Category: Economy>Manufacturing

Chinese-Moroccan Joint Venture Inaugurates EV Battery Parts Plant

A Chinese-Moroccan joint venture announced on Wednesday the inauguration of a new factory for electric car battery components, the first of its kind in the North African country. The complex will ultimately have a production "capacity equivalent to 70 GWh per ...

China Factory Output Slumps but Consumption Offers Bright Spot

By Isabelle Kua China's factory output grew slower than expected last month as trade war pressures bit, official data showed Monday, while a bump in a key gauge of domestic consumption offered a rare bright spot for the economy. ...

Can Africa Move Up the Critical Mineral Value Chain? The Hard Truth Behind a Familiar Chorus

As China opens its doors wider to African exports, extending duty-free market access to all 53 diplomatic partners on the continent, the announcement was met with applause in ministerial corridors from Nairobi to Niamey. For many, the new policy represents another chance for Africa to claim ...

The Chinese FDI Boom in Africa That Wasn’t

For years, China has been seen as the pivotal international economic partner across Africa. That was certainly true in terms of steadily rising trade volumes and a fire hose of state backed loans that built roads, railways, and ports across the ...

U.S. Firms Urge Washington to Lower Tariffs on ‘Valued Partner’ Vietnam

U.S. companies in Vietnam have urged the Trump administration to lower tariffs on Hanoi, according to a letter from the American Chamber of Commerce obtained by AFP on Tuesday, warning the levies would hurt their business. The Southeast Asian manufacturing hub ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

China-Led Study Proposes Global Energy Network

A globally connected network of solar and wind energy could provide three times the global energy demand by 2050 at a lower cost than independent national power systems. This is the finding of a study led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with researchers from the United States and Denmark.

The study focused on how areas with high solar and wind capacity (such as deserts) can be linked to ...

China Factory Activity Hits Lowest Since 2022, Survey Shows

Chinese factory activity hit a more than two-year low in May, a closely watched survey showed Tuesday, as a detente in Beijing's trade war with Washington was offset by ongoing domestic problems in the world's number two economy. China and the ...

China’s J-10CE Fighter Jet Getting Lots of Attention at Malaysia Weapons Show

Sales representatives from the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC), maker of the newly popular J-10CE fighter jet, were especially busy last week at a major weapons exhibition in Malaysia. The J-10CE got a boost earlier this month when it was used in combat ...

Foxconn to Expand India Focus With $1.5 Billion Investment

Key iPhone maker Foxconn is making a $1.5 billion investment to expand its focus on India as Apple looks to mitigate geopolitical and tariff risks by shifting production away from China. The Taiwanese tech giant said its Singapore-based subsidiary had picked ...

Critical Mineral Resource Nationalism: What It Means for China and the Global South

Driven by the accelerating global energy transition, resource-rich countries are actively asserting greater control over their critical minerals—lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and rare earths—through a policy shift known as resource nationalism. While the framing of resource nationalism came from global north countries that dislike policies by ...

Ignoring China Won’t Help African Countries Move up the Critical Mineral Value Chain

Last week, African mining ministers and global leaders gathered in Paris to discuss the continent’s role in the future of critical minerals and responsible sourcing. At the OECD’s High-Level Dialogue on Africa, one message came through loud and clear: Africa must move beyond simply exporting raw ...