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 Is Building Another Massive Base in the South China Sea — The work at Antelope Reef, which could give Beijing another runway and more missile facilities, caught some analysts by surprise.
- Nike Can’t Fix Its China Problem and That’s Tanking Its Stock — The sneaker maker is losing ground in its second-biggest market and warns that the next quarter there could be worse.
The Financial Times
- Pakistan and Afghanistan hold peace talks in China — First face-to-face contact since December comes after tensions erupted into open conflict.
- How Apple fused Japanese craft with Chinese scale — Japanese industry and Chinese manufacturing prowess played roles in the tech giant’s success, with consequences for both.
The New York Times
- China’s Aiming for the Moon, and NASA Is Looking Over Its Shoulder — The U.S. space agency launched a lunar flyby Wednesday, but Beijing is pursuing its own space program with formidable focus.
Caixin
- Ant Group’s Fund Sales Arm Sees Profit Surge as Index Funds Boom — Annual net profit jumps 141% as retail investors pile into index products.
- China Captures Prince Group Associate Tied to $24 Billion Crypto Network — Li Xiong, a key figure in Prince Group and alleged operator of the world’s largest illicit online market, has been deported to China as Beijing escalates its transnational crackdown on cyber fraud.
- Vanke 2025 Net Loss Widens 79% to $13 Billion on Massive Impairments — The embattled developer is scrambling for long-term debt solutions as off-balance-sheet investments and plummeting property sales drain its cash reserves.
South China Morning Post
- Why China and Vietnam are shifting from confrontation to calm in South China Sea claims — Disagreements continue, but the two sides are showing notable restraint in contrast with Beijing’s fierce exchanges with Manila.
- ‘Impossible for Chinese’: Yale scientist Zhang Kai leaves US to break racial ceiling — Pioneering work involves observing proteins inside the body during exercise, effectively capturing their activity in a natural state.
- How China’s state insurer is turning Brazil’s credit crisis into an export advantage — As Brazilian interest rates price out local lenders, Sinosure is quietly reshaping how Chinese goods reach the market.
Nikkei Asia
- Why has Iran not disrupted Xi Jinping’s focus on his military? — A 1930s leftist who studied medicine in Japan explains Xi’s 2020s obsession with loyalty.
- Taiwan vows $2bn coast guard reinforcement as Hormuz highlights strait risk — Chinese maritime pressure already a ‘war without gunpowder,’ minister says.
- Opinion: China quickly boosts energy security as Iran war drags on — Beijing braces for the long game by stopping fuel exports and ordering refiners to store crude. By Vandana Hari.
Bloomberg
- China’s State Airlines Are Aviation’s Unlikely Losers From War — Chinese airlines should be among the Iran war’s few beneficiaries. Instead, investors are ditching their shares over concerns the carriers have little defense against soaring fuel costs.
- China Is Taking On Mining Giants to Reorder a $190 Billion Market — Beijing is using a powerful but opaque entity to challenge the pricing clout of the world’s top iron ore producers.
- Stellantis in Talks to Make Chinese EVs at Idle Canada Plant — The talks are in an early stage and focused on an idled Stellantis assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario, with the possibility of building cars in partnership with Leapmotor.
- OpenClaw Unlocks China’s AI Token Export Business — Affordable Chinese AI services are surging in global usage because of OpenClaw.
- Opinion: China Needs a Major Overhaul to Attract Foreign Tourists — China is courting international tourists as part of a push to boost spending. But Beijing still has more work to do. By Juliana Liu.
Reuters
- Chinese chipmakers claim nearly half of local market as Nvidia’s lead shrinks — The gains come as Beijing grows increasingly cautious about dependence on foreign chips, pushing government agencies and companies to adopt domestic alternatives.
Other Publications
- POLITICO: FBI declares suspected Chinese hack of US surveillance system a ‘major cyber incident’ — The designation suggests the hackers successfully compromised swathes of sensitive data stored directly on FBI systems.
- The Atlantic: The Autocrat’s Dilemma — Xi Jinping’s ruthless reign in China offers important lessons for aspiring authoritarians.
- The Guardian: New Zealand signs defence pact with Cook Islands after quarrel over China deal — Agreement comes after Wellington halted millions in aid to its former colony after Cook Islands formed strategic partnership with Beijing.
