Waving beatifically over the crowd of 50,000 spectators assembled in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Wednesday, Xi Jinping exuded an aura of confidence that many leaders in the west could only envy. To his left stood North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of an increasingly strident hermit kingdom. To his right was the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, Xi’s “old friend” and China’s biggest ally in opposing the US-led world order. The last time that the leaders of these three countries were together in public was at the height of the…
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How Tokyo became an unexpected haven for China’s middle class
Placing her teacup on the lacquered table, a chic Tokyo-ite turns towards the café’s open window to absorb the beauty of a July day in the Japanese capital. Outside, the leaves on the avenue of ginkgo trees are a rich summer green; the early afternoon sun thrums down on Ueno Park. Crowds wander towards the country’s oldest national museum. “I so, so love this city. But, over the past few months, I have started to change the route I take when walking through my neighbourhood,” she confesses. “I use smaller…
Trump and China reshape ‘east meets west’ role for Hong Kong university
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. When Chinese economics student Vanora Li was at Columbia’s Barnard College, she toyed with the idea of further study in the US but eventually decided to continue her education at the University of Hong Kong. “The perceived value of [a] master’s degree [in the US] has decreased in recent years,” the 23-year-old said of her decision. US-China tensions might make US graduates less appealing for Chinese corporations, she said, adding…
Trump to direct Japan’s $550bn investment in US after deal with Tokyo
Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world Japan has agreed to let Donald Trump decide where $550bn worth of its capital is invested in the US as part a deal to avoid high tariffs, according to an unpublished memorandum signed by the two countries on Wednesday. The memo, signed on Thursday when Trump officially enacted the trade deal, also gives Japan just 45 days to fund projects earmarked by the president — or face the…
Xi Jinping plots a post-American world
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US agents raid Hyundai-LG site as Trump migrant crackdown escalates
Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world US authorities have arrested 450 workers at an electric-car battery factory being built by two of South Korea’s biggest companies, as part of the Trump administration’s deepening crackdown on illegal immigration. The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday night said several agencies including the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement had “conducted a judicially authorised enforcement operation” on the construction site of a joint venture between Hyundai Motor…
A China-Russia sweetheart gas deal could upset US energy exporters
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China’s summit with Russia and North Korea this week and the military parade that followed contained plenty to shock, from new missile technologies and drone submarines to what appeared to be autonomous robot wolves. But investors in energy may notice a different threat: potential progress on a new Russia-China natural gas pipeline that could, if it goes ahead, leave US suppliers out in the cold. The Power of Siberia 2…
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi faces worsening health in military custody, son says
The son of former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Friday that his mother is suffering from health problems and needs urgent medical attention, appealing for her release from military custody. Kim Aris told Reuters that the 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate had asked to see a cardiologist about a month ago, but that he wasn’t able to determine if that request had been granted. “I am extremely worried,” he said, according to Reuters. “There is no way of verifying if she is even alive.” Aris said that…
American capitalism: inspired by China?
This article is an on-site version of our Swamp Notes newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every Monday and Friday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newsletters Hello Swampians, it’s Jonathan Derbyshire here, the FT’s US opinion editor, standing in for Ed, who returns next week after a well-earned vacation (plus an appearance at Saturday’s FT Weekend festival in London; in-person and digital tickets are still available). One of the books everyone is talking about here in the US…
China hits EU pork imports with temporary duties of up to 62%
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China has imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of up to 62 per cent on European pork in a move seen as retaliation for the EU’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports. China’s ministry of commerce said that after more than a year of investigation, “preliminary evidence indicates that imported pork and pork products from the EU are being dumped, causing substantial harm to the relevant domestic industry”. It announced temporary duties…