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
- The ‘Invisible Wall’ Amplifying China’s Population Doom Loop — A two-tier system that has long made workers leave offspring behind in villages is cutting into birthrates.
- Don’t Look Now, but China’s AI Is Catching Up Fast — Startups use workarounds to challenge OpenAI in some areas despite lack of leading-edge chips.
The Financial Times
- Private equity investors trapped in China as top firms fail to find exit deals — Sales and listings of Chinese companies by world’s biggest buyout groups have ground to a halt, data shows.
The New York Times
- Questions Emerge About Data Used by China to Defend Against Doping Allegations — China and the World Anti-Doping Agency say that positive tests for a banned drug among elite Chinese swimmers were a result of unwitting contamination. But the science behind that assertion is not so clear.
Caixin
- Chinese Automakers Urged to Use Malaysia as a Global Launchpad — The Southeast Asian nation may not have a big market for EVs, but China’s car companies are moving in as the government has big plans to develop the industry.
- Alibaba Veteran Liu Zheng Joins Ant as Chief Financial Officer — Liu’s appointment came amid rumors of an Ant Group IPO, something the fintech giant denies.
South China Morning Post
- China’s massive solar rooftop roll-out gains traction, but grid struggles to keep pace — ‘Distributed’ solar power generation on roofs of houses, factories and airports is spreading across the country, but the curtailment rate is also rising.
- China to remain top car exporter in 2025 despite slower growth on EU’s EV tariffs — China’s top auto firms are likely to diversify by introducing petrol cars and hybrid models to blunt the impact of trade barriers.
- China’s small businesses gasp for air as consumption slump deepens — Small-business owners have been forced to cut staff and close stores in ever greater numbers in recent months, adding to China’s economic gloom.
- Amazon asks Chinese sellers not to offer cheaper prices on Temu — As competition heats up, the US retailer has started tracking product pricing on rival platform Temu, according to merchants.
- China-born biologist Wang Cunyu returns from decades in U.S. to head advanced institute — Wang was recognised by Science magazine in 1996 for his work on cancer cell death.
Nikkei Asia
- Toyota to make Lexus EVs at first independent China plant — Japanese automaker looks to follow Tesla by opening a factory without a local partner.
- Honda and Nissan’s Chinese state-owned partners also feel the pinch — GAC and Dongfeng haunted by reliance on Japanese allies now in merger talks.
- BASF says Zhanjiang expansion helps fulfill ‘undersupplied’ south China — CTO bullish on long-term Chinese growth and eyes India prospects.
- Thailand’s Siam Cement suffers latest setback at Vietnam petrochemical plant — China supply glut forces Long Son complex to stop production after just two weeks.
Bloomberg
- China’s Property Stock Rebound Faces a Reality Check in 2025 — A stimulus-fueled rally has faltered over the past two months, and economists predict home prices, sales will continue to slide.
- Brazil Halts BYD Site After Workers Found in ‘Slave’ Conditions — Brazilian authorities said they had rescued 163 Chinese workers building a new EV factory for BYD in the northeast state of Bahia.
Reuters
- Exclusive: China plans record $411 billion special treasury bond issuance next year — The planned special treasury bond issuance next year would be the largest on record and underscores Beijing’s willingness to go even deeper into debt to counter deflationary forces.
Other Publications
- The Los Angeles Times: On a quest for global domination, Chinese EV makers are upending Thailand’s auto industry — Japanese automakers are starting to pull out of Thailand, a longtime hub of production, as Chinese electric-vehicle makers move in.
- The Guardian: ‘We need to be prepared’: China adapts to era of extreme flooding — While some residents take to building houses in trees, officials recognize the need for national response to climate disasters.
