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
- EU Launches $3.5 Billion Plan to Secure Raw-Materials as China Tensions Mount — The plan includes setting up a center to help monitor the bloc’s mineral supplies and facilitate joint investments by member states.
- Interior Secretary Calls For Boosting Critical Mineral Mining in the U.S. — Doug Burgum pushes to galvanize domestic mining amid a battle the U.S. is losing to China.
The Financial Times
- China says it is ‘actively’ issuing rare earths general licences — Beijing’s tight export controls on critical minerals have strained relations with US and EU.
- Macron warns of ‘disintegration’ risk to world order in Xi meeting — French and Chinese leaders stress need for multilateralism amid rising trade tensions.
- US halts plans to sanction Chinese spy agency — Decision sparks concern among China hawks that Donald Trump is sacrificing national security to maintain trade truce.
- Opinion: The economic miracle of China’s midday naps — The wuxiu habit is regarded as traditional but its popularity has grown with rising incomes and longer working hours. By William Langley.
The New York Times
- Macron Urges Xi to Help End War in Ukraine — As President Emmanuel Macron of France visited China, its leader, Xi Jinping, said his country would play a constructive role in ending the fighting.
- Taiwan’s Opposition Leader, Once for Independence, Turns Toward China — She says Taiwan must embrace its Chinese heritage to avoid war. Her critics say she wants to steer the island into Beijing’s orbit.
- After Deadly Fire, Hong Kong Ominously Warns Grieving Citizens to Stay in Line — In a sign of China’s role in the city, officials have tried to stamp out calls for accountability over a catastrophe that killed at least 159 people.
Caixin
- China Exposes Massive Loan Kickback in Finance Graft Crackdown — Details reveal scale of graft and governance failures at regional lender.
- Emerging Markets Power China’s Export Growth as U.S. Sales Slump — ASEAN and Africa drive growth as China upgrades its export mix.
- Wingtech Rebuts Nexperia Claims as Control Fight Threatens Global Chip Supply — The Chinese owner accuses its Dutch arm of dodging the “core issue” of shareholder rights and pursuing a supply chain shift away from China.
- Midea Steps Up Brazil Push With Local Factories, Football Sponsorships — As competition intensifies, companies like Midea are betting on local manufacturing, design and branding to win over consumers in Latin America’s biggest market.
- Shanghai Slaps $7 Million Record Fines on Nine Firms for Mazhou Island Construction Waste Dumping — The scandal underscores how metro expansion — and inadequate disposal systems — have fueled a lucrative underground trade in soil and rock.
South China Morning Post
- USMCA partners urged to form joint economic security mechanism to address China challenge — US, Mexico and Canada encouraged at US trade hearing to oversee ‘pragmatic and specific plan’ to strengthen economic rules against China.
- US university seeks to dismiss lawsuit by family of China-born scientist Jane Wu — Family alleges Northwestern’s actions during ‘China Initiative’ investigations linked to death of leading researcher.
- World’s first ‘ethical AI’ wades into thorny debate over China’s new drug abuse law — Confucian trained ‘Wen Dao’ weighs potential societal costs of rule that seals records of convicted drug users.
Nikkei Asia
- Rare earth prices remain sky-high despite US-China deal — Truce seen easing supply in US, but outlook unclear for other destinations.
- Xi’s Takaichi retribution has less impact on eastern Japan — Area hit by 2011 quake still receiving Taiwanese and other tourists as Kansai suffers.
- Canadian Solar to restore US production, set up JV with China subsidiary — Move aims to evade Washington’s growing scrutiny of Chinese companies.
Bloomberg
- China’s Biggest Beauty Firm Lays Out Strategy to Rival L’Oréal — Proya reported sales above 10 billion yuan last year, the first Chinese beauty company to do so. Its billionaire founder is now on the hunt for European brands.
- How China’s Engineering Mindset Won the Clean-Tech Race — What does China get right – and wrong – in its relentless quest to build? Dan Wang, author of Breakneck, explains.
- Colombia’s Political Elite Is Embracing China Ahead of Elections — More and more lawmakers from the South American nation are visiting Beijing instead of Washington as Trump and Petro trade barbs.
- Nvidia’s Huang Unsure Whether China Would Accept H200 Chips — Allowing H200 sales to China would mark a significant win for Nvidia, which has pressed the Trump administration and Congress for a relaxation of export controls.
- Opinion: A China Jobs Fight Will Decide the Future of Energy — All jobs are equal, but some are more equal than others. By David Fickling.
Reuters
- China massing military ships across region in show of maritime force, sources say — China is in the middle of what is traditionally a busy season for military exercises, though the PLA has not made any announcements of large-scale officially named drills.
- China state-owned banks soak up dollars to slow yuan gains, sources say — The dollar buying came as the yuan leapt to a 14-month high on Wednesday and extended a trend of state banks leaning against yuan gains in order to smooth its rise.
- Hikvision challenges decision to expand crackdown on Chinese telecom gear — The FCC named Hikvision, Huawei, ZTE, China Mobile, and China Telecom to its “Covered List,” which bars authorizing the import or sale of new equipment from those companies.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: China’s Military Machine Shouldn’t Run on American Chips — The GAIN AI Act would have given U.S. buyers priority in the global AI race.
- POLITICO: China debate delayed Trump security strategy — Key docs laying out the administration’s strategic national security priorities are expected to release this month.
- The Washington Post: In tungsten territory, China celebrates control of mineral the U.S. needs — President Donald Trump claimed victory after China agreed to defer controls on rare earths. But many restrictions remain, including on the critical mineral tungsten.
- The Economist: China’s entertainment industry is booming but needs some slack — The Communist Party is in a quandary.
- Rest of World: The hidden Kenyan workers training China’s AI models — An unemployment crisis has created fertile ground for companies to step in with opaque systems built on WhatsApp groups, middlemen, and bargain-basement wages.
