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
- Nike’s Sales Continue to Decline as China Weakness Persists — Apparel company says results were in line with expectations, despite what it called an increasingly challenging operating environment.
- Insiders Made $100 Million on China Brokerage Crackdown, Trading Firm Alleges — Susquehanna files lawsuit seeking to unmask traders who bet on drop in Futu and Tiger Brokers stock.
- China Manufacturing Gauge Shows Slower Growth in Activity — Respondents of the RatingDog survey said input costs eased notably to a five-month low.
The Financial Times
- World Bank to phase out China lending — Decision from global development institution follows years of pressure from the Trump administration.
- US fossil fuel power spending to beat China for the first time in decades — Boom in gas turbines to meet demand from data centres, IEA figures show.
- ‘Unprecedented’ plane crash tests Beijing’s sense of security — Fatal flight of a light aircraft into Chinese capital’s tallest building raises questions about its defences.
- Chinese carmakers’ hunger for chips boosts national self-reliance drive — EV makers such as global leader BYD are rushing to increase use of locally developed semiconductors.
The New York Times
- Chinese A.I. Models Close the Gap With Anthropic and OpenAI — Z.ai is on the cutting edge of a wave of powerful but inexpensive A.I. from China that is challenging the lock that OpenAI, Anthropic and Google have had.
Caixin
- China Turns to Used EV Batteries to Cut Reliance on Imported Metals — Recycled critical metals supplied enough material in 2025 to meet more than a tenth of China’s power-battery production needs.
- Volkswagen Urged to Build China-Developed Cars in Germany to Protect Jobs — Volkswagen could build models developed in China at its German plants to improve factory utilization and protect jobs, Lower Saxony Premier Olaf Lies said.
- China’s AI Frenzy Drives Massive Chasm in Mutual Fund Returns — A historic pivot toward computing power in China’s equity markets has created a stark divide.
South China Morning Post
- China’s new investment law asserts control over offshore tech transfers in landmark move — Beijing’s ‘milestone’ mandate seen authorising retaliatory responses to trade barriers while restricting research leaks.
- UBTech’s lifelike humanoid robots built for companionship arriving in homes across China — The unveiling of model U1, which has silicone skin and emotional AI, reflects tech firms’ drive to expand robotics beyond industrial use.
- The great AI reckoning: how China is flipping the script on US’ new industrial revolution — From EVs to robotics, China’s advancement in cutting-edge tech has seen it shake off the West’s long-standing belief in US exceptionalism.
- Xi projects confidence for China’s Communist Party at home and on world stage — The Chinese leader has addressed a grand ceremony marking the 105th anniversary of the ruling party’s founding.
Nikkei Asia
- China storage battery makers denied cybersecurity approval in Japan — Chinese manufacturer decries ‘de facto exclusion’ as certification requirement looms.
- China’s ethnic law with global reach draws backlash from Japan to Europe — Takaichi aide says ‘no democratic nation could tolerate’ move as UNHCR and EU urge repeal.
- China chip material makers battle Japan rivals for $73bn market — Leading Japanese companies like Nittobo face competition from heavy spenders.
Bloomberg
- Xi Casts China’s Ruling Party as Force for Global Prosperity — Xi said the Communist Party is “creating a new form of human advancement”.
- Iran War Delivers Massive Swings in Chinese Petrochemicals Trade — Buyers from Vietnam to Indonesia have tapped China for supply due to the loss of feedstock from the Persian Gulf.
- ByteDance Picks Brazil for Its Largest Data Center Outside China — The TikTok creator’s $39 billion data center is the latest payoff from Lula’s courtship of Chinese investment.
- Chinese Inverter Maker Sungrow Plunges 20% on Potential US Ban — The proposed ban addresses concerns that China might use its inverters to disrupt power supplies, and could become effective as early as this year.
Reuters
- Russia approved secret China military training at top level, sources say — At least four generals took part, sources and documents say.
- Beijing plane crash clouds China’s low-altitude flights, uncovers safety gaps — An unexplained crash by a tiny plane into Beijing’s tallest building and silence from regulators have cast a chilling effect on the low-altitude flights sector.
- China’s BYD nears decision on second European plant, adviser says — His comments come as established automakers seek ways to address overcapacity while investing heavily in product development and technology such as batteries and software.
Other Publications
- CNN: China tells its ethnic minorities to integrate or face consequences with sweeping new unity law — The statute bans acts that “undermine ethnic unity or create ethnic division”.
- Politico: Trump’s AI flip-flopping could be a gift to China — Chinese AI companies have announced breakthroughs in advanced AI, while the White House has slow-rolled the release of American models.
- War on the Rocks: The Three Nevers: To Invade Taiwan, China Would Have to Make Military History Thrice — Taiwan’s size is not the unprecedented part — the operational challenges are.
