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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Climate change myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China has rapidly scaled up sales of solar panels, batteries and other green energy technologies to emerging markets well ahead of the US tariff fight, latest data shows, with expectations it will surge further in its hunt for buyers. Emerging markets accounted for 43 per cent of Chinese clean tech exports in 2024, up from 24 per cent in 2022, in a sign of how the manufacturing powerhouse is seeking…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Chinese oil traders are setting aside concerns over the long-term economic damage of a US trade war as they seek to profit from one of the short-term consequences: lower crude prices. Imports of crude oil into China surged in March and have continued to accelerate in April, according to analysts, as the country replenishes stocks despite expectations that a weaker global economy will reduce demand. Kpler, a data company that…

A global surge in renewable energy and data centre demand is powering a boom in using batteries for storage on electricity grids, creating a new front in the battle between Chinese and South Korean companies that have dominated cell production for electric vehicles. Fuelled by rapidly increasing demand within China itself, Chinese batteries account for nearly 90 per cent of global capacity for energy storage systems (ESS), including a market share of more than 80 per cent in the US and more than 75 per cent in Europe. But having…

This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter: The latest South China Sea stand-off Trump’s trade war hits US ports and air freight Inside Interpol’s Singapore innovation lab We start today with China’s move to proclaim sovereignty over a disputed reef in the South China Sea, which has triggered a new stand-off…

Donald Trump’s trade war with Beijing is starting to affect the wider US economy as container port operators and air freight managers report sharp declines in goods transported from China. Logistics groups said container bookings to the US have fallen sharply since the introduction of 145 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports to the US. The Port of Los Angeles, the main route of entry for goods from China, expects scheduled arrivals in the week starting May 4 to be a third lower than a year before, while airfreight handlers…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China’s move to proclaim sovereignty over a disputed reef in the South China Sea has triggered a new stand-off with the Philippines, raising tensions between the two rival claimants on the eve of US-Philippine military drills nearby. The Philippines on Sunday sent navy, coastguard and maritime police officers to Sandy Cay and two neighbouring sandbanks in the Spratly Islands to “uphold the country’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction” and displayed…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world The liquefied natural gas industry has warned the Trump administration it cannot comply with new rules aimed at forcing them to use US transport vessels by imposing levies on Chinese-built ships docking at US ports. It warns the rules published by US trade representative Jamieson Greer on April 17 could damage a $34bn a year export industry that is central to the president’s “energy dominance” agenda, according to…

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Renewable energy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The writer, a former US Treasury secretary, chairs the Paulson Institute One of the most urgent and under-appreciated energy challenges facing the US is the artificial intelligence race with China. America is in the lead, but Beijing is investing heavily to close the gap. The question for Washington is: can the US stay ahead without a national energy strategy to power it?  The energy landscape has changed dramatically in recent…