Asia

Pakistan pleads for international loans, urges partners to ‘help de-escalate’
9May mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia

Pakistan pleads for international loans, urges partners to ‘help de-escalate’

Pakistan seeks international loans to stabilise its economy amid financial challenges. The government also urges efforts to ease regional tensions As India’s Operation Sindoor intensifies its assault on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), the Pakistan government has issued a direct appeal to the international community for urgent financial assistance and help in de-escalating tensions. The plea came from the verified account of Pakistan's Economic Affairs Division on social media platform X, stating:“Govt of Pakistan appeals to International Partners for more loans after heavy losses inflicted by enemy. Amid escalating war and stocks crash, we urge international partners to help de-escalate. Nation urged to remain steadfast.” T...
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Following Trump’s export prohibition, Nvidia’s stock declines as Huawei, a Chinese company, apparently prepares an AI chip.
29Apr mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

Following Trump’s export prohibition, Nvidia’s stock declines as Huawei, a Chinese company, apparently prepares an AI chip.

Nvidia (NVDA) stock fell just over 2% Monday following a report that Chinese tech giant Huawei is readying a new advanced AI chip in the wake of President Trump's export ban on Nvidia chips to China.The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing unnamed sources, that Huawei has approached some Chinese tech companies about testing a new AI chip called the Ascend 910D, which it hopes will be more powerful than Nvidia's H100 AI chips. The 910D chips are successors to Huawei's 910B and 910C chips and are still in an early stage of development. The Wall Street Journal also said Huawei is set to ship more than 800,000 Ascend 910B and 910C chips to customers, including state-owned telecommunications carriers and AI developers such as TikTok parent ByteDance.Nvidia stock spiraled after the ch...
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China remains calm in the US trade battle and delays further stimulus.
29Apr mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

China remains calm in the US trade battle and delays further stimulus.

China has advanced this year's stimulus plans but is holding off on fresh measures as it tries to maintain composure, betting on Washington blinking first in a protracted trade war.The Communist Party's elite decision-making body, the Politburo, pledged on Friday to support firms and workers most affected by triple-digit U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, but stopped short of announcing additional deficit spending.The decision to withhold additional stimulus disappointed investors, leading to a 3% slump in Chinese real estate stocks (.CSI000952), opens new tab on Monday, despite official efforts to assuage market concerns over a sharp downturn in growth.Beijing is already in a higher stimulus gear, which it can maintain over the coming months to mitigate the pain of losing, at least temporari...
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China downplays impact of Trump tariffs on economic recovery
28Apr mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

China downplays impact of Trump tariffs on economic recovery

Chinese policymakers on Monday sought to assuage concerns the broad U.S. tariffs could derail efforts to shore up a fragile economic recovery, even as analysts warn the hefty levies raise the risk of a sharp downturn in growth.U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war has rattled financial markets and raised fears of a recession, particularly as tit-for-tat tariffs between the world's two biggest economies threaten to upend supply chains and a whole range of industriesHowever, Zhao Chenxin, vice head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's state planner, said he was "fully confident" the country will achieve its economic growth target of around 5% for 2025.Zhao refrained from announcing any new support or stimulus measures, but said the NDRC would roll out n...
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Amid the trade battle, China’s Xi will travel to Shanghai as a show of force.
28Apr mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

Amid the trade battle, China’s Xi will travel to Shanghai as a show of force.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Shanghai this week, two sources said, showcasing his country's main international financial hub at a time when the trade war with the U.S. has raised the stakes for growth.The trip to the city that also hosts Tesla's (TSLA.O), opens new tab biggest factory would build on increasingly bullish assurances from senior Chinese officials that the world's second-largest economy can handle the hit from the 145% tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, despite its reliance on exports.The State Council Information Office, which handles media queries for the Chinese government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the statements by the sources familiar with plans for the trip.Alfred Wu, a China expert at National University of Singapo...
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Despite US tariffs, the Chinese financial industry is incredibly resilient, according to the Central Bank
28Apr mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

Despite US tariffs, the Chinese financial industry is incredibly resilient, according to the Central Bank

China's financial market demonstrates high resilience and operates smoothly amid tariffs imposed by the United States, People's Bank of China (PBC) Deputy Governor Zou Lan said on Monday."Regarding China, the economy has started off well and continues to grow. The financial system remains sound and the financial market has shown high resilience and is running smoothly. The yuan's exchange rate against the dollar is around 7.3 yuan," Zou told a news conference, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.At the same time, a significant increase in customs tariffs by the US triggered fluctuations in global financial markets and led to a fall in the dollar index, as well as caused a rise in US Treasury bond yields, the deputy governor said, adding that the decision also increased volatility in the US stock...
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A Significant Figure in China’s Economic Diplomacy Is He Lifeng
28Apr mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

A Significant Figure in China’s Economic Diplomacy Is He Lifeng

At a recent business forum in Beijing, leaders from major global companies aimed to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, however, many were particularly impressed by Vice Premier He Lifeng, Xi’s trusted confidant and chief lieutenant, who oversees China’s economy. U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Xi to discuss a potential trade deal after imposing 145% tariffs on Chinese goods. However, any resolution to the economic tensions will likely go through He, Xi’s Sino-American trade tsar. Reuters interviewed 13 foreign investors and diplomats who met with Vice Premier He Lifeng over the past year. They noted his transformation from a rigid Communist Party official with limited English and a reliance on prepared speeches into a more confident, results-driven leader. He also holds s...
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Huawei, a Chinese company, “hopes its new AI chip can outperform Nvidia.”
28Apr mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

Huawei, a Chinese company, “hopes its new AI chip can outperform Nvidia.”

Chinese tech giant Huawei is getting ready to test its new and most powerful artificial intelligence processor, according to a new report. Huawei Technologies is keen to replace some higher-end semiconductors produced by US chip giant Nvidia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Huawei has approached some Chinese tech companies about testing the technical feasibility of the new chip, called the Ascend 910D, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.The Chinese company hopes that the latest iteration of its Ascend AI processors will be more powerful than Nvidia’s H100, and is slated to receive the first batch of samples of the processor as early as late May, the report added. Reuters reported on Monday that Huawei plans to begin mass shipments of its advanced ...
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Double tariffs imposed by the trade war on international businesses in China
27Apr mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

Double tariffs imposed by the trade war on international businesses in China

Foreign manufacturers in China are paying duties of 125 per cent to import components and then 145 per cent to export to the US as Donald Trump’s trade war hammers their operations. International companies and joint ventures account for nearly one-third of China’s total trade, according to official data that makes clear the extent of their exposure to tariffs. Large US companies such as Apple and Tesla and many smaller producers rely on China as a manufacturing base. These companies often import raw materials or components from the US for assembly into products that are then exported. This leaves them exposed to the possibility of paying both US and Chinese tariffs on the same goods, economists said, after Trump sharply escalated levies on all Chinese exports to 145 per cent, lea...
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Trade tensions erode momentum as China says G20 global economic growth is “insufficient.”
25Apr mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

Trade tensions erode momentum as China says G20 global economic growth is “insufficient.”

China warned a G20 meeting that world economic growth was "insufficient" as tariff and trade wars exacerbated economic and financial instability and sapped growth momentum, its finance ministry and central bank said.Speaking at the group's meeting in Washington, Finance Minister Lan Foan called on all parties to strengthen multilateral cooperation, saying that China supported dialogue and consultation "on equal footing" to settle trade and tariff disputes.Meanwhile, People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng said that economic fragmentation and trade tensions had disrupted supply chains, weakening the momentum of global economic growth, the central bank said in a separate readout on Friday.Pan also told the meeting, which took place on Wednesday and Thursday, that the world's major eco...
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