When it was announced in 2023 that the African Union would become a full member of the G20, I darkly joked on a podcast that the AU’s entry into the body could very well mark the moment the G20 lost its status as one of the most important global coordination forums. Mark my words, I said, soon The Economist will be like “Uhhh, the G20 is OVER – it’s the ...
Category: Economy
2025 China-Africa Year in Review
In this special year-end edition of The China in Africa Podcast, Eric, Cobus, and Géraud look back on the top stories of 2025 and look ahead to the key trend to watch in 2026. 📌 ...
China Leads Thailand’s EEC Projects as Japan Tops Nationwide
China investment in Thailand EEC led foreign business approvals in January–November 2025, according to Thailand’s Department of Business Development. Japan remained the largest source of projects nationwide, the agency said on Friday, Dec. 26.
China Leads Vietnam Trade as 2025 Turnover Hits $900 Billion
China remained Vietnam’s largest trading partner as 2025 goods trade crossed $900 billion, Vietnam Customs said. Full-year trade estimation sits at about $920 billion. Customs data show the $900 billion threshold was crossed between Dec. 22 and Dec. 26, based ...
China Launches WTO Complaint Over India Solar, IT Trade Measures
China launched a complaint with the World Trade Organization over Indian measures on trade of solar cells and modules as well as information technology goods, the global trade body said Tuesday. The WTO said that Beijing had requested that it initiate ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: China Moves to Build an Advanced Copper Supply Chain
Reuters reports that Chinese scientists have completed the country’s first extreme ultraviolet lithography machine, used to produce the advanced semiconductors used to power artificial intelligence applications. The prototype was reportedly reverse-engineered by scientists who used to work at the Dutch chip leader ASML. They reportedly plan to start ...
Automakers Seem the Target in Mexico–China Tariffs, but Small Exporters Take the Hardest Hit
Most media coverage of Mexico’s new tariffs on Chinese goods has zeroed in on the obvious visible targets: automakers and auto parts, where duties climb as high as 50 percent. These sectors are capital-intensive, politically sensitive, and easy to frame as symbols of shifting trade policy.
China Pushes Gulf Cooperation Council to Conclude Free Trade Agreement
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on the Gulf Cooperation Council to conclude a free trade agreement that has been in discussion for decades. Wang’s meeting with Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, on Sunday in Riyadh, ...
China and Jordan Discuss Closer Ties
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday, the conclusion of his trip to the Middle East. He also met with Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. The conversations focused on boosting economic cooperation, channeling more ...
China Orders Banks and Commerce to Boost Consumption
China orders banks and commerce officials to work more closely to boost consumption, directing coordination between financial institutions and commerce agencies as part of a domestic demand push. Consumption has been positioned as a core focus of economic planning under ...
Xi Elevates Domestic Demand as Core of China’s Economic Strategy
Chinese President Xi Jinping has again placed expanding domestic demand at the core of China’s economic strategy. He argues that growth driven mainly by exports and investment is no longer sufficient as globalization faces headwinds and external conditions change. The ...
Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Makes Surprise Appearance in Rwanda
Jack Ma, the legendary Chinese tech mogul and founder of the e-commerce giant Alibaba, made a surprise appearance in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, on Saturday to attend the African Business Heroes awards, which he launched in the late 2010s. Ma was ...
Inside the Himalayas’ Last Living Trade Route
A recent in-depth feature published on the Guangzhou-based renowned newspaper Southern Weekly takes readers into Purang (Burang) on Tibet’s remote Ali Plateau, a tri-border junction between China, Nepal, and India, where one of the Himalayas’ oldest trading systems is still alive. And timing matters: 2026 will ...
Constructive Responses to Net Negative Transfers: What Next for China’s Financial Relationship With Low-Income Countries
By Rebecca Ray In the last few years, China’s net debt transfers (new disbursements minus repayments) to low-income countries have turned negative. This trend means that poor countries are now repaying China more each year for past years’ lending than they ...