Day: April 29, 2025

US, China seen reducing tariffs this year, but much damage already done, analysts say

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Despite conflicting statements from China and the US regarding trade talks, economists at Morgan Stanley expect that both nations will engage in negotiations and gradually reduce tariffs on Chinese imports to 60 per cent by the end of the second quarter. Advertisement “We believe that both the US and China will want a comprehensive deal, but that given the multiple issues involved, the discussions are likely to be complex and will take time to complete,” Morgan Stanley said in a note on Tuesday. Trade disruptions could be a gateway to…

China tight-lipped on North Korea’s Russia troop deployment confirmation

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TAIPEI, Taiwan – China avoided directly commenting on North Korea’s confirmation of its troop deployment to Russia and reiterated support for a “multilateral solution” to the conflict. North Korea on Monday acknowledged for the first time that it sent troops to Russia to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine, six months after reports of their presence first emerged. China, one of North Korea’s few allies, has been under pressure to serve as a restraining influence on Pyongyang as the U.S. and its allies worry that the deployment of North Korean troops…

Hong Kong frees 4 ex-lawmakers jailed for subversion

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BANGKOK – Hong Kong authorities on Tuesday freed four former lawmakers who each spent more than four years in prison for their part in staging an unofficial primary election in 2020, local media reported. Claudia Mo, Jeremy Tam, Kwok Ka-ki and Gary Fan were among 47 activists arrested for the election activities. Only two of the 47 were acquitted after a grueling 118-day trial that ended in November 2024 with prison sentences of four to 10 years. Vehicles carrying the freed activists left three prisons early on Tuesday amid tight…

Shenzhen lags China in GDP, exports as tech hub preps for tariff wave

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China’s southern tech hub Shenzhen appeared to miss out on the spoils of the country’s first-quarter export wave, with the city’s gross domestic product growth of 5.2 per cent for that period falling short of the country’s overall 5.4 per cent in gains. Advertisement The city’s exports declined by 8.7 per cent in yuan terms over the quarter while China recorded a 6.9 per cent gain, the product of a last-minute trade scramble as firms locked in orders before US President Donald Trump’s rapid-fire tariff increases took effect. “While everyone…

Has sentiment bottomed out?

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. This article is an on-site version of our Unhedged newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every weekday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newsletters Good morning. Chinese officials stated yesterday that they could do without US agricultural and energy imports, should tariffs remain in place — another signal that Beijing is not backing down in the face of US…

‘Source of data’: are electric cars vulnerable to cyber spies and hackers?

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Mobile phones and desktop computers are longstanding targets for cyber spies – but how vulnerable are electric cars? On Monday the i newspaper claimed that British defence firms working for the UK government have warned staff against connecting or pairing their phones with Chinese-made electric cars, due to fears that Beijing could extract sensitive data from the devices. Here we look at whether there are problems with electric cars and security. Could an electric car snoop on you? Security experts spoken to by the Guardian say electric cars – the…

Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma implicated in intimidation campaign by Chinese regime

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The Chinese regime enlisted Jack Ma, the billionaire co-founder of Alibaba, in an intimidation campaign to press a businessman to help in the purge of a top official, documents seen by the Guardian suggest. The businessman, who can be named only as “H” for fear of reprisals against his family still in China, faced a series of threats from the Chinese state, in an attempt to get him to return home from France, where he was living. They included a barrage of phone calls, the arrest of his sister, and…

China’s military rapidly expands use of low-cost AI-powered drones in ‘phased leap’

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China’s military is rapidly deploying cutting-edge AI-powered drones that are low-cost and agile on the battlefield, as it races to gain an edge in the modern warfare technology. Advertisement One of the latest – a micro drone that looks like a thermal flask and weighs less than a kilogram – was featured on state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday. The micro drone is the first of its kind and is designed for use across the People’s Liberation Army infantry units, according to the report. It said the drone’s coaxial dual-rotor system…

Nevada lithium miner confident of finding new investor despite weak prices

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Mining myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The owner of a Nevada lithium mining project is confident of finding a new investor despite a slump in the price of the metal, as it eyes a role in the push to build a domestic critical minerals industry in the US. Australia-based Ioneer is seeking a new partner to replace South Africa’s Sibanye-Stillwater, which pulled out of a deal to buy a 50 per cent stake in the Rhyolite Ridge…

Trump’s tariff thunderbolt strikes a world with proven resilience

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Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world It is tempting to see Donald Trump and his wrecking policies on trade as a destructive thunderbolt from a clear blue sky. Certainly many of his domestic policies, even compared with his first term, have taken a sharper and more definitive turn towards the extreme. In the case of trade and globalisation, however, there is perhaps a little more continuity, not just with his first time in office…