TOPIC

Industrials

Industrials
News about the global industrials sector with a focus on developments in the heavy industries of mainland China.
Illustration: Henry Wong
Corruption in China

How did China’s top weapons brains become targets of its anti-corruption push?

Acceleration of defence sector’s anti-corruption drive may be linked to the downfall of former defence minister Li Shangfu, analysts say.

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China technology

From ‘robot school’ to DeepSeek, how China leads the charge for tech supremacy

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United States

Opinion | How the US can challenge China’s dominance over critical minerals

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China trade

Make Chinese cars in Russia, industry group urges manufacturers as costs mount

‘In a few years, imported cars will become a rarity’ in Russia, says chairman of Russia-Asia Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

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Chinese automobile makers are being encouraged to localise production in Russia to reduce expenses related to production, logistics and customs. Photo: AFP
China education

Chinese universities alter course to meet country’s need for hi-tech workforce

President Xi Jinping leads the call for more trained-up professionals in AI, circuitry, quantum tech, cybersecurity and other hi-tech areas.

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Asean

The View | Chinese investment won’t cure the cancer plaguing Malaysia’s economy

Malaysia’s woes stem from corruption and weak governance, linked to race-based privileges. Outsiders are not in a position to remedy this.

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US-China relations

Opinion | US needs a techno-industrial plan to beat China’s factories of the future

China’s shift towards advanced industries will give it such economic and strategic advantages that an equally powerful US response is necessary.

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US President Joe Biden speaks on Bidenomics at the Flex facility in West Columbia, South Carolina, US, on July 6, 2023. If the Chinese strategy succeeds, US companies in advanced industries will be wiped out, leaving the US increasingly dependent on China for critical goods. Photo: Bloomberg
China jobs

More than half of China’s top companies downsized last year. What now?

A Post review of 23 annual reports from leading Chinese firms found that more than half downsized last year, while others slashed staff-related expenses.

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China trade

China vows new-energy regulations to optimise industry, refutes ‘overcapacity’

Beijing will help guide the green sector that has come under increasing fire from the West, and the threshold for market entry will be raised with higher standards.

China manufacturing

China’s EV overcapacity may set it on a political collision course with the US

Fresh US tariffs targeting China’s new-energy sector are imminent, threatening to thwart export efforts aimed at alleviating a market oversupply.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Business of climate change

Emissions reduction of 10% in reach for China steel sector next year

‘Modest adjustments’ to plans for use of electric arc furnaces versus coal-fired furnaces would accelerate emissions cuts, US think tank Global Energy Monitor says.

A worker in a steel factory in Huai’an, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, on September 23, 2023. Photo: AFP
China economy

Opinion | China’s plan for ‘new productive forces’ should make the West sit up

It’s the successor to the grossly underestimated “Made in China 2025” strategy, which spawned China’s dominance in electric cars, green tech and other high-end industries.

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China manufacturing

China urged to be stern in shipbuilding efforts to leave S Korean rivals in wake

‘Core research and development capabilities’ are still subpar in China’s home-grown engines and high-value-added ships, warns NPC delegate and shipbuilding expert after South Korea retakes monthly lead in orders.

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China's economic recovery

Hints suggest private-sector confidence high on China’s 2024 agenda

Premier Li Qiang is preparing to deliver his maiden annual government work report in March, and China’s No 2 official stepped up preparations this week by soliciting opinions during symposia.

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Premier Li Qiang received a 200-strong Japanese business delegation in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua
China technology

Opinion | How China is making its dream of flying cars, drones and sky cities come true

Policy, financial and infrastructural support is creating a conducive ecosystem for China’s “low altitude economy”, integrating advanced aerial tech into everyday life and urban planning.

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An EHang autonomous aerial vehicle conducting a demonstration flight at the Baoan District Low-Altitude Economy Investment Promotion Conference in Shenzhen last year. Photo: Handout
China manufacturing

China’s ‘involuted’ new-energy industry awash with self-defeating overcapacity

Domestic demand is far from able to absorb all of the new EV batteries and solar panels, so Chinese manufacturers have little choice but to sell overseas – if they can.

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China manufacturing

China turns to robots to fill gaps from ageing population, labour shortfalls

Industrial robotics, already experiencing tremendous growth as firms in China adopt the technology for their production lines, could also be part of the solution to the country’s much talked about demographic crisis.

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China's economic recovery

How US tech curbs could revive China’s industrial powerhouse near Russia

“Curbs [from the United States] have inevitably impacted our supply chain, but at the same time it has also offered opportunities to develop our local industrial chain

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Amid efforts by Washington to cut off China from the global hi-tech supply chain, the nation’s northeast rust-belt region could see a rise in opportunities. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Business of climate change

China can ‘demonstrate ethical decarbonisation’ in construction sector: report

The buildings and construction sector must cut emissions massively, according to a new report by UNEP and the Yale Center for Ecosystems and Architecture.

US-China relations

Opinion | With China in its sights, US techno-nationalism will only burn brighter

Despite US tech companies’ concerns, Washington is prioritising China containment over its reputation as a defender of the free market. Curbs on China will only grow whoever enters the White House next year.

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China manufacturing

Younger Chinese are taking over family factories. Can they save the industry?

Like young monarchs, suddenly thrust at the helm of their family’s legacy, China’s Gen Z and millennials are returning home to oversee decades of business growth in difficult times.

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China’s second-generation factory owners are taking the helm of manufacturing in the world’s second-largest economy. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
India

Opinion | Protectionism won’t give Indian manufacturing the boost it needs

How the government responds to industry complaints about cheap imports will reveal much about its plans for India’s manufacturing sector. New Delhi cannot afford to go slow in creating a better business environment or looking to grow in the country.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
China manufacturing

Could China lose its lead in shipbuilding as West looks at industrial decoupling?

China produces more gross tonnes per year than South Korea and Japan and is home to the biggest shipbuilder in the world, but some Western countries are wary of an overreliance on Chinese manufacturing.

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China economy

Opinion | China’s EV lead is unassailable – the Global North simply can’t compete

China has the supply chain, the better tech and the cheaper costs that keep on falling. Trade barriers would only force the world into two prices for one product – where the cheaper one is also likely to be better.

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US-China relations

Opinion | For all its protestations, the US is set on decoupling from China

Faced with US tariffs, investment curbs and export bans, China has simply opened its economy wider, working to protect itself and the stability of global supply chains. But if the US continues down the path, it will mean global disaster.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Ukraine war: 1 year on

Uncertainties and tensions roil China’s supply chains, but what can be done?

After a year of war in Ukraine, pandemic disruptions and technological-containment efforts by the West, many international firms are struggling to map out a future in which their China operations remain intact.

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The pandemic and Ukraine war have exposed vulnerabilities of being too dependent on specific supply-chain locations. Illustration: Henry Wong
China manufacturing

Explainer | Why is China’s first home-grown large cruise liner a breakthrough?

Adora Magic City, a 135,500-tonne liner that undocked in Shanghai on June 6 ahead of a series of sea trials, is China’s first home-grown large cruise ship.

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China trade

South Korean shipbuilders urged to adapt as China’s tech improves

While China holds a commanding lead in total container vessels produced, South Korea still has an edge in making more advanced and expensive carriers for liquefied natural gas - for now.

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