Day: October 19, 2025

China’s economy expands at slowest pace in a year

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in a year in the third quarter as a trade war with the US and a prolonged property downturn weighed on momentum. Official GDP in the world’s second-largest economy rose 4.8 per cent year-on-year, compared with a 5.2 per cent rise in the second quarter. Authorities have set a target of around 5 per cent for 2025. The lower reading comes as China’s…

China reports 4.8% quarterly GDP growth, moving closer to annual target

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China’s economy grew 4.8 per cent year on year in the third quarter of 2025, staying in line with expectations and bringing the country closer to achieving its annual target despite rising external uncertainties. Advertisement The closely watched figure for gross domestic product, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, came in just above the 4.76 per cent forecast in a survey of economists by Chinese financial data provider Wind. This brought China’s economic growth over the first three quarters to 5.2 per cent, according to the…

China set to push high tech in 5-year plan as tensions with US intensify

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China’s Communist party leaders are expected to prioritise increased investment in advanced manufacturing, as they meet this week to hammer out the next five-year plan in the shadow of tensions with the US over technology and trade. The party’s elite Central Committee, which will begin mapping out the country’s 15th five-year plan at the four-day “fourth plenum” meeting on Monday, is also expected to highlight the importance of consumption in an economy threatened by persistent deflation. “The meat of the 15th five-year plan probably will be to show determined support…

China pushes high tech in 5-year plan as tensions with US intensify

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China’s Communist party leaders are expected to prioritise increased investment in advanced manufacturing, as they meet this week to hammer out the next five-year plan in the shadow of tensions with the US over technology and trade. The party’s elite Central Committee, which will begin mapping out the country’s 15th five-year plan at the four-day “fourth plenum” meeting on Monday, is also expected to highlight the importance of consumption in an economy threatened by persistent deflation. “The meat of the 15th five-year plan probably will be to show determined support…

PLA tanker ‘spotted resupplying coastguard vessel’ near Scarborough Shoal

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The PLA Navy replenishment ship Qinghaihu was reportedly seen resupplying a China Coast Guard vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal last week. Advertisement The manoeuvre highlights growing coordination between China’s naval and coastguard forces amid heightened tensions with the Philippines in the contested South China Sea. According to a report by Manila-based ABS-CBN news, two Chinese navy warships and four coastguard vessels, as well as several Chinese maritime militia vessels, were monitored by the Philippine Coast Guard near Scarborough Shoal on Friday. China controls the disputed shoal, which it calls…

KKR heads worker ownership push in Japan

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Private equity myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. KKR is heading the introduction of an employee ownership initiative in Japan as private equity faces pressure to soften its image amid a wave of dealmaking in the country. Japan will be the first international outpost of Ownership Works, a private equity-backed initiative founded in the US in 2022 to give blue-collar employees equity in the companies where they work. The initiative’s aim is to deliver $20bn of equity to…

Cargo plane skids off Hong Kong runway into the sea

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A cargo plane has skidded off a runway at Hong Kong International Airport and landed in the sea, killing at least one person, local media have reported. The Emirates flight, operating as Aerotranscargo, was arriving from Dubai just before 04:00 local time when it hit a vehicle on the north runway, local media reports. Four crew members on board have been rescued and taken to hospital, but two ground staff “fell into the sea”, a statement from the Civil Aviation department says. Their condition is unclear. The affected runway is…

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

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Liu Qian is the founder of Wusawa Advisory and formerly the managing director of The Economist Group in Greater China. She is also a prominent advocate for gender equality, and the only Chinese representative in the core working group of the UN Women Leaders Network. In this interview, she discusses how Chinese innovation differs from Western innovation, where the US-China rivalry is headed and the critical role of women’s voices in policymaking. Advertisement This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here.…

Will today’s great powers heed the example of Richard Nixon and Zhou Enlai?

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When Germany emerged as Europe’s industrial powerhouse in the 19th century, the established powers spent years attempting to contain it, culminating in a war no serious statesman desired, yet none proved skilful enough to prevent. Today, as we navigate the transition from American unipolarity, a similar question looms: will this shift follow that tragic pattern, or can it be managed through institutional adaptation as Zhou Enlai and Richard Nixon did in the early 1970s? Advertisement The multipolar order is not approaching; it’s already here. Economic fundamentals have decided this outcome.…

The Guardian view on hybrid cars: profitable for carmakers but not very green | Editorial

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“Why the future is hybrid,” chirruped the Economist in 2004. While electric vehicles (EVs) looked like science fiction, that prediction looked prescient. Fast‑forward 20 years and battery technology has improved dramatically; EVs are affordable. Last week it emerged that plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) aren’t very green. The sales pitch had been that motorists could use “clean” battery power for city jaunts and dirty petrol for longer trips. This promised sustainable travel without the anxiety of a limited range. But real‑world tests, by the European non-profit Transport and Environment, show that…