Less than an hour before Donald Trump met the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, to discuss a deal that could end the trade war between the two superpowers, the US president posted on Truth Social that he had directed the Pentagon to match Russia and China in nuclear weapons testing. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Jonathan Czin, the former director for China at the National Security Council, about why Trump did this and whether he or Xi left South Korea feeling the strongest The Guardian
Month: October 2025
China’s factory activity contracts for seventh straight month
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China’s factory activity declined for the seventh month in a row in October on weak domestic demand, complicating the economic outlook for policymakers in Beijing as they grapple with a trade war with the US. The purchasing managers’ index fell to 49 this month, according to the official data released on Friday, missing the average forecast from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg of 49.6 and trailing September’s figure of 49.8. A reading…
Hong Kong’s first ‘patriots-only’ Legislative Council: how did they perform?
Hong Kong’s first “patriots-only” Legislative Council completed a historic four-year term on October 24. The next general election is set to be held on December 7. In 2021, Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral system to require all lawmakers to be patriots. The government said then that the legislature must comprise representatives who can safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, respect the country’s fundamental system and constitutional order of the city as well as maintain its prosperity and stability. After years of gridlock in a legislature with a sizable opposition…
China’s Xi Jinping calls on world leaders to join hands, protect supply chains
President Xi Jinping on Friday urged world leaders to ensure the stability of supply chains, saying countries needed to “join hands” instead of “breaking chains” while pointing to growing uncertainty in the Asia-Pacific region. Advertisement According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Xi also repeated earlier calls for countries to uphold the multilateral trading system and protect the interests of developing economies. “Currently, the world is undergoing profound changes, a once-in-a-century transformation, with a complex and volatile international landscape, and increasing instability and uncertainty facing the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.…
Trump endorsement boosts South Korea’s nuclear submarine ambitions
South Korea’s ambition of deploying nuclear-powered submarines appeared to take a step closer to reality this week, after US President Donald Trump’s declaration that Seoul would build such a vessel in a Korean-owned shipyard in Philadelphia. But Trump’s announcement on Thursday, a day after he was feted by his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae Myung, raised a host of questions about the implications of such a deal for both regional security and global nuclear proliferation. Trump declared on his Truth Social platform that South Korea would “be building its Nuclear…
Trump boosts South Korea’s nuclear submarine ambitions
South Korea’s ambition of deploying nuclear-powered submarines appeared to take a step closer to reality this week, after US President Donald Trump’s declaration that Seoul would build such a vessel in a Korean-owned shipyard in Philadelphia. But Trump’s announcement on Thursday, a day after he was feted by his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae Myung, raised a host of questions about the implications of such a deal for both regional security and global nuclear proliferation. Trump declared on his Truth Social platform that South Korea would “be building its Nuclear…
Indonesia is still ‘considering’ buying Chinese J-10 fighter jets
Indonesia is still “considering” acquiring Chinese J-10 fighter jets, but no decision has been made yet, according to Jakarta’s Ministry of Defence, clarifying earlier reports that the country was set to buy up to 42 units to modernise its military. Advertisement “It’s still being analysed and reviewed. At the moment, we are considering all platforms that can fulfil our need to help guard our sovereignty and territorial integrity,” ministry spokesman Brigadier General Frega Wenas Inkiriwang said. On October 16, local and newswire agencies quoted Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin as…
Developer China Vanke reports US$2.3 billion loss amid sales slowdown
Developer China Vanke reported a deeper third-quarter loss, highlighting mounting challenges as the prolonged property market downturn continues to weigh on its sales. Advertisement The Shenzhen-based company posted a loss of 16.1 billion yuan (US$2.3 billion) in the three months ended September 30, roughly doubling its loss from a year earlier. That brings its combined losses for the first nine months of the year to 28 billion yuan, according to a statement to the Shenzhen exchange on Thursday. Persistent weakness in China’s housing market is creating pressure on the developer’s…
How Hong Kong can capitalise on Trump’s attacks on US universities
Few moments in US history have tested academic freedom as much as the present, with US President Donald Trump’s administration releasing a 10-point Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. What started as bureaucratic proposals have hardened into a national doctrine tying federal funding to political conformity. It is changing the nature of US universities and reshaping international education options. Advertisement The plan, initially sent to nine universities, proposed conformity with certain demands in return for securing preferential access to federal funds. They include removing race and gender factors from…
Sumant Sinha: Renewables can’t keep up with India’s surging power needs
This online version of the India Business Briefing newsletter is free to read today. To receive it in your inbox regularly, sign up if you’re a premium subscriber, or upgrade your subscription here. After several years of working in companies including the Aditya Birla Group and Suzlon, Sumant Sinha started ReNew Energy in 2011. The company, which is looking to delist from Nasdaq, provides various decarbonisation solutions including power generation and distribution, storage solutions and solar manufacturing, among others. It now has a clean energy portfolio of more than 18GW. Sinha is…