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’s EV Dominance at Home Is Squeezing Out Foreign Carmakers — Chinese brands take nearly two-thirds of home market, leaving others in fight for survival.
- South Africa Risks Angering Trump by Hosting Navies of Iran, Russia, China — Military exercises come at a time of already strained U.S. relations.
- China Has Been Gorging on Black-Market Oil. That’s Now Getting Harder. — Official market for crude could soon start to feel disturbances as the U.S. and Europe crack down on illicit trading.
The Financial Times
- ‘South Korea’s Google’ pitches AI alternative to US and China — Naver targets countries reluctant to use American and Chinese cloud systems out of security concerns.
- Opinion: Trump’s new ‘great game’: mining, mapping and mercantilism — The contest for resources between the US and China will continue after the president is gone and affect us all. By Rana Foroohar.
The New York Times
- Trump Is Making a Power Play in Latin America. China Is Already There. — China built a dominant strategic position in the region as the leading lender and trading partner. It is watching President Trump’s next moves closely.
- Europe and China Take Step to Resolve Dispute on Electric Vehicles — The European Commission allowed carmakers to volunteer limits on their imports from China instead of paying tariffs, an arrangement that could help Volkswagen.
Caixin
- China to Eliminate Export Tax Rebates for Solar and Batteries by 2027 — The move escalates Beijing’s ongoing efforts to rein in domestic overcapacity.
- Chinese Companies Pivot From Exports to Localized Growth, Report Says — Instead of chasing quick export wins, companies are aiming to build sustainable, long-term businesses abroad.
- Chinese AI Startups Extend Post-Listing Rally in Hong Kong — The rally reflects a strong appetite for pure-play AI companies, which remain scarce in China’s equity market.
- South Korea’s Lee Calls for Closer China Ties as Chip Trade Faces U.S. Curbs — China remains South Korea’s single largest source of trade surplus.
South China Morning Post
- China applies to put 200,000 satellites in space after calling Starlink a crash risk — Chinese firms have signalled plans to launch more than 200,000 internet satellites, filing submissions with a UN agency just as Beijing accused Elon Musk’s SpaceX of crowding shared orbital resources.
- China, EU reach framework agreement in EV tariff dispute — Breakthrough follows duties levied by Brussels in October 2024 as part of investigation into industry subsidies.
- Chinese arms exporters may be the big winners in any Pakistan-Saudi JF-17 talks — But observers also expressed doubts over a reported potential deal proceeding, citing US security concerns and potential F-35 sales.
Nikkei Asia
- China births seen sinking under 9m, a decade after end of one-child policy — Government moves to encourage childbearing, but fiscal pressures mount.
- The downfall of alleged cybercrime kingpin Chen Zhi — Cambodia has extradited well-connected tycoon to China.
- Honda diversifies chip supply to lower China dependency — Carmaker secures procurement from companies including Japan’s Rohm after Nexperia crisis.
Bloomberg
- China AI Leaders Warn of Widening Gap With US After $1B IPO Week — Justin Lin puts the chances of a Chinese company leapfrogging the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic at less than 20% over the next three to five years.
- US and China Flip the Global Script as Capital Flows Reverse — As the US draws back, China is again dispersing capital globally, leading the rest of the world to confront a fundamental change in their economic relationships with both superpowers.
- DeepSeek Founder Liang’s Funds Surge 57% as China Quants Boom — The fund’s strong performance could boost the cash available for DeepSeek, the AI start-up which Liang also owns a majority stake in.
Reuters
- ‘Unhinged’ or savvy? Meet Li Chenggang, who leads China’s trade talks with the US — Neither a “wolf warrior” nor a wallflower, Li is a chain-smoking, porcelain-collecting career diplomat with an encyclopedic knowledge of trade law and excellent English.
- Japan sets sail on rare earth hunt as China tightens supplies — World-first mission part of drive to diversify supplies.
- With Venezuela raid, US tells China to keep away from the Americas — China’s progress has been an irritant for successive U.S. administrations, including that of Donald Trump.
- China is closing in on US technology lead despite constraints, AI researchers say — Lack of advanced lithography machines a main hurdle to having a Chinese AI world leader, they say.
Other Publications
- DW: As China sales slow, Germany’s carmakers look to India — For decades, German cars symbolized engineering perfection and economic power. Now, sales are down as China, a key market, goes electric. India could fill some of that gap for German carmakers. But will it be enough?
- The Economist: The big ambitions of China’s private space industry — Chinese firms race to catch up with SpaceX.
- Rest of World: AI’s green-energy goal is devastating Taiwan’s coastal villages — Aggressive expansion of wind energy to power the semiconductor industry is upending the livelihoods of farmers and fishers.
- Foreign Affairs: The Myth of the AI Race — Neither America Nor China Can Achieve True Tech Dominance. By Colin H. Kahl.
- BBC: Are You Dead?: The viral Chinese app for young people living alone — A new bleak-sounding app has taken China by storm.
- Semafor: Chinese AI leaders warn the US’ lead is widening — Some of China’s top minds in artificial intelligence publicly warned that the superpower has only a slim chance of catching up to the US in tech.
- The Guardian: Carney heads to Beijing as Trump’s America First agenda forces Canada into trade rethink — Canada’s PM seeks to smooth over past ructions in relationship with China as trade war takes its toll. By Leyland Cecco.
