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
- Riding in a Chinese Robotaxi Is Pretty Smooth — That’s a Problem for Waymo — While U.S. companies dominate their home market, other countries look to China for driverless technology.
- Burger King Strikes Joint Venture to Double Presence in China — China’s CPE plans to invest $350 million, taking an 83% stake, to help fuel restaurant growth in the region.
- Alaska’s New Mining Rush Chases Something More Coveted Than Gold — Miners are racing to extract antimony, an obscure element used by defense companies, which China cut off as retaliation in the trade war.
- China’s Auto Sales Resume Downtrend as Demand Slows — The younger generation’s reluctance to buy cars is pressuring vehicle sales in China.
The Financial Times
- Can a ship-shaped Shanghai shop put wind in China’s luxury sales? — Louis Vuitton’s cruise liner installation is drawing crowds, but a lasting sector recovery remains elusive.
- Can the U.S. break China’s grip on rare earths? — Experts question Washington’s suggestion that it can end Beijing’s dominance of sector within two years.
- Can China decarbonize the world’s factory floor? — Beijing’s next test is cutting emissions from heavy industry — a move that could redefine global climate leadership.
- Chinese automakers are overtaking European rivals, says car-shipping chief — World’s biggest operator, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, aims to boost revenue by helping newer Beijing brands expand overseas.
- Selling into China: U.S. exporters circle market after Trump deal — Shanghai trade fair puts foreign desire for the Chinese market on full display.
- China’s most advanced aircraft carrier enters service in challenge to U.S. — Domestically developed Fujian vessel has electromagnetic catapults for launching fighter jets.
- Opinion: How to curb China’s grip on rare earths — The world will need to band together and innovate to lessen Beijing’s leverage. By The Editorial Board.
- Opinion: Reasons to be bearish about China’s rise — Yes, its economic engine is remarkable, but there are factors that should temper predictions of global hegemony. By Rana Foroohar.
The New York Times
- Inside China’s Quest to Defy Aging with Longevity Labs and ‘Immortality Islands’ — Longevity labs, “immortality islands” and grapeseed pills are part of China’s national project to conquer aging, despite sometimes shaky science and extravagant claims.
- In Cozying Up to Trump, Leaders Hedge Their Reliance on Moscow and Beijing — President Trump has made it easier for countries that are close to Russia and China to build ties with the United States. Those countries are embracing the opportunity.
- China Resumes Some Chip Exports, Easing Fears of a Global Crunch — A leading German automotive supplier said it was again allowed to ship semiconductors that Beijing had barred for export.
- China Suspends Export Controls on More Critical Minerals — The changes would make it easier for American firms to obtain key minerals, delivering on what the White House said the two countries had agreed to at last month’s summit.
- China Tightens Controls on Fentanyl Precursors After Summit — China will require licenses for export of 13 chemicals used to make the deadly drug, another indicator of thawing tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Caixin
- China’s Micro-Dramas Steal the Show and Momentum Seems Unstoppable — Empty malls are turned into studios, AI drives animation and regulators race to keep up.
- How an Elite Chinese Alumni Network’s U.S. Real Estate Dream Collapsed — Millions raised from graduates of a top Beijing university for a lucrative California property project were allegedly diverted by fellow alumni, leaving a trail of broken trust.
- China’s Forex Reserves Hit Nine-Year High as Asset Gains Offset Dollar Pressure — October’s $4.7 billion rise underscores Beijing’s shift toward investment-driven reserve management and away from direct market intervention.
- EU Targets CRRC Over Alleged Subsidies in Lisbon Rail Bid — Second probe under new foreign subsidy rules scrutinizes Chinese state-owned trainmaker’s role in $781 million project.
- Malaysia Targets China Market With Massive Trade Blitz — Country aims to secure $526 million in deals while showcasing halal goods, green tech.
South China Morning Post
- China’s Xi doubles down on Greater Bay Area integration on Guangdong trip — The province should deepen links and cooperation with Hong Kong and Macau, Xi tells cadres on inspection tour.
- 6 of the best: the billion-dollar biotechs putting China on the map — China’s biotech renaissance is gathering pace as home-grown innovators strike billion-dollar licensing deals with global giants.
- Why ‘little giants’ thrive in China’s manufacturing hub Jiangsu — Small but highly specialised and innovation-driven companies are enabling the nation’s technology self reliance drive.
- Huge subsidy scheme in China’s most populous province falls flat with consumers — The Chinese province has launched its biggest ever consumer subsidy programme to revitalise its economy, but shoppers remain cautious.
- World-leading cancer drug scientist Lin Wenbin joins China’s Westlake University — The move follows distinguished contributions at the University of Chicago towards developing more effective cutting-edge treatments.
Nikkei Asia
- Why China is going full speed ahead with debt-ridden high-speed rail — Projects hold value beyond profits, say officials.
- Chinese brands try out toys in Thailand to find next Labubu — Market serves as litmus test for success of new characters.
- China pursues Hong Kong activists abroad: ‘My life has changed totally’ — Joseph Tay and Dennis Kwok, on separate visits to Japan, warn of threat to democracies.
- China’s biopharma boom echoes EV industry’s success and stresses — Supply chain experience pays off but price competition and geopolitics loom.
Bloomberg
- The True Cost of China’s Falling Prices — Bloomberg analysis shows deflation on the ground feels more pronounced than official data show, with prices of everyday goods plunging and the share of loss-making companies at a 25-year high.
- China to Resume Nexperia Chip Exports, Dutch PM Schoof Says — A resumption could set the stage for the Netherlands to relinquish government control it imposed over Nexperia.
Reuters
- Exclusive: FBI chief visited China to talk fentanyl, law enforcement, sources say — The visit came before China announced adjustments that underscore criminal risks exporters could face when shipping chemicals to “high-risk” countries.
- China’s internet firms cautiously revive lending as Beijing pushes consumer loans — They are taking Beijing’s push to make household borrowing cheaper as a signal that regulators may be easing a years-long crackdown on the sector.
- At China’s largest import expo, U.S. exhibitors hopeful worst of trade war is over — U.S. exporters of agricultural goods to China are optimistic that trade between the two countries will return to normalcy.
Other Publications
- Foreign Affairs: America’s Self-Defeating China Strategy — A Policy That Confuses Strength and Weakness.
- Foreign Policy: China Is Already Pulling Ahead on the Next Energy Supply Chain — Low-emission hydrogen is quickly becoming the latest frontier for geoeconomic competition.
- WIRED: Apple Pulls China’s Top Gay Dating Apps After Government Order — The removal of Blued and Finka marks another setback for China’s marginalized LGBTQ+ community.
- BBC: How the U.S. overtook China as Africa’s biggest foreign investor — African reserves are seen as key to the mission of increasing access to critical minerals and metals.
- The Washington Post: China’s chemical exports are behind a ‘tsunami’ of meth flooding Asia — Chinese manufacturers are shipping meth precursor chemicals to warlords in Myanmar, precipitating a drug crisis across the Asia-Pacific, a Post investigation finds.
