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
- Finland Shows the Trust Barrier Facing Chinese EV Makers in the West — Consumers ask whether the cars spy on them, have ‘kill switches,’ or fund the Communist Party.
- Opinion: Iran’s Most Favored Strait of Hormuz Nation Is China — Beijing will receive a friends-and-family deal in transiting the waterway. By The Editorial Board.
The Financial Times
- China gives its investors more access to bonds in Hong Kong — Authorities raise quota for offshore Connect scheme in bid to boost international use of renminbi.
The New York Times
- Why China Fired a Long-Range Missile Into the Pacific — Beijing had long tested nuclear missiles only within its borders. A rare launch over an ocean shows it is determined to narrow the gap with the United States.
- Alibaba’s A.I. Is a Hit, but Hard to Turn Into a Moneymaker — The Chinese company’s models have won over developers worldwide, but they are open source — so they can be used and modified freely.
- American A.I. Companies Say Chinese Copycats Are Quickly Catching Up — U.S. companies complain that competitors in China are unfairly copying their A.I. systems using a technique that has been around for years.
Caixin
- Chinese Brands Tear Up Playbook for World Cup Sponsorship — Lenovo, Mengniu and Hisense have invested more than $500 million in this World Cup, 64% less than in 2022, making China the second-largest backer behind the U.S.
- China Proposes E-Commerce Overhaul to Protect Gig Workers, Counter Foreign Curbs — The draft revisions aim to curb cutthroat tech competition with massive financial penalties, and formally integrate millions of gig workers into the legal framework.
- Beijing Targets Corporate Pension Shortfalls as Social Security Pressures Mount — Tax authorities are wielding newly integrated payroll data to end widespread underpayments, but the enforcement threatens to squeeze private-sector profits in a sluggish economy.
South China Morning Post
- Nato can’t be ‘naive’ about China as it ramps up military might, Rutte claims — Nato’s secretary general contacts Japan’s defence minister after Chinese nuclear submarine fires test missile into Pacific.
- Why Peru wants to shift its relationship with China beyond raw mineral supplies — Lima is courting Chinese investment as it looks to a ‘new phase’ in their economic relationship, the country’s ambassador tells a forum.
- Norway urges China to help bring Russia to Ukraine peace talks — ‘China is probably the country with the best and most direct access to the Russian leadership,’ said Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Stoere.
Nikkei Asia
- Can China and U.S. find common ground on AI governance in Geneva? — Meeting follows Trump executive order aimed at outcompeting China in the technology.
- U.S.-sanctioned ‘teapot’ refiner Hengli leads China petrochem profit spike — Higher prices due to global conflicts buoy bottom lines, including at key tech suppliers.
- Indian security analysts alarmed by Bangladesh-China port deal — Beijing’s involvement in Mongla Port project raises security concerns in New Delhi.
- China overtakes U.S. in fintech patent filings to seize global lead — ICBC, Tencent among companies leading 10-fold surge from previous decade.
- Chinese AI usage by U.S. firms soared after Mythos restrictions — Open-source models from GLM, DeepSeek draw big-name users like Coinbase, Uber.
Bloomberg
- China Regulator Is Keeping a Close Eye on Susquehanna Case — China’s securities watchdog said it is paying close attention to a legal case against alleged insider traders, after the U.S. market maker said regulatory officials may have been involved in trades.
- Chinese Firms Leave Nvidia for Local AI Suppliers, Survey Shows — Executives in China say they’ll allocate 46% of their budget for artificial intelligence accelerators to domestic products over the next 12 months, up from 30% today.
- Opinion: China’s Next Soft-Power Export Could Be Beauty — Southeast Asia is the region most critical to the success of Chinese cosmetics and personal-care products, known collectively as C-beauty. By Juliana Liu.
Reuters
- China’s DeepSeek developing its own AI chip, sources say — If successful, DeepSeek’s expansion into semiconductor development would mark a major strategic shift for a company widely hailed in China as the country’s AI champion.
- Beijing is looking at curbing overseas access to China’s top AI models, sources say — The talks follow a number of steps to keep homegrown AI within China and underscore how China is now treating cutting-edge AI as a critical national asset that needs controls.
- China’s booming gig economy masks job market pain, strains welfare system — The China New Employment Forms Research Center, a think tank, estimates the number of people in flexible employment rising to 320 million this year from 280 million in 2025.
Other Publications
- Brookings: No limits? Testing the China-Russia relationship — Both countries want to reshape the international order in a way that is more favorable to themselves and align against U.S. pressure.
- Rest of World: China’s AI boom is creating a different kind of entrepreneur — Backed by the state, Chinese workers are using AI to deal with limited resources and drive innovation to compete with Silicon Valley.
