8 h. ago EU wins Trump’s focus on China, but can it deliver on ‘impossible’ demand?

For almost a year, European Union officials have been dangling the carrot of joint work on China policy in front of US President Donald Trump in an effort to keep him engaged in supporting Ukraine. For months, their overtures were ignored. Now that the US leader has tuned in – but only on the condition of maximum tariffs – Europe finds itself in a bind. On Wednesday evening, ambassadors from the EU’s 27 member states were briefed by the bloc’s sanctions envoy, David O’Sullivan, on his trip to...

Politics

9 h. ago Could USDA Raise Corn Yields in the Report? Is China Buying U.S. Soybeans?

Could USDA Raise Corn Yields in the Report? Is China Buying U.S. Soybeans?  AgWeb

Politics

9 h. ago Delayed publication of flat steel reduced carbon emissions, daily inferred, exw China: pricing notice

Delayed publication of flat steel reduced carbon emissions, daily inferred, exw China: pricing notice  Fastmarkets

Events

12 h. ago China criticises ‘Little Red Book’ app for focus on celebrity trivia

China criticises ‘Little Red Book’ app for focus on celebrity trivia  The Times

Culture

12 h. ago Europe’s defence needs threaten push to penalise Israel on Gaza

Amid scenes of destruction and hunger in Gaza and this week’s bombing in Qatar, frustrated European leaders are threatening sanctions on Israel and rethinking ties to their longtime ally. But for all their outrage – including a push for Palestinian statehood and some limited curbs on arms sales – one area they have not touched is Israel’s multibillion-dollar defence industry. European armies are the biggest customers of Israeli-made weapons and defence systems, buying US$8 billion worth last...

Politics

14 h. ago Bangladesh buys more power from India to meet rising electricity needs

Bangladesh is boosting power imports from India and output from fuel oil-fired power plants in a scramble to meet rising electricity demand as it grapples with constraints on gas supply and coal plant maintenance, industry officials and analysts say. Power imports, mainly from an Adani Power-run coal-fired plant in eastern India, rose 70 per cent in the seven months through July and helped satisfy most of the rising demand, government data showed. Natural gas accounted for about two-thirds of...

Politics

14 h. ago Malaysia calls on China to push C919 jet globally as AirAsia circles deal

Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke has called on the Chinese state-owned maker of the C919 passenger jet to set its sights on the global market and be more aggressive in boosting its international standing, as AirAsia nears a deal to become its first foreign buyer. Loke made the comments on Wednesday while speaking at a Malaysian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong and Macau (Maycham) event, where he outlined a series of updates on his country’s transport industry – from air travel to...

Politics

15 h. ago OPINION | Hicks: We learned the wrong lesson from China Shock and Indiana's paying for it

OPINION | Hicks: We learned the wrong lesson from China Shock and Indiana's paying for it  Courier & Press

Events

18 h. ago Why Malaysian mothers have become ‘personal debt collectors’

Malaysian mothers are being pressed into acting as “personal debt collectors” as fathers refuse or fail to pay child maintenance, a study published this week has found, with weak enforcement in the country’s sharia courts identified as an aggravating factor. The 2024 Telenisa Report by women’s rights group SIS Forum, released on Tuesday, is based on findings from cases handled by its free legal aid clinic throughout last year, which largely helps low-income Muslim women seeking advice on...

Politics

18 h. ago Chinese stocks on buy list for 90% of US investors: Morgan Stanley

US investors are showing the highest level of interest in Chinese stocks in five years, and their return to China’s market is just “starting” despite some lingering reasons for caution, according to Morgan Stanley. More than 90 per cent of investors had “explicit willingness to increase their exposure to China’s market, the highest level since early 2021 when China’s equity market peaked”, the US bank said in a report on Thursday. They were especially interested in areas such as humanoid...

Economics

22 h. ago Split the bill – or split legal hairs – over a dinner date in Hong Kong

Life is uncomplicated when you go it alone – you pick a place to eat, choose what you fancy on the dinner menu and on the wine list, enjoy them in the company of the person you have known, trusted and loved for your whole life, and pay the bill. Turns out, the law is also uncomplicated – there is simply an implied contract between you and the restaurant, formed with your promise to pay for what you ordered at the menu price and served to you. If you don’t pay, the restaurant can sue you under...

Politics

23 h. ago David Webb criticises retailer Bauhaus for buying a flat, not paying dividend

David Webb, a Hong Kong corporate governance activist who is battling terminal cancer, issued an open letter criticising Hong Kong fashion retailer Bauhaus International Holdings’ decision to buy a residential property instead of making a dividend payout. Webb holds more than 8 per cent of the company’s shares and is the second-largest shareholder after the chairman, Winnie Tong She-man, who controls 58.9 per cent, according to a recent Hong Kong public filing. The open letter, published on...

Economics

23 h. ago David Webb slams retailer Bauhaus for splurging on flat, not paying dividend

David Webb, a Hong Kong corporate governance activist who is battling terminal cancer, issued an open letter criticising Hong Kong fashion retailer Bauhaus International Holdings’ decision to buy a residential property instead of making a dividend payout. Webb holds more than 8 per cent of the company’s shares and is the second-largest shareholder after the chairman, Winnie Tong She-man, who controls 58.9 per cent, according to a recent Hong Kong public filing. The open letter, published on...

Politics

24 h. ago China eyes C919 jet breakthrough as Malaysian airline in talks to buy aircraft

Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia has shown strong interest in acquiring the Chinese C919 passenger jet, its executive said, as part of its strategy to tap into Southeast Asia’s 700 million-strong population and capitalise on growing China-Asean business ties. “We’re in active discussions to buy the C919,” Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A – an investment holding company of AirAsia – told the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong on Wednesday. “We’re the first foreign airline to be working with...

Politics

24 h. ago AirAsia eyes deal for C919 passenger jet, in bid to tap China

Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia has shown strong interest in acquiring the Chinese C919 passenger jet, its executive said, as part of its strategy to tap into Southeast Asia’s 700 million-strong population and capitalise on growing China-Asean business ties. “We’re in active discussions to buy the C919,” Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A – an investment holding company of AirAsia – told the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong on Wednesday. “We’re the first foreign airline to be working with...

Politics

34 h. ago Israel will keep targeting Hamas leaders despite anger over Doha strike: consul

If Israel did not kill Hamas leaders in an air strike on Qatar on Tuesday, it would succeed next time, the Israeli ambassador to the United States said after the operation, raising concerns it would torpedo efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. “Right now, we may be subject to a little bit of criticism. They’ll get over it. And Israel is being changed for the better,” Yechiel Leiter told Fox News’ Special Report programme late on Tuesday. Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas...

Politics

37 h. ago EU to tighten sanctions as von der Leyen warns on China, defends US ties

As speculation grows that the European Union will team up with the United States to hit China with huge tariffs and secondary sanctions for buying Russian energy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Wednesday to escalate measures on “third countries”. Without naming China directly, von der Leyen used her annual state of the European Union address to call for “more pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table”, asserting that “we need more sanctions”. Overnight,...

Events

38 h. ago Zambia court orders Standard Chartered to pay costs not compensation over China property bond sale

Zambia court orders Standard Chartered to pay costs not compensation over China property bond sale  Reuters

Economics

41 h. ago Hong Kong slams European Commission report over ‘unfounded and biased’ criticism

Hong Kong has hit back at the European Commission’s annual report, which claimed the city’s autonomy and freedoms were in “continued erosion”, citing the enactment of domestic national security legislation and the high-profile trials of opposition activists. The Hong Kong government on Tuesday evening said it “strongly disapproved of and rejected the unfounded and biased content” of the report and urged the European Union to cease interfering in the city’s affairs. “The HKSAR Government strongly...

Events

42 h. ago China Boosts Its ‘Night Economy.’ Investors Should Pay Attention.

China Boosts Its ‘Night Economy.’ Investors Should Pay Attention.  Barron's

Economics