Chinese provincial officials have warned comedians against stirring up discord between the genders, instructing them to criticise constructively rather than “for the sake of being funny”. The warning came from authorities in eastern Zhejiang province on WeChat over the weekend after a comedian referred to her allegedly abusive marriage in a performance that went viral on Chinese social media. Women’s rights are sensitive territory in China – over the last decade, authorities have cracked down on almost every form of independent feminist activism. Zhejiang’s publicity department chastised some comedy shows…
Day: July 22, 2025
US and Japan agree trade deal
Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world The US has agreed a trade deal with Japan that will impose 15 per cent tariffs on goods imported into America from the world’s fourth-largest economy. The 15 per cent levy is lower than the 25 per cent President Donald Trump had threatened in a letter earlier this month, but higher than the 10 per cent rate that had been in force while the countries negotiated. The higher…
Total recall? Campaigners employ quirk of Taiwan’s political system to turn on ‘pro-China’ candidates
On a steamy night deep in one of Taipei’s most conservative suburbs, a group of elderly neighbours are yelling at each other next to a garbage truck. They have just been handed a leaflet by a university student calling on them to recall – expel – their sitting legislator. There are hundreds of these campaigners across Taiwan, targeting members of the Kuomintang (KMT) opposition who they accuse of being too pro-China. But this neighbourhood is deeply loyal to the party, and the campaigners are not welcome. A woman shouts angrily:…
Chinese firms urged to deepen Asean roots as US cracks down on transshipments
Beijing should encourage its firms to deepen integration with Southeast Asian economies instead of using the region as a transshipment route to the US, according to a senior regional economist – as Washington threatens the export-reliant region with high tariffs. Advertisement Transshipments drew attention earlier this month after the US announced tariffs on imports from Vietnam and 23 other trading partners. US President Donald Trump warned that imports diverted through Vietnam would face a 40 per cent tariff – double the 20 per cent levy on goods made in the…
Trump announces US and Japan have reached trade deal
Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world Donald Trump said the US had agreed the terms of a “massive” trade deal with Japan that will impose 15 per cent tariffs on goods imported into America from the world’s fourth-largest economy. The 15 per cent levy is lower than the 25 per cent he had threatened in a letter earlier this month, but higher than the 10 per cent rate that had been in force while…
China is building the world’s biggest hydropower dam. Why is India worried?
On the eastern rim of the Tibetan plateau, China envisions a future powered by the roaring waters of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra). The river will be the site of a mega dam – the world’s most ambitious to date – that promises to bring clean energy, jobs, infrastructure and prosperity to the region. Advertisement Construction on the world’s largest hydropower dam began on Saturday, according to Premier Li Qiang, who called it the “project of the century”. But the project is not just about electricity and economic benefits – the…
EU gears up for tough China talks in shadow of trade tensions and Ukraine war
EU leaders are set for tough talks with China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing this week, as the two sides clash over trade and China’s alleged long-running support for Russia in the Ukraine war at a time of heightened geopolitical turmoil. Beijing will be keen to portray the summit, which will mark half a century of EU-China ties, as a triumph of multilateralism and a sign that Europe is splitting away from Donald Trump’s US. Brussels, however, is focused on emphasising that China’s ballooning trade surpluses and alleged supplies of…
Indonesia agrees to drop non-tariff barriers in Trump trade victory
Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world Indonesia will commit to changing an array of rules and regulations to strike a new trade deal with Donald Trump’s administration, according to fresh details of the agreement released on Tuesday. The president last week announced that he had struck a deal with the south-east Asian nation that would have the US apply tariffs of 19 per cent to its imports, while Indonesia would apply no tariffs to…
Has China’s Qianfan satellite network and Starlink rival run into trouble?
A Chinese mega-constellation of communications satellites is facing serious delays that could jeopardise its ambitions to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink for valuable orbital resources. Advertisement Only 90 satellites have been launched into low Earth orbit for the Qianfan broadband network – also known as the Thousand Sails Constellation or G60 Starlink – well short of the project’s goal of 648 by the end of this year. Under international regulations to prevent spectrum hoarding, satellite operators must deploy a certain proportion of their constellation within set times after securing orbits and…
FirstFT: China pushes to expand influence at the UN as US pulls back
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. In today’s newsletter: We begin with a story about China’s effort to fill a power vacuum at the UN, as Donald Trump’s US pulls back from multilateralism. What to know: After cuts to US foreign aid prompted what could be the UN’s most radical restructuring in decades, China…