The first test for a much-celebrated US–China trade truce is looming. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hopes to finalise a rare earth deal by next week’s Thanksgiving holiday, but experts say a breakthrough is unlikely as the two sides maintain sharply different narratives of what was discussed and agreed on key issues. From rare earths…
Rare earths will remain an “important card” for China in its relations with the United States, despite the Group of Seven’s commitment to challenge Beijing’s dominance of the critical minerals, according to a Chinese observer. At a meeting in the Canadian city of Toronto on Friday, G7 energy ministers agreed to establish a critical minerals…
A lobbying group whose board includes US firms such as Oracle, Amazon and Exxon Mobil is urging the Trump administration to immediately suspend a rule it says halted billions of dollars’ worth of US exports and will prompt China and other countries to drop US firms from their supply chains. In a letter addressed to…
Micron Technology plans to stop supplying server memory chips to data centres in China after the business failed to recover from a 2023 government ban on its products in critical Chinese infrastructure, according to two people briefed on the decision. Since then, both Nvidia and Intel have similarly fielded accusations from Chinese authorities and an…
China’s new home prices rose at a slower pace in September, traditionally a peak buying month, while resale home prices fell again, as the market struggled to find its footing despite a raft of support measures, a private survey showed on Wednesday. New home prices grew 0.09% month-on-month versus a 0.2% gain in August, according…
Afghanistan faced a second day without internet and mobile phone service on Tuesday, after Taliban authorities cut the fibre optic network. Taliban authorities began shutting down high-speed internet connections to some provinces earlier in the month to prevent “vice”. On Monday night, mobile phone signal and internet service gradually weakened until connectivity was less than…
They said China was likely to view such diversified partnerships positively, which could also open new opportunities to expand arms sales, although the security dynamics in the region might become further complicated. The mutual defence pact signed late on Wednesday significantly strengthens a decades-old security partnership between Riyadh and Islamabad at a time when Gulf…
Reuters News on Friday withdrew a four-minute video containing an exchange between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussing the possibility that humans can live to 150 years old, after China state TV demanded its removal and withdrew the legal permission to use it. A Reuters story states, “The footage, which included…
Russia has pledged to deepen Arctic cooperation with China, while Beijing said it was ready to work with Moscow on artificial intelligence (AI), in a continued deepening of ties days after the leaders of the two countries met in the Chinese capital. At the Eastern Economic Forum in its eastern economic hub of Vladivostok, Russia…
In a bid to stabilize the stock market, China’s financial regulators are contemplating implementing specific cooling measures, according to a recent Bloomberg News report. Among these potential strategies is the removal of certain restrictions on short selling. Sourced from individuals familiar with the situation, the report highlights Beijing’s ongoing attempts to maintain market stability…