Day: August 4, 2025

Amid falling prices and stiff competition from imports, China has unveiled plans to bolster the cattle industry – the latest in a series of policies aimed at strengthening key agricultural sectors. Advertisement China will step up its beef production and implement a quality-grading system for locally produced beef to promote consumption of high-quality versions of the meat – part of an effort announced by the nation’s top economic planner and nine government departments to boost consumption of farm produce. A top producer and consumer of agricultural products, China will unleash…

Taiwan would run out of natural gas supplies in about 10 days if Beijing blockaded the island, according to a report published by a Washington-based geopolitical think tank. Advertisement The report from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) also said that its coal supplies would be depleted in seven weeks and its oil reserves in 20 weeks. The authors of the report, which was released on Thursday, analysed 26 war-gaming scenarios to understand Taiwan’s military challenges in countering a blockade from Beijing. They concluded that a blockade would…

China’s tropical island province of Hainan is accelerating its push to become a leading medical tourism hub, aiming to attract more nationals to use local healthcare services instead of seeking treatment abroad – after South Korea announced plans to scrap tax rebates for foreigners undergoing cosmetic surgery. Advertisement The popular tourist destination in southern China plans to draw more than 1.5 million domestic medical tourists annually by 2027, up from the current level of over 400,000, according to a local government document issued on Monday. Hainan has also pledged to…

Rare earths are needed for everything from consumer electronics to electric vehicles, wind turbines and fighter jets – and China controls the supply chain. In a four-part series, we look at the race for rare earths, starting with the contest for reserves in developing countries. Advertisement Former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping once said that “the Middle East has oil, China has rare earths”. His words carry new weight today as China’s stranglehold over the rare earths supply chain gives it leverage in the trade war with the United States. China…

Advertisement The weekend announcement, effective July 30, came just days after the United States levied the new tariff, which is set to take effect on Wednesday. The measure has sent shock waves through Brazil’s coffee industry and forced exporters to seek other markets. The United States is the largest consumer of coffee globally, importing 3.3 million bags of Brazilian coffee in the first half of this year, nearly 23 per cent of Brazil’s total coffee exports. Advertisement Industry data shows that about 85 per cent of Brazil’s 2025 production of…