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
- How Asia’s Biggest Nations Are Riding Out the Energy Shock — Countries such as China, Japan and South Korea have found alternative sources, greenlighted emergency funds and leaned on strategic stockpiles.
- China’s Cyberspying Targets Western Defense Industry, Dutch Intel Chief Says — A military intelligence report warned that Beijing poses a growing threat to Europe alongside Russia and that the two countries’ increasing cooperation compounds the danger.
- Opinion: The Price Beijing Pays for Backing Tehran — While Iran supplies 11% of China’s oil. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and the U.A.E. account for 37%. By Tom Tugendhat.
- Opinion: A Quiet U.S. Favor for Xi Jinping — A U.S. quota increase at the International Monetary Fund would rescue China’s bad loans. By The Editorial Board.
The Financial Times
- Reebok plans hundreds of China stores to capture activewear boom — Owner Authentic Brands hopes bricks-and-mortar relaunch will generate $1bn in annual sales within a decade.
- Population collapses of yore — Poring over precedents for China’s prospective population plummet.
- Trump trade chief urges US allies to pay more for critical minerals — Jamieson Greer says ‘security premium’ needed to counter reliance on Chinese supplies.
- BHP strikes China iron ore deal after months of talks — Mining company firms up copper guidance in Mike Henry’s final results as chief executive.
- Can EVs kill off petrol cars in China? — Electric-vehicle makers target less affluent heartland for next phase of growth.
- VW to export more China-made EVs in global sales drive — Strategy pivot coincides with slowdown and fierce competition in world’s largest automotive market.
- Taiwan says Chinese pressure forces scrapping of president’s Africa trip — Lai Ching-te’s visit to tiny landlocked Eswatini postponed after neighbours ‘revoked flight permits’.
The New York Times
- How China Is Building Its Next Outpost at Sea — China has been quietly and quickly building an island in disputed waters off of the coast of Vietnam over the last few months.
Caixin
- China’s Private Health Insurance Push Runs Into Obstacles — Product design and system fragmentation continue to constrain the sector’s expansion.
- Why China Is Cooling on VIE Structures — Once the backbone of offshore listings, the VIE model faces rising regulatory scrutiny, slowing approvals and hard choices for AI startups.
- China’s Scrutiny of Offshore Listing Structure Clouds AI Firms’ IPO Paths — StepFun and Moonshot AI are weighing whether to keep or dismantle VIE structures as regulators scrutinize Chinese companies using offshore setups.
- CATL Answers BYD With Ultra-Fast Charging Batteries of Its Own — The launch comes a month after the Chinese automaker introduced technology that can charge its second-generation blade battery from 10% to 97% in nine minutes.
- China Drafts Rules to Limit Wealthy Clients’ Role in Family Trust Investments — Draft rules would shift power from private banks to trust companies and cap concentration risk in a $132 billion sector.
South China Morning Post
- Trump’s military push confronts US lawmakers and China’s shipbuilding edge — Congressional resistance, war costs and industrial limits could constrain ambitions, even as Beijing expands its naval capacity.
- China and Philippines taking ‘baby steps’ towards better relations: Manila’s ambassador — Jaime FlorCruz says both sides want stable ties, but closer economic relations must not be used as ‘leverage’ in the South China Sea dispute.
- How China’s new AI carbon accounting model points the finger at the US — The system factors in both production and consumption, lessening the responsibility of exporters such as China.
Nikkei Asia
- China pushes schools to ease test anxiety, for students and parents — Government tackles ‘disorderly competition’ that makes couples think twice about having children.
- China dials up pressure after Japanese destroyer transits Taiwan Strait — Beijing’s steps against Tokyo extend beyond economic to national security.
- Australia’s BHP ends standoff with top China iron ore buyer — Prolonged negotiations highlighted Beijing’s push to cut steelmaking input prices.
- Chinese lidar maker building first overseas plant in Southeast Asia — Robosense CEO says some foreign clients are worried about US-China tensions, tariffs.
- Opinion: China is not erasing Taiwan — we are — Democracies must choose between pushing Taiwan into the shadows or bringing it into the light. By Chris Horton.
Bloomberg
- China Wind Turbine Maker Eyes Spain for Factory After UK Snub — Ming Yang Smart Energy Group Ltd. is considering building a wind turbine factory in Spain after the UK blocked the Chinese company’s plans for a facility in Scotland, citing risks to national security.
- Audi’s Future Hinges on Winning Back China — The German carmaker is trying to improve sales in China with new models and local partnerships.
- Opinion: Maybe Trump Shouldn’t Visit Xi After All — The president, after a series of strategic miscalculations, has weakened the US and himself too much, and left China too strong. By Andreas Kluth.
Reuters
- Italian mail blunder and mistrust hinder crackdown on Chinese gangs — The embarrassing episode reflects a wider sense of mistrust and paralysis within Italy surrounding Beijing’s efforts to provide cooperation with Rome.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: Beijing tightens its grip on AI firms that try to shed their Chinese ties — A Chinese government probe of a Meta-acquired company, Manus AI, reveals what tech workers see as a new red line.
- MIT Technology Review: China’s Open-Source Bet — The country’s top AI labs are undercutting US competitors and winning over developers by making their best models free.
- The Information: Anthropic’s ID Verification Imperils Chinese Founders — Anthropic has quietly flourished in China thanks to businesses circumventing Anthropic’s official restrictions on usage. That may soon change.
