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 Signals It Won’t Give an Inch to the U.S. in Latin America — Beijing is doubling down on its expansion just as President Trump tries to claim the Western Hemisphere as an exclusive sphere of influence for the U.S.
- Xi Says China Hit 2025 Growth Target Despite Economic Headwinds — The leader’s New Year speech is an opportunity to communicate directly with the Chinese people and provided an insight into his priorities.
- Opinion: China Seeks Power, Not Only Trade — To wipe out competition, it builds excess capacity, then floods the market with subsidized exports. By Ram Charan.
- Opinion: Trump Gives a Boost to China’s Biotech Companies — By importing foreign price controls on drugs, he’s compounding Biden’s mistake. By The Editorial Board.
The Financial Times
- China doubles down on export-led growth model — The country plans to reinforce its dominance of global manufacturing, despite persistent deflation at home and rising tensions abroad.
- Prices for lab monkeys surge on China biotech boom — More drugs entering middle or late-stage development drive up demand.
- Opinion: China’s wall of cash could prop up its lagging stocks — Local banks stand to benefit most from the country’s large pool of savings. By Lex.
The New York Times
- In China, A.I. Finds Pancreatic Cancer That Doctors May Miss — A tool for spotting pancreatic cancer in routine CT scans has had promising results, one example of how China is racing to apply A.I. to medicine’s tough problems.
- How Japanese Scallops Became a Pawn in Diplomatic Tensions With China — Beijing is using a ban on the humble mollusk to punish Japan over its apparent willingness to defend Taiwan.
Caixin
- China Zheshang Bank Leadership Reshuffle Amid Oversight Push — The reshuffle reflects a broader policy push in recent years to strengthen party leadership in finance, sources say.
- How Price Wars, Platform Battles and IP Booms Defined China’s 2025 — From subsidy-fueled competition in retail to explosive growth in culture and services, 2025 laid bare the contradictions in China’s consumption-led recovery.
- DeepSeek’s Breakout Rewrites U.S.-China AI Race — From DeepSeek’s surprise success to chip curbs and capital frictions, 2025 exposed diverging paths in the global race to build artificial intelligence.
South China Morning Post
- How new C100 chief plans to help Chinese-Americans strike the middle ground with China — The Committee of 100’s president Paul Cheung has high hopes for Chinese-Americans’ relationship with China in these uncertain times.
- China warns satellites from Elon Musk’s Starlink are ‘safety and security’ risk — Beijing tells UN meeting of near misses involving SpaceX satellites and warns they are being used by criminals and terrorists.
- US Navy aircraft crashes offer lessons for PLA carrier operations, analysts say — Chinese military could learn from rival’s strengths in search and rescue response, but also its weaknesses in maintenance and training.
Nikkei Asia
- Chinese AI chipmaker Biren soars on trading debut — Stock price rises 75% as Nvidia rival kicks off another strong Hong Kong IPO season.
- China’s BYD set to surpass Tesla and become top global EV seller in 2025 — 28% jump in annual deliveries driven by massive domestic market, overseas expansions.
- Belt and Road nations’ share of China trade surplus overtakes that of US — Beijing lessens exposure to American market as Washington pushes tariffs, restrictions.
Bloomberg
- DeepSeek Touts New Training Method as China Pushes AI Efficiency — DeepSeek published a paper outlining a more efficient approach to developing AI, illustrating the Chinese artificial intelligence industry’s effort to compete with the likes of OpenAI.
- Baidu’s AI Chip Unit Kunlunxin Confidentially Files for Hong Kong IPO — The filing is kicking off what’s expected to be a busy year for listings by companies backing China’s technological ambitions.
- US Says China’s Taiwan Drills ‘Unnecessarily’ Raised Tensions — The US State Department urged Beijing to cease military pressure against the self-ruled island, after President Donald Trump initially shrugged off concerns.
Reuters
- U.S. grants TSMC annual licence to import U.S. chipmaking tools into China — The approval “ensures uninterrupted fab operations and product deliveries,” the company said in a statement to Reuters.
Other Publications
- Foreign Affairs: The New Arteries of Power — Subsea Cables Are This Century’s Hidden Battleground.
- BBC: China’s plan to boost birth rates — People in China will pay a 13% sales tax on contraceptives, while childcare services will be exempt.
