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News about international trade flows, statistics and policy decisions from the world’s most important trading economies and trade-related bodies, including the World Trade Organisation.
Cargo ships near the Strait of Hormuz on March 11. Photo: Reuters
South Korea

South Korea aims to send ships to Saudi port for oil to bypass Hormuz

Special envoys will also sail to Oman and Algeria to try to secure oil via other routes, said lawmaker Ahn Do-geol.

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India

India turns to ‘trusted friend’ Russia for oil supply as Iran war energises ties

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China-Australia relations

Australia’s 180-degree shift from 5 years ago: China in favour; US out

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US, Israel war on Iran

Iran war: French and Japanese-owned ships make first Hormuz crossings

France and Japan have called for a ceasefire in the conflict, with Macron saying the waterway can only be reopened when the bombing stops.

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A container ship operated by the French CMA CGM shipping company runs into the port of Marseille in June 2018. Photo: AFP
US, Israel war on Iran

Helium supply shock threatens Asian chipmakers as economic slowdown fears mount

Iranian attacks on Qatar’s LNG facilities are curbing the supply of helium, a crucial gas used in chipmaking.

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Indonesia

Indonesia rebalances energy policy as Iran war spurs new projects

As oil prices surge, Indonesia aims to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and intensify the use of crude palm oil for diesel blending.

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China-Latin America relations

Rubio raises concerns over China’s detention of Panama-flagged ships

Panama’s decision to strip Panama Ports Company of its concessions is a test of US backing for countries challenging China, experts say.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Paris last month. Photo: Reuters
US-China trade war

As Xi-Trump summit approaches, tariffs continue to choke direct trade

Deficit with mainland hits two-decade low as trade shifts to Taiwan, Mexico and Vietnam amid tariff fallout and efforts to stabilise ties.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Immediate reopening of Strait of Hormuz demanded at 40-nation talks

Iran is trying to hold the global economy hostage via its blockade of the waterway, said the UK’s foreign minister, who hosted the meeting.

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War and conflict

Opinion | Iran war is changing East Asia’s energy and strategic plays

States like China and Russia that can provide energy, industrial inputs, strategic reassurance or room for manoeuvre are gaining weight.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
US, Israel war on Iran

Trump’s ex-China mineral-alliance plan faces cost surge amid Iran war oil shock

Analysts say Middle East turmoil is elevating commodity input costs, affecting processing efforts and prompting push for ‘friendshoring’ to secure resources.

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US President Donald Trump, seen here at the White House on Wednesday, said attacks on Iran could continue for the next two to three weeks. Photo: AP
China GDP

‘False proposition’: state media hits ‘China shock’ as cover for Western anxiety

The state-run Economic Daily says the real problem with the global economy is not China’s strong exports, but rising protectionism.

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Asean

How Asean’s neutral stance in Iran war protects its energy security

Granting Southeast Asian vessels safe passage through the strait allows Iran to come across as a diplomatic good guy, analysts say.

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China-Latin America relations

Brazil exporters bypass local banks to tap China’s US$1 trillion Sinosure fund

As Brazilian interest rates price out local lenders, Sinosure is quietly reshaping how Chinese goods reach the market.

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Brazilian importers buying from China are turning to the state-owned Chinese credit insurer, Sinosure, to sustain trade flows that reached US$158 billion in 2024. Photo: Shutterstock
China-Canada relations

Canada’s finance minister visits China as both countries seek to bolster ties

Francois-Philippe Champagne’s four-day trip comes close on the heels of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Beijing in January.

Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. Photo: EPA
China trade

Qiushi reaffirms China’s trade push, calls old export-led growth ‘unsustainable’

Global tensions, weak high-end exports, and record trade surpluses are spurring a strategic shift to boost imports, develop services trade and deepen market integration.

Japan

Japan, France to draw road map for supply of critical minerals

It aims to lower their high dependency on China, which mines about 70 per cent of the world’s supply and refines some 90 per cent.

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China economy

Opinion | Global businesses are piling back into China, drawn by its stability

For all its structural challenges, China offers something the West no longer seems to: policy continuity and a sense of stability.

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Chinese Premier Li Qiang is displayed on a large screen live broadcasting his speech at the opening of the China Development Forum held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on March 22. Photo: AP
China energy security

Australia and Japan face jet fuel supply crunch as China cuts exports

Both Australia and Japan are heavily reliant on Chinese jet fuel, but shipments have plunged in recent weeks amid the Iran war.

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Chinese culture

As I see it | Why China is always misunderstood and misrepresented

By insisting on the superiority of its own standards of judgment and experience, the West distorts the realities of other societies.

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2026 Trump-Xi summit

Trump-Xi summit: US trade chief casts doubt on pre-meeting Beijing visit

Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says key Trump officials unlikely to meet Chinese counterparts, in a break from usual practice for talks.

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US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer addresses the media after trade talks with the Chinese delegation in Paris in March. Photo: AFP
US, Israel war on Iran

Why spike in fertiliser prices could boost China’s political clout

Beijing could see its regional leverage grow as the Iran war hits supply, though weaponisation of exports is unlikely, analysts say.

Farmers harvest rice in Aceh Besar, Indonesia. The first planting season of the year is just months away in much of Asia. Photo: EPA
China inflation

China has ‘room’ for imported inflation, but economic risks rising: PBOC adviser

As US-Israel war with Iran sends prices up, a monetary expert says impact on China depends on conflict’s severity, while higher energy costs are worrying.

War and conflict

Opinion | In age of US-China rivalry, supply chain statecraft counts

Systems that once underpinned globalisation as a process of integration are becoming repurposed as instruments of competition.

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China trade

Will Iran’s strikes on Gulf smelters strengthen China’s aluminium dominance?

Analysts say disruption at plants could shift more output to China, which already produces more than half of global supply.

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A drone view shows an employee working on the production line of aluminium products at a factory in Huaibei, Anhui province, China, in February 2025. Photo: Reuters
US, Israel war on Iran

How the Hormuz attacks stoke oil-shock fears and memories of 1970s stagflation

A timeline of past oil shocks is seen offering ‘clear lessons’ for today’s Strait of Hormuz crisis, with an eye on ripple effects and contingency tools.

Transport ships are seen anchored in Muscat, Oman’s port capital, on March 9, amid risks of travelling through the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Israel conflict with Iran. Photo: Reuters
US, Israel war on Iran

War on Iran is about to make clothes more expensive. Here’s why

Rising freight and energy costs, plus a near-blockade on synthetic fibres, are pushing prices higher.

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European Union

Opinion | Europe’s response to Iran war risks becoming its ‘darkest hour’

By prevaricating on US aggression, Brussels risks forfeiting new partnerships that could help reduce its reliance on Washington.

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