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
- Panama Ports Deal Hits Impasse as China Makes New Demands for Its Approval — Beijing threatens to block BlackRock-led deal to buy ports unless state-owned Cosco gets a majority stake.
- Opinion: The Case for Sending Nvidia’s Chips to China — Leadership is about controlling the platform on which others build, not hoarding end products. By AARON GINN.
The Financial Times
- We urgently need to rebalance EU-China relations — Resolving serious trade imbalances will require co-operation and co-ordinated action. By EMMANUEL MACRON.
- The American company seeking to counter China in Africa — Ivanhoe Atlantic’s ‘Liberty Corridor’ would supply iron ore to US and allies but faces opposition in west Africa — and Washington.
- Japan bids farewell to pandas as row with China deepens — Strained relations between Beijing and Tokyo threaten half a century of ‘panda diplomacy.’
The New York Times
- Does China Have a Robot Bubble? — The Chinese government is betting that robots will drive economic growth. But the bots can’t really do much yet.
- On British Roads, Chinese Cars Are Racing Ahead — BYD, Chery and other Chinese automakers are winning over drivers in Britain, where tariffs are low and buyers are open to new brands.
Caixin
- TikTok Sibling Douyin Tightens Rules on Financial Influencers — The platform on Tuesday released a trial convention, which explicitly bans creators from predicting prices of individual stocks or hyping future market trends.
- China Unveils Draft Rules to Speed Certification of eVTOL Aircraft — The move is a key step towards commercial deployment of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL).
- China Moves Toward Free Childbirth to Tackle Demographic Crisis — China is intensifying its efforts to incentivize childbearing by proposing to make hospital deliveries free of charge.
South China Morning Post
- MetaX soars nearly 700% in debut as traders snap up second Chinese GPU maker to go public — MetaX closes at 829.90 yuan on Wednesday, from its IPO price of 104.66 yuan, after gaining as much as 755 per cent in intraday trading.
- Retailers beat a hasty retreat from mainland China due to consumption, competition woes — Hong Kong retailer Mannings will cease online operations from December 26 and close its physical stores after January 15.
- Why South Korea is becoming China’s new bargain travel hotspot amid Japan spat — A slump in the won is making South Korea increasingly affordable for mainland tourists just as China warns against travel to Japan.
Nikkei Asia
- Temu owner PDD purges government relations unit after fight with inspectors — Sources say numerous staff dismissed following clash over cake sourcing.
- Chinese AI chip startup MetaX surges on trading debut — Fabless GPU designer aims to capitalize on Beijing’s push for homegrown technology.
- China’s newest aircraft carrier transits Taiwan Strait, Taipei says — Taiwan believes no aircraft was carried on Fujian’s first crossing of the strait.
Bloomberg
- China’s Market Revival Hinges on Gloomy Economy Turning Corner — The country’s equities, currency and onshore fixed-income markets remain on course to hand investors positive returns for 2025.
- China Chip IPO Propels Ex-AMD Engineer Toward Billionaire Rank — On Wednesday, MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai Co. will list in Shanghai with a valuation of $5.9 billion.
- China Stepping Up Soy Auctions as It Buys More Beans From U.S. — China is expected to buy at least 12 million tons of American soybeans by the end of February, according to the latest remarks from officials in Washington.
- Opinion: China Is Now an Outdoors Nation — The country is in the midst of a wellness boom, offering a rare bright spot in an otherwise struggling retail sector. By JULIANA LIU.
Reuters
- China data dives, but Beijing balks at fiscal splurge — Chinese authorities last week pledged to prioritize domestic consumption in 2026, but these promises are already being met with skepticism.
- MetaX soars 700% in debut as China AI chips push lures investors — Makers of artificial intelligence (AI) chips are rushing to sell shares in China to capitalise on interest generated by a government drive to boost local production in competition with the U.S.
- China lowers EU pork tariffs in final ruling after 18-month probe — More than half China’s imports came from the EU last year.
Other Publications
- Foreign Affairs: China’s Long Economic War: How Beijing Builds Leverage for Indefinite Competition — For much of the past year, China’s response to trade tensions has continually surprised hawks in Washington. By ZONGYUAN ZOE LIU.
- The Washington Post: Opinion: America first? Not when Trump is dealing with China. — The president’s second-term China policy started out aggressive. That quickly changed. By DEREK SCISSORS and ZACK COOPER.
- The Christian Science Monitor: Among palm trees and luxury malls, China launches an ambitious experiment — Hainan will gain independent customs status on Dec. 18 – a move Chinese leaders hope will jump-start development and pioneer new levels of openness for the rest of the country, despite the rise of protectionism.
- CNBC: Why China’s young are flocking to government jobs in record numbers — A record number of the country’s youth took the annual civil service exam this year as the jobs market remains weak.
- Sixth Tone: Silver Is the New Gold: How Retail Is Adapting to an Aging China — A new wave of stores is blending design, comfort, and dignity as China’s older consumers become impossible to ignore.
