Year: 2026

A common thread through each is that the screws will be turned ever tighter on Chinese firms in Europe. Combined, the proposals reveal anxiety over the bloc’s ability to compete with cut-price and increasingly high-quality Chinese products, the heightened security fears connected to Chinese investments, and a new-found urgency to do something about both. Advertisement The Industrial Accelerator Act, which was proposed to great fanfare, is a political bombshell that blows away decades of adherence to free trade and laissez-faire economics. It aims to increase manufacturing’s contribution to the EU…

China has vowed to boost economic resilience and not compromise on core principles in dealing with the US, as Beijing prepares to commence a major political event held ahead of Donald Trump’s highly anticipated visit. Lou Qinjian, spokesman for the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, stated the country’s pledge at a press conference on Wednesday, a day before the opening of the NPC’s annual session, which will run until March 12. During the gathering, China’s policymakers are expected to set the country’s agenda for the year and finalise the…

China and Iran may be strategic partners but, as was the case with America’s special operation in Venezuela in January, China has offered no security support to Iran over the US and Israeli attacks. The decision was based on a consideration of Beijing’s own interests, its ties with the US and other countries, and to minimise military and financial risks to China, according to analysts. Since the large-scale attacks against Iran began over the weekend, Beijing has limited its response to diplomatic statements, denouncing the strikes and killing of Ayatollah…

Song Ping, a veteran Chinese revolutionary who lived through five generations of Communist Party leaders, has died at the age of 108. He died at 3.36pm in Beijing on Wednesday, state news agency Xinhua reported. Song’s career began in the 1930s before the founding of the People’s Republic including a spell as political secretary to the future premier Zhou Enlai. Advertisement Song held many important positions during the following decades and his career peaked when he became a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the top decision-making body, in 1989.…

Rising energy costs driven by Middle Eastern geopolitical tensions may provide some relief to China’s years-long struggle with weak prices, but analysts warn that a spike in oil prices could spark a scenario in which stagnant economic growth collides with rising inflation, hindering the nation’s economic recovery. “Rising oil prices [could] lead to stagflation, which helps increase the inflation rate but also leads to a decline in economic growth and an increase in unemployment,” said Su Jian, an economics professor at Peking University. Su, who is also director of the…

Rising energy costs driven by Middle Eastern geopolitical tensions may provide some relief to China’s years-long struggle with weak prices, but analysts warn that a spike in oil prices could spark a scenario in which stagnant economic growth collides with rising inflation, hindering the nation’s economic recovery. “Rising oil prices [could] lead to stagflation, which helps increase the inflation rate but also leads to a decline in economic growth and an increase in unemployment,” said Su Jian, an economics professor at Peking University. Su, who is also director of the…

Singapore and China share “common interests” in safeguarding international order amid profound changes in the global landscape and uncertainties from trade wars, according to the city state’s top envoy to Beijing. The world has faced increased challenges, with huge pressure on multilateralism, free trade, and openness since the beginning of last year, Peter Tan Hai Chuan, Singapore’s ambassador to China, warned at an event at Renmin University in Beijing on Tuesday. “But Singapore and China have common interests – upholding the rules-based international order,” he said at the event hosted…