4 h. ago China to remove tariffs on nearly all goods from Africa as both criticise US

Twenty more African countries, mostly from the continent’s middle-income nations, are set to gain access to the world’s largest consumer market duty-free as Beijing plans to remove tariffs for all products from every African nation except eSwatini. The measure was announced as African ministers joined Beijing at a meeting in central China affiliated with the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Amid the tariff war, representatives from China and African nations accused the United States of...

Politics

52 h. ago China’s solar panel makers seek antidote to market ills as glut, price war, tariffs bite

China’s solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers are looking for solutions to years of price wars and losses at home amid excess capacity and waning demand as executives gathered in Shanghai to discuss the problems crippling the industry. They will get a chance to gauge the crisis as the financial hub plays host to the SNEC PV+ Photovoltaic Power Conference and Exhibition from Tuesday to Friday. The conference is the largest of its kind, attracting some 3,000 enterprises from more than 100...

Economics

3 d. ago Tariff war ‘not the end of the world’ for Hong Kong companies: trade council chief

The US-China tariff war is “not the end of the world” for Hong Kong businesses, the new head of the city’s Trade Development Council has said, as he outlined strategies to help them capitalise on geopolitical uncertainties. Chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang, who took office on June 1, also said on Monday the council would explore setting up more offices in new markets and rebranding the Asian Financial Forum to include more industry elements. The council has 51 offices around the world, including...

Events

3 d. ago John Lee exclusive interview, Chinese rethink UK degrees: 5 weekend reads

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘Don’t kill your successful DNA’: Hong Kong’s John Lee on tariffs, trade war 2. ‘It’s too much’: Chinese students reconsider UK degrees as policies harden 3. Loitering with intent: Beijing’s new silent South China Sea strategy? 4. Japan grows restless for next-gen fighter jets as progress with...

Politics

3 d. ago Boeing plane lands back in China for delivery as tariff war eases By Reuters

Boeing plane lands back in China for delivery as tariff war eases By Reuters  Investing.com

Events

3 d. ago Boeing plane lands back in China for delivery as tariff war eases

Boeing plane lands back in China for delivery as tariff war eases  Yahoo

Events

4 d. ago ‘Don’t kill your successful DNA’: Hong Kong’s John Lee on tariffs, trade war

Hong Kong will not destroy its “successful DNA” and jeopardise its free-port status by retaliating with counter-tariffs on the US even if geopolitical tensions with China escalate further, the city’s leader has promised. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said his administration had made “contingency plans for the worst” and would increase support for local businesses in finding “blue oceans” in new markets. In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with the Post to mark the third anniversary of his...

Events

5 d. ago US retailers demand Chinese firms pay shipping costs as trade pressure grows

US retail giants are demanding that their Chinese suppliers split or even bear the full cost of shipping goods across the Pacific, as freight rates skyrocket amid the disruption caused by the trade war, sources at Chinese export firms told the Post. The move is the latest sign of the intense pressure America’s biggest retailers are putting on Chinese factories to absorb more of the additional costs created by the trade war, with the companies facing calls at home to “eat the tariffs”. Until...

Economics

5 d. ago Boeing prepares to resume plane deliveries to China as tariff war eases

Boeing prepares to resume plane deliveries to China as tariff war eases  Reuters

Events

5 d. ago Trump sends Bessent and Lutnick to haggle with Chinese on tariff war after Xi chat

Trump sends Bessent and Lutnick to haggle with Chinese on tariff war after Xi chat  The Independent

Politics

6 d. ago ‘From awful to bad’: how Trump’s tariff war with China crushes small US firms

In 2017, tired of supporting other people’s entrepreneurial dreams and watching e-commerce take off, Matt Rollens started Dragon Glassware in his garage with US$10,000 from savings and a small inheritance. A tea drinker, his first idea was a glass vacuum flask. But the prototype fell short, so he settled on drinking glasses as the US microbrewery craze exploded. Over the next eight years, he built ties with skilled Chinese factories and expanded into licensed Barbie and Wicked drinkware as...

Politics

7 d. ago Beijing envoy urges Ottawa to end tariffs on Chinese EVs and warns against ‘Cold War mentality’

Beijing envoy urges Ottawa to end tariffs on Chinese EVs and warns against ‘Cold War mentality’  The Globe and Mail

Events

9 d. ago “China Tightens Solar Grip”: Already Dominating the Market, Beijing Unveils New Tech to Cement Total Global Control

“China Tightens Solar Grip”: Already Dominating the Market, Beijing Unveils New Tech to Cement Total Global Control  Sustainability Times

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong to stick with 2% to 3% growth goal despite strong first quarter: Chan

Hong Kong will maintain its economic growth target of between 2 and 3 per cent for this year, the city’s finance chief has said, while describing the anticipated rapid gains in the first quarter as an “exception” rather than the norm. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also said on Monday that authorities would “prepare for the worst” despite the easing of tariffs amid the US-China trade war, but added that the recent rise in tourism would help offset sluggish domestic consumption. The...

Politics

1 week ago How US tech curbs pushed China to innovate, and where a ‘super AI’ could emerge

Angela Zhang is a law professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. Zhang is an expert on technology regulation and antitrust in China, and her research focus has recently been on artificial intelligence oversight. This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here. How will the new US-China tariff war affect the Chinese technology sector and competition between the two countries on artificial intelligence? Tariffs...

Politics

2 w. ago China extends its reach into the Solar System with launch of asteroid mission

China extends its reach into the Solar System with launch of asteroid mission  Ars Technica

Events

2 w. ago China’s New Space Mission Aims to Uncover Solar System’s Deepest Secrets

China’s New Space Mission Aims to Uncover Solar System’s Deepest Secrets  The Daily Galaxy

Events

2 w. ago Outshone By China, Can Europe Make A Solar Comeback Before It’s Too Late?

Outshone By China, Can Europe Make A Solar Comeback Before It’s Too Late?  Forbes

Politics

2 w. ago Confidence of EU firms in China was tanking even before tariffs: survey

European businesses’ optimism about growth and profitability in China has hit a record low, overshadowed by economic downturns and rising geopolitical tensions, according to annual survey findings by a leading foreign business association, which called for the full implementation of recently announced measures aimed at improving the business environment. Conducted two weeks before US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, the survey of 503 chamber members showed a bleak...

Economics

2 w. ago Record levels of pessimism among EU businesses in China, survey reveals

European businesses’ optimism about growth and profitability in China has hit a record low, overshadowed by economic downturns and rising geopolitical tensions, according to annual survey findings by a leading foreign business association, which called for the full implementation of recently announced measures aimed at improving the business environment. Conducted in January and February, the survey of 503 chamber members showed a bleak outlook even before the China-US trade war intensified in...

Politics