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
- The Lavish Lifestyle of an Alleged Chinese Agent Gets a Spotlight in Trial — Charges say New York state aide bought a mansion, a condo and a Ferrari thanks to favors from the Chinese government in exchange for influencing policy toward Beijing.
- China Hatches Plan to Keep U.S. Military From Getting Its Rare-Earth Magnets — Beijing considers ‘validated end-user’ system to fast-track certain export licenses.
- The AI Cold War That Will Redefine Everything — America holds a sizable lead, but China is working to tip the scales with a sweeping countrywide push, betting ‘swarms beat the titan.’
- America’s Chip Restrictions Are Biting in China — Shortages of advanced AI chips are so acute that Beijing is intervening and tech companies are resorting to workarounds.
The Financial Times
- China’s favourite tipple falls flat on alcohol bans and Gen Z’s changing tastes — Prices of Moutai’s baijiu hit decade low and revenues notch slowest growth since 2016 as consumers pull back.
- UN climate summit looks to China as latest data shows flat emissions trend — The absence of the U.S. at COP30 has put the focus on the world’s other big emitters.
- UK scales back scientific collaboration with China — Science minister says countries have agreed to work together in ‘uncontroversial’ areas such as health and climate.
- Indonesia considers issuing ‘panda bonds’ as China promotes renminbi debt — Beijing is stepping up efforts to expand the currency’s role in international trade and financing.
The New York Times
- The 20-Somethings Who Raised $121 Million to Build Military Drones — Neros, a company founded in 2023 by former teenage drone racers, won a coveted Army contract and is gaining popularity in the defense sector.
- At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, Chinese Technology Is Shifting Climate Politics — At this year’s climate summit, the United States is out and Europe is struggling. But emerging countries are embracing renewable energy thanks to a glut of cheap equipment.
- Halt in Fees on Chinese Vessels Endangers U.S. Shipbuilding Efforts — The two countries agreed to suspend the fees for a year as part of their recent trade pact, but America still aims to build more commercial ships.
- How China Reached Into New York to Stop a Tiny Film Festival — A showcase for independent Chinese films was scrapped after the Chinese authorities pressured directors, moderators and even a volunteer to pull out.
- How a New Bridge Partly Collapsed in China’s Southwest — A section of the tall bridge in mountainous Sichuan Province fell, apparently after a landslide. No casualties were reported.
- Xi’s Military Purges Show Unease About China’s Nuclear Forces — The shake-up in China’s armed forces comes as both Beijing and Washington are pushing through major changes in their country’s militaries, in different ways.
- Why Factories Will Keep Looking for Alternatives to China — A trade truce between the United States and China has calmed nerves, but it won’t stop the broader movement of companies to countries like Vietnam.
Caixin
- Fugitive Couple Reemerges at the Helm of Volatile Nasdaq Firm — A couple who fled China in 2012 leaving a trail of bad loans and forged documents have reappeared in the boardroom of a U.S.-listed company.
- U.K. Details Chinese Bitcoin Launderer’s Escape and Evasion — Prosecutors reveal mastermind behind one of China’s biggest Ponzi schemes bought a total of nearly 195,000 bitcoins and used multiple identities to flee to the U.K.
- China Moves to Spur Private Investment With Market Access, Financial Aid — 13-point policy package aims to draw private capital into infrastructure, tech, and state-led projects while easing regulatory and financing barriers.
- Chinese Local Governments Risk Replicating Mistakes of LGFVs — Localities have created thousands of ‘culture and tourism’ investment companies, with some designed to shift their traditional financing vehicles onto a market-oriented footing and sidestep borrowing limits.
- Another ICBC Executive Vanishes Amid Widening Anti-Graft Probe — Disappearance of Yunnan branch chief Tao Biao adds to mounting turmoil at China’s largest state-owned lender.
South China Morning Post
- Nexperia chips have begun flowing to Europe again, auto suppliers say — Beijing has followed through on promises to ease export restrictions, but a final deal to decide the chip firm’s fate has yet to be agreed.
- Democrats demand to know whether Trump-Xi Nexperia deal blindsided Europe — Letter says EU officials ‘appeared unaware of reported breakthrough’ when engaging with Dutch chipmaker and Chinese trade representatives.
- Why new model of China’s Moonshot AI stirs ‘DeepSeek moment’ debate — Kimi K2 Thinking outperforms OpenAI’s GPT-5 and Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4.5, sparking comparisons to DeepSeek’s breakthrough.
- From rail to nuclear power, China taps private capital to fund major projects — Beijing unveils a slew of new measures to channel private investment into infrastructure projects ranging from hydropower to oil pipelines.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s top memory chip maker YMTC to build 3rd plant, eyeing 2027 start — NAND producer aims to ride AI boom to lift market share despite U.S. blacklisting.
- Huawei flags $630mn in revenue from licensing patents and technology — Company touts innovative tech for its Ascend AI chips in challenge to Nvidia.
- Thai king heads to China for landmark state visit — Vajiralongkorn’s trip is first by nation’s monarch to China since Communists took power in 1949.
- China military brass with Xi ties absent from plenum amid purge — Anti-corruption drive hits elite clique that president himself helped lift.
Bloomberg
- The Shipping Mogul Who Carved a Route to China’s African Mining Prize — Sun Xiushun cracked the infrastructure puzzle holding back the world’s largest untapped iron ore deposit.
- China Allows Bigger Private Stakes in Huge State-Driven Projects — It is one of the most concrete steps yet taken by Beijing to support private businesses that, until now, faced stricter limits for investing than state-owned firms.
- Cancer Gold Rush Sparks Billions in Spending Over Unproven Drugs — Pharma companies are spending billions on a treatment based off old drugs, with little evidence it will extend lives.
Reuters
- Exclusive: Renault seeking Chinese rare-earth-free motor supplier, sources say — Renault is looking to save money by bringing on a cheaper Chinese supplier.
- Exclusive: GM wants parts makers to pull supply chains from China — Geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China have left car executives in triage mode throughout 2025.
- Honda’s bigger threat comes from China’s EV makers, not tariffs or chips — They are the deeper, longer-term challenge to profit.
Other Publications
- Foreign Policy: How China Became a Solar Power — Beijing’s green energy ambitions are fueling a global revolution.
- The Economist: Beijing insiders’ plan to play Donald Trump — They see America’s president as a golden opportunity for China.
- The Atlantic: China’s EV Market Is Imploding — Beijing’s grand ambitions threaten to take down the global car industry.
- The Information: The Tesla of China Follows Musk in AI Hardware — with More Pragmatism — Xpeng has ambitious plans.
- Nature: China’s new scientist visa is a ‘serious bid’ for the world’s top talent — The country is easing migration for young researchers to boost its competitiveness in artificial intelligence, robotics and new materials.
- Rest of World: Why BYD can’t do for China what Ford did for America — The Chinese EV giant has conquered global markets by selling millions of cars, but it hasn’t supercharged China’s soft power.
- CFR: China’s Latest Climate Pledges Fall Short of What’s Needed at COP30 — The latest nationally determined contributions from Beijing promises to reduce emissions for the first time, but the country’s commitments still far short of what experts say will be needed to keep global climate warming from rising above 1.5°C.
