China Archives - FINANCIAL POST

Meta to Buy Chinese-Founded AI Startup Seen as ‘Next DeepSeek’

31Dec

By Michael SmithNo Comments

Asia, China, World

Meta to Buy Chinese-Founded AI Startup Seen as ‘Next DeepSeek’

US tech giant Meta has announced plans to takeover Manus, a Chinese-founded artificial intelligence startup hailed earlier this year as “the next DeepSeek”. The news on Monday (US time) comes as Meta ramps up moves to integrate advanced AI across its platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook and more. Financial terms of its transaction with Manus were not revealed, but a source with direct knowledge of the matter said the deal values the Singapore-based firm at between $2 billion and $3 billion. Meta has said Manus will cut ties with China after it has been acquired, according to Nikkei. So, China’s response to the takeover may be interesting, given Beijing’s desire to bolster its tech and artificial intelligence capacity. Manus did not immediately reply to a request for ...

US labels Chinese chips an economic threat, but delays tariff impact until 2027

26Dec

By Mike TrudellNo Comments

China, Market, USA

US labels Chinese chips an economic threat, but delays tariff impact until 2027

In a new trade move against China’s semiconductor industry, the US Trade Representative Office said it had determined that Beijing’s drive for dominance in the sector is “unreasonable and discriminatory” and poses a direct threat to US commerce.In a formal notice of action filed with the Federal Register, the agency said the US is implementing a tariff action on a wide range of Chinese semiconductors, with an initial rate of 0 per cent. The rate is set to rise in 18 months, on June 23, 2027, to a higher level that will be announced 30 days before the deadline. Analysts said the delayed timetable underscores that the move is intended as much to signal resolve and retain leverage over Beijing as to deliver an immediate economic impact, with Washington opting to keep pressure in reser...

<strong>Indonesia’s MSMEs Collapse Under China’s Dumping Tactics</strong>

24Dec

By Michael SmithNo Comments

Asia, China

Indonesia’s MSMEs Collapse Under China’s Dumping Tactics

China’s relentless dumping of cheap goods into Indonesia is eroding the country’s MSMEs, dismantling local supply chains, and exposing deep vulnerabilities in Indonesia’s industrial ecosystem. Latest trade data shows China now accounts for more than one-third of Indonesia’s imports, underscoring the scale of this structural imbalance. Across Indonesia’s archipelago, from Surabaya’s bustling markets to Jakarta’s digital storefronts, a quiet but devastating transformation is underway. Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) which employ 90–95% of Indonesia’s workforceare abandoning production and shifting to reselling Chinese imports. This is not globalization in its benign form; it is a structural displacement driven by China’s industrial dominance and Indonesia’s inabili...

The Changing Nature of China’s Engagement in the Maldives

24Dec

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

Asia, China

The Changing Nature of China’s Engagement in the Maldives

Debt restructuring, grants and donations, commercial contracts, and deepening trade and financial linkages are allowing China to enhance its presence in the Maldives and create economic dependencies. On 30 November, the Maldivian government accelerated the Rasmalé project, a large-scale land reclamation initiative that will subsequently receive Chinese support for infrastructure development. This move underscores a broader shift in China’s economic presence in the Maldives under the presidency of Mohamed Muizzu. China’s modus operandi in the Maldives can be categorised into four broader trends: prioritising debt restructuring over new loans; focus on grants and donations; securing commercial contracts; and deepening economic and financial linkages. These engagement...

China keeps benchmark lending rates steady for a seventh straight month despite weak economic data

21Dec

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

Asia, China

China keeps benchmark lending rates steady for a seventh straight month despite weak economic data

China’s central bank kept its loan prime rates steady on Monday, even as the world’s second largest economy has seen weak economic data and an extended slump in its property sector. The People’s Bank of China kept its 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates unchanged at 3% and 3.5% respectively, holding them for a seventh straight meeting, in line with a Reuters survey. The 1-year rate acts as a benchmark for new loans, while the 5-year helps peg mortgage rates. The PBOC’s decision comes amid downbeat economic data from China in November, including lower-than-expected retail sales and industrial output. Retail sales rose 1.3% last month from a year earlier, sharply missing Reuters’ median forecast for a 2.8% growth, and slowing from 2.9% rise in the prior month. Industrial p...

Why China’s young are flocking to government jobs in record numbers

19Dec

By Joe RodriguezNo Comments

Asia, China

Why China’s young are flocking to government jobs in record numbers

ates seeking jobs at private enterprises is declining, dropping to 12.5% last year from 25.1% in 2020, the survey showed. Rising uncertainty in the jobs market, layoffs and slowing wage growth in the private sector have pushed many youngsters to seek the “security, predictable benefits and social prestige of public service,” said Mingjiang Li, associate professor at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. China’s education ministry has sought to bolster employment at privately owned enterprises, offering tax rebates, social insurance reliefs and subsidies to encourage hiring young graduates. But the incentives have been low. The Shanghai municipal government, for instance, offers just 1,500 yuan in one-time subsidy per new hire. Government hiring slowsAppl...

19Dec

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

China, USA

China vs. the US: Which GDP is bigger?

Has China yet surpassed the United States in aggregate economic power? Perhaps not. Although China’s GDP, at market prices and exchange rates, is still much lower than that of the United States, the opposite is true if the calculation is made at the international purchasing power parity (PPP) prices (using the newly updated Penn World Tables). And China has been growing much faster. If the objective is to compare national economic power (rather than standard of living), though, the PPP figure arguably overstates the power of low-income countries. A simple adjustment, relating to the Balassa-Samuelson (1964) effect, suggests that China may still be slightly behind the United States. China’s population is much larger than that of the United States, but its average living standa...

Despite tariffs, China consumer giants push into the US as domestic market stalls

18Dec

By Mike TrudellNo Comments

China, Market, USA

Despite tariffs, China consumer giants push into the US as domestic market stalls

Shanghai/New York Lured by the promise of richer margins, a wave of Chinese consumer brands is making deeper inroads into American retail to offset sluggish spending at home. Throughout 2025, companies including Labubu-maker Pop Mart , trinket purveyor Miniso, sportswear giant Anta and fast-fashion label Urban Revivo have announced new U.S. stores or retail expansions, trying to establish a foothold in the world’s richest consumer market despite harsh U.S. tariffs and talk of economic decoupling. The counterintuitive trend, which started to emerge in 2023 after the COVID pandemic, accelerated this year as lethargic local spending prompted Chinese consumer companies to look abroad, initially in Southeast Asia. NewYork a litmus test for broader expansion Urban Revivo, often ...

9Dec

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

China, Market

How China Wins the Future

When the Chinese cargo ship Istanbul Bridge docked at the British port of Felixstowe on October 13, 2025, the arrival might have appeared unremarkable. The United Kingdom is China’s third-largest export market, and boats travel between the two countries all year. What was remarkable about the Bridge was the route it had taken—it was the first major Chinese cargo ship to travel directly to Europe via the Arctic Ocean. The trip took 20 days, weeks faster than the traditional routes through the Suez Canal or around the Cape of Good Hope. Beijing hailed the journey as a geostrategic breakthrough and a contribution to supply chain stability. Yet the more important message was unstated: the extent of China’s economic and security ambitions in a new realm of global pow...

What’s next for China’s economy in 2026 – and how it plans to tackle challenges

6Dec

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

Asia, China

What’s next for China’s economy in 2026 – and how it plans to tackle challenges

Top investment banks forecast moderate growth next year amid trade, property and structural challenges After a turbulent year marked by the trade war and domestic headwinds, China will head into 2026 cautiously as it grapples with structural challenges to growth. Global investors are watching closely to see how Beijing works to shore up confidence, double down on strategic industries and mitigate overcapacity, all while navigating a fast-evolving geopolitical environment. In this explainer, the Post distils forecasts from major investment banks and economists on what to expect in 2026, also the first year of the next five-year plan – a socio-economic blueprint that typically sets the tone for policy direction. GDP outlook There is consensus among major financial in...

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