Journalist Chieh-Yi Cheng notes that the traditional ways of food preparation have given way to high-tech production, leading to the improvement of food quality, as well as counterfeiting methods. It now becomes a cat-and-mouse game, with the need to boost efforts in surveillance, tracing funding sources, and tracking the quantity and movement of raw materials and ingredients, in order to nip the problem in the bud.
Supply chain
Economy
As growth in the sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) slows in China, a growing number of Chinese carmakers are speeding up their entry into foreign markets. While rising trade protectionism in Europe and North America is affecting their pace of expansion, Chinese carmakers are exploring new markets in South America and Southeast Asia, and localising their production to achieve breakthroughs. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Daryl Lim speaks with industry insiders to find out more.
Economy
In theory, the Germans are supportive of the government’s call for greater economic independence from China. In practice, this is hard to implement. A roadmap and a better explanation to companies of how this will work and who will pay the price is needed, says The Berlin Pulse editor Jonathan Lehrer.
Economy
In the ever-evolving landscape of global geopolitics, worsening climate change impacts and the need to accelerate the clean energy transition, the contest for critical raw materials and renewable energy technologies has emerged as a focal point of contention between the European Union (EU) and China. The upcoming EU-China summit in Beijing on 5 and 6 December offers an opportunity to address their disagreements.
Technology
Academics Lili Yan Ing and Ivana Markus take stock of the current state of the global semiconductor race between China and the US. While ASEAN is looking to capture a part of the high-tech equipment and supply chain, it still needs to navigate the complex US-China rivalry.
Economy
Almost all countries have been suffering the impacts of the pandemic since 2020, but China was hit by the pandemic first and had implemented the longest and strictest anti-Covid policy. China could suffer a worse "scarring effect" as a result, both on the societal and economic levels. China is desperate for solutions to get out of this situation.
Technology
Chinese component suppliers are trying to curb their reliance on Apple, the latest American giant caught in the US-China tug of-war. In the early days, Chinese firms able to make it onto Apple’s supplier list were able to breathe a little easier. But with reliance comes exposure, and a need to adapt amid news of Apple's decreasing sales and rumoured plans of making production shifts to other countries.
Economy
China’s auto market has been rattled by a brutal price war since late last year amid slowing sales. Sales of electric vehicles have plunged since a government subsidy expired at the end of last year and as consumers remain hesitant about spending.
Economy
Two of China’s largest container truck yards near the major port city of Ningbo in Zhejiang province have been filled with nearly 3,000 idle vehicles with no cargo to haul since early March, and the situation could get even worse with the delivery of new vessels. Could overcapacity in the industry lead to a price war?