China
China leads global energy export race as clean tech shipments hit record highs
China is outpacing the US in the global race to dominate energy exports, as demand for clean technology surges and fossil fuel revenues plateau. China exported $120bn in green technology through July 2025, surpassing the US' oil and gas exports.
Helium was China's rare earth metals Achilles' heel
China has a devastating tool in its escalating trade war with the US: rare earth metals (REMs). Last week, Beijing announced new restrictive export controls on the export of anything with even a smidgen of Chinese-produced REMs.
Taliban visit to India upsets Pakistan, signals New Delhi's changing Afghan posture
Coinciding with the visit, Pakistan conducted military operations inside Afghanistan, followed by airstrikes on multiple border towns. Retaliation against Pakistan's police training facilities and border outposts followed.
South Korean businesses gear up for APEC summit in Gyeongju
As preparations intensify for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, scheduled to take place in Gyeongju from 31 October 28-31, anticipation is growing within South Korea’s business community.
China accuses US of hypocrisy over new tariff threats
A representative from China’s Ministry of Commerce stated that the country was ready to take reciprocal action should the US proceed, emphasising that China remained unshaken by the prospect of renewed trade tensions.
Pakistan’s India-shaped chip on the shoulder, and why a peaceful coexistence is as elusive as ever
Pakistan must first redefine how it sees India - not solely as a threat to be contained but as a neighbour with whom coexistence is unavoidable. That psychological leap has eluded generations of Pakistani leaders.
Trump shocked by China’s move on rare earths, threatens more 100% tariffs
"Some very strange things are happening in China!" Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social account on October 10, adding "They are becoming very hostile."
Ore wars – and the US dollar’s waning influence
Iron ore underpins almost all modern industrial economies; it is the raw material from which steel is forged, and China remains its dominant consumer.
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How Central Asia came to love the Chinese electric vehicle invasion
Resistance would be futile – and expensive. The region has flung its doors open to the likes of BYD.
Kenya converts $3.5bn China Exim railway loans into yuan, saving $215mn annually
Kenya’s Treasury said the switch aims to hedge against US dollar volatility and align repayment flows with Chinese import and project spending, which are largely yuan-denominated. The currency swap immediately reduces near-term debt-service costs.
World Bank warns of rising informal employment across East Asia, with Indonesia most affected
The World Bank has raised concerns over worsening employment quality across East Asia and the Pacific, warning that the growing shift towards informal and low-productivity jobs threatens the region’s economic resilience.
The Korean arm of a Chinese PV inverter carves a niche across South Korea
Sungrow Power Korea already offers a product line including "total solutions across the entire renewable energy sector, including commercial and residential ESS systems, floating solar power, and electric vehicle charging systems."
Japan’s new ‘Iron Lady’ Sanae Takaichi – a win for Taiwan, a slap in the face for China
Galling to China, Takaichi is said to be a regular visitor to Yasukuni Shrine, which, given its enshrinement of Japan’s war dead, including a number of convicted war criminals, is seen as a political slap in the face by Beijing.
China mounts major rescue in Everest blizzard
The snowstorm struck at over 4,900 metres, leaving several climbers with hypothermia and collapsing tents under drifts reported to exceed 10 metres.
LONG READ: Trade is the glue that holds Global Emerging Markets Institutions together
The world order is changing. The emerging markets are coming of age and they are setting up a raft of largely non-Western Global Emerging Markets Institutions (GEMIs) to coordinate their lives. Trade is the glue that binds them together.
LONG READ: The GEMIs, the Global Emerging Markets' interlocking institutions
The international order is breaking up as the Global Emerging Markets build a raft of new non-Western interlocking international institutions to run their vision of a new multipolar world order.
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COMMENT: How Kyrgyzstan is becoming a Chinese province
Central Asia lies at the crossroads of major geopolitical and regional interests. Until recently, the countries of the region managed to balance between Russia, China, Turkey, and the collective West. Now China plays an increasingly impoortant role.
China issues 11 death sentences in cross-border scam case
In total, 39 members of the family faced sentencing on September 29 in Wenzhou. Five others received death sentences suspended for two years, 11 were given life imprisonment, and the remaining defendants were jailed.
New Chinese iron-making method increases production speed 3,600-fold
A team of Chinese researchers has developed a new iron-making technology that can complete smelting in as little as three seconds, a 3,600-fold increase in efficiency compared to conventional blast furnace methods, Interesting Engineering reports.
Russia launches a revolutionary industrial-scale closed fuel cycle reactor
President Vladimir Putin claims Russia has made a nuclear technology breakthrough and has developed a closed fuel cycle power system to tackle global uranium shortages.