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
- Opinion: China Loses a Foothold in Panama — A court ruling should put to rest Trump’s claim that China is running the canal. By Mary Anastasia O’Grady.
- China’s Xi, Now Alone Atop His Military, Is the Sole Voice in Tackling Taiwan — Leader has freer hand to deal with self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.
- Why China Cares About Being Cool All of a Sudden — The hype around Chinese trinkets, movies and video games is giving Beijing’s global profile some timely gloss, just as American soft power is losing some of its sheen.
- Luxury Brands Need a Comeback in China. They Shouldn’t Count on It — Even with a stock market outperforming S&P 500, Chinese shoppers aren’t flocking to luxury brands as they once did.
- China Manufacturing Gauge Shows Pickup in Activity — However, business confidence slipped to a nine-month low amid concerns around costs.
The Financial Times
- China’s genius plan to win the AI race is already paying off — A network of ultra-competitive high-school talent streams has been turning out the leading lights of science and tech.
- Xi Jinping calls for China’s renminbi to attain global reserve currency status — Latest commentary details ambitions for ‘powerful currency’ to play a greater role in trade and forex.
The New York Times
- ‘I’m Free’: A Muslim Official Who Lost Faith in China Gains a Voice — Ma Ruilin worked as a Communist Party cadre helping fellow Muslims navigate their country as religious minorities, until the official hostility became too great to bear.
- Move Fast, but Obey the Rules: China’s Vision for Dominating A.I. — Beijing wants to lead the world in developing cutting-edge artificial intelligence, but it also wants companies to adhere to an increasingly complex set of rules.
- U.S. Allies Are Drawing Closer to China, but on Beijing’s Terms — As Washington unsettles its partners, Beijing is reaping diplomatic gains, without backing down on human rights, trade or security.
Caixin
- China Investigates Emergency Management Minister for Graft — Wang Xiangxi is the 23rd member of the Party’s elite Central Committee to fall in the current political cycle, just days after he publicly urged subordinates to maintain integrity.
- China Fines Kuaishou Unit $3.8 Million for E-Commerce Violations — Regulators cite fake sales data, intellectual property lapses and illegal wildlife trade in concluding a probe launched last September.
- In China’s Manufacturing Hub, Mayors Behave Like Influencers to Boost Spending — Missed growth targets in 2025 force Guangdong leadership to personally market local attractions and products, signaling a shift in economic urgency.
- Vanke Warns of $11.8 Billion Loss as Property Slump Persists — The deepening red ink at the state-backed giant underscores the severity of China’s property crisis, which has left Vanke with an estimated 131.5 billion yuan in losses over the past two years.
South China Morning Post
- China’s military tightens fuel supply rules as US investigates cause of twin air crashes — New regulations aim to improve oversight and transparency to ensure its supplies are properly accounted for and improve combat readiness.
- As diplomatic row drags on, how is Japan coping with a fall in Chinese tourists? — Chinese tourism to Japan has plunged amid a diplomatic feud. But Japan’s travel sector is holding up – and its airlines have even made some gains.
- ‘Optimus chain’: Chinese suppliers form the backbone of Tesla’s humanoid robot initiative — Tesla’s pivot to producing humanoid robots is expected to engage a network of key Chinese component makers.
- China’s plan to internationalise yuan quietly takes a step forward as Zambia gets on board — Decision to repay loans and import costs directly to China in Chinese currency is practical rather than political, experts say.
- North America’s top computer vision scientist Liang Jie returns to China — Brain behind leading Microsoft tech products used by millions across the globe and sensor systems for elderly care joins Chinese university.
Nikkei Asia
- EU companies adopt BYD, Yutong buses despite China security fears — German, Belgian, Austrian transport groups cite low price, superior electric tech.
- All Taiwan parties must face China reality, says minister banned by Beijing — Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang vows to enforce law, from RedNote ban to infiltration.
Bloomberg
- BYD Vehicle Sales Slump 30% in January as China Demand Cools — The carmaker wants to increase deliveries to markets outside China by nearly 25%, with exports totaling 100,482 in January.
- Metals Traders Lose at Least $144 Million as ‘Hat’ Flees China — Xu Maohua, a metals dealer nicknamed The Hat, was central to a network that helped the SDIC subsidiary boost sales via irregular deals that skirted government rules.
- Opinion: China’s Crying Horse Doll Shows a Generation Is Losing Faith — A crying horse doll with a permanently downturned mouth has become a symbol for a disillusioned generation and a potent image of the national mood, with sales soaring along with online commentary. By Karishma Vaswani.
- China’s Weak 2026 Start Bolsters Case for Early Policy Easing — China’s economy stumbled into the new year, with official purchasing managers’ indexes suggesting an unexpected and broad slowdown in January.
Reuters
- China new home prices rise in January as government signals support, private survey says — China’s property sector has struggled since tighter regulations triggered a 2021 liquidity crunch for developers, many of which have since defaulted on debt.
- Disgruntled with Western pork, China wants to go back to black pigs — The black pork businesses are also competing with imported products and Chinese pork moguls that are developing premium pork from fast-growing Western breeds.
- Alibaba to spend $431 million for Lunar New Year AI push as chatbot war heats up — The pledge by Alibaba, which triples the spending promised earlier by rivals Tencent and Baidu, is set to start on February 6.
Other Publications
- The Economist: China has launched a huge free-trade experiment — Will reforms on a big southern island kick-start changes elsewhere?
- Foreign Policy: China Is Building a Better, More Modern Military — Xi’s purges are part of a generational reshuffling of generals.
- Foreign Affairs: Opinion: Xi the Destroyer — The Latest Military Purge Signals China’s Leader Is Entering a New Era. By Jonathan A. Czin and John Culver.
- The Washington Post: China’s efforts to boost the birth rate have failed. Is coercion next? — China’s birth rate has fallen to a record low, prompting concerns about the country’s demographic future and the potential for more coercive measures.
- AP: China criticizes decision to award a Grammy to the Dalai Lama — The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, who lives in exile in India, took the award on Sunday for his book, “Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”
