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 to Invest in DeepSeek at $50 Billion Valuation — AI startup works with Beijing in push for technology self-sufficiency vs. U.S.
- China Is Still Supplying Drone Factories in Iran, Russia Despite U.S. Sanctions — Obscure Chinese companies are openly shipping dual-use goods such as engines and batteries, defying American controls.
- I’m Leaving China After 8 Years. Suspicion of Outsiders Is Rising. — Our Journal correspondent shares her experience as a Japanese woman reporting for an American newspaper in China.
The Financial Times
- China calls for Iran war ceasefire and Hormuz to reopen in meeting with top envoy — Beijing’s foreign minister meets his Iranian counterpart days before summit between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.
- DeepSeek nears $45bn valuation as China’s ‘Big Fund’ leads investment talks — China’s biggest state-backed semiconductor investment vehicle is in talks to lead the financing of DeepSeek’s first fundraising.
- EU anti-dumping complaints against Chinese chemicals at record high — Anti-dumping complaints from Europe’s chemical companies have reached an all-time high, with Brussels launching dozens of cases into cheap Chinese imports.
The New York Times
- In Talks With Iran, China Calls for Opening of Strait of Hormuz — China’s top diplomat also warned against the restarting of hostilities as he met with Iran’s foreign minister. The U.S. has urged China to pressure Iran to reopen the waterway.
- Trial Begins for Man Accused of Running Secret Police Outpost for China — Lu Jianwang, a U.S. citizen, is accused of working on behalf of the Chinese government to target dissidents. A co-defendant has pleaded guilty.
- Opinion: The U.S. and China Have a Common Foe. Hint: It’s Not the U.S.S.R. — The summit between President Trump and President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week could be the most significant encounter between American and Chinese leaders since Richard Nixon met Mao Zedong in Beijing in 1972. By Thomas Friedman.
Caixin
- Mega-Donations Push China’s University Fundraising to Historic High — Total large donations topped 12 billion yuan last year.
- Chinese Brokerages Post Strong First-Quarter Earnings Despite Stock Slide — The disconnect between record earnings and sinking valuations highlights growing market skepticism over the sustainability of China’s debt-fueled equities rally amid looming regulatory fee cuts.
- U.S. Sanctions Hong Kong Firms Over Alleged Iranian Shadow Banking Network — The measures, announced April 28 by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, target what Washington described as a system used by Iranian banks to move tens of billions of dollars linked to “sanctions evasion and Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism.”
South China Morning Post
- Panama minister slams China ship crackdown, tells deputies in Beijing: push back — Foreign minister says court ruling must not be used as leverage against Panama’s merchant fleet as ship detentions mount.
- Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi to visit China days ahead of Donald Trump — Foreign Minister Araghchi will arrive on Wednesday and hold talks with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Beijing has announced.
- China’s chipmakers pour revenue into R&D, outpacing US ratios — Earnings show Chinese chip designers devote up to half of revenue to research, far above US peers, as Beijing pushes tech self-reliance.
Nikkei Asia
- Trump administration looks to ease memory chip crunch with supply chain bloc — US officials to visit Philippines for Pax Silica project after Trump-Xi meeting.
Bloomberg
- Chinese Metals Demand Gets Lift as Mideast War Spurs Export Boom — Metal exports from China, especially aluminum, are getting a significant lift from the war in the Middle East.
- China’s Tech Gauge Jumps to Record High on AI-Fueled Rally — A gauge of Chinese tech shares surged to a record high, joining a broader artificial intelligence-related rally sweeping across Asian markets.
- Saudi PIF Opens Shanghai Office to Facilitate China Dealmaking — Saudi Arabia’s $1 trillion wealth fund started operating a second office in mainland China earlier this year, as part of its efforts to deepen investment.
- Opinion: China’s Sanctions Defiance Heralds a Post-Dollar World — The fight over US sanctions on China’s oil refining companies is being framed as a battle over high principles. In fact, it’s about raw power. By David Fickling.
Reuters
- G7 trade talks target critical minerals as US-EU tariff rift strains unity — Group of Seven trade ministers meeting in Paris on Wednesday sought common ground on securing critical mineral supplies that are dominated by China.
- Trump, Xi likely to discuss Taiwan next week, U.S. says — Taiwan is likely to be a topic of conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet next week.
- China services activity grows at faster rate in April, private PMI shows — China’s services activity expanded at a faster pace in April, helped by stronger growth in new business, although overseas demand continued to decline.
Other Publications
- The AP: China steps up Iran war diplomacy days before Trump’s summit with Xi — China’s diplomatic role in the Iran war has come into sharper focus after talks between Chinese and Iranian foreign ministers on Wednesday.
- The New Yorker: How the Iran War Is Shifting Power Toward China — As the U.S.’s credibility and military capacity are tested abroad, China has gained leverage by staying out of the fight and learning from it.
- The Guardian: ‘Our competitors are everyone’: Joybuy leads ‘China’s Amazon’ into the UK — “We’re here to shake up the UK e-commerce market,” says Matthew Nobbs, the UK boss of Joybuy.
- Brookings: How dangerous is the current China-Japan rift? — Two leading scholars assess the origins, dynamics, and possible trajectories of the current diplomatic impasse between China and Japan.
- Foreign Affairs: The Lessons of the Long Confucian Peace — Can Ideology Prevent War in East Asia?
