China blocks Nvidia H200 AI chips that US government cleared for export – report

Suppliers of parts for Nvidia’s H200 have paused production after Chinese customs officials blocked shipments of the newly approved artificial intelligence processors from entering China, according to a report. Reuters could not immediately verify the report, which appeared in the Financial Times citing two people with knowledge of the matter. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment made outside regular business hours. Nvidia had expected more than one million orders from Chinese clients, the report said, adding that its suppliers had been operating around the clock…

The crisis whisperer: how Adam Tooze makes sense of our bewildering age

In late January 2025, 10 days after Donald Trump was sworn in for a second time as president of the United States, an economic conference in Brussels brought together several officials from the recently deposed Biden administration for a discussion about the global economy. In Washington, Trump and his wrecking crew were already busy razing every last brick of Joe Biden’s legacy, but in Brussels, the Democratic exiles put on a brave face. They summoned the comforting ghosts of white papers past, intoning old spells like “worker-centered trade policy” and…

Freedom from China? The mine at the centre of Europe’s push for rare earth metals

It is deep winter with temperatures dropping to -20C. The sun never rises above the horizon, instead bathing Sweden’s most northerly town of Kiruna in a blue crepuscular light, or “civil twilight” as it is known, for two or three hours a day stretching visibility a few metres, notwithstanding heavy snow. But 900 metres below the arctic conditions, a team of 20 gather every day, forgoing the brief glimpse of natural light and spearheading the EU’s race to mine its own rare earths. Despite identification of several deposits around the…

Trump is wrong: ‘woke’ policies aren’t the real threat to Europe | Nouriel Roubini

Donald Trump’s new national security strategy offers a misguided assessment of Europe, long regarded as the US’s most reliable ally. Unrestrained immigration and other policies derided by administration officials as “woke”, it warns, could lead to “civilisational erasure” within a few decades. That argument rests on a fundamental misreading of Europe’s current predicament. While the EU does face an existential threat, it has little to do with immigration or cultural politics. In fact, the share of foreign-born residents in the US is slightly higher than in Europe. The real threat…

China forecast to have sold one in every 10 new cars in UK in 2025

Chinese brands are on course to account for one in every 10 new cars sold in Britain during 2025, a marked increase on last year as sales increase across Europe. Manufacturers led by MG, BYD, and Chery are on track to break the 200,000 mark in UK new car sales in 2025, meaning they are very likely to account for 10% of the market, according to Matthias Schmidt, an analyst tracking electric cars across Europe. Spain and Norway also get a tenth of their new cars from Chinese brands, with…

Influx of cheap Chinese imports could drive down UK inflation, economists say

As Trump’s tariffs take effect, Britain is likely alternative destination for cars, telecoms and sound equipment Business live – latest updates The UK is poised for an influx of cheap Chinese imports that could bring down inflation amid the fallout from Donald Trump’s global trade war, leading economists have said. After figures showed China’s trade surplus surpassed $1tn (£750bn) despite Washington’s tariff policies hitting exports to the US, the Bank of England said the UK was among the nations emerging as alternative destinations for the goods. Continue reading… The Guardian

The second China shock is coming – and the UK’s response is too timid | George Magnus

Emmanuel Macron came back from China in early December empty-handed. The French president’s appeal to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to help stop the war in Ukraine was never going to gain traction given Beijing’s unqualified support for Russia. Urging Xi to address China’s surging trade surplus, the result of the country’s economic and industrial policies, predictably also fell on closed ears. In any event, Xi’s main concerns were the imminent final politburo meeting of the year and the annual Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) that followed. Centre stage was…

China’s record trade surplus reveals its biggest strength – and hidden weakness

A boom in exports that has pushed China’s trade surplus past $1tn for the first time reveals the extent to which its economy is still overwhelmingly reliant on foreign markets – and the difficulty figures like Donald Trump will have in trying to rebalance global trade. Data released on Monday shows that in the first 11 months of this year, China’s trade surplus in goods was $1.076tn. The record trade surplus comes even as exports to the US have plummeted, a reflection of the bruising US-China trade war that, despite…

China’s trade surplus hits $1tn for first time despite Trump’s tariffs – business live

From 2h ago Introduction: China’s trade surplus hits $1tn Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. China’s annual trade surplus has exceeded $1tn for the first time, as the manufacturing powerhouse shrugged off the impact of Donald Trump’s trade war. New trade data today shows that Chinese factories swelled their sales to non-US markets this year, making up from a sharp drop in shipments to the US. In November, China’s exports grew 5.9% year-on-year, customs data shows. That reverses a…

China has brought millions out of poverty. The US has not – by choice

The Chinese did rather well in the age of globalization. In 1990, 943 million people there lived on less than $3 a day measured in 2021 dollars – 83% of the population, according to the World Bank. By 2019, the number was brought down to zero. Unfortunately, the United States was not as successful. More than 4 million Americans – 1.25% of the population – must make ends meet with less than $3 a day, more than three times as many as 35 years ago. The data is not super…