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
- The Failed Crusade to Keep a Rare-Earths Mine Out of China’s Hands — Failure of one Western company to build China-free rare-earths supply is a glimpse at how Beijing has come to dominate the critical minerals.
- Japan’s New Leader Infuriated Beijing. She Isn’t Backing Down. — Workaholic Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is riding high despite the perils of a fight with Beijing.
- Opinion: The First Large-Scale Cyberattack by AI — With basic tech and little human oversight, Chinese spies apparently exploited Anthropic’s Claude Code. By Nury Turkel.
The Financial Times
- China enjoys marriage boom as Beijing allows weddings in nightclubs — State media celebrate turnaround but experts warn it will not reverse demographic decline.
- China’s Li pushes developing country alliance on rare earths — Beijing steps up competition with the US on access to the critical minerals.
- EU to tighten investment rules to stand up to China — Commission wants greater benefits for local workers and technology transfers when foreign companies set up in bloc.
- China’s risky challenge to Japan — and the U.S. — The diplomatic rift between Beijing and Tokyo is also a test of Washington’s appetite for engagement with the region.
The New York Times
- China Offers Panda Totes, but No New Commitments, at Climate Talks — The United States has retreated on climate. China, the only superpower at COP30 and the world leader in clean energy, is not filling the void.
Caixin
- The AI Boom’s Unsettling Paradox — AI is attracting record investment but causing sweeping job losses amid fears it could all end in a burst bubble.
- How China’s Unified QR Code System Is Redefining Cross-Border Payments — The system channels transactions through a single gateway, moving away from the patchwork of bilateral links between individual service providers.
- China Expels Former Anti-Graft Chief at Securities Watchdog for Bribery — Wang Huimin is accused of abusing his power to facilitate company listings and secure job promotions for others.
- China to Expand H-Share Auditor List as Hong Kong IPOs Boom — Regulators set 1.5 billion yuan revenue threshold for new entrants.
- China to Create Asia’s Largest Cruise Fleet in State Sector Overhaul — Huaxia International Cruises consolidates assets from four central SOEs, though brands will continue to operate independently.
South China Morning Post
- Snowcapped prosperity: China’s winter sports market glides upwards — Growing participation and government support are fuelling innovation in equipment, expanding domestic resorts, and creating new jobs in China’s ice and snow economy.
- China strengthens global drone dominance with record orders at Dubai Airshow — The country already dominates global patent applications for drones, one report shows, and manufacturers are rapidly expanding overseas.
Nikkei Asia
- Chinese stores make room for pets as ownership booms — Growing consumer demand pushes restaurants and hotels to go ‘pet-friendly.’
- China carmakers sell more EVs, plug-in hybrids for under $21,000 — Price war in the Chinese market appears ready to spill overseas.
- Japan beef exports to China fall victim to spat over Taiwan — Talks on planned resumption after 24-year hiatus are canceled by Beijing.
- Japan faces competitive pressure from China’s push for green ships — Industry facilitator calls on ‘team Japan’ to collaborate on new technologies.
Bloomberg
- Space Race With China Drives Antenna-Building Boom in Arctic — More countries and companies are launching satellites orbiting near the North Pole.
- Banned Chinese Bond Tactic That Turns 8% Yields Into 16% Is Roaring Back — Banks are helping investors in Hong Kong secure bond returns that far exceed official rates — and it’s all happening out of view.
Reuters
- Chinese cruise ships look to steer clear of Japan amid diplomatic dispute — Chinese cruise operators are scrambling to avoid Japanese ports as Beijing and Tokyo engage in a diplomatic dispute, which is expected to spur demand for tourism in South Korea.
- Bitcoin mining in China rebounds, defying 2021 ban — The pickup in bitcoin mining in China comes amid signs that Beijing has softened its attitude toward digital coins.
- Surging Chinese imports of Indonesia oil point to rebranded Iranian crude, traders say — Indonesia has emerged as an alternate declared origin this year due to greater scrutiny from banks about oil labelled as Malaysian.
- China pitches closer ties to Germany in strategic industries to ease rare earth strains — Germany is seeking to smooth tensions over rare-earth curbs that have choked German production lines and prompted calls for de-risking.
- How the Nexperia chip crisis upended auto supply chains again — The industry never envisioned low-tech chips would become a lever for China against the West.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Chinese pharma is on the cusp of going global — Its fast-moving, cut-price drugmakers stand to make more money abroad than at home.
- The Washington Post: Trump’s tariffs are pushing Canada closer to China and India — Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to double non-U.S. exports by 2035. That means making up with two of Canada’s greatest adversaries.
