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Brian Rhoads

Brian Rhoads

Hong Kong
SCMP Plus Editor
Brian Rhoads has been a journalist in Asia and North America for more than three decades, serving in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York and the San Francisco area. He graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Political Science in 1987.
Brian Rhoads has been a journalist in Asia and North America for more than three decades, serving in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York and the San Francisco area. He graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Political Science in 1987.
Languages Spoken:
English, Mandarin

Europe readies trade war weapon amid China export deluge

The EU is devising a new tool to help fight a trade war with China even as it contends with increasing hostility from US President Donald Trump.

Japan’s prime minister penned agreements with her Australian counterpart as the two nations seek to pare reliance on Chinese rare earths and safeguard energy supplies amid the war in Iran.

Shares of BYD and Geely rose after they released earnings as the Strait of Hormuz shutdown boosts global demand for Chinese-made electric vehicles.

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The US and China may have to cooperate on managing the growing capabilities of artificial intelligence even as the technology starts to dominate competition between them.

DeepSeek’s new artificial intelligence model puts up a price challenge to US rivals and is a further step towards a stand-alone Chinese AI ecosystem.

China is set to open seven nuclear reactors this year, and other countries are reconsidering atomic energy as the Strait of Hormuz shutdown disrupts oil and gas supplies.

The Nvidia supplier jumped on its trading debut, underscoring demand for AI hardware stocks and the resilience of Hong Kong IPO demand amid Middle East upheavals.

Russia is boosting oil exports, including to China, as the Iran war upends Middle East supplies, while Chinese renewables companies will benefit from efforts to diversify away from fossil fuels.

Disruptions from conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz contributed to a worse-than-expected slowdown in Chinese exports and a jump in imports.

Oil prices shot up and stocks fell as US President Donald Trump failed to set a clear end date for the war on Iran during his address to the nation.

The US president said he was ready to end the war on Iran without a deal, creating further doubt about when the Strait of Hormuz will fully reopen to shipping.

Premier Li Qiang announced China’s lowest annual growth target in more than three decades amid global trade tensions and weak domestic consumption.

China is leading opposition to US-Israeli strikes on Iran, while also seeking to avoid a breakdown in its relationship with Washington.

US attacks on Chinese oil supplier Iran have done little damage to relations between the world’s two largest economies ahead of Trump’s planned trip to Beijing.

Replacing discounted oil supplies from Iran would be a headache for China as Russia is already making up the loss of shipments from Venezuela.

Chinese manufacturers will no longer face higher tariffs than rivals elsewhere in the world after the US Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump.

The United States and China are both looking to maintain stable trade ties in the short term, while moving to pare reliance on each other over the longer run.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won a supermajority in the nation’s lower house, even after comments about Taiwan triggered economic reprisals from China.

Iran was among the topics Xi Jinping discussed with his US and Russian counterparts in separate calls on Wednesday ahead of new diplomatic efforts to end the country’s nuclear programme.

China pushed back after Panama stripped CK Hutchison of two Panama Canal ports as Beijing contends with more active US competition in Latin America.

Related Topics
IPOUS-China relationsChina-Japan relationsChina-India relationsChina consumptionArtificial intelligenceElectric & new energy vehiclesUS-China trade warChina-EU relationsChina trade