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
- The Chinese Spy Machine Infiltrating Taiwan’s Military — Beijing’s rapidly advancing spying operations have seen agents penetrate the island’s armed forces, enticing personnel to pledge allegiance to China.
The Financial Times
- The Broken China Dream — how Xi turned back the clock on reform — Minxin Pei charts the country’s journey from Deng to today — and the creation of a new form of totalitarian rule.
- EU seeks to reform WTO ‘most favoured nation’ trade rules — Brussels had previously long defended principle that members must treat one another equally.
- Opinion: A better way to address China’s population decline — Boosting economic confidence will do more to lift the birth rate than a pronatalist push. By The Editorial Board.
The New York Times
- China Wins as Trump Cedes Leadership of the Global Economy — The president used a keynote speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland to renounce the last vestiges of the liberal democratic order.
- Opinion: America Is Waving the White Flag in the New Cold War Against China — Is a Chinese century now dawning? By David Wallace-Wells.
Caixin
- How Hong Kong Became a Global Wealth Magnet — The city recorded the world’s largest net inflow of cross-border wealth in 2024, propelled by Chinese mainland fortunes, a hot IPO market and a burgeoning digital asset scene.
- Temu Office Raided by Turkish Regulators as Global Scrutiny Mounts — Surprise visit follows regulatory actions in Europe and the U.S., underscoring the growing compliance challenges the e-commerce giant faces in its core markets.
- Zhang Yong Rewrites His Own Playbook at Hot Pot Heavyweight Haidilao — After rapid expansion exposed flaws in the chain’s business model, the founder has returned to reshape the firm for its next phase, with a focus on incubating new restaurant brands.
- China’s Vocational Bachelor’s Boom Crosses 100 Schools — Beijing is scaling a new kind of undergraduate degree meant to feed industrial upgrading. The test now is whether fast growth can deliver distinctive training and employable skills.
- Celebrity-Backed Children’s Hospital in Beijing Faces Eviction Over Unpaid Rent — Beijing’s first private non-profit children’s hospital teeters on the brink of closure amid a debt crisis, shrinking birth rates, and the harsh realities of China’s medical market.
South China Morning Post
- Why China is playing the long game in Iran despite Trump’s fresh threats — Beijing is balancing vital energy interests with long-standing diplomatic principles and a cautious Middle East recalibration, analysts say.
- Beijing-Ottawa deal reinforces China’s dominance in EV industry at expense of U.S.: analysts — New agreement is set to significantly boost Chinese carmakers’ global expansion and offers easier entry into the North American EV market.
- Opinion: How Trump 2.0 accelerated China’s push for tech and trade resilience — As intense competition becomes the new normal, pressure has strengthened China’s capacity to adapt rather than deter it from its long-term ambitions. By Wang Wen.
Nikkei Asia
- Repercussions mount from China’s Japan strategy — With Japan polls looming, a new centrist party vows to stand firm against China.
- China battery storage installations triple North America’s in 2025 — Gap expected to grow this year despite AI-fueled demand in U.S.
- China offers Indian exporters helping hand amid Trump tariffs — Electronics and marine products drive surge in India’s shipments to China.
Bloomberg
- India Is Electrifying Faster Than China Using Cheap Green Tech — Developing countries are taking advantage of falling prices for solar, wind and batteries.
- Latin America Rides Out Trump’s Trade Storm With Help From China — Latin America braced for a blow when Trump’s tariffs upended global trade last year.
- Alibaba Is Said to Plan IPO for AI Chipmaking Unit T-Head — Alibaba’s chipmaking arm develops chips for computing and storage, and is a strong contender domestically.
Reuters
- China’s rural banks struggle to sell seized properties despite hefty discounts — The scramble comes as properties have been sharply revalued downward due to steep price declines across China’s housing market.
- Fortescue doubles down on China to ensure iron ore flow — That strategy has stoked industry concerns over China’s dominance in many commodity markets, where it leverages volume to argue for better terms.
- Philippines will insist South China Sea code is based on international law — China’s Southeast Asian neighbours want the code to be grounded in international law, which Beijing has repeatedly been accused of disregarding.
Other Publications
- LA Times: Cheap Chinese EVs are suddenly everywhere in Mexico — BYD controls roughly 70% of Mexico’s EV market, with cheap vehicles attracting middle-class buyers seeking alternatives to rising gasoline costs and traditional electric cars.
