PARIS (Reuters) -France on Thursday increased pressure on the European Union to launch a formal investigation into Chinese online fast-fashion retailer Shein over the sale of child-like sex dolls and banned weapons on its marketplace. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Shein was “clearly” in breach of European rules. “I believe that the European Commission must…
The European Union does not believe its industries are covered by a “de facto removal” of China’s historical restrictions on the export of rare earths and other critical minerals announced by the White House on Saturday. In a fact sheet detailing the outcomes of US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping last…
Power shifts begin in places most people never see – on assembly lines making batteries and robots, along transmission lines feeding data centre clusters, in local offices selling land and in labs training artificial intelligence models. The United States and China are using these quiet levers to construct different futures. The contest will be decided…
In a dramatic speech in Berlin on Saturday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen painted a dystopian picture of today’s world as she reiterated her calls for an independent Europe. “Europe is facing up to another seismic change in the way the global economy works. We may be approaching a shift in the international…
The European Commission has unveiled sweeping measures to shield the EU’s struggling steel industry from a flood of overcapacity that it says is emanating from China, slashing tariff-free quotas by nearly half and doubling duties on excess shipments to 50 per cent. To take effect, the plan must be approved by the European Parliament and…
Beijing’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, is scheduled to visit Italy and Switzerland from Tuesday until October 12, China’s foreign ministry said on Sunday. Wang would attend the 12th joint meeting of the China-Italy government committee and the fourth round of the China-Switzerland strategic dialogue held between foreign ministers, the ministry said in a statement. His…
(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed on Friday the presentation of the European Union’s 19th sanctions package on Russia, saying the measures would have a significant effect on the Russian economy. “It targets the main drivers of the war economy: energy revenues, finance, high-tech resources, and the military-industrial base,” Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram…
BEIJING (Reuters) -Italy’s deputy prime minister talked up cooperation with China in the auto industry during an interview with state news agency Xinhua, even as Beijing faces scrutiny from the European Union over extending unfair subsidies to its carmakers. Matteo Salvini, who is also Italy’s transport minister, said “the two countries enjoy broad prospects for…
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia on Monday warned it would go after any European state that sought to take its assets after reports that the European Union is looking for new ways to leverage hundreds of billions of dollars of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. The U.S. and its allies prohibited transactions with the Russian…
Hong Kong has hit back at the European Commission’s annual report, which claimed the city’s autonomy and freedoms were in “continued erosion”, citing the enactment of domestic national security legislation and the high-profile trials of opposition activists. The Hong Kong government on Tuesday evening said it “strongly disapproved of and rejected the unfounded and biased…