Anything China does on energy and climate change is very big news. Its plans ripple around the world, whether that’s in changing the demand for fossil fuels or affecting the impacts on the planet from global heating. On Thursday, Australia woke to the news that China’s president, Xi Jinping, had told the United Nations that for the first time his country was setting a target to cut – in absolute terms – its greenhouse gas emissions. In a video address, Xi said China’s emissions would fall by 7% to 10%…
Tag: Business
Trump says Xi Jinping has agreed to approve TikTok deal, but details unclear
Donald Trump said on Friday that he and Xi Jinping had agreed to approve a deal over TikTok. “He approved the TikTok deal,” Trump said about Xi to reporters in the Oval Office, suggesting the leaders signed off on a preliminary agreement. But Trump offered no details about the agreement or when it would be signed. The American and Chinese leaders had connected over a phone call earlier in the day, the first direct contact between the two leaders since June. China and the US have been at loggerheads over…
Temu’s UK operation doubles revenues and pre-tax profits
The UK operation of the Chinese online marketplace Temu doubled revenues and pre-tax profits last year, as British consumers snapped up products offered by the super-budget retailer. Temu UK reported revenues of $63.3m (£46.4m) last year, almost double the $32m in 2023, while pre-tax profits similarly surged from $2m to $3.9m, accounts show. However, at an operating level, the company, which files under the name Whaleco UK at Companies House, reported losses widening from $7.9m to $8.7m year-on-year. The company put most of its broadening operating loss down to “exchange…
China is eyeing superpower status via Africa and the Caribbean. But are they partners or pawns?
At a high-profile global summit held by China this month, there were strong statements directed at the west’s “bullying” as well as renewed calls to stabilise “global governance”. The meeting was the clearest indication yet that China is vying to become a world superpower, aiming to marshal an anti-western bloc. But the foundations of that position partly lie in Africa and the Caribbean, where China has been building relationships for decades. A stable partner or a trap? Iconic modernist space … the Friendship Hall, on the banks of the river…
Chinese economy slows amid Trump trade war and weaker consumer spending
China’s economy showed further signs of weakness last month as it comes under strain from Donald Trump’s trade wars and domestic problems, with factory output and consumer spending rising at their slowest pace for about a year. The disappointing data adds pressure on Beijing to roll out more stimulus to fend off a sharp slowdown, with a debt crisis denting the country’s once-booming property sector and exports facing stronger headwinds. Economists were split over whether policymakers should introduce more near-term fiscal support to hit their annual 5% growth target, with…
Texas now restricts Chinese nationals from buying property. Is it alien land laws all over again?
Shutong Hao came to the US because she needed a new heart. When she was five years old, her family travelled from China to Los Angeles for a life-saving transplant. They later built a life in the suburbs north of Dallas, but Hao was often made to feel as if she didn’t belong. “I had multiple teachers who overlooked me, I think deliberately,” said Hao, now 29. “I really had to seek out and carve out spaces where I feel like I belong, because I never really got that as…
Sainsbury’s in talks to sell Argos to Chinese retailer JD.com
Sainsbury’s ill-starred ownership of the Argos retail business looks likely to end as the supermarket negotiates a sale to the Chinese retailer JD.com. No agreement has yet been reached but Sainsbury’s confirmed it was in discussions to hive off Argos, the general merchandise arm it bought for more than £1bn less than a decade ago. Sainsbury’s said a sale to JD.com would speed up the transformation of Argos, whose business has gone increasingly online and within larger Sainsbury’s branches. JD.com (unrelated to JD Sports) is one of China’s biggest retailers…
Chinese carmakers told to improve locking devices for UK market
British authorities may have well-founded concerns about the cyber-spying threat from vehicles made in China, but it turns out the country’s manufacturers have security worries of their own. Insurers have told Chinese carmakers they need certain critical modifications for vehicles on British streets: namely, tougher locking devices to make them harder to steal. With an average of 11 reported vehicle thefts an hour in the UK, and car crime comparatively rare under Beijing’s strict authoritarian regime, industry sources said it had been a “swift learning curve”. Additions to cars exported…
Trump reportedly asks EU to impose 100% tariffs on India and China to put pressure on Russia
Donald Trump has asked the EU to impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and China as part of an effort to force the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to end the war in Ukraine, according to reports. The US president made the demand during a meeting between US and EU officials discussing options to increase economic pressure on Russia on Tuesday, according to the Financial Times, BBC and Bloomberg, who cited multiple sources familiar with the discussions. One US official reportedly said that the Trump administration was “ready to…
UK’s new business secretary Peter Kyle expected to visit Beijing in first week
The UK’s new business secretary, Peter Kyle, is expected to fly to Beijing this week as part of Keir Starmer’s continuing efforts to revitalise the UK’s trade relationship with China and provide growth to the British economy. The former science and technology secretary, who was promoted in Friday’s government reshuffle, is expected to land in China on Wednesday, picking up the schedule of his predecessor, Jonathan Reynolds, who is now the chief whip. Kyle will first travel to Washington as part of the preparations for Donald Trump’s state visit to…