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
- Nvidia AI Chips to Undergo Unusual U.S. Security Review Before Export to China — Shipping chips from Taiwan to U.S. to China would allow government to get 25% cut of sales.
- China Is Too Big to Rely on Exports for Growth, IMF Chief Warns — On visit to Beijing, economist urges government to get population spending more.
- China’s Consumer Inflation Ticks Up, But Factory Deflation Worsens — The country’s consumer-price index rose 0.7% from a year earlier last month.
The Financial Times
- China adds domestic AI chips to official procurement list for first time — Beijing encouraged purchase of Huawei and Cambricon processors before Trump’s move to allow Nvidia exports.
- Opinion: The meaning of China’s $1tn trade surplus — Beijing’s latest milestone underscores its industrial strength — and growing economic imbalances. By the Editorial Board.
The New York Times
- Chip Company Plotted to Send Technology to China, Ex-C.E.O. Says — The former chief executive of Nexperia, a Dutch chipmaker, said Dutch officials had known for years that the company’s Chinese owner sought to move its technology to China.
- I.M.F. Prods China, Gently, on Its Weak Currency — Caught between Beijing and the Trump administration, the International Monetary Fund offered mild criticism of China for relying too heavily on exports.
- Taiwan Invokes National Security Law to Protect TSMC Trade Secrets — An executive left TSMC for Intel. Taiwan’s government says that could threaten its national security.
Caixin
- China’s High Value-Added Industries Weaken — The contribution of high value-added industries such as biomedicine to China’s total economic inputs dropped in November, with a decline in capital inputs.
- Major Chinese Polysilicon-Makers Band Together to Curb Overcapacity — Several of China’s major polysilicon producers have teamed up on a joint venture that industry insiders said is designed to tackle overcapacity in the solar industry.
- Hong Kong to Shut Covid-19 Vaccine Indemnity Fund After $19.7 Million Payout — The Hong Kong government will cease operations a program that paid out HK$154 million ($19.7 million) to hundreds of residents who suffered severe side effects.
South China Morning Post
- European firms need to abandon overreliance on China and U.S., chamber report warns — European Union Chamber of Commerce in China urges companies to “eliminate single-source dependencies.”
- 12 killed after fire hits residential building in southern China’s Shantou city — Tuesday night’s accident was the first of its kind since the fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district killed 160 people last month.
- China reveals radio communication heard before mid-air stand-off with Japanese fighter jets — State broadcaster CCTV released the clip as evidence to show that a warning was issued and confirmed before the incident took place.
Nikkei Asia
- China Vanke bondholders meet on repayment delay as property woes deepen — Shares rally as state-backed developer seeks extension on two notes worth $810m.
- Huawei’s self-driving tech expands to mass-market vehicles in China — Automotive business becomes fast-growing earner for sanctions-hit group.
- China’s $1tn wake-up call: Record surplus threatens to fuel trade tensions — Europe emerges as next battleground amid fears over region’s manufacturing.
Bloomberg
- Chinese Chip Designer Moore Threads Jumps as New Products Help Fuel Rally — Shares jumped as much as 27% in Shanghai on Wednesday after the recent market debutant said it would release new artificial intelligence chip products next week.
- A Guide to the Nvidia Chips at the Center of U.S.-China AI Rivalry — The H200 is considerably more powerful than the H20, which Nvidia specifically designed for export to China.
Reuters
- U.S. backs Japan in dispute with China over radar incident — “China’s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability,” a State Department spokesperson said late on Tuesday.
- Exclusive: ByteDance, Alibaba keen to order Nvidia H200 chips after Trump green light, sources say — The Chinese companies are keen to place large orders for Nvidia’s second most powerful artificial intelligence chip, should Beijing give them the green light.
- How China Inc is marching into Vietnam amid U.S. tariffs — Chinese firms are expanding in Vietnam, leading investment inflows and sending record shipments to Hanoi.
Other Publications
- BBC: South Korea protests Chinese and Russian warplanes in its airspace — South Korea has lodged a complaint with the Chinese and Russian defence attaches based in the country.
- The Information: DeepSeek is Using Banned Nvidia Chips in Race to Build Next Model — DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup, has been developing its next major model using several thousand Nvidia’s state-of-the-art Blackwell chips.
- The Washington Post: This one gadget could give China a back door into the U.S. power grid — Energy companies, cybersecurity experts and lawmakers warn U.S. dependence on Chinese inverters that can be manipulated remotely is a mounting security threat.
- The Economist: Donald Trump’s flawed plan to get China hooked on Nvidia chips — The president is tearing up America’s export-control policy.
- The Economist: Opinion: What’s worse for innovation: MAGA or Mao? — Donald Trump and Xi Jinping share a dangerous nostalgia. By David Rennie.
- The AP: Paramount says China’s Tencent withdrew from its Warner Bros bid to avert national security issues — Paramount’s revised filing with the U.S. SEC of its takeover bid said the Chinese company had dropped its $1 billion financing commitment out of concern that its bid might be subject to a review.
