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: More About That Chinese Nuclear Test . . . — Beijing and Moscow build their arsenals while the U.S. restrains itself. By the Editorial Board.
The Financial Times
- Trump’s new flat-rate tariff is a boost for China and Brazil — US allies including the UK, EU and Japan hardest hit after Supreme Court rules against previous levies.
- World’s biggest PE houses struggle to exit China deals — Groups unable to cash out while other forms of dealmaking have returned.
- Behind Trump’s truce with China — Allies are trying to work out if the administration is pursuing a tactical détente related to rare earths or if it is placing less emphasis on security issues.
- What Friedrich Merz is going to tell Xi Jinping — The German chancellor will arrive in Beijing with a markedly tougher trade stance than his predecessors.
The New York Times
- Trump Looks Ahead to Summit With China’s Xi, but Tariffs and Taiwan Loom — President Trump said his planned meeting with President Xi Jinping would be a grand display, but tensions over trade and defense could dampen the mood.
Caixin
- China Carves Out a Narrow Path for Offshore Asset Tokenization — The policy shift aims to distinguish compliant, asset-backed tokenization from the speculative cryptocurrency trading Beijing has long sought to stamp out.
- China’s AI² Robotics Raises Fresh Funds at Over 10 Billion Yuan Valuation — The deal underscores the growing investor interest in China’s embodied artificial intelligence sector.
- Drownings Shake Chinese Enthusiasm for Travel to Russia — Seven Chinese tourists and a local driver died on Friday after their vehicle fell through an ice crevasse on Russia’s Lake Baikal.
South China Morning Post
- China’s Type 095 nuclear submarine spotted for first time in new satellite images — Next-generation SSN features advanced acoustic stealth and strike capacity, narrowing tech gap with rival US.
- China’s Lunar New Year sees modest rise in consumer spending, early data shows — Initial figures show record travel, shifting spending patterns and a weak box office.
- China amps up electric ships in push to decarbonise waterways, leverage EV prowess — Twin strengths, battery technology and shipbuilding, are being fused to electrify maritime transport, moving beyond short-haul passenger vessels to commercial cargo.
- Hong Kong 47: court dismisses appeals by 12 activists in national security trial — Appellate court also upholds acquittal of barrister Lawrence Lau in the subversion case.
- Opinion: China seeks to cultivate a food supply immune to geopolitical shocks — Amid increasing pressure from trade wars and climate change, Beijing is reframing agriculture as a matter of national security. By Genevieve Donnellon-May.
- Why Chinese universities are ditching language degrees for strategic regional expertise — Some 450 regional studies centres have been set up across more than 180 institutions nationwide since Ministry of Education launched project.
- Hong Kong stocks gain by most in nearly a month on China export optimism — ‘China and Hong Kong are the biggest beneficiaries’ of US court decision on tariffs, Goldman Sachs strategists and economists say.
Nikkei Asia
- Chinese state company helps Russian ally build ammunition plant — Nikkei investigation: Belarus partner’s contract suspected of supporting Moscow’s war effort.
- China automakers look to Toyota in next growth push in Thailand — BYD and others see bumpy road ahead as price war sparks backlash.
- China reacts to US ruling with call for Trump to scrap unilateral tariffs — Analysts expect short-term boost for exports as Beijing vows to protect interests.
Bloomberg
- Xi Gains Leverage Before Trump Summit After Tariff Reversal — The removal of tariff threats will make it harder for Trump to press Xi for larger purchases of certain products.
- China, India Among Winners After US Court Blocked Trump Tariffs — Countries including China, India and Brazil are seeing lower tariff rates for shipments to the US after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s emergency levies.
Reuters
- Australian warship transits Taiwan Strait, tracked by China’s navy — An Australian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait, a government source said on Sunday, in the latest transit of the sensitive waterway.
- China assessing US Supreme Court tariff ruling; says “fighting is harmful” — Global Times says tariff decisions used as “political weapon”.
Other Publications
- The Guardian: China overtakes US as Germany’s top trading partner — Friedrich Merz to meet Xi Jinping in Beijing, with goods worth €251bn traded between two countries in 2025.
- TechCrunch: China’s brain-computer interface industry is racing ahead — A new wave of startups is racing to commercialize both implantable and noninvasive BCIs.
- Foreign Affairs: Opinion: China’s Private Sector Pivot — How Beijing Is Encouraging Entrepreneurs Without Giving Up Control. By Lizzi Lee and Jing Qian.
- The Times: Opinion: Is China really ready for AI to hit its workers? — President Xi’s battle for global robotics supremacy risks hobbling the state’s social stability. By Cindy Yu.
- MERICS: Unusual speed and potential triggers: Assessing the latest purges in China’s military — The recent purges of the two high-ranking military leaders Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli came at a surprising time.
