2 h. ago Armenia looks to deepen ties with China for foreign policy beyond Russia

Armenia is looking to deepen ties with China with no limits, its foreign minister said, as the South Caucasus republic intensifies efforts to diversify its foreign policy away from Russia following the Nagorno-Karabakh war five years ago. “Not only is there no impediment and any obstacle on the way of deepening our relations, but also there is openness and readiness to deepen these relations without any limitations,” Armenia’s top diplomat Ararat Mirzoyan told the South China Morning Post in an...

Events

18 h. ago Alibaba’s US$7 billion subsidy deepens China’s instant shopping battle

Alibaba Group Holding’s instant commerce service announced on Wednesday a substantial subsidy programme totalling 50 billion yuan (US$7 billion) over the next 12 months for both consumers and merchants, intensifying the fierce competition in China’s on-demand delivery sector, where JD.com and Meituan are also major players. Consumers using Taobao’s in-app Shangou service, the instant commerce business of Alibaba, will enjoy significant incentives, including cash vouchers, free purchase coupons,...

Economics

9 d. ago Teapots Pull Back: Iranian Oil Stocks Build as Discounts Deepen in China

Teapots Pull Back: Iranian Oil Stocks Build as Discounts Deepen in China  Pipeline and Gas Journal

Politics

1 week ago Crisis calculations: Trump’s America leaves Southeast Asia in a spin

Five months into Donald Trump’s presidency, Southeast Asia finds itself adrift. The foundations of its relationship with the US have been shaken by punitive tariffs and a sudden withdrawal of aid that hurt some of the region’s most vulnerable – even as Washington maintains its military presence with an eye fixed squarely on China. This volatility has deepened a sense of American “unreliability” across Southeast Asia, according to experts who spoke to This Week in Asia. Yet a complete rupture...

Politics

1 week ago Discounts deepen on Iranian oil in China as struggling teapots slow buying

Discounts deepen on Iranian oil in China as struggling teapots slow buying  Reuters

Politics

2 w. ago Premier urges China’s Jiangsu to embrace ‘higher development expectations’

As Beijing looks to shore up China’s economic growth amid mounting challenges, Premier Li Qiang has called on Jiangsu province, a key manufacturing hub on the country’s east coast, to step up its efforts in technology, trade and consumption. During a three-day visit to the province from Monday, Li emphasised the importance of embracing innovative development, stimulating effective demand, fostering entrepreneurship, and deepening reform and opening up to support China’s sustained economic...

Politics

2 w. ago China and EU agree to deepen environmental cooperation at ministerial dialogue

China and EU agree to deepen environmental cooperation at ministerial dialogue  chinadailyasia.com

Politics

2 w. ago EU spurns economic dialogue with China over deepening trade rift

EU spurns economic dialogue with China over deepening trade rift  Financial Times

Economics

2 w. ago China to remove tariffs on African goods, deepening economic ties with the continent

China to remove tariffs on African goods, deepening economic ties with the continent  Peoples Dispatch

Economics

2 w. ago Kazakhstan, China Deepen Strategic Partnership, Sign 24 Agreements

Kazakhstan, China Deepen Strategic Partnership, Sign 24 Agreements  The Astana Times

Politics

2 w. ago Tourism boom deepens exchange between China, Central Asian countries

Tourism boom deepens exchange between China, Central Asian countries  China Daily

Politics

3 w. ago Major Pakistan defense boost as China military ties deepen and India tensions soar

Major Pakistan defense boost as China military ties deepen and India tensions soar  Newsweek

Events

3 w. ago Price wars grip China as deflation deepens, $30 for a luxury Coach bag?

Price wars grip China as deflation deepens, $30 for a luxury Coach bag?  Reuters

Economics

3 w. ago China consumer prices slump again, deepening deflation worries as demand stays weak

China consumer prices slump again, deepening deflation worries as demand stays weak  CNBC

Economics

3 w. ago Pay dads to parent? How China could fix birth rate crisis, according to new research

Subsidising men’s participation in household chores and childcare could help reverse declining global birth rates, according to a new study, offering a fresh approach to deepening demographic challenges in countries like China. The study, co-authored by researchers from Fudan University and the University of Hong Kong (HKU), argued that subsidies for fathers produce significantly higher long-term fertility gains than solely subsidising mothers. The findings came as the world’s second-largest...

Events

4 w. ago Alibaba, JD.com sales surge during 618 festival, thanks to subsidy programme

Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com are seeing strong sales momentum in their respective campaigns for this year’s 618 shopping festival, on the back of the government’s national subsidy programme. Preliminary 618 retail data from Taobao and Tmall Group (TTG), Alibaba’s domestic e-commerce unit, showed sales of categories that benefit from government subsidies – including consumer electronics products and home appliances – surged 283 per cent during the campaign’s initial...

Politics

4 w. ago ‘Full of gunpowder’: price wars of China’s carmakers deepen, draw Beijing’s ire

Beijing has amplified its warnings over cutthroat price wars among carmakers as deflationary pressure persists in the world’s second-largest economy, and economists say a reflation is likely to remain elusive. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), party mouthpieces and a carmaker association aired concerns at the weekend over recent discounts offered by manufacturers, while collectively deeming price wars a threat to product quality and the long-term development of the...

Events