China issued sweeping new rules on Monday, tightening control of overseas deals that involve Chinese investors, technology, data, and national security, a month after Beijing ordered Meta to unwind its acquisition of AI startup Manus. The rules, published by the State Council, or cabinet, will take effect from July 1. One of the most significant…
In an unprecedented act of defiance, Beijing has ordered Chinese businesses to ignore the United States’ sanctions against Iran. Chairman Xi Jinping is due to meet President Donald Trump for personal talks in the coming days. And a lot has changed since their last Beijing soiree in 2017. Trade is a deeply entrenched battleground between…
Hong Kong’s exports rose nearly 36 per cent year on year in March – the sharpest rate in more than five years – backed by what authorities described as “strong global demand” for AI-related electronic products and outpacing last month’s growth despite trade disruptions. According to the Census and Statistics Department, the total value of…
Amid ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has signalled expanding focus to another key global shipping route, the Bab el-Mandeb or Bab al-Mandab strait, heightening concerns over supply chains and energy flows. A satellite image shows Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the coast of Yemen, February 27, 2026. (via REUTERS) The remarks by Iranian…
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney is departing for China (13 January) for the first time since 2017, after years of strained diplomatic relations between the two countries that began in the late 2010s with disputes over trade, national security and human rights significantly weakened their ties. Officials from both sides have described this visit as an…
The freefall in crypto token prices is sparking some concern about a spiral of selling pressure hitting other markets. The worrying scenario is that investors, facing steep losses on their Bitcoin holdings, may sell other assets to shore up cash, adding momentum to the broad markets downdraft. That could potentially heap pressure on stock prices…
Calling the peak for anything is dangerous. So here goes: We’ve reached peak tariffs, as both an economic weapon and almost certainly as a political one. President Donald Trump signaled as much on Sunday when he turned to social media and declared people who oppose tariffs “are FOOLS!” He then offered everyone a tariff “dividend”…
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s blistering response to Donald Trump violating the terms of their fragile trade truce has reignited a tit-for-tat spiral, exposing the rocky path to any US-China trade deal. After China unveiled wide-ranging global export controls on products containing even traces of certain rare earths this past week, Trump fired back by threatening…
The world’s three wealthiest individuals—Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, and Mark Zuckerberg—hold a combined net worth of $1.03 trillion, a figure that nearly rivals the market capitalization of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, according to a report citing the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This collective valuation is also comfortably above the market values of corporate giants like JPMorgan…
Hong Kong is in talks with several Chinese electric-vehicle makers to establish local EV manufacturing, according to people familiar with the matter, as the financial hub looks to advanced industries to diversify its ailing economy. The city’s officials aim to develop an EV assembly base — a relatively complex process requiring advanced skills, the people…