Day: October 9, 2025

Chinese regulators have launched renewed efforts to tackle the phenomenon of disorderly price competition, including the potential formulation of state-sanctioned cost assessments and firm actions against below-cost bidding. Advertisement The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) – the country’s top economic planner – and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) published a joint policy paper on Thursday outlining measures designed to limit the intense competition within some industries that has led to price wars and other self-destructive cost-cutting practices. “Disorderly competition can have negative effects on industry development, product…

China’s chip stocks have staged a world-beating rally in the past few months on the nation’s self-sufficiency push, but some investors are beginning to balk at their lofty valuations. Advertisement Mirroring the US dynamic, China’s semiconductor industry is seen as the key beneficiary of a national drive to dominate the tech landscape being shaped by artificial intelligence (AI). With much talk of an AI bubble of late in the US, China’s even fatter valuations are spurring caution. “Such high multiples are not leaving much margin for error, and I doubt…

Sanae Takaichi’s victory in Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership race marks not just the rise of the country’s first female prime minister in waiting, but also a symbolic shift in Japan’s ideological compass. Advertisement Long known as a staunch conservative and nationalist, Takaichi’s ascent signals the possible end of the centrist pragmatism that characterised the Shinzo Abe and Fumio Kishida years. Her win sets Japan on a trajectory that could reshape its domestic economy, foreign policy and regional posture in profound ways. Domestically, Takaichi inherits an economy still struggling…

Scientists say they have cracked the biggest challenge to creating the holy grail of next-generation batteries – a design that could power everything from smartphones to electric cars up to three times longer on a single charge. Advertisement The team, led by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed a self-healing interface that works like a liquid seal. It flows to fill tiny gaps, keeping the battery’s internal layers tightly joined without the heavy pressure and bulky devices previously needed to hold them together. This development could bring solid-state…

The “Asean plus three” group of countries achieved solid economic growth in the first half of 2025, but unpredictable policy shifts in the United States could still send tremors through the region this year, a top economic surveillance body said. Advertisement Growth in the grouping – the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, along with China, Japan and South Korea – is projected to reach 4.1 per cent in 2025, the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) said in a new quarterly update. While the latest figure is…

On October 10, 1925, the Forbidden City in Beijing became the Palace Museum. The massive complex of ancient imperial palaces that was home to the royalty of the Ming and Qing dynasties for centuries became a museum for the people. Today, there are four Palace Museums: the original in Beijing, the National Palace Museum in Taipei, with a Southern branch in Chiayi which opened in 2015, and the Hong Kong Palace Museum which opened in 2022. In this series, we explore the stories behind the centenary and look at how…

After years of rapid expansion, Chinese carmaker BYD saw sales fall for the first time in over five years in the third quarter of this year on an annual basis. Amid fierce competition at home, BYD’s vehicle sales in September alone fell by 5.5 per cent year on year. This comes after a 30 per cent profit drop in the second quarter. Advertisement The company’s sales and profit drops reflect the fortunes of many other Chinese carmakers as domestic demand for electric vehicles slows. But what does this mean for…