US companies push for lower Vietnamese tariffs as China hedge

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world American companies are urging Washington to lower tariffs on Vietnam, arguing that the south-east Asian country has become a vital part of their “China plus one” diversification strategy. Vietnam was one of the biggest winners from US President Donald Trump’s trade war in his first term as manufacturers shifted from China. Apple, Intel and Nike are among American companies that rely heavily on Vietnam.  As a result of…

China prices weaken further as economic pressures mount

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China’s consumer prices remained in deflation for the fourth straight month and producer prices fell at their fastest pace in nearly two years, piling pressure on policymakers as they try to boost domestic demand and negotiate trade tensions with the US. The country’s consumer price index fell 0.1 per cent year on year in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. Producer prices, which reflect the cost of…

China trade data for May misses expectations as export growth slows, imports dip

China’s export growth slowed last month amid lingering uncertainty over US tariffs, pointing to continued strain in the country’s manufacturing and trade sectors – and the slight uptick could also reflect front-loading by exporters anticipating future disruptions. Advertisement China’s May exports were up by 4.8 per cent, year on year, to US$316.1 billion, customs data showed on Monday. The figure followed April’s 8.1 per cent growth and fell short of the estimate of a 6.28 per cent increase in a market survey by Chinese financial data provider Wind. Exports to…

China’s consumer prices fall for fourth month amid weak demand, trade tensions

China’s consumer prices declined for a fourth straight month in May, highlighting persistent deflationary pressures driven by sluggish demand and trade tensions with the United States, which are compounding inventory strains for manufacturers. Advertisement The national consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, fell 0.1 per cent year on year last month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. The figure beat market expectations after a poll by financial provider Wind forecasted a 0.17 per cent drop. In April, the CPI saw a…

China starts mass production of world’s first non-binary AI chip

Advertisement Spearheaded by Professor Li Hongge’s team at Beihang University in Beijing, this breakthrough overcomes fundamental barriers in traditional computing by merging binary and stochastic logic, enabling unprecedented fault tolerance and power efficiency in intelligent control applications like touch displays and flight systems while sidestepping US chip restrictions. Today’s chip technologies face two big challenges: the power wall and the architecture wall, Li told the Beijing-based official newspaper Guangming Daily last month. The power wall stems from a fundamental contradiction – while binary systems are efficient at carrying information, they…

US and China set to meet for trade talks in London

A new round of talks aimed at resolving a trade war between the US and China is set take place in London on Monday. US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that a senior US delegation would meet Chinese representatives. Over weekend, Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Vice Premier He Lifeng will attend the talks. The announcements came after Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping had a phone conversation last week, which the US president described as a “very good talk”. Last month, the world’s two biggest economies…

Hong Kong rate slump is a warning light for global markets

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Currencies myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. For the past month or more, overnight interest rates in Hong Kong have been stuck just above zero per cent. Since everyone got used to ultra-low interest rates during the last couple of decades, it may not be immediately obvious how bizarre, unexpected and potentially alarming that situation is — or how it illustrates everything from the dwindling appetite of Asian investors for US assets, to a modest revival of Hong…

HSBC to grow investment bank to serve rising demand for IPOs

HSBC will expand its investment banking business to serve the rising demand of companies from Asia and the Middle East for initial public offerings (IPOs), said the co-CEOs of the bank’s biggest profit centre. Advertisement The plan aligns with the bank’s restructuring to focus on high-return areas like Hong Kong and India, as well as exit low-profitability markets like Europe and the US. Hong Kong sits atop the world’s IPO league table, after 27 companies raised US$9.96 billion this year as of last week, according to the London Stock Exchange…

How BYD and Chinese peers are transforming Europe’s small EV market

Some of the world’s biggest carmakers are squaring off for a titanic battle over small cars in Europe, as native stalwarts like Volkswagen and Renault fight to maintain their hold on the market against an influx of cheap electric vehicles (EVs) from BYD and its Chinese peers. Advertisement Last month, BYD, which surpassed Tesla last year as the world’s largest EV maker, launched its Dolphin Surf compact hatchback in Europe. The company’s most affordable model, known in China as the Seagull, is priced from €22,990 (US$26,128) with a 322km range…

Is the US dollar’s decline inevitable? Kenneth Rogoff and Yu Yongding weigh in

Welcome to Open Dialogue, a new series from the Post where we bring together leading voices to discuss the stories and subjects occupying international headlines. Advertisement In this inaugural edition, we invited prominent economists from both sides of the Pacific to reflect on the recent turmoil in global trade, the diminishing role of the US dollar and whether China’s yuan could – or should – take its place. Professor Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University has repeatedly warned the US dollar is approaching a crisis of legitimacy. Having written extensively on…