Day: August 29, 2025

The Spanish government has intervened at the eleventh hour to cancel a contract that would have boosted the use of Chinese tech giant Huawei’s fibre optic equipment across the country, citing “strategic autonomy”. Advertisement The €10 million (US$11.69 million) contract had been greenlit by the relevant public utility on Monday, only for Spain’s digital transformation ministry to move at the last minute to nix it, El País reported, for “reasons of digital strategy and strategic autonomy”. Madrid had been under fire from Brussels and Washington for doubling down on its…

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s coming visit to China – his first in over six years – for a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II could reinvigorate Beijing-Pyongyang ties and signal a broader strategic realignment, according to observers. Advertisement For the first time, Kim will appear alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on September 3, in what analysts said would be a rare show of unity and a calculated act of defiance against US-led pressure.…

The US government has drafted an expansion of its critical-minerals list to head off what an official said were potential “supply-chain disruptions”, in a move that experts say could help onshore more production of semiconductor chips, automotive systems and solar panels instead of relying on China. Advertisement The US Department of the Interior released the draft 2025 List of Critical Minerals on Tuesday, adding 51 mined commodities such as copper, lead, potash, silicon and silver. This marks the second update since 2017 to the list that guides government strategy, such…

China’s electric-vehicle (EV) king BYD reported a 30 per cent drop in profits in the second quarter as surging overseas sales failed to offset the negative impact of a brutal price war in the domestic market. Advertisement The Shenzhen-based company earned 6.4 billion yuan (US$894.6 million) in the three months to June, down 29.9 per cent from a year earlier. Revenue grew 14 per cent year on year to 201 billion yuan. The second-quarter numbers are derived by comparing BYD’s interim earnings to its results for the first three months,…

China’s military parade next month will offer a rare opportunity for outsiders to observe which generals are valued by the People’s Liberation Army top brass. Advertisement The PLA does not publish regular updates on its personnel changes, so the identity of those given prominent roles will provide clues about who might be in line for more senior positions. But the absence of certain figures may also offer clues about who has fallen foul of the ongoing anti-corruption campaign within the military, which has seen at least 16 military deputies removed…

China’s top banks face continued pressure, as a slowing economy, lower interest rates and weak loan demand weighed on first-half earnings. Advertisement Net profit at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest bank by assets, fell 1.4 per cent in the first half from a year earlier to 168.1 billion yuan (US$23.5 billion), according to its interim results announced on Friday after the market closed. Its net interest margin (NIM), a key indicator of a bank’s profitability, fell to 1.3 per cent from 1.42 per cent at…

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has announced a 90-day extension on a slew of product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports. Advertisement The exclusions, previously extended in June, contain 178 items that fall into the categories of chemical materials, electronic components, medical supplies and solar manufacturing equipment. As a result, these products will continue to be spared from levies of 7.5 to 25 per cent that were imposed on Chinese imports during US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of a Section 301 investigation,…