ASIA: China’s imports from Saudi Arabia fell 21% in May from a year earlier but retained their top ranking among suppliers for the ninth month in a row, customs data showed on Sunday. Shipments from Saudi Arabia were 7.2 million tonnes last month, or 1.69 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the General Administration […]

ASIA: Australia’s complaint to the World Trade Organization over China’s anti-dumping duties on wine exports should enable bilateral negotiations, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Sunday. The government filed a complaint on Saturday over duties that were applied last year and nearly wiped out exports of Australian wine to the Chinese market. The Australian government […]

ASIA: The Bank of Japan is expected to maintain its massive stimulus and may extend a deadline for its pandemic-relief program on Friday, in a sign that a fragile economy and tepid inflation will keep any exit from its ultra-easy policy a long way off. The decision would come in the wake of hawkish signals […]

ASIA: China’s economy steadied for a second month, a sign that the post-pandemic recovery is in a more stable phase and that growth is slowly rebalancing toward the consumer. Industrial production rose 6.6% in May on a two-year average basis — which strips out the impact of last year’s pandemic — while retail sales grew […]

ASIA: NATO leaders warned on Monday that China presents “systemic challenges,” taking a forceful stance towards Beijing in a communique at Joe Biden’s first summit with an alliance that Donald Trump openly disparaged. The new U.S. president has urged his fellow NATO leaders to stand up to China’s authoritarianism and growing military might, a change […]

ASIA: China has accused the G7 of “political manipulation” after it criticized Beijing over a range of issues. In a joint statement at the end of a three-day summit, leaders of the G7 countries urged China to “respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Experts generally agree that China has detained as many as a million […]

ASIA: Didi Chuxing, China’s biggest ride-hailing firm, on Thursday, made public the filing for its long-anticipated U.S. stock market listing, setting the stage for what is expected to be the world’s biggest initial public offering this year. The company – backed by Asia’s largest technology investment firms, SoftBank, Alibaba, and Tencent – did not reveal […]

ASIA: Indian economy is expected to expand 8.3 percent in fiscal year 2021-22, a report by World Bank projected on Tuesday. In its latest issue of Global Economic Prospects, the Washington-based global lender said that even though the forecast has been revised up by 2.9 percentage points, its masks significant expected economic damage from the […]

ASIA: China has denounced a US Senate bill worth approximately $250bn that aims to boost American technology and manufacturing prowess as an example of the US hyping up “the so-called China threat,” and accused Washington of attempting to hinder its development. The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the Innovation and Competition Act. The expansive legislation, […]

ASIA: China on Tuesday warned the United States against pursuing a trade deal with Taiwan after the US said it would start negotiations with the self-ruled island. Beijing sees democratic Taiwan as part of its territory. On Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian urged Washington to “stop any form of official exchanges with Taiwan, […]