In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...
Category: Business
China–Indonesia Launch Yuan–Rupiah Settlements, QR Payments
China and Indonesia on Thursday launched a local-currency settlement framework for bilateral transactions. Both countries also began a two-way trial of cross-border QR code payments. The central bank chiefs called the steps important milestones. Bank Indonesia said the local-currency scheme ...
China EVs: BYD Leads Indonesia in August 2025, Market Down
China’s BYD led among Chinese EV brands in Indonesia in August with 2,562 wholesale units as the overall car market fell year on year. Aion finished ahead of Denza, sharpening competition among Chinese marques under Indonesia’s EV tax breaks. Indonesia’s ...
S.Africa Court Jails 7 Chinese Nationals for Human Trafficking
A South African court sentenced seven Chinese nationals to 20 years in prison Wednesday for forcing more than 90 Malawians, some as young as 14, to work in a Johannesburg sweatshop. Africa's most industrialised nation is a magnet for undocumented migrants ...
Indonesia Deepens Ties With Xinjiang Despite Human Rights Concerns
When the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) opened its doors to Xinjiang’s state-linked conglomerates this month, the event was billed as a milestone in deepening trade ties. Executives from Jakarta and Urumqi spoke glowingly of “mutual respect” ...
China E-Mobility Weekly Digest: Changan’s 932-Mile EV Battery, Chery’s SA Crash Test and Nairobi’s New E-Tuktuks
This is a free preview of the upcoming Africa EVs Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. This week, news broke of Chinese automaker Changan's plans to unveil an electric vehicle (EV) with ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
China’s Delivery Titans Export Their Ugliest Rivalry to Brazil
Two of China’s biggest delivery giants are exporting not just their business models but also their worst habits. In Brazil, Didi’s 99Food and Meituan’s Keeta have turned a promising overseas expansion into a spectacle of lawsuits, exclusivity deals, and copycat branding so absurd that instead of toppling ...
Africa’s EV Trade Siege and What’s Blocking the Future
The electric vehicle (EV) sector in many African countries faces critical challenges, slowing down the adoption of electric mobility. Some of these challenges are intra-African trade barriers, which make it hard to do cross-border trade. ...
China E-Mobility Weekly Digest: BYD Shark Arrives in Kenya as LDV, eTERRO 9 Debut in South Africa
This is a free preview of the upcoming Africa EVs Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. Recent activity by Chinese automakers in South Africa shows growing momentum in the country’s vehicle sector as manufacturers ...
China, India Pledge to Resume Flights as Beijing’s Top Diplomat Wraps up Visit
China and India announced they would restart direct flights in a string of diplomatic breakthroughs, state media reported Wednesday, as Beijing's foreign minister wrapped up a visit before heading to Pakistan. Following Wang Yi's trip to India, Beijing and New Delhi ...
BHP Books Rise in Profit on Back of Chinese Copper Demand
Australian mining giant BHP on Tuesday reported a bump in yearly profits, as China's appetite for copper helped to counter slumping prices for iron ore and coal. Chief executive Mike Henry trumpeted a strong year "marked by record production", with annual ...
BYD Readies Thai Exports as Chinese EVs Lead in Southeast Asia
Government electric vehicle EV incentives in Thailand and Indonesia are significantly influencing the region’s auto market, lifting Chinese brands while slumping Japanese incumbents. BYD will start shipping Thai-built plug-in hybrids to Europe in late August, while in Indonesia, EV ...
China E-Mobility Weekly Digest: BasiGo Partnership For CATL Battery Systems Maintenance as E-Motorcycles Numbers Grow
This is a free preview of the upcoming Africa EVs Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. Chinese automakers are reshaping the electric vehicle (EV) market with a tech-first strategy and competitive pricing. This is, ...