47 h. ago China’s jobless rate for young people eases to 16.9% as graduates settle for less

China’s youth-unemployment rate ticked lower in November, though competition remains fierce for university graduates trying to find work that matches their qualifications. The jobless rate for those aged 16 to 24, excluding students, fell to 16.9 per cent in November from 17.3 per cent in October, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. The rate has eased since August, when the graduation of a record 12.2 million university students over the summer pushed it...

Politics

3 d. ago Health and beauty chain Mannings to withdraw from mainland China

Mannings, one of Hong Kong’s largest health and beauty chains, will cease all retail operations in mainland China, both online and offline, as it adjusts its strategy in the highly competitive market. In a letter to its members, Mannings China said “its physical stores on the mainland will close permanently after January 15, 2026”. Its online sales channels will wind down even earlier. Mannings’ official mini mall on Tencent Holdings’ WeChat will stop service at midnight on December 28, 2025,...

Politics

3 d. ago Retailers beat a hasty retreat from mainland China due to consumption, competition woes

Mainland China’s highly competitive retail landscape has taken its toll on one of Hong Kong’s largest health and beauty chains, which has decided to exit the market. Analysts said retailers across the board have found the going tough on the mainland, with a slowdown in consumer spending compounding matters. Health and beauty chain Mannings said it would cease all online and offline retail operations on the mainland as it adjusts its strategy in the highly competitive market. “It doesn’t matter...

Politics

3 d. ago Western carmakers reverse on EV plans amid China competition

Western carmakers reverse on EV plans amid China competition  https-//www.semafor.com

Politics

3 d. ago EU should protect suppliers against China competition, Gestamp CEO Francisco Riberas says

EU should protect suppliers against China competition, Gestamp CEO Francisco Riberas says  Automotive News

Economics

4 d. ago Volkswagen’s US$3.5 billion bet: can it regain share in China’s competitive car market?

Volkswagen is making a major bet in China, the largest and one of the most cutthroat auto markets in the world. The question is whether it will work. The German carmaker, which once dominated the market with a more than 50 per cent share, has invested €3 billion (US$3.5 billion) in a sprawling research and development centre – its largest outside its home country – in Hefei, a low-key central China city of 10 million people. It is a sea change from how foreign carmakers operated in China for...

Economics

4 d. ago Can Volkswagen regain its China market share with its US$3.5 billion bet?

Can Volkswagen regain its China market share with its US$3.5 billion bet?  South China Morning Post

Economics

5 d. ago US is rewriting its China policy under national security strategy

The recently released US National Security Strategy (NSS) marks a sharp geographic and political turn. It moves the western hemisphere to the top of the agenda and pushes Asia – and with it, visible China-centric “great power competition” – down a notch. This does not mean China no longer matters. Rather, it means Washington now sees China partly through the lens of what it is doing in the Americas instead of only what it is doing in the Indo-Pacific. This shift is not accidental. It is a...

Events

5 d. ago Why the Caspian region matters in US–China strategic competition

Why the Caspian region matters in US–China strategic competition  Aze.Media

Politics

5 d. ago Germany thwarts Islamist plot to ram vehicle into Christmas market

German authorities said on Saturday they had arrested five men on suspicion of involvement in an Islamist plot to plough a vehicle into people at a Christmas market. Officials have been on high alert during the festive season after a deadly car-ramming attack at a market in the city of Magdeburg last Christmas shocked the nation. Police and prosecutors said they had detained an Egyptian, three Moroccans and a Syrian on Friday over the plan to carry out the attack in southern Bavaria...

Events

1 week ago ‘A big opportunity’: why Spain’s new electric car plan hands an opening to China

Spain’s ambitious multi-billion-euro plan to become Europe’s leading player in the electric vehicle market presents a golden opportunity for Chinese car brands, which could be vital to the strategy’s success, according to analysts. The Spain Auto 2030 Plan, presented by Madrid on Wednesday, seeks to mobilise government funding to provide consumer subsidies, support the construction of charging stations and help the Spanish car industry – which drives about 10 per cent of the country’s economic...

Politics

1 week ago Could more competition with China impact ECB policy decisions? Goldman weighs in.

Could more competition with China impact ECB policy decisions? Goldman weighs in.  Investing.com

Events

1 week ago Is China shifting its policy and accepting North Korea as a nuclear

Beijing’s omission of the term “denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” from a new white paper suggested its “tacit acceptance” of North Korea as a nuclear-armed state while prioritising its strategic competition with Washington, analysts said. Last week, China released a white paper on the country’s arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, outlining its policies on national defence and nuclear policy and updating a previous paper from 2005. One notable shift in Beijing’s position on...

Events

2 w. ago Russian Crab Exports to China Up 15% YTD; Competition Expected to Tighten

Russian Crab Exports to China Up 15% YTD; Competition Expected to Tighten  Seafoodnews

Politics

2 w. ago LIVE NOW: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Holds Hearing on US–China AI Competition

LIVE NOW: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Holds Hearing on US–China AI Competition  NTD News

Sport

2 w. ago Why Trump’s US sovereign wealth fund brings high stakes and serious risks

The US Supreme Court lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s tariff war and the recent budget fight on Capitol Hill might have dragged down – if not sunk – one of Washington’s proposed tools to spearhead its strategic competition with China. Ten months after Trump’s executive order authorising the creation of the nation’s first-ever sovereign wealth fund (SWF), there are still few clues about how it can be funded, structured and managed, leaving a giant question mark on whether it could run...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump wants a sovereign wealth fund to compete with China. Big questions remain

The US Supreme Court lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s tariff war and the recent budget fight on Capitol Hill might have dragged down – if not sunk – one of Washington’s proposed tools to spearhead its strategic competition with China. Ten months after Trump’s executive order authorising the creation of the nation’s first-ever sovereign wealth fund (SWF), there are still few clues about how it can be funded, structured and managed, leaving a giant question mark on whether it could run...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump’s America still needs its allies to manage China competition

“Some of his ideas really are the same ideas that I have,” US President Donald Trump declared while hosting New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the Oval Office. “I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help him do a great job,” he added, marking a dramatic turnabout after months of attacking Mamdani as a “communist lunatic” endangering Trump’s beloved city. In another reversal, Trump also cleared the release of the Epstein files after months of stiff resistance in the face of growing...

Politics

2 w. ago Opinion | Trump’s America still needs its allies to manage China competition

Opinion | Trump’s America still needs its allies to manage China competition  South China Morning Post

Politics

2 w. ago ‘America first’ can’t mean America alone if West hopes to counter China

“Some of his ideas really are the same ideas that I have,” US President Donald Trump declared while hosting New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the Oval Office. “I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help him do a great job,” he added, marking a dramatic turnabout after months of attacking Mamdani as a “communist lunatic” endangering Trump’s beloved city. In another reversal, Trump also cleared the release of the Epstein files after months of stiff resistance in the face of growing...

Politics