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
- U.S. Further Tightens Chip Restrictions, Adds Chinese Firms to Blacklist — In the Biden administration’s final days in office, it moves to shut loopholes in U.S. export-control rules.
- China Has a $1 Trillion Head Start in Any Tariff Fight — China’s trade surplus shows Western efforts to reduce dependence on China are coming up short.
The Financial Times
- Rio Tinto sees signs of stabilisation in Chinese property — Miner says outlook for US economy stable while strong Eurozone recovery unlikely.
- U.S. targets China’s answer to OpenAI with trade blacklisting — Beijing-based Zhipu singled out among artificial intelligence start-ups for allegedly advancing Chinese military capabilities.
- Apple loses smartphone crown in China as Vivo and Huawei outsell iPhone — Mainland competition mounts as US tech group struggles to introduce AI features on its flagship product.
- Chinese citizens’ doubts grow over official economic growth claims — Government expected to announce GDP expanded about 5% in 2024 but many feel economy is in recession.
- Has China already reached peak oil? — The country’s demand for crude seems to be plateauing sooner than expected. The implications are huge.
- UK ministers signal support for China mega-embassy in London — David Lammy and Yvette Cooper outline conditions for proposed diplomatic complex at former Royal Mint site.
The New York Times
- Rubio Aims to Take on the Axis of Anger: China, Russia, North Korea and Iran — The loose arrangement of hostile powers could pose a series of conundrums for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state.
- TikTok Says Employees Will Have Jobs Even if Ban Takes Effect — The company is awaiting a decision over the constitutionality of a new law that aims to force a sale of the app to a non-Chinese owner under the threat of a ban.
- TikTok C.E.O. Plans to Attend Trump Inauguration — Shou Chew will join tech moguls like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk at President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration as the fate of the app hangs in the balance.
- On TikTok, Users Thumb Their Noses at Looming Ban — Ahead of a Supreme Court ruling, they are mocking U.S. national security concerns about the Chinese-owned app.
- Trump Treasury Pick Scott Bessent to Face Grilling — Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice to be Treasury secretary, will be in charge of steering the president’s economic agenda if confirmed by the Senate.
- China Deploys Security to Try to Reassure a Country on Edge — Police are checking on safety at schools and visiting karaoke bars and rental homes to root out perceived malcontents, after several mass killings alarmed the public.
Caixin
- E-Commerce Giants Shun Supermarkets as Sales Slump — Newcomers like Miniso are stepping up to fill the void as chains try new ways to attract shoppers.
South China Morning Post
- Why RedNote’s influx of U.S. ‘TikTok refugees’ could be a double-edged sword for Beijing — The authorities will be hoping new users of the app will get a favourable impression of China, but may be unnerved by some of their posts.
- Chinese AI start-up MiniMax releases low-cost open-source models that rival top chatbots — The release, which includes foundational and multimodal models, comes weeks after rival DeepSeek set a new standard with its own open-source models.
Nikkei Asia
- Chinese residents in Osaka double over decade, buying homes — ‘Feels just like being in China,’ says a man who purchased two houses.
- Chinese politics enters a potentially stormy year — Xi Jinping loyalists reject the silent majority’s calls for a new policy direction.
- Country Garden joins biggest money losers in corporate history — After Chinese developer posts $24bn of red ink, property sector faces more questions.
Bloomberg
- China Is Facing Longest Deflation Streak Since Mao Era in 1960s — Some of the biggest Wall Street banks are predicting it will linger through 2025.
- Treasury Hackers Focused on Sanctions, Intelligence, Report Says — Hackers likely stole more than 3,000 files from the department.
- China Begins Probe Into U.S. Chip Grants, Alleged Dumping — It could be one of Beijing’s strongest retaliatory moves against American technology sanctions.
Reuters
- Biden’s late moves on China, Russia, AI may mostly boost Trump — U.S. President Joe Biden is releasing a flurry of new measures that challenge China’s chip-making and shipbuilding.
- Exclusive: Chinese buyers interested in unwanted German Volkswagen factories, source says — Buying a factory could allow China to build influence in Germany’s prized auto industry.
- Exclusive: Chinese tech firm founded by Huawei veterans in the FBI’s crosshairs — The Commerce Department is investigating Baicells Technology on national security grounds.
Other Publications
- NBC: Biden administration looks for ways to keep TikTok available in the U.S. — “Americans shouldn’t expect to see TikTok suddenly banned on Sunday,” an administration official said.
- The Atlantic: No More Mr. Tough Guy on China — Trump’s relations with corporate titans seem to have softened his hard line.
- WIRED: Why ‘Beating China’ In AI Brings Its Own Risks — The U.S. is increasingly intent on winning the AI race with China. Experts say this ignores the benefits of collaboration and the danger of unintended consequences.
- The Verge: DJI claims its decision to let drones fly in dangerous areas is not political — The company says it planned to shift responsibility to fliers months ago.
- Foreign Policy: China Is Just Fine With North Korean Troops in Ukraine — Beijing is happy with anything that helps Russia win and costs it nothing.
- Brookings: China, tariffs, and Trump 2.0 — China’s most potent weapon is to allow its currency to fall in response to more tariffs.
