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
- Xi Enforces His Demand for Ethnic Unity Across China — After crackdowns on Uyghurs and Tibetans, law threatens punishment for anyone who doesn’t embrace common language and culture.
- Mysterious Lull in Chinese Military Flights Leaves Taiwan Guessing — Pause stokes uncertainty about Beijing’s intentions as world focuses on Middle East.
- China’s Auto Sales Drop as Demand Cools — Retail sales of passenger cars fell 25% in February.
- Li Auto Profit Slides as Sales, Margins Deteriorate — The Chinese carmaker’s full-year net profit fell 86%.
The Financial Times
- Inside the labs training China’s humanoid robots — Network of training farms aims to supply data needed to put ‘brains’ into machines.
- Hong Kong arrests hedge fund and brokerage staff in $300mn insider trading probe — Authorities allege brokers accepted bribes in exchange for information on share placements.
- Opinion: Trump’s Iran folly is handing Xi Jinping weapons in the trade war — Despite China being a huge oil importer, U.S. mismanagement will give Beijing the upper hand in upcoming talks. By Alan Beattie.
- Opinion: Which chokepoint wins in a game of geoeconomic Top Trumps? — It depends on its damage to the target, potential for blowback and durability. By Soumaya Keynes.
- Opinion: Europe needs to stop bickering to compete with China — The fight over ‘Made in Europe’ versus ‘Made with Europe’ is a pointless one. By Shahin Vallée.
The New York Times
- China Wants Its Ethnic Minorities to Blend In. Now It’s the Law. — Under a new “ethnic unity” law, Mandarin Chinese must now be the language of teaching. Parents must guide their children to love the Communist Party. Neighborhoods should be mixed.
- At China’s Big Political Meeting, a Rare Debate About Inequality — China’s plan to raise pensions for farmers by less than $3 a month prompted rare criticism from lawmakers about the country’s threadbare social safety net.
Caixin
- Hong Kong Anti-Corruption Probe Hits Citic Securities, Guotai Junan — Anti-graft officers take a Guotai Junan International executive for questioning and conduct office visits amid growing scrutiny of IPO sponsorship and fundraising deals.
- China Fugitive in $220 Million Scam Arrested in Africa’s Only Taiwan Ally — Suspect in alleged Ponzi scheme arrested after five years on the run.
- Panda Bond Sales Jump as Foreign Borrowers Tap Yuan Funding — Issuance set to reach 64 billion yuan in first quarter, up more than 50% year-on-year.
South China Morning Post
- The pivot: how China turbocharged its industrial policy and remade the global economy — China’s tighter embrace of industrial policy in recent years has transformed its economy — and other countries are following suit.
- Chinese firms with success in go-global efforts poised to reap profit rewards — High commodity prices also a factor as mainland-listed firms set to continue outperforming Hong Kong peers battered by ‘involution.’
- As Iran war hits trade hubs, China’s logistics firms scramble for alternatives — Disrupted Middle East transit routes squeeze sector, pushing freight costs higher and pressuring supply chains.
Nikkei Asia
- Xi torn between long ties with Khameneis and U.S. relations — Peking duck dinner in 1989 helped build China’s military relationship with Iran.
- China eyes oil reserve expansion as Iran conflict creates supply risk — Five-year plan aims to double renewable, nuclear energy.
- Chinese broker Guotai says office raided as Hong Kong tightens scrutiny — Employee detained; CITIC Securities’ local arm also reportedly probed.
- OpenClaw becomes latest AI craze for China’s local governments — Rush to popularize Western-developed tool evokes shades of DeepSeek fever.
Bloomberg
- China Squeezes State Firms More Than Ever to Ease Budget Strains — With economic growth slowing in recent years and no letup from the property slump, the government’s coffers have come under extreme strain.
- China’s OpenClaw Frenzy Tests Xi’s Approach to Regulate AI — The new directive underlines how ambition to become a world leader in AI is jutting up against the ruling Communist Party’s instinct for stability and control.
- Soybeans in Spotlight as Trade Chiefs Prepare for Trump-Xi Meet — Soybeans highlight a codependency between the Chinese farmers who need imports to feed their vast herds of livestock, and the American farmers who rely on exports for their livelihoods.
Reuters
- Chinese companies race to hedge against a swinging yuan with regulatory encouragement — The trend is breaking records and, sources said, is being encouraged in part by authorities.
- China teapots maintain refinery runs to cash in on lucrative fuel sales — They are maintaining output to cash in on a surge in domestic fuel prices, but may be forced to trim runs from late April.
- China orders immediate ban on March fuel exports, sources say — It is a further step to preempt a potential domestic fuel shortage caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Other Publications
- MIT Technology Review: Hustlers are cashing in on China’s OpenClaw AI craze — The AI tool has become the country’s latest tech obsession. For savvy early adopters, that’s a business opportunity.
