Supply chain

The photo taken on 21 March 2024 shows employees selecting vegetables for exportation at a food factory in Nantong, in eastern China's Jiangsu province. (AFP)

Tackling food fraud upstream and downstream

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.
In this photo taken on 11 September 2023, BYD electric cars waiting to be loaded on a ship are stacked at the international container terminal of Taicang Port at Suzhou Port, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. China's top electric automaker BYD will build a car factory in Hungary, the company said on 22 December 2023, as it eyes expansion in the European market. (AFP)

[Big read] China's global EV expansion despite trade hurdles from the US and EU

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.
Shoppers outside a department store in Berlin, Germany, 14 December 2023. (Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg)

De-risking from China easier said than done for German companies

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.
Wind turbines are pictured near Heide, Germany, on 11 September 2023. (Daniel Roland/AFP)

Can the EU and China navigate their dispute over critical raw materials and clean energy technologies?

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.
Semiconductor chips are seen on a circuit board of a computer in this illustration picture taken 25 February 2022. (Florence Lo/Reuters)

ASEAN's role in the global semiconductor race

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.
People walk through a shopping mall on the second day of the 5-day Labour Day holiday in Beijing on 30 April 2023. (Greg Baker/AFP)

Has the pandemic left a 'permanent scar' on the Chinese 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.
Customers queue at the Apple Fifth Avenue store for the release of the Apple iPhone 14 range in New York City, US, 16 September 2022. (Andrew Kelly/File Photo/Reuters)

Long tethered to Apple, Chinese suppliers seek new options

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.
Visitors view a BYD Dolphin EV at the 44th Bangkok International Motor Show in Bangkok, Thailand, 23 March 2023. (Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo/Reuters)

China’s EV battery boom goes bust

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.
This file photo taken on 3 January 2023 shows shipping containers stacked at Nanjing port, Jiangsu province, China. (AFP)

How China’s export surge left the shipping industry with a hangover

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?