China-US trade war

Container ships at the Port of Oakland on 8 March 2023 in Oakland, California. (Justin Sullivan/AFP)

How US is continuing to restructure globalisation and the global trade system

Commentator Jin Jian Guo assesses that the global trade situation has undergone structural changes, in terms of China gradually losing its status as the world’s factory, amid competition from India and other countries in Southeast Asia. One major reason is the US’s actions in pursuing regional and bilateral free trade agreements that excludes China and have limited China’s trade scope.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint press conference at the State Department in Washington, US, 11 January 2023. (Joshua Roberts/File Photo/Reuters)

US Secretary of State Blinken’s visit to China is paved with thorns

Amid ongoing tensions, a high-level visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China in the coming week shows hope for improved relations between the two economic powerhouses. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan notes that while the meeting may not produce practical results, it is a much needed exchange to manage and control China-US relations from worsening.
US President Joe Biden visits the production line for the Hummer EV as he tours the General Motors 'Factory ZERO' electric vehicle assembly plant, next to UAW President Ray Curry and General Motors CEO Mary Barra, in Detroit, Michigan, US, 17 November 2021. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

US efforts to compete with China could undermine global economic order principles

The US often stresses the need to uphold the rules-based international order, but its recent moves towards giving priority to developing the domestic economy and manufacturing within the US might mean that the advocate of the rules may be guilty of undermining them.
Pedestrians in the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China, on 20 December 2022. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Tug of war: Taiwanese businesses in China tussle with decoupling and integration

While investments by Taiwanese enterprises in mainland China have declined due to geopolitical factors and Covid-19, many still have one foot in the massive domestic market. As a result, a number of Taiwanese enterprises have turned into “new mainland enterprises” as they integrate into the mainland’s domestic market. Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han looks into where Taiwanese enterprises are moving towards.
Chinese flags along a street in Beijing on 12 October 2022, ahead of the 20th Communist Party Congress meeting. (Wang Zhao/AFP)

Ten years of political intervention: China’s economy at a crossroads

With the 20th Party Congress just days away, Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing looks at the government’s economic policies and actions over the past decade, including its cleanup of the technology and education sectors, and pandemic lockdowns. How has the party responded, and what impact has there been on the people?
Can China become fully self-reliant in the semiconductor industry? (iStock)

China’s semiconductor Great Leap Forward is doomed to fail

Political commentator Jin Jian Guo believes that the semiconductor Great Leap Forward pushed by the Chinese authorities could have the same devastating effects as the Great Leap Forward of the past. In an industry that is globally interconnected, persisting with the impossible endeavour of becoming fully self-reliant would only result in further instances of failing to learn from history.
People walk by the New York Stock Exchange at the start of the trading day on 3 June 2022 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP)

Could the end of the China-US trade war be near?

With the latest virtual call between Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, observers are anticipating that the US will lift the Trump-era punitive tariffs on China and de-escalate the four-year-long China-US trade war that has hurt both economies. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu looks at how the situation might develop and how Biden might play his cards.
A Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner taxis past the Final Assembly Building at Boeing South Carolina in North Charleston, South Carolina, US, 31 March 2017. (Randall Hill/Reuters)

Boeing losing out amid strained China-US trade relations

Three of China’s major airlines have announced plans to purchase about 300 aircrafts from Europe’s Airbus, much to the chagrin of the US’s Boeing. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan discusses the reasons behind the move and what this might portend.
A woman holds US dollar banknotes in this illustration taken 30 May 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters)

Quit the dollar: Can Asia build its own digital currency and digital payment infrastructure?

Calls for de-dollarisation have increased since the financial sanctions of the Ukraine war and the very real threat of the US dollar being weaponised. In this context, academic Pei Sai Fan explains why conditions are ripe for China and Asia to offer innovative alternatives, such as developing regional digital currency cooperation in the payment and settlement of regional trade and investment, and expediting the development of new cross-border digital payment infrastructure in Asia known as multi-CBDC platform projects.