‘De-Risking Not Decoupling’ with Beijing – but What Does the EU Actually Mean?
The European Commission reaffirmed its “de‑risking, not decoupling” stance toward China, labeling Beijing a critical partner while warning that the current trade balance is unsustainable. Officials highlighted China’s massive export share—30% of global shipments—and a €360 billion (≈$396 billion) trade surplus with the EU in 2025. The bloc is reportedly preparing an “overcapacity instrument” to cap Chinese exports of certain goods, prompting Beijing to threaten countermeasures. The issue will feature prominently at the upcoming G7 summit and EU leaders’ meeting.
Report: Iran Halts US Exchanges, Putin Warned on Spending, More
Bloomberg’s latest News Now episode reports that Iran has suspended all dollar‑denominated exchanges with U.S. banks, tightening its financial isolation amid renewed sanctions pressure. The segment also notes a Kremlin warning that Russia’s war‑time budget is approaching its limits, with...
Why China Needs High GDP Growth Rates to Avoid a Crisis
China’s economy has hinged on a volume‑driven growth model that tolerates selling at or below cost as long as total turnover expands. A slowdown in GDP threatens this approach, exposing hidden "cost black holes" in real estate, food production and...
BlackRock Flags Energy Security as Top-Tier Risk Amid Iran Conflict Fallout
BlackRock’s May 2026 geopolitical risk dashboard now lists energy security as a top‑tier threat after Strait of Hormuz disruptions displaced more than 1 billion barrels of crude and about 20% of global LNG supply. The firm calls the episode the worst energy...
Global Asset Managers Capture Just 0.1% of Chinese Market in 5 Years
Over the past five years, global asset managers have barely penetrated China’s investment market, capturing only about 0.1% of total assets under management. The Chinese market, now valued at roughly $12 trillion, remains dominated by domestic firms that control the vast...
EU Frets as China Builds an Industrial Base in Morocco
China is financing a large‑scale industrial park in Morocco, positioning the North‑African nation as a manufacturing hub for Chinese exports to Europe and Africa. The project, valued at roughly $5 billion, includes factories, logistics infrastructure, and training centres staffed by Chinese...
Rising Costs in Singapore Spur Business Migration as Regional Alternatives Rise
Escalating operating costs and a tight labor market are prompting Singapore‑based companies to relocate labor‑intensive functions to lower‑cost neighbors. Gardenia announced the shift of its bakery production to Johor Bahru, cutting 141 jobs, while H&M plans to move its Southeast Asian...
Tariffs, War and Broken Trust: Southeast Asia’s Trump Problem
Southeast Asian nations are growing weary of President Trump’s erratic policies, from steep tariffs on regional steel and aluminum to unpredictable military commitments that treat allies as bargaining chips. The resulting loss of trust has accelerated a strategic pivot toward...
Made-in-China EVs Enter Canada Under Deal Carney Struck With Xi
Canada will import up to 49,000 Chinese‑made electric vehicles over the next 12 months at a reduced tariff of roughly 6%, down from more than 100% previously. The first arrivals are Tesla models built at the Shanghai plant, followed by...
Iran War Food Price Crisis: How Industry Can Prepare
Three months after the Iran war began, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, choking global energy and fertilizer shipments. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization warns that prolonged disruption could trigger a worldwide food‑price crisis within six to twelve months....
Listen: What Are China’s Strategic Objectives Towards Europe?
The EU is split on how to confront China as trade tensions rise, with the bloc’s deficit to Beijing doubling since 2015 and rare‑earth dependencies sparking calls for market opening. Beijing, however, treats Europe as a low‑priority partner, focusing instead...
The Manus Fallout Highlights Structural Problems in China’s Industrial Policy Ecosystem
Meta announced a $2 billion acquisition of Chinese AI startup Manus in December 2025, but Beijing intervened and forced the deal to unwind after a four‑month probe. The National Development and Reform Commission invoked the 2021 Foreign Investment Security Review Measures,...
West Asia Crisis May Soon Make Everyday Goods Costlier in India: Crisil Report
A Crisil Quickonomics report warns that the West Asia conflict is pushing input costs for Indian manufacturers higher than the prices they can charge consumers. The Wholesale Price Index‑based input‑output ratio topped 1.0 in April 2026, the first breach in...
Taiwan’s Boom a Leveraged Bet on AI Irrational Exuberance
Taiwan’s stock market vaulted into the world’s top five, driven by an AI‑fuelled semiconductor surge that lifted TSMC 46% this year and pushed the benchmark to a $4.95 trillion valuation. The chipmaker alone represents about 42% of the index, anchoring the...
Kuka–Midea: One Decade of a Deal that Changed EU Economic Security
A decade after Midea’s €4.5 billion (≈$4.9 billion) acquisition of German robot maker Kuka, the deal is credited with launching the EU’s modern economic‑security agenda. The transaction exposed gaps in Germany’s foreign‑direct‑investment (FDI) screening, prompting a cascade of national reforms that later...
Africa's Place in a Shifting World Order
Africa is shedding its risk‑only label as great‑power rivalry turns the continent into a seller’s market. China has poured roughly $500 bn into African infrastructure and mining, while the United States backs the Lobito and Liberty corridors and the EU earmarks...
Africa's Financial Sovereignty Begins with Lowering the Cost of Capital
African governments and firms face borrowing costs 4%‑15% above U.S. Treasury rates, a premium that acts as a hidden tax on development. At the Africa Forward Summit 2026 in Nairobi, leaders—including 18 heads of state, President Macron and global investors—called...
Modi Wants Indians to Press Pause on Gold. But the $5.2 Trillion Obsession Runs Deep
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Indians to pause gold purchases and the government responded by raising import duties from 6% to 15%, adding roughly ₹4,500 per 10 g ($54) to retail prices. India’s households hold about 34,600 tonnes of gold, valued at...
India Will Not Become Another China
U.S. officials warn against repeating the China mistake as Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits India, emphasizing that India’s rise need not mirror Beijing’s trajectory. The article argues that India’s democratic, federal structure and historical restraint differ fundamentally from China’s...
Cuba Clash, Putin Visits Beijing, Xi May Go to North Korea
China and Russia condemned the United States on Thursday for filing criminal charges against former Cuban president Raul Castro, accusing Washington of weaponising sanctions against Havana. The U.S. indictment ties Castro and five others to a 1996 aircraft shoot‑down, while the...
China Threatens Retaliation over New EU Tool to Curb Chinese ‘Overcapacity’
The European Commission is set to discuss an “overcapacity instrument” that would allow the EU to restrict Chinese firms from key markets such as fertilizers, medicines and rare minerals, and could require European buyers to source critical components from at...
The Other China Shock
The article examines the emerging "other China shock," where rising wages and tighter regulations in China are prompting multinational manufacturers to relocate labor‑intensive production to neighboring Asian economies such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Mexico. It traces the historical pattern of...
Iran War Spurs Extreme Bear Scenarios for Asia Currencies, Bonds
The ongoing Iran‑Russia conflict is tightening global oil supplies, sending energy prices higher and straining emerging Asian economies. Analysts now model extreme bearish outcomes, projecting India’s rupee sliding to 100 per dollar, Indonesia’s rupiah to 18,000, and the Philippine peso...
Indonesian President Announces Plan to Centralize Control of Key Commodity Exports
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced a plan to place Indonesia’s key commodity exports—palm oil, thermal coal and nickel—under direct state control. A new sovereign‑wealth‑backed enterprise, Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia, will own 99% of the export entity and exporters must deposit all...
Citi Sees India Tightening Currency Controls to Halt Rupee Slump
Citigroup warns that India may tighten capital controls to stem a rupee slide that has exceeded 7% against the dollar this year. The government has already raised fuel taxes and gold import duties, and Citi sees additional steps such as...
China to Buy 200 Boeing Jets and Ease Rare Earth Curbs in US Trade Breakthrough
China announced a sweeping trade package that includes a purchase of 200 Boeing jets, a review of rare‑earth export licences for civilian use, and reciprocal tariff cuts on at least $30 billion of goods each way. The deal also restores registration...
Iran War to Slow Down India’s FY27 Economic Growth: Rating Agencies
Two rating agencies have lowered India’s FY27 growth outlook as the West Asia war drives crude oil to $95‑110 a barrel, stoking inflation and squeezing monetary policy. Icra now sees GDP expanding 6.2%, down from its earlier 6.5% estimate. India...
China Market for Nvidia AI Chips to Open 'over Time': Huang
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told Bloomberg that China will gradually allow sales of its high‑end H200 AI chip, which is currently licensed but blocked by U.S. export rules. He did not meet Chinese leaders directly, but noted President Trump has...
How Gulf Investments Are Responding to the US-China Critical Minerals Competition
The United States is intensifying its focus on critical minerals, launching initiatives like FORGE and Project Vault to curb Chinese dominance in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Gulf sovereign‑wealth funds—UAE’s ADQ, Qatar Investment Authority, and Saudi Arabia’s PIF—are pouring billions...
Kenyan Fund Manager Spearhead Plans to Raise $116 Million for Projects Fund
Kenyan fund manager Spearhead Africa Asset Management announced a new capital drive to raise 15 billion shillings (about $116 million). The proceeds will fund long‑term, local‑currency loans for infrastructure developers across Kenya. By the end of March the Spearhead Africa Infrastructure Fund...
Beijing Tightens Overseas Investment Oversight Amid Security Concerns
Chinese regulators have blocked Meta’s planned acquisition of AI startup Manus and imposed a fine on a domestic food company for breaching newly introduced overseas listing rules. The actions reflect a broader push by Beijing to tighten oversight of outbound...
ET Graphics: BoP Stability Tested by Outflows & Rupee Fall
India’s balance‑of‑payments is under strain as the current‑account deficit widens and capital‑account surplus contracts, prompting heightened outflows. The rupee has slipped roughly 11% over the past year and about 5% since the US‑Iran conflict began, amplifying external vulnerabilities. The Reserve...
India Taps Oman to Rescue $11.8 Billion Food Exports to West Asia
India is turning to Oman’s ports and land corridors to sustain its $11.8 billion annual food export pipeline to West Asia after the Strait of Hormuz became impassable. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority has been negotiating with...
Finance Chiefs to Consider World Order After Trump-Xi Reset
Global finance ministers gathered in Paris for a G‑7 meeting that follows President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. French President Emmanuel Macron framed the agenda around correcting three core imbalances: the United States’ soaring budget deficit, Europe’s...
FTAs, Lower Import Duties, Better Business Environment to Boost Net FDI Flows: ADB Chief Economist
India’s net foreign direct investment has slumped from $38.6 billion in 2021‑22 to just $3 billion in the April‑December period of FY 26, prompting concerns about capital outflows. ADB chief economist Albert Park attributes the decline to high tariffs, limited industrial infrastructure, and...
Pakistan and the Trump-Xi Summit in Beijing
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing for a super‑power summit reshaped by the Iran‑U.S. conflict and Strait of Hormuz disruptions. Both sides pledged tighter communication on regional security and economic stability, signaling a potential...
Trump Says He Didn’t Discuss Extending Tariff Truce With Xi
President Donald Trump told reporters he did not discuss extending the U.S.-China tariff truce during his May 15 meeting with Xi Jinping, even though trade ambassador Jamieson Greer said the two sides explored a “Board of Trade” that could cut...
Trump Aims to Defy Gravity with Beijing Friendship Summit
President Trump and Xi Jinping concluded a staged friendship summit in Beijing, highlighted by a private tour of Zhongnanhai and public praise of each other's agendas. Trump claimed China pledged to purchase 200 Boeing jets, commit at least $10 billion in...
India Moves to Buffer Economy Against Iran War Fallout
India’s government announced a series of measures to shield the economy from the spill‑over effects of the Iran‑Israel conflict. State‑run refiners lifted gasoline and diesel prices by more than 3%, the first hike in four years, after crude prices surged....
China Will Work Behind the Scenes to Help Reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Bessent Says
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China will use its influence over Iran to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blockaded since early March. The closure has halted about 20% of global crude oil flows, creating the...
A Defining Moment for Central Asia
Uzbekistan’s National Investment Fund is set to launch an IPO that could reshape investor perception of Central Asia. The fund manages $2.4 billion in assets and is being valued at $1.95 billion, roughly a 20 % discount to book. Proceeds are expected to...
Bulls Bet Big on These Three China-Related Stock Trades During Trump Visit
During President Trump’s Beijing visit, market bulls placed large bets on three China‑related trades. Alibaba surged 8% despite an earnings miss, lifting the iShares China Large‑Cap ETF (FXI) 2.5%. Ford jumped 13% after a Morgan Stanley note highlighted its energy‑storage...
Trump Invites Xi to Washington in September
President Donald Trump announced an invitation for Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan to visit the White House on September 24. The invitation was made public during a banquet in Beijing, where Trump described the upcoming summit...
Donald Trump Vows to Push Xi to ‘Open up’ China
U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for the first presidential visit in nearly a decade, pledging to ask Chinese President Xi Jinping to “open up” the Chinese market to American firms. The trip featured a high‑profile entourage of tech...
Trump Faces High-Stakes Meeting with Xi
President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing with senior officials and leading CEOs, setting the stage for a high‑stakes Thursday meeting with Xi Jinping. The White House signaled openness to Chinese direct investment in U.S. manufacturing, even as the Iran war...
Trump’s Shrinking Ambitions on China
President Trump, campaigning in 2024 on a hard‑line China trade agenda, promised tariffs of 60% and removal of WTO‑based preferences. A year into his second term, his approach has softened, with higher overall U.S. tariffs but similar levies applied to...
This Hidden Cost of the Iran War Hits the Stock Market Even Harder than Inflation
The Iran conflict is creating more than higher oil prices; it is generating sustained price volatility that undermines business confidence. While a stable $100‑a‑barrel market can be managed through hedging, swings between $95 and $130 freeze capital‑allocation decisions. Prolonged uncertainty...
Policy Planners Outline India’s Economic Response After PM’s Call for Energy Discipline
India’s policy makers warned that the West Asia war‑driven oil shock is testing the country’s macro‑economy, threatening inflation, the current‑account gap and rupee stability. Ministers called for tighter fiscal discipline, deeper deregulation and a push toward globally competitive manufacturing to...
Nvidia’s Huang Wants to Sell Chips to China. Trump Has Other Priorities.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will not join President Donald Trump on the administration’s upcoming trip to China, according to media reports. The omission suggests the White House is scaling back efforts to open the Chinese market for U.S. semiconductor firms....
Future Inflation Trajectory Will Be Shaped by Pass Thru of Higher Energy Prices, Progress of Kharif Sowing
India's Economic Research Department (ERD) projects CPI at 4.5% for FY27, citing the pass‑through of higher global energy prices and a 300,000‑hectare drop in Kharif sowing as key inflation drivers. April 2026 CPI rose to 3.48% from 3.40% in March,...