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.
Paid subscribers automatically have this list emailed directly to their inboxes every day by 10 a.m. EST. Subscribe here.
The Wall Street Journal
- Europe’s Exports to U.S. Rose Despite Tariffs, as Imports From China Jumped — Exports from the EU to the rest of the world increased 2% in 2025, while imports gained at a faster 2.4% pace.
- ‘Red Dawn Over China’: A Maoist Mythology — State accounts of the triumph of the CCP have whitewashed the atrocities that were central to Mao’s rise to power.
- Japan Seizes Chinese Fishing Boat and Arrests Its Skipper — The incident comes amid strained relations between Tokyo and Beijing.
- CIA Seeks to Recruit Spies Out of China’s Military Turmoil — The Central Intelligence Agency posted a video depicting a Chinese officer’s lament about high-level purges.
The Financial Times
- Chinese real estate mogul revives empire with new ventures in U.S. — Zhang Xin was one of the few developers able to extricate her wealth from China and rebuild elsewhere.
- What must happen for the world to stack RMB — For dollar wannabe renminbi, liability currency status > reserve currency status.
- CIA releases new video in attempt to lure Chinese military officers to spy for U.S. — U.S. intelligence agency seeks to tap into frustration over extensive purges at People’s Liberation Army.
The New York Times
- Japan Seizes Chinese Fishing Boat; Move Likely to Add to Tensions — The seizure of the trawler, which Japan said was sailing in its waters in the East China Sea, is likely to add to tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.
- C.I.A. Video Appeals to Potential Spies in China’s Military — The agency is seeking Chinese officials who are frustrated with corruption in the People’s Liberation Army.
Caixin
- China Lifts the Lid on Multitrillion-Yuan Corporate IOU Market — Industry group has mapped out nearly 2.6 trillion yuan of unregulated financing tools that set off a campaign to fix how big companies pay their suppliers.
- How a Failed Pig Farm Investment Ruined an Agri-Tech Giant — Construction flaws, financial missteps and a fierce legal battle with a building contractor left Tech-Bank’s finances in tatters.
- Chinese Spacecraft Passes Safety Test Crucial to Getting Boots on Moon — The test aims to ensure that astronauts can safely return if something goes wrong during their mission.
- Blade Defects at Three Gorges Wind Farm Expose Quality Risks in China’s Turbine Boom — A repair tender covering 99 turbines in Inner Mongolia highlights mounting failures linked to the industry’s 2015-2016 installation rush and later price wars.
- China’s Home Price Slump Eases After Stimulus Push — Government data shows slower month-on-month declines in existing home prices across major and smaller cities in January, hinting that a recovery might be on the way.
South China Morning Post
- Make every penny count for combat, China’s military told in countdown to Lunar New Year — State media also spotlights deep flaws in PLA’s readiness that have surfaced during country’s widening anti-corruption drive.
- Why more top lenders are eyeing China’s bond market — Africa Finance Corporation executive says entering Chinese capital markets is a ‘natural evolution’.
- Opinion: ‘Becoming Chinese’ memes reflect a world shaped by China’s ascent — The memes are really about how deeply global digital life is embedded in Chinese-built systems – and how comfortable young people are with that. By Nicole Chan.
Nikkei Asia
- U.S. finalizes tariff hike on battery material graphite from China — Antidumping and countervailing duties expected to be imposed as early as next month.
- China’s Luckin reaches 30,000 stores in 8 years, outpacing Starbucks — Chinese chain’s Shenzhen flagship store hits milestone that took 48 years for U.S. rival.
- Canada turns to China to revive EV sector as U.S. ties fray — Reliance on American sales, Chinese input exposes Ottawa to pressure from both sides.
Bloomberg
- China’s Rising AI Billionaires — A new generation of entrepreneurs is challenging US dominance — and rapidly building huge fortunes on the back of China’s quest for technological independence.
- How Do You Steal an Airplane? One Piece at a Time — Looking to reduce China’s reliance on Western aviation technologies, Beijing had spies spend years accumulating knowledge about the industry’s secrets.
- China Is Snapping Up Overseas Assets Again From Puma to Metals — After Beijing slammed them shut about a decade ago, the gates have flung open again for Chinese firms to go on overseas acquisition sprees.
Reuters
- China’s Great Wall Motor restarts its European grand tour with hybrids, gas-powered cars — GWM plans to set up a European factory to make 300,000 cars a year by 2030, requiring close to a hundredfold growth in sales.
- ByteDance in talks to sell gaming unit Moonton for more than $6 billion, sources say — The Moonton sale would add to the ongoing consolidation in the video game industry, as a number of major players race for IP dominance, and scale up in global markets.
- State firms in China buy foreclosed properties to slow downturn — Analysts say the involvement of state firms may cushion the pace of further home price falls and ease the drag that the property slump has had on China’s economic growth since 2021.
Other Publications
- The Economist: What China is really up to in the Arctic — Its close co-operation with Russia is alarming many in the region.
- ChinaPower: Is China Leading the Robotics Revolution? — Advanced automation has helped Chinese manufacturers cut costs, climb global value chains, and outcompete foreign competitors.
- Rest of World: OpenAI accuses DeepSeek of “free-riding” on American R&D — The ChatGPT maker says the Chinese firm may be distilling its models, underscoring rising tech tensions between Washington and Beijing.
