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
- U.S., China Discuss a Trump-Xi Summit for June — Beijing hopes plans could pave the way for formal trade talks.
- In New Book, Dalai Lama Tells Followers to Reject Any Successor Chosen by China — Tibetan Buddhist leader’s guidance on his reincarnation sets up clash with Beijing’s communist rulers.
- Illumina to Cut $100 Million in Costs, Lowers Guidance Because of China Sales Ban — Beijing banned imports of Illumina’s gene-sequencing machines in response to U.S. tariffs.
- Investors Want a Piece of DeepSeek. Its Founder Says Not Now. — Chatbot startup has problems, but its founder doesn’t want new shareholders to be one of them.
- Why the U.S. Keeps Losing to China in the Battle Over Critical Minerals — The West got its hands on one of the world’s best graphite mines — then things started going off the rails.
The Financial Times
- China’s Geely sells Saxo Bank stake to Swiss private bank — Eight-year joint venture was a bet on Chinese capital markets opening up to the west.
- China’s delivery platforms compete to offer better worker benefits — Leading players act as competition intensifies and Beijing points out their ‘national responsibility.’
- Opinion: What lies behind the dramatic shift in markets — The sudden change in investors’ growth expectations for the three largest economies is upending many consensus trades. By Mohamed El-Erian.
The New York Times
- What Slowdown? Xi Says China Must Win the Global Tech Race. — Xi Jinping wants China to surpass rivals as a tech superpower, undeterred by economic woes or trade wars. Critics ask if this focus neglects struggling citizens.
Caixin
- Will China’s Major Cities Propel a Housing Market Recovery? — Real estate markets in China’s first-tier cities have shown resilience and can help bring stability.
- Drop in China CPI Fuels Deflation Concerns — Experts attribute the decline in the consumer inflation gauge to falling food prices and a high base of comparison from last year.
- Environmentalists Sound Alarm Over Sea Reclamation Project — Several NGOs have warned the proposal for a section of coastline in Guangdong province may violate a national policy prohibiting new reclamation projects in areas that are important habitats of rare and endangered species.
South China Morning Post
- China’s political class counts up sci-tech feats and counts on tipping point with U.S. — As state media proclaims China the new heavyweight in scientific research, others warn gaps and weaknesses must be addressed.
- Alibaba.com targets 100% AI adoption by merchants in 2025 in global expansion drive — Zhang Kuo, president of Alibaba’s international wholesale marketplace, expects the AI initiative to help sellers and buyers on the platform.
- Some Hong Kong banks refuse mortgages for China Vanke’s Le Mont project in Tai Po — China Vanke says some lenders, including Bank of Communications and OCBC Wing Hang, are processing mortgage applications.
- ‘Open source’ model: why France wants to work closely with China on AI — Paris aims to cooperate with both Beijing and Washington as it seeks to develop into an ‘AI powerhouse’.
Nikkei Asia
- Japan losing to China in deep sea race as key research vessel ages — Loss of manufacturing technology leaves no replacement for Shinkai 6500 submersible.
- Honda to halve engine output capacity at key Chinese plant — Move comes as nation’s drivers increasingly shift toward EVs.
Bloomberg
- China’s Manus Follows DeepSeek in Posing Challenge to U.S. AI Lead — Some early users were enthusiastic about the product’s capabilities; others complained it took too long and crashed.
- AI Fever Sweeps China’s Political Huddle, Fueling Tech Optimism — Things are looking better for the long-downtrodden tech sector than it has in years.
Reuters
- In deflation-hit China, one store holds flash sales four times a day — Chinese consumers grappling with uncertainty about jobs and incomes are increasingly turning to discount stores at a time of expanding industrial capacity in the face of sluggish household demand.
- China’s new financial captain faces tough mission — The domestic unit of China’s sovereign wealth fund recently took control of several state firms, creating a super-sized state-owned enterprise.
- Chinese retail traders embrace DeepSeek in a nod to quants — Online crash courses have mushroomed and training rooms are packed with retail traders eager to beat the market using computer models.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: A trade war could hit these communities hardest — Chinese and Canadian retaliatory tariffs are aimed at agricultural, manufacturing and energy sectors that employ millions of Americans.
- Rest of World: How a Chinese battery factory sparked a political meltdown in a small Michigan town — The ambitious executives at Gotion wanted to join America’s EV gold rush. Then came geopolitics.
- BBC: From chatbots to intelligent toys: How AI is booming in China — China plans to invest more than a trillion dollars as it races against the U.S. to rule advanced tech.
- PIEE: China’s major economic data continues to improve — China’s data is now more closely in alignment with widely used international standards.
