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 Used to Be a Cash Cow for Western Companies. Now It’s a Test Lab. — Competition has pushed some brands to adapt to Chinese taste and introduce lower prices—and use the country as an innovation hub.
- Why Russia and China Are Sitting Out Venezuela’s Clash With Trump — The ‘Axis of Authoritarianism’ is depleted by the war in Ukraine and preoccupied with trade negotiations.
- Nexperia Urges China Unit to Restore Chip Flow Amid Supply-Squeeze Fears — The Chinese owner of Nexperia, Wingtech Technology, in response called on its Dutch subsidiary to enter talks over control of the company.
- Where Trump Sees Deals, Russia and China See a Chance to Disrupt U.S. Alliances — Moscow and Beijing have played to the president’s dealmaking, rattling America’s security partners.
- Meituan Posts First Loss in Three Years as Food-Delivery War Rages — Chinese food-delivery giant Meituan swung into the red for the first time in nearly three years, buckling under the costs of a brutal price war.
- Trump Is Silent on Taiwan After Talking to Xi—and That Is Fine With Taipei — Taiwan is making the most of the U.S.’s policy of “strategic ambiguity,” even as President Trump’s stance raises concern for some.
- The Battle Over Africa’s Great Untapped Resource: IP Addresses — Chinese entrepreneur stirs controversy by amassing 10 million and leasing them to companies outside Africa. Internet service providers cry foul.
- Europe Fears It Can’t Catch Up in Great Power Competition — Continent worries it is becoming biggest loser in new era of transactional politics.
- Opinion: China Revives Economic Coercion to Punish Japan — Beijing wields travel advisories and import bans rather than formal sanctions. By Victor Ferguson and Audrye Wong.
The Financial Times
- Hong Kong investigators highlight role of netting in deadly fire — Authorities say construction materials at site of disaster that killed 151 did not comply with anti-flammability standards.
- Morgan Stanley and Goldman dominate Hong Kong equity deals — A wave of Chinese companies raising money has revived dealmaking in Asia’s financial hub.
- China services activity hits three-year low while factory slump persists — Data from the national statistics agency indicates persistent weak demand in the economy.
- Gold rally dents sales at China’s jewellery retailers — High prices and a new tax regime have deterred buyers and led to hundreds of store closures.
- Chinese parts supplier takes stake in leading Russian drone maker — Tie-up marks new level of co-operation between Moscow and Beijing’s military industrial complexes.
- China launches nationwide high-rise inspections after deadly Hong Kong fire — Campaign will check housing and public buildings for safety, Beijing says.
- Indonesia resists US trade deal ‘poison pill’ — Jakarta’s rejection of coercive clauses challenges effort by Donald Trump to counter Chinese influence in south-east Asia.
- Is China winning the innovation race? — Once the world’s factory, Beijing’s relentless focus on R&D means the country has become the world’s laboratory.
- China Vanke’s bonds plunge on fears of waning state support — Property developer asks for delay in payment despite backing of Shenzhen Metro.
- China’s tech giants take AI model training offshore to tap Nvidia chips — Alibaba and ByteDance shift development to south-east Asia to sidestep US curbs.
- Taiwan to spend $40bn on weapons to counter China — Largest special defence budget in 30 years aims to persuade Donald Trump of willingness to pay more for security.
- Opinion: Why China needs to let the renminbi rise — A steady appreciation would boost domestic consumption and improve trade relations. By Weijian Shan.
The New York Times
- Get Ready, America: Here Come China’s Food and Drink Chains — China’s fast-food and beverage brands have an opportunity to expand in the United States and escape cutthroat competition at home.
- Deadly Hong Kong Fire Is a Test of Beijing’s Rule in the City — After Beijing reshaped the political order in Hong Kong in its image, the fire has become a test of how well that new system can govern in a crisis.
Caixin
- Chinese Firms Need to Pivot Beyond Simple Sales Abroad, McKinsey China Chief Says — Joe Ngai says Chinese companies expanding overseas should focus on building brands and growing local operations, while multinationals in China face a tougher slog.
- Dubai Courts China’s Next Tech Champions — The emirate is seeking deeper ties with Chinese companies as it looks to move beyond trade into technology partnerships.
- China’s ‘Queen of Bonds’ Taken Away Amid Finance Anti-Graft Drive — Former Tianfeng Securities executive is among the latest figures caught up in China’s tightening scrutiny of financial risks.
- Amazon, TikTok Sellers Face Fresh Tax Scrutiny in China — Tax authorities begin analyzing data from e-commerce and gig work to identify unregistered merchants and underreported revenue.
- Chinese Miners Should Rethink Indonesia Playbook as Nickel Controls Tighten, Insiders Say — Facing higher royalties, tighter quotas and divestment requirements, Chinese miners ought to lean on local partners and build sustainable investment models rather than pursue rapid expansion.
South China Morning Post
- Taiwan is a complicated issue, but the way out is simple: ex-PLA colonel Zhou Bo — Commentator and former senior colonel on Beijing’s row with Japan, lessons from the Ukraine war and why playing global policeman is a trap.
- Chinese media demands answers as scandal hits US$1 billion Yongan hydropower project — National Energy Administration is said to be investigating claims of cost-cutting and defects at flagship dam in Fujian province.
- ‘It is fake’: why US industry leader refused to believe China’s robot march video — Doubt over dramatic footage due to a ‘lack of understanding’ about China’s strong manufacturing capability and supply chain, UBtech says.
Nikkei Asia
- China central bank’s crypto warning hits related Hong Kong shares — PBOC flags stablecoin risks, vows to continue clampdown on virtual assets.
- How Sanae Takaichi can thaw Japan’s relations with China — Prime minister can take a page from the playbook of Shinzo Abe, her mentor.
- Seoul weighs crackdown on Chinese spies amid string of incidents — Lee administration supports amendment to expand espionage definition.
Bloomberg
- China Tells Stats Providers to Halt Home Sales Data Publication — Two of China’s private data agencies withheld monthly home sales figures at the government’s behest, people familiar with the matter said, stoking transparency concerns in a critical sector of the world’s second-largest economy.
- How China Built a Network of Ports Encircling the Globe — With shipping outposts on six continents, Beijing has cemented its trade dominance. That some could be used by its navy has other nations worried.
- ‘Dave Chappelle Would Starve’: How to Survive in China’s Stand-Up Scene — From small clubs to viral talent shows, Chinese comedians are testing how far laughter can go in a system where every punchline must pass through censors.
- Taiwan Plans First US Arms Purchase for T-Dome to Counter China — Taiwan plans to buy its first weapons for a major air-defense system announced less than two months ago, underscoring Taipei’s urgency to get the program online as China escalates its military intimidation.
- Opinion: Is China Preparing a Ukraine-Style Plan for Taiwan? — China is drawing lessons from the Trump administration’s still unfinished “peace plan” for Russia and Ukraine, watching to see how far Washington will go to secure an agreement, and whether that means concessions to Moscow. By Karishma Vaswani.
Reuters
- China’s military firms struggle as corruption purge bites, report says — Revenues at China’s giant military firms fell last year as corruption purges slowed arms contracts and procurement, according to a study released on Monday by a leading conflict think tank.
- Taiwan airline seeks role in ‘whole of society’ defence with surveillance flights to counter China — Flying over the blue waters off Taiwan’s east coast, a light aircraft equipped with a powerful U.S.-made radar slung under its belly tracks Chinese warships, collecting data its operator is keen to provide to Taipei’s security forces.
- ‘Slow’ EU to unveil plan for cutting raw materials’ reliance on China — The EU executive will unveil next week measures to cut the bloc’s over-reliance on China for critical raw materials as Europe seeks to keep up with fierce competition from the U.S. and Asia.
Other Publications
- Foreign Affairs: Opinion: What Trump Gets Wrong About China — Only a Long-Term Strategy Can Counter the Threat From Beijing. By Raja Krishnamoorthi.
- The Washington Post: How China is using AI to extend censorship and surveillance — China is expanding the use of AI throughout its criminal justice system and developing tools to deepen its monitoring of ethnic minorities, a new report finds.
- The Economist: What China will dominate next — The country’s high-speed innovation holds lessons for the world.
- The Information: Why China Doesn’t Want to Buy More Nvidia Chips — Three years after the U.S.’s sweeping export restrictions that cut off Chinese access to AI chips, China has managed to turn the situation around.
