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
- Trade Chaos Raises Big Question: Why Does China Eat So Many American Pistachios? — China’s big appetite for the small, green ‘happy nuts’ drives nearly a third of the $3 billion U.S. crop, centered in California.
- Trump’s China Deal Makes Sense. How He Got Here Doesn’t. — The president’s tactics undercut his own rationales, while in some ways treating China better than allies.
- Trump Slashes ‘De Minimis’ Tariffs on Small Shipments From China — U.S. cuts tax to 54% from 120%, marking another trade de-escalation.
- JD.com Profit Beats as Chinese Consumer Sentiment Brightens — The Beijing-based company said net profit jumped 53%.
- CEOs Rush to Get Their Shipments From China While Trade Truce Lasts — Business leaders welcome 90-day reprieve but call for longer-term trade deal.
- What the U.S.-China Tariff Rollback Means for the American Economy — The relationship reset steers the U.S. economy back on a more familiar path as the major consumer of goods.
- Trump’s Disruptive Trade Agenda Is Giving Way to Scaled-Back Deals — The president and his team have backed down from their sharp rhetoric as they search for trade deals that could lower tariffs.
- China Is Building Megaports in South America to Feed Its Need for Crops — State grain trader Cofco plans world’s biggest export terminal in Brazil to substitute U.S. soybeans and other foodstuffs.
- China Tariff Rollback Unlikely to Boost Imports, Port of L.A. Chief Says — The executive director of the Port of Los Angeles says he doesn’t expect a flood of goods despite the deal reached by the U.S. and China.
- Opinion: China’s Rare Earths Aren’t as Rare as You Think — When the country tried to choke off supply of the metals before, the world found ways to adapt. By Marian L. Tupy.
The Financial Times
- China’s Xi backs Panama against US pressure over canal — Chinese president offers greater co-operation with Latin American countries.
- Surge in Chinese listings drives boom for US small-cap IPO market — Record number of small listings comes despite lacklustre market for big public offerings.
- Wall Street stocks soar on US-China tariff reprieve — Deal stokes optimism among investors that Donald Trump will de-escalate trade war.
- Who blinked first? How the US and China broke their trade deadlock — Secret meeting in IMF basement paved way for tariff deal seen on both sides as a victory.
- Opinion: An uneasy US-China détente on tariffs — Uncertainty around Trump’s trade war has not gone away. By The Editorial Board.
- Opinion: Tariffs are a bet on the free market rather than free trade — Innovation has stalled in a globalised era dominated by state-sponsored national champions. By Oren Cass.
- Opinion: Battery maker CATL’s IPO goes against the current — World’s largest battery maker still a tough sell despite US-China trade deal. By Lex.
- Opinion: De-escalation and the damage done — Lower China tariffs are great news, up to a point. By Robert Armstrong and Aiden Reiter.
The New York Times
- Xi Woos Latin American Leaders With Promises of Cooperation on Technology — China’s leader Xi Jinping suggests expanding trade ties beyond buying commodities, as he continues to rally nations in the face of Trump’s tariffs.
- There Are Two Chinas, and America Must Understand Both — The technological success that has captured the attention of many in the United States is one aspect of the Chinese economy. There’s another, gloomy one.
- Trump’s China Deal Frees Up Shipping. Will Goods Pour Into the U.S.? — The temporary lowering of tariffs may compel some U.S. businesses to order goods that they had held off buying after President Trump raised them to 145 percent.
- Tariff Truce With China Demonstrates the Limits of Trump’s Aggression — President Trump’s triple-digit tariffs on Chinese products disrupted global trade — but haven’t appeared to result in major concessions from Beijing.
Caixin
- Chinese Exporters Move Quickly After Tariff Rollback, but Remain Cautious — China-U.S. tariff cuts exceed expectations, but exporter still await confirmation from U.S. Customs.
- Mining Giants Pivot as China’s Real Estate Slump Weighs on Iron Ore — Global players are investing more in materials crucial to the green transition and AI boom, like copper.
- New Covid Wave in Hong Kong Is Causing Severe Infections in Children — Hong Kong is experiencing a significant resurgence of Covid-19 infections, with particular concern over its impact on children.
South China Morning Post
- China’s rising Mideast engagement looms as Trump seeks investment, security deals — As US leader begins high-stakes regional trip, Gulf states may hedge bets through further economic, currency collaboration with Beijing, analysts say.
- China’s Manus AI offers free registration after fresh funding amid AI agent competition — Manus has ended its invite-only approach after US$75 million in new funding, while facing increasing competition from tech giants.
- Did China’s ‘skilled’ negotiators help break the US trade deadlock? — US officials praised the negotiating style of Chinese counterpart He Lifeng at the successful talks, where Li Chenggang made his debut.
Nikkei Asia
- Taiwan’s Lai urges ‘non-red’ supply chain to counter ‘unfair’ China trade — President calls on Japan to play leadership role in a changing Indo-Pacific.
- Chinese firms in US to hold back investments over inflation, survey shows — Uncertainty in American economy and bilateral tensions with China top concerns.
- Opinion: China’s AI assistants are getting more handy — and more invasive — ByteDance, others embrace screen-reading AI while users fret over privacy. By Vivian Toh.
Bloomberg
- China Removes Ban on Boeing Deliveries After US Trade Truce — China has removed a month-long ban on airlines taking delivery of Boeing Co. planes, according to people familiar with the matter, following a breakthrough in trade talks with the US that temporarily slashed tariffs on each side.
- US to Boost Saudi Access to AI Chips Even as China Issues Linger — The Trump administration is preparing to announce a deal granting Saudi Arabia more access to advanced semiconductors, paving the way for increased data center capacity in the Gulf nation despite concerns from some US officials about its ties to China.
- Half-Price Air Conditioners Are Sparking Frenzy for China Brands in Brazil — When Lucas Silva Ferreira needed a new air conditioner to cool his Rio de Janeiro home in the sweltering February heat, he decided to go with a Chinese model instead of old standbys like LG or Whirlpool.
Reuters
- Two Taiwan allies attend Beijing forum as China steps up diplomatic pressure — Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, asked about the presence of the two countries, said the forum is an important platform for “mutually beneficial cooperation” between China and Latin American and Caribbean countries.
- US tariff pause on Beijing puts pressure on ‘China-plus-one’ countries — Tariffs on China still remain higher than competing industrial hubs paying 10% under Trump’s 90-day pause on the reciprocal duties, but some experts said the deal could halt some of the momentum pushing multinationals to further shift supply chains outside of China.
- Apple’s China detox is painful and overdue — Though exports of smartphones from China are currently exempt from U.S. tariffs, and the two sides on Monday postponed most of their levies, it is clear that Apple’s model of relying on one country for manufacturing is unsustainable.
Other Publications
- CFR: Trump’s China Truce on Tariffs Comes with Cost to U.S. Credibility — U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva resulted in a temporary slash of tariff rates, but the ripple effect of this tit-for-tat escalation won’t disappear anytime soon.
- Foreign Policy: U.S. and China Announce Big Tariff Rollback — In a joint statement, the two sides took a step back from the cliff.
- Foreign Affairs: The Technopolar Paradox — The Frightening Fusion of Tech Power and State Power.
- POLITICO: Why the US and China pulled back from the edge — The agreement reached this weekend is an acknowledgment that a full-on economic divorce of the U.S. and China would be too painful for both sides.
- The Washington Post: After trade deal with U.S., China’s Xi says ‘bullying’ leads to isolation — Chinese state media — and many outside analysts — declared Beijing had won round one of the trade war after the Trump administration rolled back many tariffs.
- The Atlantic: China Called Trump’s Bluff — There is a lesson here for anyone Trump threatens.
- The Economist: Xi Jinping has Vladimir Putin over a barrel — Despite a show of comradely solidarity in Moscow, the two are not equal partners.
- Brookings: Can the US and Taiwan advance a shared vision? — If ever there was a moment that called for Washington and Taipei to open new avenues of mutually beneficial cooperation and support, this would be it.
- Rest of World: Why Apple can’t just quit China — Patrick McGee, author of the new book Apple in China, on the too-close-to-break relationship between the world’s second-most valuable company and its biggest geopolitical rival.
