Advertisement
Advertisement
TOPIC

Trade

Related Topics:
Trade
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.
An Australian tour revealed the nation’s growing sentiment of warming to China, while Trump’s tariffs and foreign policy have increasingly seen the US viewed with suspicion or as ‘unsafe’. Photo: AP
China-Australia relations

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

Aussie comedian exposes the truth about nation’s feelings towards US president, democracy and public safety.

videocam
38
US, Israel war on Iran

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

videocam
4
US, Israel war on Iran

Helium supply shock threatens Asian chipmakers as economic slowdown fears mount

videocam
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.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Tokyo on Tuesday. Prabowo has invited Japan to develop Indonesia’s nuclear and renewable energy. Photo: Kyodo
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.

videocam
25
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.

videocam
8
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
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.

videocam
10
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper hosts a virtual meeting with foreign ministers. Photo: EPA
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.

videocam
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.

12
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.

9
Large numbers of cars and containers are stacked at a port waiting for export in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. Photo: AFP
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.

videocam
4
An oil tanker sits anchored off Muscat, Oman, on March 10. Photo: Reuters
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.

videocam
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.

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.

Vehicles await export at a port in China’s Jiangsu province on March 15. A commentary in the latest issue of the Qiushi Journal says the traits of China’s economy render an export-driven growth model “unsustainable”. Photo: AFP
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.

videocam
French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi exchange documents during a signing ceremony at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo on April 1, 2026. Photo: AFP
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.

videocam
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.

videocam
12
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
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.

videocam
14
A man walks past a large sculpture of the Communist Party flag at the Chinese Communist Party History Exhibition in Beijing, on March 1. Photo: AP
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.

videocam
10
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.

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.

Drivers line up to refuel at a petrol station in China’s Jiangsu province last week, amid concerns about rising energy prices due to the ongoing Middle East conflict. Photo: EPA
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.

videocam
A man walks along rocks as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates on March 11. Photo: AP
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.

videocam
5
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.

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.

videocam
People shop for clothes at a market in Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 16. Photo: EPA
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.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola (left) and Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro arrive for a summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on March 19. Photo: AFP
Singapore

Singapore seizes record Asian pangolin scales disguised as ‘dried fish skin’

The scales – estimated to be from more than 2,200 pangolins – were found after officials intercepted an inbound truck carrying sea cargo.

War and conflict

Macroscope | Iran war’s ripple effects are just getting started for Asia

From tariffs to supply chain disruption, Asian economies reliant on energy imports find themselves cornered between compounding crises.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement