Day: April 27, 2025

The actions of Donald Trump are fanning growing uncertainty in Taiwan regarding the reliability of American support. Advertisement Before the April 2 announcement, the Lai administration believed that Taiwanese exports to the US would face tariffs of 10 per cent at most. The 32 per cent levy instead blindsided Taipei and sent shock waves through key sectors such as hi-tech manufacturing, which depend heavily on stable trade ties with the US. The tariffs stunned policymakers who believed Taiwan had already made significant “protection payments” to the United States, including Taiwan…

Chinese state media has accused US President Donald Trump of falsely attributing ocean pollution to China by sharing misleading images on social media, reflecting dim prospects for an improvement in ties between the two countries. Advertisement The Paper, a digital newspaper run by state-owned Shanghai United Media Group, said on the weekend that three photos posted by Trump online were either digitally altered or outdated – and none were taken in China. The report, headlined “Fact Check: Trump Blames China for Pacific Ocean Pollution Using Doctored Images”, was shared on…

Advertisement “Our calculations show that low Earth orbit could get overcrowded with about 100,000 satellites,” Meng Lingjie, director of the China National Space Administration’s (CNSA) Earth observation and data centre, told the news portal Jiemian.com last week. “To keep space sustainable, the CNSA is working on a traffic management system to better organise satellite placement and operations. Without it, overlapping projects and repetitive competition could seriously hurt the industry’s development.” Industry data shows that China has 58 satellite factories either operating, under construction, or in the planning stages. Advertisement Based…

Advertisement The authorities will also increase the number of duty-free shops catering for foreign visitors and increase the cash limit on tax refunds, the Ministry of Commerce and five other departments said on Sunday. International visitors will now be able to claim refunds on purchases over 200 yuan (just over US$27), compared with the previous limit of 500 yuan. The limit on the cash refunds they can claim will also rise from 10,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan, with no limits on those done by bank transfer. “Departure tax refunds help…

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Taipei on the weekend as part of an opposition rally against Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te. Advertisement The Kuomintang (KMT) organisers of the rally claimed that more than 200,000 supporters attended the event. Citing an unidentified police source, Taiwan news site UDN.com said that at least 60,000 people attended the rally. Protesters gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building on Saturday, holding Republic of China flags and banners denouncing Lai’s rule. Addressing the crowd, KMT chairman…

In the face of looming climate pressure, geopolitical tensions and a tit-for-tat tariff conflict with the United States, China unveiled a comprehensive 10-year agricultural master plan on April 7. Issued by the Communist Party’s Central Committee and the State Council, the plan focuses on crop cultivation, livestock, fisheries and agricultural infrastructure, aiming to boost production. Advertisement As the world’s largest agricultural producer and importer, China has long made food security a priority. But it is an uphill battle – China must feed one-fifth of the global population with under 10…

Gestamp, one of the world’s top manufacturers of metal parts for cars, is pursuing acquisition opportunities in China’s automotive sector, where an excess of capacity threatens unprofitable assemblers and supply-chain vendors. Advertisement The Spanish company, which supplies chassis and body products for clients like Volkswagen and Ford, is bucking the trend among international automotive firms that are disposing of their facilities in the world’s largest vehicle market amid fierce competition. “Not every company in China’s automotive industry is profitable today, so we think that in the future, there may be…

At a mountainside cafe in southwestern China, Liao Shihao brews handfuls of locally grown beans into steaming cups of coffee, a modern twist on the region’s traditional drink. Advertisement For centuries, Puer in Yunnan province has given its name to a type of richly fermented tea – sometimes styled “pu-erh” – famous across East Asia and beyond. But as younger Chinese cultivate a taste for punchy espressos, frothy lattes and flat whites, growers are increasingly branching out into tea’s historic rival. “People are coming to try our hand-drip coffee ……