Category: BBC

PDD Holdings, the Chinese owner of online shopping platform Temu, has reported a near 50% drop in profit as US President Donald Trump’s trade policies added to its struggles in its home country. US-listed shares of the e-commerce giant fell by more than 13% on Tuesday, after the firm said its profits for the first three months of the year fell to 14.74bn yuan ($2.05bn , £1.5bn). Earlier this month, the Trump administration ended the so-called “de minimis” exemption that allowed parcels worth less than $800 (£593) enter the US…

A college in Beijing has found itself at the centre of public fury after it allegedly asked a student to prove she was on her period to qualify for sick leave. A viral video, filmed inside what appears to be a clinic and posted to social media this month, shows a young woman asking an older woman: “Does every menstruating girl have to take off their trousers and show you before they can get a sick note?” “Basically yes,” the older woman replies. “This is a school rule.” Local media…

Car maker Nissan says it is open to sharing factories around the world with its Chinese state-owned partner Dongfeng as it shakes up its business. The Japanese firm, which employs thousands of people in the UK, told the BBC it could bring Dongfeng “into the Nissan production eco-system globally.” This week, the struggling company said it would lay off 11,000 workers and shut seven factories but did not say where the cuts would be made. Speaking about Nissan’s UK plant on Thursday at a conference organised by the Financial Times,…

Both China and the United States have said they have made progress at trade talks between the two countries in Switzerland. The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the discussions as “productive and constructive,” while China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng said the talks were “in-depth” and “candid”. The White House called it a “trade deal” but gave no further details. A joint statement with full details is expected on Monday. The pair were engaged in secretive closed-door discussions all weekend, in the first meeting since US President Donald Trump levied…

US President Donald Trump has hinted that US tariffs on goods from China may come down as top trade officials from the world’s two biggest economies are set to hold talks. “You can’t get any higher. It’s at 145, so we know it’s coming down,” he said, referring to the new import taxes of up to 145% imposed on China since he returned to the White House. Trump made the comments during an event to unveil a tariffs deal with the UK – the first such agreement since he hit…

Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin. The pair have met more than 40 times and look like the best of friends, but there’s a lot more to this relationship than meets the eye. The BBC’s China Correspondent Laura Bicker explains three things to look out for during the state visit. BBC

At least nine people have died and 70 have been hospitalised after strong winds caused four tourist boats to capsize in southwestern China. Sudden strong winds caused the boats to capsize in a river in Qianxi city in Guizhou on Sunday, leading 84 people to fall into the water, according to state media reports. More than a dozen people were missing, but all except one have now been rescued. The incident occurred as China celebrated the tail end of its week-long May Day holiday, a peak season for travel. Chinese…

Hong Kong has released four former opposition lawmakers who were among dozens of pro-democracy leaders jailed under the city’s controversial National Security Law (NSL). The four – Claudia Mo, Kwok Ka-ki, Jeremy Tam and Gary Fan – had pleaded guilty and were each sentenced to four years and two months behind bars in November. They were released on Tuesday because the fact they they had been in prison since their arrests in 2021 was taken into account when calculating their sentence. The four lawmakers were part of a group known…

The Chinese coastguard has seized a tiny sandbank in the South China Sea, state media has reported, in an escalation of a regional dispute with the Philippines. State broadcaster CCTV released images of four officers, wearing all black and holding the Chinese flag, stood on the disputed reef of Sandy Cay in the Spratly Islands. CCTV said China had “implemented maritime control and exercised sovereign jurisdiction” on the reef earlier in April. Both China and the Philippines have staked claims on various islands. The Philippines said later on Sunday that…