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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Transport and logistics

In Focus | Signal failure: how years of thin investment put German railways behind China’s

Germany sold high-speed trains to China 21 years ago, but now its network is slowing to a crawl as China’s continues to improve.

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China-EU relations

Beijing, Berlin hold video call amid reported plan to shut China out of EU

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China-Japan relations

Japanese business presence in China down nearly 30% from peak in 2012: survey

Electric & new energy vehicles

VW, Gotion deepen ties with US$3.7b commitment to EV battery production

Gotion will invest about €1.6 billion to build three manufacturing facilities in Spain, Slovakia and Morocco, with VW putting in a similar amount.

VW plans to reduce its Gotion holdings to 19 per cent by selling 96 million shares to an investment firm controlled by the Hefei government. Photo: AP
VW plans to reduce its Gotion holdings to 19 per cent by selling 96 million shares to an investment firm controlled by the Hefei government. Photo: AP
US-China trade war

As US weighs tighter curbs on foreign drones, could Chinese makers lose ground?

Proposed measures could affect future imports and sales as Washington pushes to build alternatives to Chinese supply chains.

China exports

China’s gas turbine firms aim to challenge global giants. Is Malaysia the start?

Tight global supply is creating new opportunities in a sector where a small group of international manufacturers have long held sway.

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China trade

Asean firms hope Pinglu Canal will open China market, but fear flood of imports

The 134.2km Pinglu Canal, which opened earlier this month, helps connect China’s southwestern hinterland with international maritime corridors.

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A Panama-flagged container ship on the Pinglu Canal this month. Photo: Xinhua
Diners at a Trung Nguyen Legend cafe in Nanning, the capital of southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Photo: Frank Chen
2026 Xi-Trump summits

Why Xi’s US trip leaves Europe relieved by trade truce – but wary of the future

The summit in Washington eases near-term uncertainty over rare earths, but analysts fear the bloc could have less say over decisions shaping its economic interests.

Belt and Road Initiative

Indonesia eyes China for massive 2,772km railway project – with caution

As Jakarta explores foreign backing for the Trans-Kalimantan railway, analysts say costly past ventures could shape any coming negotiations.

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2026 Xi-Trump summits

Trade truce aside, was AI the real Xi-Trump summit breakthrough?

New AI dialogue becomes latest formal channel to manage competition while coming leader-level meetings grant further room to stabilise ties, analysts say.

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President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump arrive for a tour of the National Archives Museum on Thursday in Washington, the United States. Photo: AFP
China travel

Before Apec meeting, China’s mobile-payment overhaul is helping foreigners spend

Smartphone apps such as Alipay and WeChat Pay now link foreign cards and wallets, easing a cashless barrier that has long frustrated international visitors.

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Foreign tourists handle their smartphones while buying tickets for a performance at a theatre in China’s Chongqing municipality last month. Photo: Xinhua
Foreign tourists handle their smartphones while buying tickets for a performance at a theatre in China’s Chongqing municipality last month. Photo: Xinhua
China-EU relations

China and EU deadlocked on medical devices, still talking on PHEV curbs: source

Sources on the Chinese side recently described the talks as difficult and expressed frustration over the EU’s inflexibility.

China trade

Chinese carmakers gain as high petrol prices boost European EV sales

Chinese brands’ share of plug-in hybrid registrations across Europe climbed from about 20 per cent in January to 35.3 per cent in August.

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US-China trade war

China is investing record amounts overseas. Why are US-bound flows plunging?

Chinese investment in the US has fallen to its lowest level since 2011 amid tighter scrutiny and trade tensions.

Chinese outbound direct investment was up 11.1 per cent in 2025 year on year, according to a new government report. Photo: Shutterstock
2026 Xi-Trump summits

What a 2-month trade-truce extension reveals as US-China rifts persist

Analysts say that the relatively short window, while a positive sign, could also raise pressure on both Beijing and Washington.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice-Premier He Lifeng met in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: X/SecScottBessent
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice-Premier He Lifeng met in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: X/SecScottBessent
2026 Xi-Trump summits

‘Deep respect’: analysts weigh in on Trump’s red carpet welcome for Xi

Elaborate greeting ceremony immediately preceded by extension of tariff truce, both positive early signs for Chinese leader’s trip.

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China exports

China has scrapped two-thirds of its planned coal power plants abroad: report

The cutbacks have saved 6.4 billion tonnes of potential carbon emissions, though campaign’s momentum slowed last year, report finds.

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Banking & finance

US$365 trillion and counting: the world’s total debt hits record high, IIF finds

Debt climbs US$10 trillion in six months as fiscal strains deepen, exposing cracks in household and corporate balance sheets.

The US Capitol building is seen following rain showers. The US federal government’s debt alone accounts for more than 10 per cent of all the debt in the world, spanning government, household, financial and non-financial corporate sectors in more than 100 economies, according to the Institute of International Finance. Photo: AFP
The US Capitol building is seen following rain showers. The US federal government’s debt alone accounts for more than 10 per cent of all the debt in the world, spanning government, household, financial and non-financial corporate sectors in more than 100 economies, according to the Institute of International Finance. Photo: AFP
China consumption

Boosting China’s social safety net could address consumption woes: IMF director

The global organisation found that savings of rural households decrease when social and healthcare spending is higher.

US-China relations

China’s US dollar holdings

China’s direct holdings of US Treasuries fell to an 18-year low in August as the country shifts to buying the bonds via Europe while continuing to diversify by increasing gold reserves.

Yuan

Digital yuan push quickens as Ant International spurs instant cross-border flows

The Shanghai-to-Hong Kong settlements worth hundreds of millions of yuan bypassed traditional channels and could accelerate Beijing’s broader yuan strategy.

China is scaling up adoption of the digital yuan as it seeks to embed it more deeply into the country’s financial system. Photo: dpa
Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese EV battery giant CATL starts trial production in Hungary

Analyst says development could see it secure massive orders from global marques such as BMW and Volkswagen.

The CATL exhibition hall. as this month’s World Power Battery Conference in Yibin, Sichuan province. Photo: Xinhua
The CATL exhibition hall. as this month’s World Power Battery Conference in Yibin, Sichuan province. Photo: Xinhua
2026 Xi-Trump summits

Why China’s top AI pioneers are expected to miss this week’s Xi-Trump summit

Beijing has not officially announced details of the delegation, but the leaders of DeepSeek and Moonshot AI are absent from the reported list.

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China trade

Once key economic weapon, US-China soy trade offers fragile relief from tensions

As the two nations address disputes ahead of the Trump-Xi summit, some American soybean farmers say they are in a better position than in 2025.

China-EU relations

A shift by China towards service-based economy may realign trade, EU group says

The nation has seen little progress towards addressing ‘involution’, with output still growing beyond absorption rate, says an EU trade group.

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The Europe Union and Chinese flags. Photo: Getty Images
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