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
- Xi Jinping Is Stripping Down His Military Command and Starting Over — Military purge shows limits of Chinese leader’s efforts to root out corruption and ensure loyalty.
- Google Aims Knockout Blow at Chinese Company Linked to Massive Cyber Weapon — Company targets global network employed by hackers that often use devices running in homes of everyday Americans.
- U.K.’s Starmer Joins Ranks of U.S. Allies Testing China’s Embrace — British leader rekindles ties with Xi Jinping, business delegation in tow.
- Chinese Man Who Documented Uyghur Population Is Granted U.S. Asylum — Citizen-journalist drew attention after ICE detention.
- Alibaba Teams Up With Zelos on $2 Billion Robovan Business — The Zelos-Cainiao robovan fleet is set to top 20,000 vehicles.
- China’s Local Governments Cut Growth Targets — The Chinese economy scored a 5.0% expansion last year, thanks in part to robust exports.
The Financial Times
- UK and China to share intelligence over people traffickers in the Channel — Prime minister hopes pact will help Britain tackle gangs bringing migrants from France in small boats.
- Starmer tells Xi UK wants more ‘sophisticated’ relationship with China — Two leaders meet in Beijing as both sides seek improved relations.
- ‘I wouldn’t dare take these drugs’: how China supplies untested peptides to the west — The success of weight-loss drugs has driven demand for injectable compounds that claim to improve everything from sleep to skin.
- Ford’s move to expand ties with China battery giant CATL angers U.S. lawmakers — U.S. carmaker is setting up a new battery energy storage facility using licensed CATL technology based on existing agreement.
The New York Times
- At World’s Busiest Port, China’s Unbalanced Economy Comes Into View — The shipping traffic and factories never stop in China’s port city of Ningbo, but the local housing market has crashed and nearby restaurants sit empty.
- Chinese National Heng Guan Who Documented Uyghurs’ Repression Wins Asylum — Heng Guan, a Chinese national, will not be released immediately, as Homeland Security said it was reserving the right to appeal.
- She Couldn’t Defend Herself, but He Wasn’t Charged With Rape — A decision in China not to charge a man who fathered children with a woman with a mental illness has set off a debate about consent and the state’s push for babies.
Caixin
- Vanke’s Debt Spiral Reveals Limits of China’s Real Estate Backstop — The once-stable developer narrowly avoided default with emergency extensions and state support—but deeper financial trouble looms.
- China’s Car Market Posts Record Sales, but Profits Hit a Wall — Brutal EV price war and rising material costs drag December margins to record low of 1.8%.
South China Morning Post
- Tale of 2 megacities: how did Beijing and Shanghai’s GDPs surpass 5 trillion yuan? — China’s two largest cities are outpacing national growth rates, each generating gross domestic products equal to a small European country.
- With AI in the driving seat, China moves to rein in job displacement risks — China’s central government unveils plans for policy to reduce industrial labour pains caused by widespread use of artificial intelligence.
Nikkei Asia
- Xi Jinping purges his conduit to party elders — Loss of Gen. Zhang Youxia could hollow out China’s military.
- China, Huawei slam EU cybersecurity proposal — Beijing says legislation ‘tarnishes’ Brussels’ image as an open market.
- Hong Kong property, stock markets lifted by mainland Chinese money — Investors with few options at home buy territory’s real estate at record clip.
- China’s record natural gas output driven by shale development — Country reduces dependence on LNG imports, especially from the U.S.
- Chinese real estate shares jump as ‘three red lines’ reportedly dropped — Policy was widely viewed as beginning of property debt crisis.
Bloomberg
- VW to Ramp Up Exports From China as EV Price War Hits Carmakers — The push is meant to help arrest a sales slide that slashed the company’s Chinese deliveries.
- UK Vows More China Access for Services After Starmer-Xi Meeting — The moves on visas and services represent concrete returns for the British premier.
- China Tightens Cross-Border Investment Program After Demand Surges — The latest move suggests authorities are now seeking more control of investors’ exposure abroad.
Reuters
- Fall of top Chinese general stirs U.S. uncertainty about China’s military — Such a senior-level connection was seen as an important relationship and a channel that remained viable for further talks.
- China plans space‑based AI data centres, challenging Musk’s SpaceX ambitions — China and the U.S. are competing as they look to turn space exploration into a commercially viable business similar to civil aviation.
- Exclusive: Nvidia helped DeepSeek hone AI models later used by China’s military, lawmaker says — Documents obtained by the Select Committee from Nvidia showed the achievement came after extensive technical assistance from Nvidia.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Xi Jinping is immensely powerful. Why can’t he stamp out corruption? — His purge of the top brass is part of a wider campaign.
- WIRED: This Chinese Startup Wants to Build a New Brain-Computer Interface — No Implant Required — Gestala is the latest company to emerge from China’s burgeoning brain-computer interface industry. It plans to access the brain with noninvasive ultrasound technology.
- Foreign Policy: Washington’s Silence in Asia Is a Gift to Beijing — The Trump administration has done little as China threatens U.S. allies.
- Rest of World: Beijing enlists AI to bring traditional Chinese medicine into the future — With backing from the Chinese government, TCM practitioners are integrating AI tools to reach new consumers at home and abroad.
