Day: October 23, 2025

Australia’s ‘rock star’ rare earth miners profit from US-China tensions

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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. It was 3am in Australia when Art Malone received a call telling him his company Graphinex was set for a A$1.3bn ($860mn) loan as part of a US-driven initiative to develop an alternative to China’s rare earths and critical minerals supply chain. “I fell out of bed when I heard the number,” said Malone, marvelling at how the graphene company’s fortunes had changed so quickly. At a mining conference this…

Overseas renminbi lending surges as China steps up campaign to de-dollarise

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China’s overseas lending in renminbi is soaring, as Beijing steps up its efforts to expand the currency’s role in international finance and reduce the country’s exposure to the US dollar. External renminbi loans, deposits and bond investments by Chinese banks quadrupled to more than Rmb3.4tn ($480bn) over the past five years, as policymakers more aggressively pursue their long-term goal of reducing the centrality of the dollar in global financial flows. As part of this campaign, China is also opening more channels for foreign investors to buy renminbi-denominated bonds. But officials…

Trump will meet with Xi in South Korea, says White House

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US President Donald Trump will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea on 30 October on the sidelines of a summit in Asia, the White House has confirmed. The meeting between Xi and Trump has been in the works for weeks but was called into question as tensions between the world’s two largest economies continued to rise. It will be the first face-to-face meeting for both leaders since Trump’s return to office. Trump has threatened to impose an extra 100% tariff on Chinese goods from November if China…

China reaffirms resolve in face of ‘complex’, ‘intense’ great-power competition

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This live blog has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. After China’s ruling Communist Party concluded the fourth plenum of its powerful Central Committee on Thursday, a press conference is being held on Friday morning to review the events of the conclave and the committee’s conclusions. Among those attending the briefing are the head of the country’s top economic planner, the minister of commerce, the minister of science and technology, the head of the national health commission, the…

In the depths of the ocean, a new contest between the US and China emerges

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Deep below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, the seafloor is dotted with clusters of brown and black rocks, each containing valuable metals. The rocks, known as polymetallic nodules, hold reserves of critical minerals that could be used to power clean energy and fuel a new industrial future. In the Cook Islands, a nation halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, exploration vessels are mapping the mineral-rich seabeds. Here, the US and China are both exploring the resource potential – setting up a new strategic battle between the world’s two most…

How strategic planning is powering China’s green energy transition

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Recently, some major Western media outlets have focused on China’s embrace of clean energy technologies. Between the lines of the rhetoric on China becoming an “electrostate”, there is palpable anxiety about US President Donald Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” approach and the partisan political landscape. Advertisement The New York Times highlighted one of China’s longest ultra-high-voltage power lines, stretching from the far northwest remote desert to the populous southeast, noting that these power lines are each “capable of carrying more electricity than any utility transmission line in the United States”. The…

India’s banking sector gets its largest foreign investment yet

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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. The prime minister’s office has confirmed that Narendra Modi will not be travelling to Malaysia for the Asean summit, but will attend it virtually instead. This puts paid to expectations of a meeting with Donald Trump. No matter what the domestic media’s speculations about an impending trade deal are, significant differences remain in the relationship. The readout of…

Trump in Asia: five key questions as US president prepares for diplomatic tour

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Donald Trump is about to embark on a tour of Asia that many hope will ease trade tensions with countries in the region and repair damaged ties with China. Trump will begin his trip on Sunday at a meeting of south-east Asian nations in Malaysia, before flying to Japan to meet its new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, early next week. But the most important stop on his itinerary will come at the end of the month, when he is expected to discuss trade, and possibly Taiwan, with Chinese leader Xi…

BeOne Medicines to expand cancer-drug offerings in Hong Kong

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BeOne Medicines, a global drug company that originated in mainland China, plans to launch more cancer drugs in Hong Kong and expand production in Guangzhou to tap greater market opportunities arising from local drug-approval reforms two years ago. Advertisement The company has brought three types of cancer medications to Hong Kong so far and intends to seek approval from local health authorities to cover additional medical indications by the end of this year. “The Guangzhou facility, which now produces large molecule therapies, such as PD-1 inhibitor, supplying mainland China, Macau…

Crypto cooperation between Hong Kong, mainland China to benefit sector: experts

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Increased collaboration between Hong Kong and mainland China could potentially lead to more advances in the cryptocurrency sector, according to industry experts who took part in the 11th Global Blockchain Summit in Shanghai on Thursday. Advertisement Calls for Hong Kong and the mainland to collaborate in cryptocurrency initiatives reflected how both markets are expected to benefit. The city already serves as a major international financial hub, while many mainland developers are involved in digital payments and artificial intelligence. “Hong Kong is focused on areas like virtual asset trading and financing,”…