Month: July 2025

Top economic officials from China and the United States have begun their third round of trade talks in Stockholm. Advertisement The Chinese and American delegations – led by Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – arrived at Rosenbad in the afternoon local time. The historic building also serves as the Swedish government headquarters and the office of the country’s prime minister. Media from both countries – as well as Japan’s Kyodo News, France’s AFP and several Swedish outlets – began gathering in front of the building…

Advertisement The result was widely seen as a major setback for the island’s leader, William Lai Ching-te, and a turning point for the so-called Blue-White alliance between the two opposition parties. Saturday’s unprecedented recall vote, which targeted 24 KMT lawmakers accused of blocking key legislation and jeopardising the island’s security, ended with none losing their seats. A second round next month will target seven more KMT legislators, but observers say the chances of their removal are even slimmer given their stronger support in home districts. “This wasn’t just a failed…

Apple is closing a retail store in Dalian, marking the US firm’s first shutdown of a directly managed outlet on the mainland amid struggling iPhone sales. Advertisement Meanwhile, Huawei Technologies returned to the top of China’s smartphone market in the second quarter. The store, located in the northeastern city’s landmark Parkland shopping centre, will cease operations on August 9, according to Apple’s website, leaving the city of 7.5 million residents with just one remaining Apple-owned outlet. The closure follows the rebranding of Parkland into Intime City after a change in…

China has announced its most significant central-level effort to reverse a deepening demographic crisis since allowing families to have three children, unveiling a long-awaited national childcare subsidy scheme that will provide up to 10,800 yuan (US$1,505) per child under the age of three. Advertisement The move came amid mounting urgency among policymakers to stem the population decline and blunt its long-term drag on economic growth and social stability, after years of piecemeal local incentives that failed to reverse the downward trend. China will provide an annual childcare subsidy of 3,600…

After years of largely unchallenged control over the DR Congo’s critical minerals, China now faces growing US competition – a battle that Beijing is determined to win. Advertisement Now, a US consortium – including firms led by ex-military executives – has bid for the operator of the Etoile copper-cobalt mine. Meanwhile, KoBold Metals, backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, secured a deal with the DR Congo to explore the Manono lithium deposit, despite an ongoing legal dispute with Australia’s AVZ Minerals. The deals come shortly after a US-brokered “minerals-for-security”…

The yuan’s internationalisation remains on an upwards, if uneven, trajectory and is gradually reshaping the global monetary order, according to a new study released at a high-profile economic forum in Beijing – though some participants warned US efforts to dominate digital finance pose risks. Advertisement The yuan internationalisation index, which tracks the currency’s global use, rose by about 11 per cent in 2024 to 6.06, according to the Renmin University report released at this year’s International Monetary Forum, co-hosted with Nankai University on Sunday. By comparison, the US dollar scored…