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
- Starbucks to Sell Stake in China Business — The coffee giant is planning a joint venture with private-equity firm Boyu Capital for its more than 8,000 stores.
- Rare-Earth Magnet Startups Seal $1.4 Billion Deal With Trump Administration — The deal with Vulcan Elements and ReElement Technologies signals the Pentagon is intent on building a supply chain to reduce China’s control.
- Trump Officials Torpedoed Nvidia’s Push to Export AI Chips to China — The president decided against discussing the matter with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after top aides opposed it.
The Financial Times
- China offers tech giants cheap power to boost domestic AI chips — Beijing introduces grants that slash energy bills by up to half for some of country’s largest data centres.
- Starbucks to sell majority stake in China business to Boyu Capital — Hong Kong-based private equity group to own up to 60% of new joint venture valued at $4bn.
- Is China about to win the race? — The world is focused on America’s lead but Beijing has the means, motive and opportunity to pull ahead.
- Chinese intimidation stopped UK university from publishing human rights report — Sheffield Hallam staff raised concerns about impact on international student recruitment.
- Opinion: US-China escalation is here to stay — The latest Trump-Xi deal won’t easily mend the faultlines that have opened between Washington and Beijing. By Sarah Beran.
The New York Times
- China’s Global Exports Continue to Grow Despite Trump Tariffs — As Trump has imposed steep tariffs on China, American importers are buying much less. But China has offset the decline from the United States with breathtaking speed.
- Trump Doubles Down on Nuclear Tests. His Energy Secretary Differs. — Trump has ordered a resumption of explosive nuclear testing to match what he contends were secret nuclear underground detonations, presumably by Russia, China, and other nuclear-armed states.
- Starbucks to Sell 60% of Its China Business to a Private Equity Firm — In a deal valued at $4 billion, Boyu Capital will acquire a stake in the coffee giant’s 8,000 stores in China.
- China Started Separating Its Economy From the West Years Ago — Two decades of sustained effort to build national self-reliance and minimize imports have antagonized trade partners but fortified what a senior adviser called Beijing’s “bulwark” against conflicts.
- Opinion: Trump’s China Trade and Tariff Policy Is a Hot Mess — As he so often does, the president is pushing the wrong answer to the right question on trade policy with Beijing. By Thomas L. Friedman.
Caixin
- Hong Kong Targets Firms Tied to U.S.- and U.K.-Sanctioned Cambodian Group — The city’s securities and insurance watchdogs have suspended or restricted the licenses of three companies connected to Chen Zhi, head of Prince Group.
- Outsourced Staff at China’s Tech Giants Face ‘Soft Dismissals’ — China’s tech giants are turning to a legally dubious “soft dismissal” tactic, leaving outsourced workers with no tasks and minimal pay to pressure them into resigning.
- Chinese Firms Rethink Overseas Playbook as Supply Chains Go Global — To navigate geopolitical risks and new forms of competition, companies must move beyond simple exports to building resilient supply chains, experts say at a panel.
- Geely to Buy Stake in Renault’s Brazil Unit to Make and Sell EVs — Chinese automaker will gain access to the French company’s local factory and sales network in an asset-light push into Latin America’s largest auto market.
- China Sentences Myanmar Crime Family Leaders to Death Over Vast Fraud Empire — Bai Suocheng and his son received the death penalty for running a criminal operation that targeted Chinese citizens with scams, violence, and drug trafficking.
South China Morning Post
- The Supreme Court case that could change global trade as we know it — Landmark case, which centres on two lawsuits, challenges Trump’s authority to impose tariffs on all imported goods using emergency powers.
- China praises Brazil’s forest fund but holds back on cash — As COP30 begins, Brazilian official says Lula ’would be delighted’ to have China on initiative’s board as an investing country.
- Can Chinese investment still find a home in America? — Even as Beijing pushes for an opening, US rules, local backlash and political fear keep China on the sidelines.
- How Nexperia’s China unit can meet chip orders amid European fabs’ suspended wafer supply — The firm says it is ‘accelerating the qualification of new wafer supply sources’ to meet chip orders, especially for the car industry.
- Opinion: Following the Xi-Trump summit, is the G2 back on track? — While alternating confrontation and negotiation seems to be the new normal, the summit holds out the possibility of a recalibration of the US-China relationship. By Zhao Minghao.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s economic czar urges Hong Kong to deepen ties with mainland markets — He Lifeng vows to tackle trade challenges; officials renew support for offshore yuan market.
- South Korea’s shipbuilding and nuclear sub pacts with US face stormy waters — Questions mount over balancing ties with China and delivery into troubled American sector.
- China export controls emerge as factor in rising fertilizer prices — Geopolitical tensions around top suppliers raise concern about food inflation.
Bloomberg
- ‘Trumpette’ Billionaire Rinehart Wins Big From Rare-Earths Fight — Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart, who happens to be a fan of Donald Trump, is profiting from the push to reduce global reliance on China’s minerals supply chain.
- China Urges US to Avoid ‘Red Lines’ After Reaching Trade Truce — China called on the US to avoid four sensitive issues so a trade truce sealed between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping can hold, highlighting the broad array of disagreements that will test ties.
- China’s Massive African Mine Threatens to Upend Iron Ore Market — The size and richness of the Simandou deposit in Guinea could shift the industry’s power dynamics and help transform the nation’s economy.
- Opinion: China Is Quietly Sparking Latin America’s Startup Race — While the US is flexing its military muscle in the Caribbean with warships and B-1 bombers, China is waging a more discreet battle in Latin America: The race to back the region’s most promising startups. By Juan Pablo Spinetto.
- Opinion: The US Had the Spotlight, China Stole the Show — US President Donald Trump may have grabbed the headlines during last week’s Asia tour, but deft diplomacy made his Chinese rival, Xi Jinping, the star of the show. By Karishma Vaswani.
Reuters
- Inside Shein’s fast-fashion fight in France — Chinese online fashion platform Shein is ramping up its fight in France, gambling that its first permanent shop, in a Paris department store, will help fend off pushback from lawmakers against its low-cost model.
- Trump tries old tactic with China on fentanyl – a new ‘working group’ — The deal revives a communications channel embraced by China, but long derided by Republican lawmakers, who argue that Beijing floats such working groups as concessions in high-level talks and then mires the U.S. in protracted negotiations.
- China’s Xi seeks to boost investment, expand economic ties with Russia — China’s President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sought to expand mutual investment with Russia and affirmed Beijing’s commitment to advance ties despite “turbulent” external conditions, Chinese state media reported.
Other Publications
- AP: Trump’s new favorite term for US-China relations carries a lot of history’s baggage — President Donald Trump has suggested his outlook to the U.S.-China relationship with a six-word post on Truth Social.
- The Economist: Why climate change now threatens China’s future — Extreme weather is hurting its economy and worrying its leaders.
- MIT Technology Review: The State of AI: Is China about to win the race? — John Thornhill from the FT and Caiwei Chen from the MIT Technology Review consider the battle between Silicon Valley and Beijing for technological supremacy.
