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
- China Moves to Tame Yuan Rally by Slashing Shorting Costs — Chinese banks won’t be required to set aside a 20% risk reserve on forward currency trades.
- MP Materials Revenue Falls After Halting Rare Earth Sales to China — The company posted a quarterly profit of $9.4 million, or 5 cents a share.
The Financial Times
- Pentagon moves to build AI tools for China cyber operations — US holding talks with companies to identify vulnerabilities in Chinese networks.
- How China’s universities joined the global elite — Investment by Beijing has transformed the country’s institutions despite lingering questions about research quality and intellectual freedom.
- China sacks 9 senior military officers as Xi Jinping widens crackdown — Purge from rubber-stamp parliament includes commander of unit critical to potential Taiwan invasion.
- The companies behind China’s dancing, joking robots — Robots were the most talked-about characters in China’s biggest TV gala of the year — and the businesses behind them are now in the spotlight.
The New York Times
- N.Y. Man With China Ties Charged With Marijuana Trafficking in Oklahoma — Sin Tung Chan was a member of a prominent hometown association in the city, one of hundreds of social clubs that often maintain close ties with the Chinese government.
- Europe Needs Some Space From China and Trump. Its Firms Don’t. — Germany’s chancellor seeks to reduce Europe’s reliance on China and the United States. He speaks with a bluntness that few business leaders share.
Caixin
- China Pushes Local Officials to Stop Hiding Accident Reports — China’s top emergency management body has vowed to tighten oversight on local governments that conceal or delay the release of safety investigation reports.
- China Urges Citizens to Leave Iran as Security Risks Mount — China warned its citizens Friday to leave Iran immediately, citing what it called a “sharp rise” in external security risks as tensions in the Middle East.
- China’s Gig Economy Grows as Demographics Shift, Labor Market Tightens — China’s gig economy continued to expand in 2025 as the traditional job market remained tight and demographic shifts reshaped who was driving taxis.
- China’s Biotech Push Into Small Nucleic Acid Drugs Draws Global Pharma — China’s biotech industry kicked off 2026 with a flurry of cross-border deals in the cutting-edge field of small nucleic acid drugs.
- U.S. Weighs Cost of Stripping China’s Permanent Normal Trade Status — The U.S. International Trade Commission said Thursday it would launch an investigation into the economic consequences of revoking China’s trade status.
South China Morning Post
- Trump-Xi summit preparations falter as planning gaps unsettle Beijing — Analysts warn thin US coordination and rushed timelines risk weak deliverables and surprises ahead of high-stakes Beijing meeting.
- Germany’s Merz meets China’s tech vanguard, including Alibaba and Unitree CEOs — Hangzhou visit reflects Germany’s attempt to work further with the engines of China’s digital and robotics economy.
- China shifts cadre-appraisal metrics away from pure GDP growth, resetting mindsets — Five-month campaign seen prioritising social welfare and long-term sustainability over economic expansion, with debt, fraud and vanity projects in crosshairs.
- Moore Threads’ flagship AI chip compatible with Alibaba models in tech self-reliance push — The semiconductor developer’s MTT S5000 chip achieves full-stack compatibility with the new Qwen3.5 series.
Nikkei Asia
- China purges cabinet minister in Xi’s anti-corruption drive — Head of military court also dismissed by NPC standing committee.
- Huawei steps up European push with smart wearables and handsets — Chinese tech titan at odds with US aims to stand firm in global consumer electronics.
- Opinion: Trump and Xi must deliver more than optics in April trade summit — Export restraints, discouraging transshipping are among are practical options. By Wendy Cutler.
Bloomberg
- Xi’s AI Ambitions Collide With China’s Fragile Employment Market — China is balancing productivity gains from AI with labor stability, as automation could displace workers and trigger an economic spiral.
- China’s Carmakers Cede Ground in Europe After Surging in 2025 — Chinese automakers lost ground in Europe, with their share of hybrid models falling to 15% and fully electric cars to 12% in January.
- Stellantis Weighs Using China EV Tech for Affordable Cars — The manufacturer is weighing an expansion of the scope of its joint venture with Leapmotor to access the Chinese company’s more advanced battery and EV powertrain technology.
- EU’s Biggest Port Sees Geopolitical Risks Linked to China Trade — The port’s CEO, Boudewijn Siemons, said “the real economic vulnerability is not who leases those terminals, but what’s inside those containers,” with around a quarter of all containers arriving from China.
Reuters
- Panama officials search CK Hutchison’s subsidiary office, source says — Panamanian authorities searched a ports unit of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison in Panama on Thursday.
- As Trump reins in China tech curbs, Beijing’s export controls come of age — Beijing expanding enforcement manpower and compliance nationwide.
- Washington presses Syria to shift from Chinese telecom systems — The United States has warned Syria against relying on Chinese technology in its telecommunications sector, arguing it conflicts with U.S. interests and threatens U.S. national security.
Other Publications
- Foreign Affairs: China Is Winning by Waiting — How Beijing Turns Predictability Into Power. By Kyle Chan.
- Rest of World: Why are Chinese EVs cheaper than Tesla? — Scale, low-cost talent, and in-house manufacturing account for most of BYD’s cost gap with Tesla.
- SpaceNews: China set for its first one-year human spaceflight mission, confirms Pakistani astronaut flight — China will begin its first one-year duration astronaut mission this year, while the first international astronaut will make a short visit to Tiangong space station.
