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
- Anthropic Accuses Chinese Companies of Siphoning Data From Claude — The allegations mirror those of OpenAI, which told House lawmakers that DeepSeek used ‘distillation’ to improve models.
- China’s BYD Opens 2026 With Blockbuster Sales Growth in Europe — New-car registrations surged to 18,242 in January, from 6,884 in the same month of 2025.
- China Hits Japanese Firms With Export Bans — Move marks another escalation in economic campaign against Japan over prime minister’s Taiwan comment.
- Beijing Sees Opening in U.S. Trade War After Court Blunts Trump’s Tariff Weapon — The Supreme Court’s decision could give China leverage in coming summit.
- Opinion: China May Grab a Lead in the Race for Military Fusion — Beijing has embarked on a Manhattan Project-like effort to develop a more fearsome nuclear arsenal. By Jimmy Goodrich and David Feith.
The Financial Times
- China slams dozens of Japanese companies with export curbs — Beijing bans shipments of critical ‘dual-use’ goods in latest escalation of row with Tokyo.
- Panasonic turns off US and Europe TV business with handover to Chinese rival — Skyworth to take over parts of Japanese electronics group’s foreign television operations.
- Opinion: China is not dumping US Treasuries — Ignore the amateur geopolitical strategists talking eloquently about the end of dollar dominance. By Brad Setser.
- Opinion: The cyber security threat inside your car — Built-in vulnerabilities in high-end vehicle components raise the risk of both espionage and sabotage. By Chris Miller.
The New York Times
- Anthropic Accuses 3 Chinese Companies of Harvesting Its Data — The San Francisco start-up claimed that DeepSeek, Moonshot and MiniMax used approximately 24,000 fraudulent accounts to train their own chatbots.
- Johnson Will Bring Daughter of Jimmy Lai to State of the Union Address — Her appearance underscores that “America is determined” to secure the release of the Hong Kong democracy activist, Speaker Mike Johnson said.
- China Amps Up Pressure on Japan With Export Bans — Beijing placed the restrictions on 20 Japanese entities with ties to the defense industry, the latest ratcheting up of its monthslong feud with Tokyo.
- The Looming Taiwan Chip Disaster That Silicon Valley Has Long Ignored — If China invades Taiwan and cuts off its chip exports to American companies, the tech industry and the U.S. economy would be crippled.
- Opinion: China Automates While America Hesitates — Unlike China, America has failed to reckon with this reality and organize manufacturing in ways that turn its own technological strengths into comparable gains. By Jonas Nahm.
Caixin
- China’s Lunar New Year Box Office Plunges 40% — Revenue fell short of analysts’ forecasts of 7.5 billion to 8 billion yuan despite the longer-than-usual holiday.
- China’s Spirit AI Valued at Over 10 Billion Yuan After Two Funding Rounds — Founded in January 2024, Spirit AI focuses on developing the “brains” of intelligent robots.
- Chinese Provinces Add Spring and Autumn School Breaks to Boost Spending — Analysts said the aim is to shift travel away from crowded national holidays and boost off-peak demand for tourism and hospitality.
South China Morning Post
- ‘China shock’ hangs over German leader Friedrich Merz’s first visit to Beijing — Chancellor must strike a balance between those wanting a toned-down Brussels trade policy and those backing tougher action against Beijing.
- What next for China’s export machine after top US court blocks Trump’s tariffs? — The high-stakes meeting between Trump and Xi may determine whether current reprieve gives way to a more durable trade deal, analyst says.
- Wassenaar Arrangement: will China join or kill this 30-year-old weapon control club? — International regime controls defence tech exports but a push for self-reliance has seen Chinese weaponry surpass that of Western nations.
- Huawei’s 2025 revenues surge to US$127 billion as firm continues to defy US sanctions — Last year’s revenue was the second highest on record for the Shenzhen-based company, with its highest ever being 891 billion yuan in 2020.
- Opinion: China’s zero-tariff offer to Africa is a game changer — In contrast to Western proposals that come with strings attached, China has turned its own market into the main instrument of partnership. By Göktuğ Çalışkan.
Nikkei Asia
- Trump’s tariff setback complicates US president’s China trip — ‘Awkward’ timing puts new duties on agenda; ruling cast as ‘double-edged sword’ for Beijing.
- China restricts exports to Japanese companies to curb ‘remilitarization’ — Automakers, shipbuilders, trading house units among 40 entities named.
- German Chancellor Merz heads for China with economy on the line — Efforts to ‘restore balance’ expected to dominate long-awaited visit.
Bloomberg
- Trump Takes Anti-China Crusade to Chile Ahead of Latin America Summit in Miami — The US ambassador to Chile warned the government over malign foreign hacking into its telecommunication network.
- Chinese Smartphone Maker Honor Plans Humanoid Service Robot — The robot will make Honor the first among its peers to enter the humanoid segment, though Huawei is also developing AI models for such tasks.
- Russia Turns to Bigger Tankers as More of Its Oil Goes to China — Deliveries of Russian crude to Chinese ports rose to 2.09 million barrels a day in the first 18 days of February.
- Pfizer Nabs China Obesity Drug Rights in $495 Million Deal — The deal with Hangzhou Sciwind Bioscience Co. is worth as much as $495 million and grants Pfizer exclusive rights to market the drug ecnoglutide on the Chinese mainland.
Reuters
- China’s DeepSeek trained AI model on Nvidia’s best chip despite US ban, official says — US export controls bar Blackwell shipments to China.
- US meeting Russian and Chinese delegations for nuclear arms control talks, official says — The U.S. has called for a new, broader arms control treaty that would bring in China as well as Russia.
- Shelving China actions harms US national security, House Democrats say — The letter is part of a growing chorus of concerns raised by Democratic lawmakers that the Trump administration is reining in any U.S. government action that could antagonize Beijing.
- German car exports to China plunge by a third in 2025, says economic institute — The data comes as Chancellor Friedrich Merz travels to China for the first time.
- Iran nears deal to buy supersonic anti-ship missiles from China — Talks accelerated after Israel-Iran war, involved senior Iranian officials.
Other Publications
- Council on Foreign Relations: The Supreme Court’s Tariff Decision Could Affect Trump’s China Negotiations — Washington retains formidable tools of pressure, but deploying them will require more consensus, more procedure, and more time. Beijing, for its part, gains a modest tactical advantage but not a strategic reprieve.
- The Washington Post: Opinion: China tried to buy the world. It failed. — Financial investment is no substitute for the power that real force provides. By Matthew Lynn.
- The Economist: The rotten tail of China’s property bust — Officials want to spread the pain as widely as possible.
- Newsweek: China’s Humanoid Robot Boom: What To Know — The Spring Gala sought to show domestic audiences and foreign onlookers that China is pulling ahead on the humanoid robot front.
- Semafor: Data reveals scale of US allies’ China hedge under Trump — Trips by Western officials constitute about half of all diplomatic visits to China during Donald Trump’s second term so far.
- Los Angeles Times: Nike’s biggest Chinese challenger has landed in L.A. County — China’s largest sportswear company Anta Sports opened its first North American store in Beverly Hills, making its formal entry into the U.S. market.
