Day: October 16, 2025

China’s biggest shopping event starts five weeks early to revive spending

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It’s known to be China’s biggest online shopping event – taking place on 11 November each year. But this year, Single’s Day sales have already begun in mid-October, as part of efforts by Chinese retailers to boost spending in a sluggish market. China has been plagued with issues like growing youth unemployment , a prolonged property crisis, steep government debt and an ongoing trade war with the US – all of which is making the country’s consumers cut back on spending. The Chinese government has been spending billions – through…

Google’s data centre push in India exposes gaps in AI safeguards

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This article is an on-site version of the India Business Briefing newsletter. To receive it in your inbox regularly, sign up if you’re a premium subscriber, or upgrade your subscription here. Good morning. Donald Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged that India would stop buying Russian oil. India responded with a measured statement, making no such promises but offering to expand procurement from the US. Does this mean a trade deal is nowhere near? Tell me what you think. The festival season is in full swing, with gift laden…

Top scientist Hu Ye quits US for China after cuts to US$8 million in grants

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A top biomedical scientist has left the United States for China following cuts to US$8.3 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that funded his research projects. Advertisement After studying and working in the US for 22 years, Hu “Tony” Ye, who held the prestigious chair professor position at Tulane University in New Orleans, left to take on the role of founding dean at the new school of biomedical engineering at his alma mater, Tsinghua University. Hu has long focused on the rapid detection of viruses, publishing…

What are rare earths and critical minerals – explained in 30 seconds

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Critical minerals are vital for the global economy and include nickel, manganese and cobalt. Rare earths are a specific, highly useful category of critical minerals that are used to make magnets essential for the auto, electronic and defence industries, as well as in renewable energy. Securing reserves and production of rare earths has become a flashpoint in global diplomacy and trade. Rare earths are a group of 17 heavy metals that are abundant throughout the Earth’s crust. The United States Geological Survey estimated in 2024 there were 110m tonnes of…

China’s property market poised to decline at least through 2026: S&P analyst

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China’s vast property market is expected to continue to decline at least through the next year, according to S&P Global Ratings. Advertisement “We estimate nationwide primary property sales will fall 8 per cent in 2025 and between 6 to 7 per cent in 2026, as overall demand remains soft,” said Edward Chan, director at S&P Global Ratings, at a webinar on Thursday. This will continue to put pressure on Chinese developers, many of which are going through the challenge of delivering homes, while maintaining their operations to meet their debt…

Nuclear fusion: could China be first to harness the energy that powers the sun?

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At a laboratory in northern China, less than an hour away from Beijing, a team of scientists is working on a new technology with huge potential as a clean energy source: nuclear fusion. Advertisement The spacious ENN Group campus in Langfang, Hebei province, is home to a cluster of experimental facilities. At its heart is a spherical device called the EXL-50U – a compact tokamak that uses a magnetic field to confine charged gas, or plasma, to fuse hydrogen nuclei. On the day the South China Morning Post visited, engineers…

FirstFT: Beijing attacks UK efforts to ‘smear’ China over spy case

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This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here Good morning, happy Friday and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter: We start with the Chinese espionage drama unfolding in the UK. Beijing has condemned evidence released by Sir Keir Starmer from an alleged Chinese espionage case, denouncing “British politicians’ attempts to smear and defame China”. What to know: The Chinese embassy in…

FirstFT: Beijing attacks UK efforts to ‘smear’ China over spy case

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This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here Good morning, happy Friday and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter: We start with the Chinese espionage drama unfolding in the UK. Beijing has condemned evidence released by Sir Keir Starmer from an alleged Chinese espionage case, denouncing “British politicians’ attempts to smear and defame China”. What to know: The Chinese embassy in…

Carney walks fine line between Washington, Beijing as Ottawa weighs EV tariffs

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday said he expects to meet senior Chinese leaders in the “coming month or so” as part of a broad re-engagement with Beijing, but declined to say whether Ottawa will lift tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. Advertisement “We are in the process of having those discussions on a much broader range of issues than single sectors and single trades,” Carney said at a press conference. “And when we look at the auto sector, we take into account the dynamics with the United States, the…

Rare earth quake

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China’s announcement that it would be restricting the export of rare earths put markets into a tailspin on Friday. Today on the show, Rob Armstrong, Katie Martin and new Unhedged reporter Hakyung Kim ask if this is the card that will make Donald Trump fold? Also they go long Strava, and short protein. For a free 30-day trial to the Unhedged newsletter go to: https://www.ft.com/unhedgedoffer. You can email Robert Armstrong and Katie Martin at unhedged@ft.com. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com View our accessibility guide. Financial Times