Day: April 29, 2025

China’s manufacturing activity shrinks as US tariffs take effect 

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Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world China’s manufacturing activity contracted by the most since 2023 in April, according to an official survey, in an early sign of the economic impact from US President Donald Trump’s trade war. The country’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 49, the weakest level since December 2023. A reading of above 50 marks an expansion on the previous month. The data covers a period in which the…

Trump hails tariffs – but list of achievements from his administration barely mentions them

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The White House has framed US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs policy as the end of “the era of economic surrender”, positioning it as a cornerstone of his economic agenda. Advertisement However, official press releases from the White House and Treasury Department made few direct mentions of tariffs, and no reference at all to “reciprocal tariffs,” instead emphasising broader economic indicators such as job growth, investment, inflation and regulatory cuts. 01:38 ‘Fake news’: Chinese officials dismiss claims of US trade war consultations ‘Fake news’: Chinese officials dismiss claims of US…

China’s manufacturing activity contracts as tariffs take effect 

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China’s manufacturing activity contracted in April, according to an official survey, in a sign of the impact of US President Donald Trump’s trade war on the economy. The country’s official purchasing managers’ index came in at 49, the lowest level since December 2023. A reading of above 50 marks an expansion. The data covers a period in which a trade war between the US and China escalated dramatically, with tariffs…

China’s factory activity contracts as tariffs darken trade landscape

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China’s factory activity fell back into contractionary territory in April as manufacturers bore the weight of weeks of tit-for-tat tariff increases by the world’s two largest economies. Advertisement The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reading for April was 49, falling short of the 50.5 reported in March and landing 0.6 percentage points lower than the 49.6 forecast from economists polled by Bloomberg. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector, while one below 50 reflects contraction. Within the broader PMI reading, the new orders subindex stood at 49.2 in…

Canada now likely has more latitude to work with China if US tensions persist: analysts

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Canada’s new government is likely to have more political latitude to work with China if tensions with America persist, analysts said, as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party secured a win in an election defined by voter hostility to US President Donald Trump’s trade war and aggressive rhetoric targeting Canada. Advertisement In a related vein, Canada’s appetite for political alignment with the US on China, its second-largest trading partner, is expected to wane, analysts added. “There are real pressures [within Canada] for a realistic assessment of China possibilities in light…

Protests by unpaid Chinese workers spread amid factory closures

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Protests by workers demanding back wages are spreading across China in a sign of growing discontent among millions suffering the brunt of factory closures, triggered by steep U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports amid an economic downturn. Across the country – from Hunan province’s Dao county in central China to Sichuan’s Suining city in the southwest and Inner Mongolia’s Tongliao city to the northeast – hundreds of disgruntled workers have taken to the streets to protest about unpaid wages and to challenge unfair dismissals by factories that were forced to shut…

Hedging our bets: the existential questions facing Australia’s next government in unpredictable times

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The world is a more dangerous place. Global conflicts have doubled over the past five years, according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (Acled). In 2024 alone, one person in eight across the world was exposed to conflict: political violence increased by a quarter, by factors worse in countries that held elections. Australian political leaders of all stripes couch it in shared aphorism: the most “challenging strategic circumstances since WWII”. Violence, of course, never went away. It ebbed in some periods, but the myth of the triumph of liberal…

China’s Shandong carrier makes rare show of force as US and Philippines hold joint drills

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The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong has made two rare transits north of the Philippines within the span of a week, in what analysts called a “show of force” as US and Philippine forces held joint drills in the area. Advertisement They said the Shandong’s passage through the Luzon Strait – a key naval choke point located between Taiwan and the Philippines – underscored Beijing’s resolve to break through the first island chain in the face of US containment efforts, notably through the deployment of anti-ship missiles during the joint exercise.…

FirstFT: China steps up global propaganda push against US trade war

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This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter: China’s global propaganda push How Trump’s honeymoon turned sour so quickly Martin Wolf argues why the US will lose against China We start today with China’s international propaganda campaign against the US trade war, featuring slick videos portraying itself as standing up against American…

How Central Asia is embracing Chinese arms sales

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While China’s economic ties with Central Asia are mostly visible in terms of investments and commercial deals, Beijing is also making inroads into the region’s arms market as part of its greater overall security engagement there. Advertisement For much of the post-Soviet period, Russia held a near-monopoly over arms sales to Central Asian countries, particularly Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. However, the war in Ukraine has pulled in Russia’s military resources and sapped its arms export ability. Between 2020 and 2024, Russia’s arms exports fell 64 per cent, out of which…