Howard Lutnick

Taiwan pushes back on Washington’s aggressive chip relocation demands

The new reality in geopolitics is the structural transformation from ‘made-in-Taiwan’ to ‘made-by-Taiwan’, according to one analyst.

10 Feb 2026 - 8:00PM

Top US trade official spells out plan to break China’s grip on critical minerals

Howard Lutnick accuses China of dumping and weaponising supply chains as White House tries to rally allies to its cause.

4 Feb 2026 - 10:13AMvideocam

South Korea

‘Lopsided deal’: South Korean trade experts warn against US tariff pressure

Washington’s tariff pressure is aimed at pushing Seoul to ‘move as fast as Japan’ in implementing its promised investments, analysts say.

3 Feb 2026 - 8:56AM

Trump unveils US$12 billion push to curb China’s grip on critical minerals

The initiative, dubbed Project Vault, aims to create a commercial stockpile to shield US manufacturers from supply shocks and price swings.

3 Feb 2026 - 9:35PMvideocam

Project Vault would serve as a commercial “shock absorber”, marking the first civilian-scale US strategic reserve for critical minerals. Photo: Handout

Sexual harassment and assault

Chinese firms set for market growth as the global memory super cycle heats up

Eye-watering DRAM prices are bad news for consumers and smartphone brands, but present an opportunity for Chinese firms led by CXMT and YMTC.

31 Jan 2026 - 11:47AM

Final set of Epstein files released, with mentions of Trump, Musk and Lutnick

The batch contains over 3 million pages of documents, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.

31 Jan 2026 - 6:39PM

South Korea

South Korea tariff hike: is Trump ‘sending message’ to US court ahead of ruling?

Trump’s message appears more focused on pushing through the US-South Korean trade bill than on permanently raising tariffs, analysts say.

27 Jan 2026 - 7:50PMvideocam

Donald Trump

‘Never been more relevant’: did Trump make Davos great again?

The Trump administration brought its ‘America First’ agenda to Davos, challenging the summit’s status quo while drawing record crowds of elites.

23 Jan 2026 - 8:42PMvideocam

US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks at the “Board of Peace” meeting during the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Taiwan

Critics in Taiwan question true cost of US deal hailed for tariff cut

Debate centres on Taiwan’s financial commitment to the US – whether US$250 billion or US$500 billion – and if it will harm the economy.

20 Jan 2026 - 9:18PMvideocam

Explainer | Will Trump’s new industrial policy make the global memory chip shortage worse?

The US government warns major memory chipmakers to either pay 100 per cent duties or build their products in America.

20 Jan 2026 - 3:47PM

My Take

My Take | Taiwan has just sold out TSMC and half its chips industry to the US

The so-called silicon shield is bust as there will not be much left of the island to defend after the forced relocation of a significant chunk of industrial base under new tariff deal.

19 Jan 2026 - 2:21PM

Taiwan

Taipei hails US 15% tariffs ‘home run’ despite fears over US$500 billion cost

Deal risks gutting Taiwan’s semiconductor sector, opposition parties warn, as Beijing dubs it a plot to drain lifeblood of island’s industry.

16 Jan 2026 - 9:41PMvideocam

Taiwanese leader William Lai has said the agreement will strengthen Taiwan’s global competitiveness and deepen hi-tech cooperation with Washington. Photo: AFP

Lutnick warns Taipei to keep Trump ‘happy’ as US chip deal draws Beijing rebuke

Trade official says island must stay in Trump’s favour for protection, but says he still plans an April China visit amid good ties with Xi.

16 Jan 2026 - 7:26AMvideocam

Chinese firms to incur higher costs for deploying AI chips from US: analysts

‘Beijing has made it politically unpalatable for private firms to rely too much on imported AI chips,’ EIU senior analyst Chim Lee says.

15 Jan 2026 - 9:00PM

Rare earths

Trump tackles China’s rare earth grip with talks instead of tariffs

The US president’s new global deal-making drive kick-starts what is likely to be a years-long effort to pare reliance on Chinese critical minerals.

15 Jan 2026 - 5:04PM

Cobalt mined in Congo is mainly sent to China for refining. (Photo: AFP)

Trump sets 180-day deadline to counter China’s control of critical minerals

US government warns global suppliers to negotiate agreements to secure reliable, diversified supplies for the US or face new trade hurdles.

15 Jan 2026 - 9:29AMvideocam

US will end China’s dominance of rare earths, Trump adviser Navarro predicts

The president’s trade aide says American innovation will ‘quickly wipe away’ Beijing’s ‘weaponisation’ of critical minerals.

9 Jan 2026 - 3:30AMvideocam

United States

My Take | How Elon Musk and his merry band of billionaires run the United States

China follows a different system, but perhaps America should look into why the richest Chinese do not pose a problem similar to those in the US.

28 Dec 2025 - 11:53PM

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

Year in Review

SCMP Plus Year in Review 2025: China

As the year comes to a close, SCMP Plus highlights the biggest China-related stories of the year.

23 Dec 2025 - 4:00PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a military parade in Beijing in September. Photo: AP

‘A risk’: wealthy Chinese appear to shun Trump’s ‘gold card’ immigration scheme

Initial excitement fizzles amid limited benefits and security concerns, immigration agents say.

18 Dec 2025 - 1:24AMvideocam

Nvidia CEO meets Trump, says he’s not sure if China would accept H200 chips

He says he and the US president discussed export controls before he met lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee.

4 Dec 2025 - 6:26AMvideocam

Nexperia

China, EU shift Nexperia strategy: let the companies work it out

Wang Wentao shifts focus to the boardroom but warns the Dutch government must still scrap the executive order and court ruling fuelling the crisis.

27 Nov 2025 - 10:06PMvideocam

China-EU relations

EU ministers court Trump on joint China policy, even as public scepticism grows

European officials lobby American counterparts to ‘push back’ on Beijing together, while German poll shows wariness towards Washington.

25 Nov 2025 - 2:00PMvideocam

(From left) US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, and EU trade and economic security commissioner Maros Sefcovic hold a joint press briefing in Brussels on Monday. Photo: AFP

US-China: a fragile truce, divergent accounts and a Thanksgiving test

Washington pushes a rare earth timeline Beijing never acknowledged, underscoring how far apart the two sides still appear to be.

22 Nov 2025 - 4:38AMvideocam