Month: May 2025

FirstFT: Trump orders US chip software companies to stop selling to China

Media Library

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 to FirstFT Asia. Today we’ll be covering: The latest salvo in the US-China chip war Shein considers a Hong Kong IPO The ‘antifeminist’ candidate wooing young South Korean voters The Trump administration has told US companies that offer software used to design semiconductors to stop selling their services to Chinese groups, in…

Nvidia quarterly revenue surges nearly 70% despite China curbs

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Nvidia reported a nearly 70 per cent surge in quarterly revenues, beating Wall Street estimates even as the chip company suffers a big hit to its business stemming from new US restrictions on its China sales. Nvidia on Wednesday reported revenue of $44.1bn for the quarter to April 27, up 69 per cent year on year and above Wall Street’s expectations of $43.3bn. The US chip designer at the heart…

Trump orders US chip software suppliers to stop selling to China

Media Library

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world The Trump administration has told US companies that offer software used to design semiconductors to stop selling their services to Chinese groups, in the latest attempt to make it harder for China to develop advanced chips. Several people familiar with the move said the US Department of Commerce had told so-called electronic design automation groups — which include Cadence, Synopsys and Siemens EDA — to stop supplying their technology…

China’s Tianwen-2 lifts off on mission to bring asteroid samples back to Earth

Media Library

China has launched an ambitious mission to bring asteroid samples back to Earth – part of broader efforts to explore the solar system and make advances in planetary science, resource utilisation and defence. Advertisement The Tianwen-2 spacecraft lifted off aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwest China at 1.31am Beijing time on Thursday, according to the China National Space Administration. “About 18 minutes after lift-off, the rocket placed the spacecraft into a transfer orbit from Earth to asteroid 2016 HO3. The spacecraft’s solar…

China Maritime Report No. 47: The People of China’s Navy and Other Maritime Forces: Extended Summary of Conference Findings

Media Library

Main Findings Xi Jinping has played a direct and active role in China’s naval buildup. He is China’s first great navalist statesman, the world’s greatest navalist leader today, and among the world’s greatest navalist statesmen in modern history. Notwithstanding major advances in ships, submarines, aircraft, and other hardware, Chinese military leaders believe that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) continues to lag behind in human factors. Since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, the PLAN has dismissed (or is rumored to have dismissed) eleven flag officers. Beyond combating outright…

Shein shifts focus from London to Hong Kong for listing

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Shein is considering swapping London for Hong Kong as the location for its long-planned stock market listing 18 months after it fired the starting gun on the flotation process. The fast-fashion group is turning its focus towards Hong Kong as its preferred listing venue, according to two people familiar with the matter, after protracted efforts to float in London. However, no decision has been taken, the people cautioned. Shein first…

Thai prime minister urges calm after Cambodian soldier killed in border clash

Media Library

View RFA Khmer reporting on this topic here. Updated May 28, 2025, 11:40 a.m. ET BANGKOK – The Thai prime minister said Wednesday she spoke to her Cambodian counterpart to reduce tensions after Cambodia said one of its soldiers was killed in a brief gunfight with Thai troops at a sensitive border region. The 10-minute shootout at Hill 496 comes after weeks of mounting tension. The neighbors have a history of armed confrontation at disputed border areas. Cambodia said one of its soldiers, Sgt. Suan Roan, 48, was killed during…

Prague blames Beijing for cyber attack on foreign ministry

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Prague said on Wednesday that state-sponsored Chinese hackers had targeted its foreign ministry’s unclassified communications network, the latest in a series of cyber attacks that have been blamed on Beijing.  The Czech government said the ministry had since 2022 been subject to a “malicious cyber campaign” by a group known as APT31, which the Czech authorities said was linked to the Chinese Ministry of State Security. “China is interfering in…

China, EU cooperation urged by former WTO head amid Trump’s ‘mafia-like’ tactics

Media Library

Against the backdrop of tariff negotiations between the United States and various countries, there is “common ground” on which China and the European Union can work together and ensure that mutual and open trade remains a rules-based game, according to a former head of the World Trade Organization. Advertisement “We should do what China did to us 30 years ago,” Pascal Lamy told the Post on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UBS Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong, with the message being: “Welcome to the EU, provided you produce…

Chinese students undeterred as US freezes visa processing

Media Library

The suspension of student visa processing by the US State Department has caused worry among Chinese students eyeing American universities, but many have said they still intended to proceed with their original study plans. Advertisement In a diplomatic cable on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed American embassies and consulates to halt new appointments as the administration prepared to expand its social media vetting of applicants, while previously scheduled visa interviews could proceed, according to media reports. The latest hurdle followed a series of actions aimed at restricting…