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
- China’s Exports Keep Defying Expectations With Accelerating Growth in July — Exports to the U.S. fall for a fourth consecutive month but rise for rest of world.
- Baidu Plans to Launch New Reasoning Model by End August — The Chinese company’s new reasoning model will be able to handle more complex tasks.
The Financial Times
- UK demands China explain redacted parts of London embassy plan — Some drawings for the ‘mega’ project close to the Tower of London have blacked out sections.
- China tells officials: fewer meetings, shorter memos, cut the speeches — Directive suggests 5,000-character limit for documents as Beijing takes aim at bureaucracy.
- China’s exports surge ahead of U.S. tariff truce deadline — Pause in trade hostilities and reduced levies to expire next week as Trump imposes latest sweeping global measures.
- China to restrict Tibetan language in college entrance exam — Exclusion of core subject exam stokes fears Beijing is furthering campaign to ‘Sinicise’ region.
- Why Taiwanese fear China could take over from within — While the west focuses on the military threat, activists in Taiwan accuse its own politicians of facilitating Beijing’s subversion efforts.
The New York Times
- India, Once America’s Counterweight to China, Is Now Facing Trump’s Wrath — With threats of tariffs up to 50 percent, President Trump seems to be scrapping America’s plan to turn India into a counterweight to China, declaring instead that it is a “dead economy.”
- China Turns to A.I. in Information Warfare — Documents examined by researchers show how one company in China has collected data on members of Congress and other influential Americans.
- Southeast Asia Looks for Clarity From U.S. on ‘Rules of Origin’ — Thailand, Vietnam and other countries in the region face much higher tariffs on exports with Chinese-made components. But questions remain on how the U.S. defines a locally made product.
- Why a Teen Bullying Case in China Set Off Protests and a Crackdown — Residents in a city in southwestern China protested what they saw as official indifference in the attack on a girl. Police repression and censorship fueled the outrage.
- China’s Exports Surged in July as Companies Raced to Beat Trump Tariffs — China is shipping more goods to Southeast Asia and other regions that often re-export them to the United States. China still sells three times as much to the United States as it buys.
Caixin
- DeepSeek-Linked Quant Fund Caught Up in Kickback Scandal — High-Flyer Quant executive under investigation for allegedly receiving more than $2.8 million in personal kickbacks from brokerage commissions.
- Sustainability Key to CATL’s Global Expansion, Executive Says — The world’s biggest battery-maker is working to clean up its image as it pushes into Europe and other markets, Vice President Jiang Li told Caixin.
- China’s Scandal-Hit Credit Ratings Industry Seeks a New Beginning — The free lunch may be over for bond investors as credit ratings companies explore a new business model that includes a paywall for in-depth reports on the creditworthiness of issuers
- Xiaomi Hires Designer Behind BMW’s EV Lineup — Kai Langer is the latest veteran from the German automaker to join the Chinese tech company as it hits the accelerator on its global expansion.
- Chinese Game Giant XD Inc. Bets Big on Studio Yet to Make Any Money — Search for next global blockbuster sees a strategic shift in China’s gaming industry.
South China Morning Post
- How China used rare earths to turn on the U.S. chip tap again — Washington tried to slow Chinese AI progress with export bans, a tactic Beijing later employed to regain some ground.
- U.S. Republicans, usually Taiwan supporters, quiet on denying NY stopover to Lai — Democrats say refusing transit for Taiwanese leader represents ‘stark departure from precedent’ and ‘sends a dangerous signal to Beijing.
- Will TSMC tech leak and Trump’s demands threaten Taiwan’s top chipmaker status? — Corporate espionage and tariff pressures deal dual blows to TSMC, adding to fears about vulnerability of Taiwan and its most prized company.
- China and Pakistan expand tech collaboration to nuclear power, space and AI — Pakistani planning minister’s trip to China includes satellite launch and meetings with heads of nuclear authority and space agency.
Nikkei Asia
- Retired generals return to spotlight at military’s birthday bash — Pressure mounts on PLA amid turmoil in its Navy.
- U.S. pursues record restrictions on Chinese purchases of American land — Federal, state bills cite security, but Chinese entities own tiny fraction of farm acreage.
- India’s Modi plans first China visit in 7 years, as tensions with U.S. rise — Indian security official in Russia to discuss oil, weapons amid Trump tariffs.
- Peninsula Hotels operator stuck in red as greater China stagnates — New CEO sees chance for full-year profitability but wary of geopolitics and trade war.
- Taiwan probes Goertek, Nvidia supplier over alleged illegal talent poaching — Investigation ongoing into 16 Chinese companies authorities say.
Bloomberg
- Chinese Drone Maker DJI Shut Out of Washington With U.S. Market at Risk — Chinese-owned and operated DJI Technologies is up against an end-of-year deadline to keep its U.S. business alive.
Reuters
- Skeptical investors call time on China’s anti-price war rally — Softening share price increases point to a lack of confidence among investors that Beijing’s vow to tackle industrial overcapacity will carry much punch.
- Take your pick. China’s commodity imports can be solid or soft — The overall picture for commodities demand in China is one that is neither robust or weak.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Xi Jinping’s city of the future is coming to life — It is both impressive and worrying.
- BBC: How Europe is vying for rare earth independence from China — Europe only has two rare earth processing facilities, in Estonia and western France.
- Scientific American: How China Brought Clean Energy to Antarctica’s Frigid Darkness — Solar panels, wind turbines, a hydrogen energy system and lithium-ion batteries are powering China’s newest polar research station.
- WIRED: What to Know About Traveling to China for Business — Recent developments and an escalating trade war have made travel to cities like Beijing challenging but by no means impossible.
