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
- Nvidia-Backed AI Startup to Spend Billions on Korea Data Center to Combat China — The Trump administration is using AI chips and models as a tool for diplomacy and boosting U.S. allies.
- Alibaba Consolidates AI Operations Under New Business Group — Alibaba Token Hub will be led by Alibaba’s chief executive.
- Chinese Economy’s Bright Start Masks Uneven Growth as External Risks Loom — Data released showed industrial production rebounded on surging exports.
The Financial Times
- Donald Trump asks to postpone summit with China’s Xi Jinping due to Iran war — US president says he needs to remain in Washington because of the conflict in the Middle East.
- Who ate all the Chinese stock market returns? — China got rich. Less so equity punters.
- Donald Trump starts putting his new tariff wall together — The administration is preparing to impose Section 301 duties supposedly against unfair trade.
The New York Times
- War in the Gulf Is Now Churning the U.S.-China Relationship — With the Xi-Trump summit almost certainly delayed, and tensions rising over the war in Iran, vital issues for both the U.S. and China are also being cast into uncertainty.
- China is Tight-Lipped on Trump’s Request to Delay His Xi Summit — After President Trump said he needed to postpone his meeting in Beijing with Xi Jinping, a spokesman for China said officials were still discussing the timing of a meeting.
- Trump Officials Look to More Managed Approach to Trade With China — The administration has begun discussing a new “Board of Trade” with China to try to balance what U.S. officials see as an unequal economic relationship.
- Trump’s Threat to Delay Summit With Xi Casts New Shadow Over China Relations — President Trump warned that he could postpone a meeting set to begin in just over two weeks if China refuses to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Caixin
- China Medical Insurance Revenue Outpaces Spending for First Time in Years — China’s state medical insurance fund saw its income grow faster than its expenditures for the first time in several years in 2025, according to a newly released government report.
- China–Middle East Air Cargo Recovers as Routes Shift North From Gulf Hubs — Air cargo flights between the Chinese mainland and the Middle East have recovered to about 80% of their pre-conflict volume, though the region’s freight network is undergoing a rapid restructuring away from traditional Gulf hubs.
- Memory Chip Surge Forces Chinese Smartphone Makers to Raise Prices — Chinese smartphone makers OPPO and Vivo are raising the prices of some of their handsets, citing a sharp and sustained increase in the cost of memory chips.
South China Morning Post
- Washington signals it wants China kept out of Brazil’s largest port auction — US consul-general Kevin Murakami told port executives the Santos megadeal should not fall into ‘unwanted hands’.
- China backs wider hydrogen adoption as Strait of Hormuz crisis jolts energy markets — Initiative to expand industrial hydrogen use and lower the renewable fuel’s price dovetails with Beijing’s energy security strategy amid oil crisis.
- Google to open Gemini chatbot to all Hong Kong users amid city’s AI push — Google Hong Kong’s Michael Yue says move will drive more creativity and productivity and help achieve commitment to advancing Hong Kong together.
- Papers please: China raises pressure on Panama amid canal row with ship inspection wave — Intensified inspections for Panama-flagged vessels – among the world’s most common registrations – retaliation for canal port seizure, source says.
- Opinion: China is re-engineering its economy for a more complex world — Beijing wants to shape a new growth model capable of meeting the challenges of an ageing population, technological competition and geopolitical uncertainty. By Jeffrey Wu.
Nikkei Asia
- China Renaissance sets sights on cross-border deals with new US hire — Investment bank adds American resources to serve globally minded Chinese companies
- US and China weigh new mechanism for managing trade, investment — ‘Board of Trade’ may open up some sectors; Bessent downplays Trump trip delay.
- Trump-Xi dynamics keep Taiwan on alert amid summit uncertainty — When US president goes to Beijing, every word will carry high stakes, analysts say.
- BYD says it ‘can’t compete’ in Japan with EV subsidy gap — Many domestic makers win greater assistance after changes, increasing disparities.
Bloomberg
- China Clamps Down on Key Route to Hong Kong IPOs After Deal Boom — Regulators have recently discouraged IPO applications from so-called red-chip firms and are encouraging companies to reorganize under mainland incorporation instead.
- China’s Aluminum Industry Draws Raw Material Diverted by War — The war has propelled prices of aluminum to near four-year highs and lifted Chinese margins to record levels, with China being an obvious destination for marooned cargoes.
- China’s Party Paper Urges Apple to Fix ‘Monopolistic’ Policies — The People’s Daily wrote that “tougher antitrust scrutiny of big tech firms has become an irreversible trend” and stronger regulation is needed to safeguard fair competition.
- China GCL to Supply Gas to Dangote Ethiopia in $4.2 Billion Deal — The $2.5 billion fertilizer project is among a broader $30 billion investment program announced by Ethiopia last year during the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project.
Reuters
- Google in talks with China’s Envicool, others to buy data centre cooling systems, sources say — Global market for liquid cooling systems seen nearly doubling this year.
- Alibaba launches AI platform for enterprises as agent craze sweeps China — The platform, called Wukong, can coordinate multiple AI agents to handle complex business tasks.
- China oil majors resume seeking Russian oil after a 4-month halt, sources say — Trading arms under state-run Sinopec and PetroChina have this week made inquiries with suppliers for possible purchases of Russian oil.
- EU sanctions Chinese and Iranian companies for cyberattacks — The EU listed China-based Integrity Technology Group and Anxun Information Technology, and Iranian company Emennet Pasargad.
Other Publications
- Sixth Tone: China’s First ‘Barbecue University’ Opens for Enrollment — The college’s establishment comes amid a greater national emphasis on vocational education and alternative career routes.
- The Washington Post: Trump-Xi summit delayed as U.S. president pushes China to help open Hormuz — Trump said the long-anticipated reboot of U.S.-China relations would be postponed amid the Iran war and mounting pressure to reopen the critical oil route.
- War on the Rocks: How Does the Iran War Affect China’s Energy Security? — While China imports more than 10 percent of its global oil total from Iran, its energy supply has long been diversified internationally and electrified domestically.
- Los Angeles Times: China wants to dominate the future of food. And it might succeed. — President Xi Jinping’s government is shrewdly using this moment of crisis to reimagine large-scale protein production.
- Semafor: A contrast at the core of the US-China rivalry — A rare American atop a Chinese firm argues the US ‘can outpace China,’ but not without changes.
- Politico: How Canada’s embrace of Chinese EVs could scramble the American market — Canada’s import plans reverse years of North American policy that treated the cheap, high-tech Chinese cars as an economic threat.
