Unlike tourists in many places, those visiting China for the first time often consider subway stations in major cities attractions in themselves for their sheer beauty, innovative designs, or simply their novelty. Hell, if nothing else, they are sparkling clean! Advertisement Those such as Panda Avenue station in Chengdu and Rainbow station in Guangzhou are mentioned in tourist guides as places to visit. Several stations in Shenzhen look more like the halls found in many of Asia’s ultra-modern airports. From subway trains to high-speed rail, the nation’s integrated transport seems…
Day: June 12, 2025
Embassy urges Chinese in Iran to stay alert after Israeli airstrikes, explosions
The Chinese embassy in Tehran called Iran’s latest security situation “severe and complicated” following Israel’s military strikes early on Friday, while also warning its citizens and businesses to monitor the situation and take precautions. Advertisement “The … embassy in Iran reminds Chinese citizens and businesses in the country to closely monitor the situation, enhance their safety awareness, and strengthen security measures,” it said in a statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that Israel conducted strikes on nuclear targets in Iran, saying the operation was expected to continue for…
From star start-up to fire sale: the unravelling of Byju’s
This article is an on-site version of the India Business Briefing newsletter. To receive it in your inbox regularly, sign up if you’re a premium subscriber, or upgrade your subscription here. Only one person has survived yesterday’s tragic crash of a London-bound Air India flight in Ahmedabad. The flight, which was carrying 242 passengers and crew, went down minutes after taking off. Home minister Amit Shah said the process of retrieving bodies was nearly complete and an official number of deaths will be released after they have been identified and DNA…
Pigs may have been domesticated in China as early as Neolithic era: study
Research by archaeologists from Chinese and US institutes suggests that pigs were already domesticated in southern China around 8,000 years ago. Advertisement The team, which included researchers from Dartmouth College and the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, analysed two early Neolithic sites in the province’s Yangtze Delta region. The study – published on June 9 in the prestigious international journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) – “is the first to find that pigs were eating humans’ cooked foods and waste”, according to a Dartmouth…
Chinese solar firms bank on overseas expansion to survive amid US tariffs
Chinese solar and energy-storage companies will continue to press ahead with their overseas expansion with or without a long-term agreement on trade tariffs, as production abroad holds the key to their long-term survival, according to executives at China’s largest solar industry exhibition. Advertisement Although the US and China reached a 90-day truce in their ongoing tariff war in May, solar panel exports from China and Southeast Asia to the US are still subject to tariffs of as much as 3,521 per cent, with Washington citing unfair trade practices such as…
Landmark Toyota deal sets back Japan’s corporate governance pitch
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. In late June, Hiromi Yamaji, the president of the company that controls the Tokyo Stock Exchange, will begin a tour of global institutional investors. It should have been a light-footed victory lap; it will instead be more of a muddy trudge. Until last week, Yamaji had a nuanced — but fundamentally positive — story to tell the outside world about rising governance standards, fairer treatment of shareholders, reduction of cross…
How my views on Hong Kong’s future have evolved
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The writer is a faculty member at Yale, formerly chair of Morgan Stanley Asia, and is the author of ‘Accidental Conflict: America, China, and the Clash of False Narratives’ Controversy swirls over the future of Hong Kong. I played a small role in sparking the recent debate, writing 16 months ago: “It pains me to say Hong Kong is over.” Since then, part of the story has become different even…
UK financial regulators should copy Singapore model, say peers
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Financial & markets regulation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Britain’s financial regulators need to learn from Singapore by ditching their “risk-averse culture”, stepping up support for economic growth, and becoming more welcoming to businesses, a House of Lords committee has said. Since the 2008 banking crisis, the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority have introduced “unnecessary frictions” that undermine growth and innovation and “discourage new entrants”, the House of Lords Financial Regulation Committee said on Friday.…
TikTok’s sister app Douyin courts merchants with lower deposit fees
TikTok owner ByteDance, whose Douyin short video app has emerged as a popular e-commerce shopping platform in China, will cut the guarantee deposit payable by merchants, in a move designed to keep existing sellers and lure new ones amid fierce competition. Advertisement The deposit, held by the platform on behalf of sellers to cover potential costs such as refunds or penalties, would be capped at 5,000 yuan (US$695), a fraction of the previous maximum of 500,000 yuan. As a result, the deposit payable by existing sellers would be on average…
Crypto, China, critical minerals: inside Pakistan army chief’s US visit
Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, was set to arrive in Washington on Thursday, three weeks after his country’s flare-up with neighbouring, nuclear-armed rival India. Advertisement Munir will stay in the US until June 18 and is expected to attend the US Army’s 250th anniversary celebrations on June 14 in the nation’s capital – a day that coincides with US President Donald Trump’s birthday, according to three people familiar with the matter. The Pakistani general is likely during his visit to travel to US Central Command’s headquarters in Florida, a…