound Is Extradited to China — China and the United States say She Zhijiang, a Chinese-born businessman, ran a major scam compound in Myanmar. He was arrested in Bangkok in 2022.
- Opinion: From Here in Beijing, China Doesn’t Look So Strong — Despair about dimming economic and personal prospects has created an outwardly strong, inwardly brittle nation. By Helen Gao.
Caixin
- Former IPO Gatekeeper Unreachable Amid China’s Corruption Crackdown — Beijing continues efforts to clean up corruption linked to the approval-based IPO system that granted a small committee outsized influence over listing decisions.
- Chinese Drugmaker Confirms Chairman Arrested After 1 Yuan Takeover — Former Standard Chartered banker who took control of Shenzhen-listed PKU Healthcare last year is suspected of embezzlement, sources say.
- China’s New Five-Year Plan Aims to Fix Its Spending Problem — Beijing aims to make domestic demand a stronger economic driver, but must first tackle lagging income growth, widening inequality and a shortage of quality services.
- Maersk-Owned Ports Operator Taps Chinese Tech for Decarbonization — The partnership with the Chinese firms is part of APM Terminals’ broader plan to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
South China Morning Post
- Baotou set to become China’s rare earth hub under Inner Mongolia’s 10-year plan — Initiatives include a boost to mining, refining and magnet production to supply new-energy industry and global markets while firms and nations race to diversify.
- China tightens tax scrutiny on citizens’ overseas income amid fiscal pressures — As local authorities use big data to identify violators, analyst says better enforcement could ease financial strain.
Nikkei Asia
- China to crack down on AI-made fake images and videos — Viral photo of baby who survived earthquake was created by AI.
- Online skirmish over Taiwan imperils Japan-China relations — No honeymoon for Xi Jinping and Sanae Takaichi after their first summit.
- China manufacturing stocks rebound as Beijing checks overproduction — Investors heartened by Beijing’s efforts to address excessive price competition.
Bloomberg
- How China Weaponized Soybeans in Trade Dispute With the U.S. — The fallout has been significant.
- Apple, Tencent Agree to 15% Cut of WeChat Mini App Spending — Apple’s agreement with Tencent marks an important step toward normalizing relations in one of its most important markets.
Reuters
- Permira in talks with China’s HongShan on $3 billion Golden Goose sale, sources say — The firm formerly known as Sequoia China established an office in London last year to tap into late-stage and buyout deal opportunities in Europe.
- Exclusive: China’s securities regulatory chief seeks approval to step down, sources say — It would be an abrupt and unexpected exit for a regulatory head brought in last year to stabilize the country’s stock markets.
Other Publications
- The Economist: America and China share a dangerous addiction — Fentanyl is hard to kick. Particularly as a source of leverage.
- CFR: China’s Massive Surplus is Everywhere (Yet The IMF Still Has Trouble Seeing It Clearly) — China’s reported current account surplus understates China’s contribution to global trade imbalances. The gap between China’s export and import volume growth over the last six years tells a more accurate story, Brad Setser writes.
