Category: Economy

Fresh From China, South Korea President to Visit Japan

South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung will travel to Japan next week for talks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Seoul said Friday, days after meeting Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. The visit to Takaichi's picturesque hometown of Nara on Tuesday ...

The China-Venezuela Relationship is Weaker than Many Think

While both the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Chinese firms have protested U.S. pressure on Venezuela to cut ties with China, Beijing’s relationship with Caracas has been in decline for years. Bloomberg shows that Chinese trade with the beleaguered country peaked in 2012, the year before President Nicolás Maduro ...

China Pressure Hangs Over Indonesia’s U.S. Tariff Deal

Indonesia’s planned tariff deal with the United States risks drawing pressure from China, if Jakarta grants Washington terms not extended elsewhere, an Indonesian economist warned, as the agreement nears signing. “China might use this as a basis to demand the same ...

China–Vietnam Rail Freight Volume Hits Record in 2025

China’s rail operator said freight trains departing the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for Vietnam carried a record 37,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo in 2025, an increase of 86% from a year earlier. The Nanning Railway Logistics Centre said demand ...

China Tops Indonesia Trade in 2025, Surplus Extends to 67 Months

China remained the top trading partner behind Indonesia’s widening trade surplus in the first 11 months of 2025, serving as both the country’s largest export destination and its biggest source of non-oil imports, official data showed. Indonesia recorded a ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

CGSP Take: How Does the Venezuela Crisis Affect China’s Relationship with the Global South?

By Cobus van Staden, CGSP Head of Research,
China has sharply criticized the Trump administration’s incursion into Venezuela and its detention of President Nicolás Maduro. 

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China Demand Slowdown Clouds Thailand’s 2026 Export Outlook

Thailand’s export outlook for 2026 is deteriorating as weaker demand from China collides with tighter U.S. trade conditions, raising the risk of stagnation or outright contraction, government forecasts show. Thailand's Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) projects exports next year ...

Vietnam’s China-Linked Growth Brings It Closer to Thailand’s GDP

Vietnam’s economy is expanding quickly enough to close on Thailand in nominal gross domestic product, driven by state-led investment and export growth. Thailand is facing slower growth. Vietnam could potentially overtake Thailand in nominal gross domestic product this year or next, ...

Why the Venezuela Crisis Won’t (Seriously) Affect China’s Oil Supply

In the wake of the Trump administration’s incursion into Venezuela and its stated plan to seize the country’s oil output, the focus has swung to China’s historical role as a major buyer of Venezuelan oil. Venezuela was an early testing ...

China Drives Vietnam Fruit Exports, Leaving Growers Exposed

Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports rose to $8.5 billion in 2025, led by durian sales into China, the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association said. The industry says dependence on China leaves exporters exposed when import rules change. Export revenue reached ...

China Imports Drive Vietnam’s 8% 2025 Growth, Record U.S. Surplus

Vietnam’s economy expanded 8% in 2025, preliminary government data showed on Monday. The country posted a record trade surplus with the United States and record imports from China, after Washington imposed 20% tariffs from August. Vietnam shipped $153.2 billion of ...

China’s Factory Activity Edges up, Snapping 8-Month Slide

China's factory activity ticked up slightly in December, official data showed Wednesday, an unexpected silver lining to cap an otherwise lacklustre end to the year for the world's second-largest economy. A key measure of industrial health, the manufacturing purchasing managers' index ...

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.
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