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 Unveils Reboot of Its Troubled China Operations — The sportswear giant will cut off most online third-party vendors selling its products to take more control.
- Volkswagen Strengthens Horizon Robotics Tie-Up to Advance Self-Driving Technology in China — Volkswagen’s Carizon is deepening its partnership with Horizon Robotics to accelerate development of advanced automated driving technology.
- Zhongji Innolight Seeks Up to $7 Billion in Hong Kong’s Biggest Listing This Year — The Shenzhen-listed company plans to spend the majority of the offering’s proceeds on investment in research and development and expanding its global production capacity.
- White House to Redirect Billions in Research Funds Toward AI, Away From Colleges — The overhaul will reshape $200 billion in spending a year and favors individual scientists to outpace China.
- China AI Companies Rush to Raise Funds and Close Gap With U.S. — Startups plan IPOs and get private investment, but American rivals still bring in far more investor cash.
The Financial Times
- Nike to reduce online distribution channels in China sales overhaul — U.S. sportswear brand has struggled in one of its most important markets.
- Opinion: Meta’s unwinding of Manus shows even forced deals have merits — Disposal of Chinese agentic AI start-up has left the Facebook owner better off than it might seem. By Lex.
The New York Times
- Trump Pushes Chinese Election Threat, but Files Show Russia’s Heavy Hand — Intelligence documents that the White House released to back up President Trump’s claims about China highlight Russian efforts to influence U.S. elections.
Caixin
- Chinese Doctors Outpace Global Peers in AI Adoption Amid Trust Concerns — A new survey finds 56% of Chinese clinical staff use AI in their work, beating the 49% global average, though widespread skepticism over data accuracy and patient safety remains.
- China Unveils Sweeping Measures to Upgrade Domestic Service Sector — The policies aim to address a widening mismatch between fast-growing urban demand for higher-quality care and a shrinking, low-skilled migrant workforce.
- China Must Upgrade Its Industrial Tech to Meet Climate Goal — The industrial sector will be the primary focus of China’s efforts to peak carbon emissions by 2030, a goal that must be achieved through tech advancement rather than merely shrinking demand.
South China Morning Post
- As U.S.-Chinese AI model gap narrows, what next for Washington? — China’s major advances in artificial intelligence have intensified pressure on U.S. rivals, leaving American AI policy at a crucial crossroads.
- The U.S. mounts pressure across 3 maritime flashpoints. How should China respond? — Washington’s strategy for Taiwan Strait and East and South China seas aims to force Beijing to overextend, analysts warn.
- Can the U.S. and its allies break China’s grip on rare earths and AI technology? — In an exclusive interview, senior U.S. official says a whole-of-supply-chain strategy is needed to cut dependence on China.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s Unitree says ‘GPT moment’ for robots remains years away — Humanoid leader to put almost half of IPO proceeds into embodied AI research.
- Chinese parts makers aim to break open Japan’s close-knit auto industry — Fast-moving companies look to compete on both price and tech ability.
- China rare earth export curbs have opened up a huge price gap — Dysprosium, used in EV motors, up 700% from pre-restriction level in Europe.
- Indonesia tops report on alleged abuses linked to China critical minerals — Human rights group blames nickel boom for country being worse than Congo, Myanmar.
- Philippines protests South China Sea AI video to China’s Wang Yi — Foreign Minister Lazaro says monkey characterization “deeply offensive”.
Bloomberg
- China Clings to Austerity Despite Sharper Economic Slowdown — China’s public spending plunged last month by the most since October, suggesting the government tightened fiscal policy further despite calls for more support as economic growth slips.
- China Envoy Faces Neighbors Spooked by ‘Destabilizing’ Moves — The moves include a recent brawl between China and the Philippines coast guards, Thailand’s public complaint over tank sales to Cambodia, and Japan’s protest over live-fire drills.
- Why the Value of China’s Yuan Is Drawing Scrutiny in Europe — As European industries struggle to compete with an influx of Chinese goods, calls are emerging from Europe for China to allow its currency to appreciate by about 20% to 30% to level the playing field.
Reuters
- Rubio holds talks with China’s Wang Yi as regional powers join ASEAN meet — The meeting comes amid a fragile truce between the world’s biggest economies that could be complicated by Trump’s accusations of Chinese meddling in U.S. elections.
Other Publications
- Rest of World: The U.S. wants to contain China’s AI. Silicon Valley keeps using it — As Apple, Thinking Machines, and developers worldwide embrace Chinese AI models such as Kimi K3, U.S. policymakers are struggling to protect the AI lead.
