EU agrees three-euro small parcel tax to tackle China flood
EU finance ministers agreed Friday to impose a three-euro duty on low-value imports into the bloc from July 2026 to help tackle a flood of small parcels ordered via the likes of Shein and Temu. Last year, 4.6 billion small retail packages entered the European Union — more than 145 per second — with 91 […]
China’s trade surplus tops $1 trillion despite plunge in US-bound exports
China’s towering annual trade surplus surpassed $1 trillion for the first time last month, data showed Monday, as a sharp drop in shipments to the United States was offset by surging exports to other major markets. Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump reached a tentative truce to their fierce trade war when they met in […]
China, inflation could pop Japan PM’s bubble
Charming Donald Trump one week, angering China the next, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has had a busy start and is riding high in the polls, all on a few hours of sleep a night. But the honeymoon may end soon for the Margaret Thatcher-admiring premier, if the current spat with China escalates further and […]
China lifts sanctions on US units of South Korea ship giant Hanwha
China said Monday it would suspend sanctions against US subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean, one of South Korea’s largest shipbuilders, as a fragile trade truce between Washington and Beijing continued to take shape. The United States and China have been involved in a volatile trade and tariff war for months, but agreed to walk back some […]
China’s economic growth slows amid sputtering domestic demand
China’s economic growth slipped below five percent in the third quarter of 2025, the slowest pace in a year as trade headwinds and a domestic consumer slump continued to weigh. The data comes as the country’s ruling Communist Party kicks off a closely watched four-day meeting in Beijing focused on long-term economic planning. It also […]
China has banned the highest number of social media platforms worldwide
Facebook, with over 3 billion users, is the most widely banned major app worldwide, being blocked in seven countries, including North Korea and Russia. Across social media platforms, China is the most frequent country imposing bans, restricting access to popular apps like WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, and Google. Internet censorship affects over 3.8 billion people worldwide, with […]
China sanctions five US units of South Korean ship giant Hanwha
China imposed sanctions on five American subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean on Tuesday, accusing them of supporting a US government investigation into the shipping industry, as tit-for-tat port fees took effect. The United States announced in April it would begin applying fees to all arriving Chinese-built and operated ships after a “Section 301” […]
US ‘very close’ to TikTok deal with China: US Treasury chief
The United States is “very close” to a deal with China to settle their dispute over TikTok, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday as the two sides resumed trade talks in Madrid. Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng opened the latest round of discussions in Madrid on Sunday, seeking to narrow differences on […]
Trump says dealing ‘nicely’ with China as tariff deadline looms
President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States has been “dealing very nicely with China” — while Beijing said it was seeking positive outcomes — hours before a tariff truce between both countries was due to expire. While the United States and China slapped escalating tariffs on each other’s products this year, reaching prohibitive […]
Humanoid robots embodiment of China’s AI ambitions
Serving craft beer, playing mahjong, stacking shelves and boxing, the dozens of humanoid robots at Shanghai’s World AI Conference (WAIC) this weekend were embodiments of China’s growing AI prowess and ambition. The annual event is primed at showcasing China’s progress in the ever-evolving field of artificial intelligence, with the government aiming to position the country as […]
