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
- Silicon Valley Is Raving About a Made-in-China AI Model — DeepSeek is called ‘amazing and impressive’ despite working with less-advanced chips.
- Chip Stocks Tumble After China’s DeepSeek AI Models Raise Doubts Over U.S. Tech Dominance — DeepSeek said its R1 and V3 models performed better than or close to leading Western models.
- Chinese Investors With Few Options Turn to Dividends — Companies with good payouts are now the hottest bet in China markets.
- Germany’s Economic Model Is Broken, and No One Has a Plan B — The country is focused on exports, but China is slowing imports and U.S. tariff threats are growing. Politicians are offering few alternatives.
- CIA Now Favors Lab Leak Theory on Origins of Covid-19 — Agency says it had ‘low confidence’ in its finding, but this is further than it has ever gone in pinpointing the origin of a virus that killed millions worldwide.
- In China, a Cat-and-Mouse Game to Rein In Crypto — Recent court cases reveal how middlemen are facilitating a booming trade, eluding a crackdown.
- The New Weapon Against China’s Mineral Dominance: Plants — The search for new suppliers for the minerals needed for everything from batteries to missiles has driven novel extraction methods.
- Beijing Signals Readiness to Talk to Trump’s Team, Even Old Foes — Chinese foreign minister speaks by phone with Marco Rubio, the new secretary of state who has been a critic of Beijing.
- China Factory Activity Shrinks Ahead of Lunar New Year — The manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 49.1 in January from 50.1 in December.
- China’s Lunar Mission: Make a Snake That’s Not Scary — Zodiac lands on the slithery creature, presenting a marketing nightmare; lose the forked tongue, tone down the scaliness.
The Financial Times
- CIA says Covid-19 probably leaked from Chinese laboratory — U.S. intelligence agency changes assessment of pandemic’s likely origins.
- How small Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek shocked Silicon Valley — Hedge fund billionaire Liang Wenfeng builds model on tight budget despite U.S. attempt to halt China’s high-tech ambitions.
- Tesla sues EU over tariffs on electric vehicles from China — Decision marks latest confrontation between Elon Musk and Brussels.
- China investigates generic drugs over safety concerns — Anaesthetics are not putting patients to sleep, doctors warn, in call for greater access to foreign medicine.
- VW open to Chinese rivals taking over excess production lines in Europe — German group scales down manufacturing as it struggles with falling demand and shift to electric vehicles.
- China’s onetime ‘solar king’ struggles in U.S. electric bus market — Denton Peng had hoped to replicate his past successes, but roadblocks emerged in his adopted country.
- Global investors unfazed by PBoC’s warnings on Chinese bonds — Risk of a systemic financial event stemming from bank purchases of the country’s bonds is low, analysts say.
- China’s manufacturing activity contracts for first time since September — Industrial profits fall for third year as U.S. trade tensions cloud economic recovery.
- Taiwan blacklists Chinese-owned ‘shadow fleet’ ships — Taipei’s move reflects concern Beijing could use vessels that evade international oversight against it.
- Hong Kong prepares for influx of listings from mainland China — Bankers expect the territory to benefit from US-Chinese tensions and Beijing’s capital controls.
- India voices alarm over China’s plans to build world’s largest dam in Tibet — Row comes as New Delhi and Beijing try to repair relations following deadly border clashes.
- Opinion: Trump gives Chinese equities a breather — If the U.S. president takes a more flexible approach, tariffs may end up being used as a bargaining tool rather than end goal. By Lex.
The New York Times
- C.I.A. Now Favors Lab Leak Theory to Explain Covid’s Origins — A new analysis that began under the Biden administration is released by the C.I.A.’s new director, John Ratcliffe, who wants the agency to get “off the sidelines” in the debate.
- Stocks Sink as Investors Worry About China’s A.I. Advances — Premarket trading implied steep declines for U.S. markets, with the pain concentrated at companies at the forefront of the artificial intelligence boom.
- China Vanke Forecasts $6.2 Billion Loss, Replaces Top Executives — China Vanke, one of the country’s largest developers, cleared out its top executives and said it anticipates a $6.2 billion loss, a sign the property meltdown is still raging.
- China’s Tibet Dam Project Has Its Neighbors Worried — The hydropower dam, in quake-prone Tibet, is set to be the world’s biggest. But China has said little about the project, which could affect nearby countries.
- In China, Government Data on Drugs Blocked From Public After Backlash — Criticism over how the Chinese government buys drugs for its public health care system has ignited frustration over the quality of medicine.
- In China, Rare Dissent Over a Program to Save on Drug Costs — Top doctors raised concerns about domestically made drugs, saying Beijing’s effort to lower costs is sacrificing quality.
Caixin
- Why China’s Housing Market Could Rise From the Ashes in 2025 — Government support policies have helped arrest the plunge in sales and first-tier cities are starting to see a recovery that could spread.
- U.S. Tops China’s Lithium Battery Exports, With Surge in Power Storage — China’s battery export structure is changing with energy storage on the rise.
- Trump Stakes Out Aggressive Policy Shifts, Setting the World on Edge — Some analysts say threats of tariffs and territorial expansion represent negotiating tactics.
- China’s DeepSeek Proves Limited Resources Are No Barrier to Catching Up With U.S. AI Rivals — While chip shortage makes breakthroughs difficult, Chinese firms can narrow the gap with leading models at a fraction of the cost, industry insiders say.
South China Morning Post
- ‘Birds of a feather’: Yuan Zheng on Trump’s China hawks and U.S. rivalry endgame — Chinese expert on U.S. explains how Beijing might engage with Donald Trump’s team and discusses riskiest flashpoints in Sino-American ties.
- Bookings for Spring Festival reunion dinners a ray of hope for China’s restaurant owners — Restaurants across the country offer more affordable set menus for Lunar New Year’s Eve in bid to attract more diners.
- Top Chinese memory chip maker YMTC makes another design breakthrough, defying US sanctions — Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation is integrating a new design into chips with 294 gates, research firm finds.
- Opinion: Why China’s supply chains face threats beyond Trump tariffs — China has reoriented its supply chains to reduce dependence on the US, but the Trump administration has more plans to get what it wants. By Asma Khalid.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s oil demand near peak as government pushes to cut imports — Move away from crude driven more by energy security worries than environmental concern.
- Chinese companies face growth limits in world’s biggest esports market — Tencent and other game developers prioritize overseas expansion.
- Fosun sticks with Wolves amid exodus of Chinese owners from English soccer — Fans urge conglomerate to step up investment as team faces Premier League relegation.
- Cringy bags serve as ‘digital ibuprofen’ for stressed-out Chinese youth — Trend originating in Japan helps people escape from harsh reality.
Bloomberg
- Will the Chinese Consumer Finally Start Spending? — China’s government is turning to the country’s citizens to help pull the world’s second-biggest economy out of a rut. If only it were so simple.
- Fizzling China Rally Has Stock Pickers Hunting for Bright Spots — Money managers are looking for pockets of value.
- China’s Surging Power Demand Creates a Climate Conundrum — As the world’s largest polluter, China holds outsized sway over whether emissions can be reduced fast enough to avoid the worst impacts of global warming.
Reuters
- Detained tycoon She Zhijiang, who says he spied for China, alleges abuse in Thai jail — China has stepped up pressure on Southeast Asian nations to crack down on Chinese-origin gambling and fraud gangs.
- Trump discussing TikTok purchase with multiple people, decision in 30 days — The deal being negotiated anticipates participation from some of ByteDance’s current U.S. investors.
- Dividend surge signals culture shift in China’s markets — New shades of capitalism are emerging in China’s tuckered out stock market as companies, at Beijing’s behest, buy back their shares and pay record dividends.
Other Publications
- NPR: White House in talks to have Oracle and U.S. investors take over TikTok — ByteDance would retain a minority stake in the company, but the app’s algorithm, data collection and software updates will be overseen by Oracle.
- The Information: Meta Scrambles After Chinese AI Equals Its Own, Upending Silicon Valley — Meta has formed war rooms to dissect DeepSeek and could change Llama to resemble it.
- POLITICO: How ‘Sour Raspberry Gummy Bear’ and Other Chinese Vapes Made Fools of American Lawmakers — Everyone seems to agree candy-flavored vapes are bad for kids. So why can’t lawmakers find a way to block their sale?
- The Washington Post: Opinion: China says its economy grew 5 percent last year. It probably didn’t. — Beijing’s official picture is rosy, but most indicators point to a slowdown. By The Editorial Board.