Day: September 8, 2025

Russia’s Rosatom says planning to sell renminbi bonds in China

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Russian business & finance myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Russian state-owned nuclear monopoly Rosatom is preparing to raise funds on the Chinese bond market, underscoring Moscow’s growing reliance on Beijing as ties between the two countries deepen. Confirmation of the plans by a Rosatom representative came after the Financial Times reported on Sunday that China was preparing to reopen its domestic bond market to Russian energy companies. Rosatom, which builds nuclear power plants and exports enriched uranium,…

China and Russia increasingly working ‘in tandem’ to undermine faith in governance, top Finnish official claims

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Finland’s political state secretary for foreign affairs and defence has claimed China and Russia are increasingly working “in tandem” to disrupt and interfere in free societies, and undermine faith in governance. In an interview with Guardian Australia to mark his official visit to Australia and New Zealand, Pasi Rajala said Russia would not be able to sustain its war in Ukraine without help from Beijing, including through supply of critical technology and the proceeds of oil and gas sales. Sign up: AU Breaking News email “You need to expose what…

Korean companies admit cutting corners on US visas but say they have little choice

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South Korean companies have routinely used unsuitable visas for workers sent to the US to build multibillion-dollar advanced manufacturing sites, according to Seoul-based executives and industry groups. The admission comes after a dramatic raid last week by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a battery plant being built by Hyundai and LG in Ellabell in Georgia, which led to the detention of 475 workers, mostly South Korean nationals. Several people familiar with Korean conglomerates in the US said it was an “open secret” that they and their subcontractors used…

Beijing deals with a gathering of strongmen

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. A few weeks ago, while riding my bicycle to work in Beijing, I noticed small tents springing up on the city’s overpasses and pedestrian bridges, like a kind of camouflage fungal outgrowth.  These tents belonged not to a troop of scouts lost in the concrete jungle of Beijing’s vast system of ring roads, but to China’s paramilitary police.  The appearance of the guards, who keep a 24-hour vigil to prevent…

China’s carrier-borne J-35 stealth jets can pack in 6 missiles, designers say

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China’s carrier-borne J-35 advanced stealth fighters can carry up to six missiles, according to a programme on state broadcaster CCTV, as more details are revealed following last week’s massive People’s Liberation Army (PLA) parade in Beijing. Advertisement Both the J-35 and J-35A featured in the aerial formations for Wednesday’s parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Fighter designers discussed the pairing in a CCTV programme aired on Thursday, exploring the design connections and key differences between the models. They said common components were engineered for…

India’s north-south divide is fraying the political compact

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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 former governor of the Reserve Bank of India Over the past year, the chief ministers of two South Indian states — Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu — have been urging their people to have more children. In a country long concerned that rapid population growth is undermining development, such appeals are ironic. But behind this unusual call lies a deepening grievance: that southern states are being…

Japan is always losing prime ministers. This one is different

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Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had vowed to “restore the smiles” to a nation suffering under economic, demographic and geopolitical strains when he took office. But faced with the challenge of an unpredictable US president and a rising populist challenge at home, that ambition went unrealised. Ishiba announced his resignation on Sunday following a surge in living costs and two disastrous election setbacks in just 10 months. “I don’t think he did anything that would be memorable for ordinary Japanese, let alone something worth smiling about,” said Koichi Nakano, a…

Mars discovery, NBA star writes for Chinese state media: SCMP daily highlights

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Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s export growth slows in August under shadow of trade war uncertainty China’s exports continued to rise in August, though at a slower pace, with the near-term outlook clouded as global markets watch to see whether the world’s two largest economies can reach a lasting and durable trade deal. 2. Oxford’s Ian Goldin on the biggest challenges for China’s transitioning economy Professor and former…

China’s Xi makes rallying call against hegemonism, protectionism in Brics speech

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for a unified response to trade challenges posed by the United States, emphasising the need to build an open global economy and resist all forms of protectionism as he addressed a virtual summit of the Brics group on Monday. Advertisement “No matter how the international situation changes, we must unwaveringly promote the construction of an open world economy, share opportunities and achieve win-win outcomes through openness,” Xi told leaders of the key emerging economies, according to a readout by Chinese state news agency Xinhua.…

China-Russia pipeline would be ‘shock’ to global LNG trade: analysts

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The long-delayed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline between Russia and China would create a “structural shock” if it begins operations, analysts said, and cause “strategic and market challenges” for the United States, the world’s current largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter. Advertisement While President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin stood shoulder to shoulder at last week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller was quoted as saying the Russian oil giant and China National Petroleum Corporation had signed a memorandum of understanding to build the Power…