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
- Temu Owner PDD Posts Profit Miss Amid Fierce Competition in China — The Chinese owner of bargain-shopping app Temu reported worse-than-expected profit in the first quarter of 2026.
- China Memory-Chip Maker CXMT Clears Shanghai Listing Review — The listing could become China’s largest IPO this year.
- Volvo Car Shares Jump After U.S. Sales Approval Despite China Links — The company has been in talks with U.S. regulators following a President Biden-era ruling aimed at blocking the import and sale of vehicles connected to China.
- China’s Industrial Profits Rise, Defying Economic Headwinds — China’s industrial firms reported stronger profit growth at the start of the second quarter, supported by rising energy prices and resilient overseas demand for technology products.
- Xiaomi’s Profit Buckles as Memory Prices Soar — Xiaomi had a rough start to the year, posting another profit drop as the memory crunch, stiff competition and soft demand hurt its businesses.
- Opinion: AI Overwatch Act Would Help China — Stricter export limits would hurt American companies and blow the U.S. tech lead. By Neil Chilson.
- Opinion: Is Iran America’s Suez Crisis? Not to Xi Jinping — Beijing is capable only of protecting its interests, not projecting power around the globe. By Michael Singh.
The Financial Times
- Hong Kong overtakes Switzerland as hub for global offshore wealth — Chinese territory enjoys surge of investment from mainland as wealthy spread assets across different jurisdictions.
- China overhauls world’s biggest surveillance network with advanced AI — Local police forces are modernising the country’s ageing infrastructure with more powerful tracking systems.
- World’s biggest EV maker weans itself off supply-chain finance — Borrowings soar as BYD bows to Beijing’s pressure on treatment of component suppliers.
The New York Times
- A Quiet Pacific Village Becomes China’s Security Testing Ground — When a remote Pacific village asked for help with rowdy youth, the Chinese police arrived with a surveillance system. Then came the backlash.
- Xi Jinping Quit Smoking. China Still Cannot. — China’s tobacco monopoly has become so financially vital to the government that even its powerful leader has failed to curb the country’s smoking habit.
- A Dissident Escapes China by Rubber Boat and Lands in South Korea — Dong Guangping, 68, fled China at least three other times but was always sent back. His friends hope things might be different this time.
Caixin
- China’s Auto Titan Who Revived Hongqi Falls Under Graft Probe — Xu Liuping, former chairman of FAW Group and Changan Automobile, is under investigation for suspected serious violations of party discipline and law, China’s top anti-graft watchdog said.
- AI Tools Open New Front in Child Sexual Abuse in China, Report Warns — A surge in AI tools and deepfake pornography is creating vast new avenues for child sexual abuse in China, compounding a crisis long dominated by educators and family members.
- Catalonia Welcomes Joint-Venture Cooperation With Chinese Investors — Catalonia welcomes more Chinese companies to invest through joint ventures that can help the Spanish region climb up the manufacturing value chain.
- Former Bank of China Executives Probed Over Loans to Goldin Group, Sources Say — The case underscores lingering banking risks tied to China’s property boom.
- Unitree Fast-Tracks Shanghai IPO With Target Valuation of $6.2 Billion — The robotics startup plans to raise about 4.2 billion yuan on Shanghai’s STAR Market, with humanoid machines now its largest revenue source.
South China Morning Post
- AI is massively increasing China’s new weapon development speed — Humble rolling bearing now a focal point for country’s defence industry as it experiments with artificial intelligence to gain edge over U.S.
- Panama encourages dialogue and bridge-building at UN as canal tensions with China simmer — Panama’s foreign minister uses UN speech to help defuse tension after deterioration in Panama-China relations due to canal dispute.
- Back on the rails: Dandong’s border traffic hints at a China-North Korea thaw — The resumption of train routes and a spike in overland trade underscore a reset in ties ahead of a reported leaders’ summit.
Nikkei Asia
- Business confidence in China rebounds: EU Chamber of Commerce survey — Country’s resilience to global volatility helps boost outlook from record lows.
- Nvidia spending up to $150bn a year on Taiwan AI suppliers: Jensen Huang — CEO says company will quadruple hiring in AI ‘epicenter’ to 4,000.
- China amasses 30-day coal supply ahead of El Nino power crunch — High water storage for hydroelectricity to help meet rise in energy demand, officials say.
- China’s aircraft maintenance market in focus as fleet growth slows — COMAC flags short-term turbulence from high-speed rail and fuel price jump.
- Opinion: The absence of disaster was a form of progress in Trump’s Beijing visit — Trip helped recalibrate the combustible landscape of U.S.-China relations. By Vivian Toh.
Bloomberg
- Taiwan Said to Suspect Nvidia Chips Smuggled to China Via Japan — Taiwan prosecutors suspect that three individuals successfully smuggled at least one shipment of Nvidia Corp AI chips to China after first exporting them to Japan.
- Volvo Car Avoids U.S. Ban on Connected Vehicles Tied to China — The Trump administration reached an agreement with Volvo Car AB that will allow the automaker to avoid a U.S. ban on connected vehicles tied to China.
- China Wants to Fuse Its Cities Into Megaregions — Beijing has a plan to bring hundreds of millions of workers closer together, remaking its economy and setting a precedent other nations could follow.
- Opinion: China’s Urban Reforms Have a Long Way to Go — China’s household registration system has long outlived its usefulness and a policy revamp has been unveiled to give migrant laborers access to public services. By Juliana Liu.
- Opinion: China’s Cross-Border Crackdown Smacks of Nasdaq Envy — China punished three brokerages for offering mainland investors access to overseas stocks without licenses, and will confiscate “all illegal gains” earned by them. By Shuli Ren.
Reuters
- Job ad for shepherds goes viral in China, exposing labour market strains — More than 700 people applied for the positions, including white-collar employees from megacities Shanghai and Chongqing, factory workers across China, and even university graduates.
- China pharma industry not impacted by Beijing scrutiny of sensitive tech deals — China’s booming pharmaceutical industry is not being impacted by Beijing’s tightening scrutiny over deals involving sensitive technologies, the CEO of JW Therapeutics.
- Hidden tunnels, fake doors: China probes mining tragedy that killed 82 — Unmarked tunnels, missing trackers and fake doors have been uncovered during an initial probe into the deadliest mining tragedy in China in over 15 years.
Other Publications
- The Economist: China’s world-beating solar industry is in turmoil — The Gulf war won’t save it.
- Foreign Affairs: The G-2 Reality — America and China Cannot Dominate or Exclude Each Other.
- Foreign Policy: Xi Ascendant — Trump’s Beijing trip shows that the wind is blowing in China’s direction.
