Day: December 29, 2025

China signals tolerance for stronger renminbi

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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. China has fixed the renminbi at its strongest level against the dollar in 15 months, a move that analysts say signals its tolerance of a gradual appreciation as its soaring exports stoke tensions with trading partners. The People’s Bank of China on Monday set the renminbi at 7.03 to the dollar, the strongest fix since September 30 2024. The currency has strengthened by almost 4 per cent this year against…

In the Gobi Desert, China is powering up the world’s largest ‘super-cold air battery’

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In the Gobi Desert outside Golmud in the northwestern province of Qinghai, a row of white tanks stands tall in the open wilderness. Inside, air is compressed and cooled to -194 degrees Celsius (-317 Fahrenheit), and then it becomes liquid. When released, it expands by more than 750 times, drives turbines and generates electricity. This is the world’s largest liquid-air energy storage plant. Also known as the Super Air Power Bank, it is built by China Green Development Investment Group and developed with the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry…

‘They want to destroy my career’: Kiwi Chow on life as a dissenting director in Hong Kong

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In Hong Kong, where dissent is now characterised by silence, few dare openly criticise the government or the Chinese Communist party (CCP) that controls it. Film-maker Kiwi Chow is one of the few. “The Chinese Communist party’s practice is to try and destroy history and truth,” the 46-year-old director says from his home in the region. “It’s ridiculous that I can still live in Hong Kong without being in jail.” In a society where someone can be jailed for wearing a “seditious” T-shirt, his surprise is understandable. Chow is best…

China sets yuan fixing rate at 15-month high amid offshore gains

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China’s central bank has set the yuan’s daily reference rate at its strongest level in 15 months, as the currency strengthened in offshore trading and briefly broke through the closely watched seven-per-US-dollar threshold. The move followed a recent rally in the Chinese currency, with the offshore yuan briefly breaching the benchmark rate of seven against the US dollar last week. Advertisement By midday on Monday, the offshore yuan was trading at 7.009 per US dollar. Analysts at China International Capital Corporation (CICC) said in a note on Saturday that US…