Year: 2025

The year of the tariff

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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. The writer is US Trade Representative The year 2025 will be remembered as the year of the tariff, regardless of one’s economic ideology. International trade is neither good nor bad — it just is. The real question is whether trade patterns serve the national interest. For President Donald Trump and his administration, that means a trade policy that accelerates re-industrialisation. America’s growing and persistent trade deficits in manufactured and agricultural goods…

China’s record trade surplus could prompt protectionist response in 2026: report

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While China has already logged a record-breaking trade surplus in the first 11 months of 2025, that milestone could be a harbinger of more protectionist pushback, an American research firm said on Monday – a development that could complicate the country’s efforts to meet its economic growth target in 2026. Though export performance remains the “most important” variable for China’s real economic growth rate next year, trade measures adopted by other countries and weaker demand will also have an impact, according to Rhodium Group co-founder Daniel Rosen. Changes to external…

Xi Jinping promotes PLA commanders overseeing Taiwan Strait, Beijing to full general

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China’s leader has promoted two PLA commanders who oversee the Taiwan Strait and the city of Beijing, suggesting that the dust has begun to settle following a massive purge in the military over corruption concerns. The move formally confirms Yang as head of the Eastern Theatre Command. Yang previously served as a lieutenant general in the PLA Air Force. A PLA theatre commander typically holds the rank of general, the highest active-duty rank in China. Advertisement He succeeds Lin Xiangyang, whose expulsion from the Communist Party over serious violations of…

China hits EU dairy industry with tariffs of up to 42.7%

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China will impose provisional duties of up to 42.7% on certain dairy products imported from the EU from Tuesday after concluding the first phase of an anti-subsidy investigation widely seen as retaliation for the bloc’s electric vehicle tariffs. The tariffs will range from 21.9% to 42.7% – although most companies will pay about 30% – and target products such as milk and cheese, including protected origin brands such as French roquefort and Italian gorgonzola. The European Commission attacked the decision as “unjustified and unwarranted” and said it was examining it…

Beijing ‘firmly opposes’ Japanese lawmakers’ trips to Taiwan as tensions spike

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Beijing has lodged a protest with Tokyo over a series of visits to Taiwan by high-ranking officials from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) amid a sharp downturn in bilateral relations. Koichi Hagiuda, an LDP lawmaker and the party’s executive acting secretary general, is on a three-day trip to Taiwan that will end on Tuesday. Hagiuda on Monday held a meeting with William Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s leader. In total, about 30 Japanese lawmakers plan to visit the island between the end of this year and early next year, according to…

China-South Korea ties, Singapore’s ex-FM on Hong Kong rivalry: SCMP daily highlights

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Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Blackpink for Ayumi? Why China may reward South Korea’s soft stance on Japan row In a bid to overhaul their economic relationship, China and South Korea are reviving long-stalled trade talks, with an eye on moving beyond factory floors to target the lucrative services sector as geopolitical shifts redraw the region’s alliances. 2. Holiday travellers hit amid China-Japan tension; flights cancelled on 46 routes…

China to hide bad debt records for pandemic-hit borrowers who repay small loans

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China’s central bank has unveiled a credit-rehabilitation policy to help individuals who defaulted on small loans rebuild their financial standing – part of a broader push to bolster the economy and repair household balance sheets. The People’s Bank of China said the measure targets borrowers with a single instance of overdue debt incurred between 2020 and 2025 and not exceeding 10,000 yuan (US$1,421). If the debt is fully repaid by March 31, the default record will be hidden from credit reports. “The policy was introduced to help pandemic-hit borrowers, who…

Chinese researchers show how 1 word could allow spies to take control of a robot army

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A whispered word of command could allow spies to take control of an army of robots, security researchers have warned. The vulnerability in humanoid robots, which could see disruptive behaviour spread from one machine to another and cause widespread chaos, was exposed a few weeks ago at the GEEKCon competition in Shanghai. Since its inception in 2014, GEEKCon has successfully held 17 events, bringing together “white-hat hackers” from China, the US, Russia and elsewhere to compete. Advertisement Security researchers Qu Shipei and Xu Zikai from DARKNAVY, a cybersecurity research group,…

Chinese robotaxis due in London next year as Lyft and Uber reveal tie-ups

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Chinese robotaxis are due to be on the streets of London next year after the US ride-hailing companies Lyft and Uber announced tie-ups with Beijing-based Baidu to deploy its self-driving technology. Lyft is the third firm to announce plans to introduce self-driving taxis to the UK capital next year, after Uber and Waymo, the main operator of robotaxis in the US. Its ride-hailing services are the major rival to Uber’s in the US and Canada, and this year Lyft expanded into Europe after acquiring the Freenow app in the summer.…

China slaps tariffs on EU cheese and cream amid trade row

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China has slapped provisional anti-subsidy fees of up to 42.7 per cent on European producers of certain dairy products, including various types of cheese and cream, Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday. Chinese investigators made a “preliminary determination” – following a 16-month investigation – that the European Union provided “substantial subsidies” to the milk and dairy products industry “through programmes such as the common agricultural policy” and caused “material injury” to Chinese domestic producers, according to a ministry statement. The provisional tariffs of 21.9 to 42.7 per cent, depending…