Liudmyla Shestakova has lost a lot to this war — her son, and his wife, who died together on the front lines. But she’s a realist, like many in this mining region in central Ukraine. And ever since President Trump suggested it, she has thought that her country should sign a proposed deal that would…
Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China and economy stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. US shot across China’s bow in shipbuilding could backfire as allies fall short Though the US has unveiled a sweeping port fee proposal designed to hamstring China’s…
By Jack Conness, Senior Policy Analyst, Energy Innovation DONETSK REGION, UKRAINE – FEBRUARY 12: A vast open-pit mine stretches across the landscape on … [+] February 12, 2025 in Donetsk Region, Ukraine. The U.S. President Donald Trump is pressuring the Ukrainian government to approve a 500 billion USD agreement, described as “payback” for past U.S….
President Trump’s intense interest in Ukraine’s minerals seemed to come from out of the blue. He dispatched his Treasury secretary to Kyiv this month to negotiate with Ukraine’s leader, then began ratcheting up the pressure publicly in what appeared to critics like a Mafia don’s extortion scheme. “I want security of the rare earth,” he…
Officials in Ukraine and the Trump administration say they are close to a deal that would give the United States revenues from Ukraine’s minerals and other natural resources, including titanium, lithium, oil, natural gas and rare earth elements. A draft agreement seen by The New York Times described the creation of an U.S.-controlled fund that…
President Vladimir V. Putin on Monday said American companies could do lucrative business deals in Russia and even help mine rare earths in Russian-occupied Ukraine, further amplifying the Kremlin’s message to President Trump that there was money to be made from a better relationship with Moscow. Mr. Putin, speaking in an interview with Russian state…
BEIJING — China on Wednesday began public consultation on new regulations designed to protect its domestic rare earth industry, a sector where Beijing has previously weaponized its dominance via export controls and other restrictions. The draft regulations were released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology late on Wednesday and touched on issues including…
The great collision has begun. As President Trump’s national security team arrived in Europe this week, very little about their hard-line message came as a surprise. But to the political and diplomatic leaders arriving in Munich on Friday for an annual security conference where fault lines in the Western alliance are always on display, it…
Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China and economy stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s commercial Mach-4 drone tipped to make first flight next year A Chinese start-up has said its superfast drone – capable of reaching four times the speed…
China has reported “prominent results” in its hunt for green-energy minerals, with the Ministry of Natural Resources saying new deposits of the resources deemed crucial for national security had been discovered. Among those at the top of the list released by the ministry last week were gold, copper, molybdenum, phosphorite and fluorite – minerals important…