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 Is Priming Its People and the World for a New Pressure Campaign on Taiwan — Beijing’s strategy, known as “the pen and the gun,” employs a domestic media campaign and aggressive rhetoric toward Taipei’s friends.
- Netherlands Hands Back Control of Nexperia to Chinese Owner — The decision marks a step toward resolving a spat that had blocked vital chip supply to the auto industry.
- Can Chinese-Made Buses Be Hacked? Norway Drove One Down a Mine to Find Out — The growing prevalence of Chinese technology in Europe’s infrastructure is stoking security concerns across the region.
- China’s CICC Plans Merger With Two Brokerages — Chinese authorities have been pushing for mergers in a sector that has seen sluggish deal activity and low business confidence since the pandemic.
The Financial Times
- Investment bank CICC to acquire rivals as China pushes for consolidation — Xi Jinping’s government is seeking to create bigger financial players.
- UK’s Powell co-hosted events with think-tank linked to Chinese intelligence — Contacts before appointment as national security adviser highlight multiple roles of ‘independent’ institutions in China.
- Europe’s carmakers risk losing plug-in hybrid war to China on their own turf — Hit by high EV tariffs, Chinese auto groups have pivoted to selling cheaper, technologically advanced vehicles.
- Robot threat to drivers’ jobs in China heralds wider shift — Concern grows that autonomous vehicles could replace human roles, with no guarantee of social safety net.
- Chinese manufacturers’ shift to flexibility leaves gig labourers exposed — Hiring short-term workers to cut costs hurts their prospects and ability to learn new skills.
- Opinion: The tide is turning on China’s savings glut — Chinese policymakers are finally getting serious about boosting consumption. By Rory Green.
The New York Times
- Ex-Mayor Is Sentenced to Life for Human Trafficking Tied to Scam Centers — A court in the Philippines convicted Alice Guo for trafficking people to a compound that officials have linked to online scams and organized crime.
- In the A.I. Race, Chinese Talent Still Drives American Research — Although some Silicon Valley executives paint China as the enemy, Chinese brains continue to play a major role in U.S. research.
Caixin
- Former New China Life Chairman Gets Suspended Death Sentence for $29 Million Graft — Li Quan was found guilty of embezzling and taking bribes totaling more than 200 million yuan, marking one of the most severe sentences in Beijing’s years-long anti-corruption drive in the financial industry.
- Alibaba to Launch Agentic AI Sourcing Tool for Businesses as European Orders Soar — With the tool, Chinese e-commerce giant’s B2B platform aims to help users automate almost the entire sourcing process, from comparing factories to generating trade documents.
- China Gets In on Effort to Transport More Freight to Europe While Bypassing Russia — Beijing is bolstering an alternative to its traditional European railway trade route through Russia, which has been disrupted by the war in Ukraine.
- In Depth: Thailand Turns to Pop Mart, Miniso to Win Back Chinese Tourists — Facing shrinking margins at home, Labubu vendor Pop Mart and rival Miniso are opening superstores in the Southeast Asian country.
- Saudi Arabia Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Chinese Tech Firms — The Gulf nation has already attracted the likes of Lenovo and Shein as it dangles sweeping tax breaks and more Chinese-friendly living conditions.
South China Morning Post
- China accuses US of undermining ties with Greece in envoy’s Piraeus port remarks — Washington’s ambassador under fire after urging Athens to sell the ancient port operated by Chinese shipping giant Cosco.
- Top Democrat demands US probe into 4 Chinese firms potentially supplying Nexperia — Letter by Raja Krishnamoorthi to US Commerce Department claims wafers made by China-based suppliers pose safety and reliability concerns.
- Beijing’s rare earth control pause is ‘opportunity’ to mend China-EU ties, envoy says — Bloc’s China ambassador says last month’s suspension creates ‘new stability’ and a chance to improve frosty relations.
- US lawmakers press for new tactics to challenge China’s grip on rare earths — Congressional panel urges alternative technologies as Beijing’s pricing power and slow US production raise doubts about reducing dependence.
- Opinion: US-China rivalry is moving beyond guns and growth — In this new era of entangled competition, humans aren’t the only ones shaping state power; technological and material systems also produce geopolitical outcomes. By Li Xing.
Nikkei Asia
- Xi Jinping hesitates to draw double-edged sword of anti-Japan protests — Whipping up unrest could unleash Chinese people’s pent-up economic frustrations.
- Lenovo, Xiaomi flag price hikes as memory chip costs rise — AI demand is causing component supply crunches and impacting margins.
- Europe’s ‘Golden Visa’ landscape shrinks but Asian demand stays high — Chinese and Indians seek ‘Plan B’ residency and territories to park wealth.
Bloomberg
- China Weighs New Property Stimulus Package as Crisis Lingers — Calls for more forceful policy support for the residential real estate market have grown in recent months.
- Shipping Giants Race to Speed Up China-Peru Trade With New Route — Competition to accelerate maritime trade between China and Peru is heating up after a sprawling Chinese-owned port opened along the country’s Pacific coast.
- Opinion: Chinese Drone Ban Is Necessary Despite the Pain — The Federal Aviation Administration is poised to issue its final ruling to allow qualified operators to fly uncrewed aircraft beyond visual lines of sight. By Thomas Black.
Reuters
- How China’s civilian fleet is rehearsing to take Taiwan — A Reuters visual investigation of China’s annual naval exercises off the Chinese coast opposite Taiwan shows how Beijing’s ‘shadow navy’ of civilian ships is training to help in a mass landing of troops and materiel on the island.
- Trump’s semiconductor tariff plan likely delayed, officials say — Trump aides are taking their time on chip tariffs as they work to avoid a rupture with Beijing over trade issues, which would risk a return to a tit-for-tat trade war.
- Opinion: China burns more coal even as output slips, driving prices up — China’s output of all grades of coal was 406.75m metric tons in October, down 2.3% from the same month in 2024 and also down from 411.51m tons in September. By Clyde Russell.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: The New Soft-Power Imbalance — China’s Cautious Response to America’s Retreat.
- The Economist: China has too many university grads and too few jobs for them — It wants to push youngsters towards vocational colleges instead.
- The Information: Salesforce’s Slack to Stop Direct Service in China, Farm Out to Alibaba — Salesforce Inc.’s collaboration platform Slack notified users in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau that they should move their accounts to Alibaba Group before February next year.
- BBC: MP’s aide reported suspected China LinkedIn approach — The government insists its approach to China is “pragmatic”: it regards working with Beijing as inevitable but insists it is “clear eyed” about the risks. Will a growing number of MPs demand a more sceptical outlook?
