Category: Import

South Africa Solar Boom Signals Rebellion Against “Malfunctioning Energy Systems”

In many African countries, the future of electricity generation lies in renewables, and South Africa, where over 85% of the energy comes from coal-fired power plants, is already undergoing a shift. Last year, South Africa imported Chinese ...

China Tops Indonesia Trade, August Surplus Highest Since 2022

China was Indonesia’s top buyer and top supplier as Indonesia’s goods trade surplus reached $5.49 billion in August. The number is the highest since November 2022, according to the Indonesian statistics agency. Indonesia recorded a $29.14 billion trade surplus ...

Thailand Asks China to Complete the 280,000-ton Rice Import

Thailand asked China to complete a 280,000-metric-ton government rice purchase and floated a separate 500,000-metric-ton buy for 2025, Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun said on Saturday. The remaining 280,000 tons are believed to be part of an earlier 1-million-ton purchase under a ...

Spike in Chinese Oil Imports from Indonesia Sparks Iran Rumors

A surge in oil imports from Indonesia to China over the last two months has sparked allegations that China may be importing sanctioned Iranian oil via the Southeast Asian country. Since July, China has imported 2.7 million tons of crude oil ...

China–ASEAN Trade Nears $1,05 Trillion as Surplus Hits $278 Billion

China and ASEAN are set to pass the trade threshold in 2025, with nearly $1.05 trillion in goods. That would leave China with a surplus that swells past $278 billion, a big step up from 2024. Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, the ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

How to Lure Chinese Financing Back to the Global South: Report

Global South countries face increasing financing pressure, endangering their ability to keep developing while also implementing measures to deal with a growing climate crisis. The disruption of global trade is coupled with a larger megatrend: flows of international capital to the developing world have turned negative. This means that countries are now routinely paying more to service loans than they receive in disbursements.

The vast majority of Global South borrowers ...

U.S. Tariffs Hit China’s Exports; Pressure Rises in Southeast Asia

China’s exports to the United States fell 25% between April and August 2025, about $57 billion, yet shipments redirected to Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe helped offset the hit, a recent UNDP study finds. Southeast Asia took the most significant ...

China Leads Vietnam’s Electronics Component Imports, $33.5 Billion in 2025

China was the largest supplier of computers, electronic products, and components to Vietnam in January–August. Imports from China reached $33.5 billion, placing it ahead of South Korea at $24.1 billion, Taiwan at nearly $15 billion, and Japan at $5.4 billion. ...

Indonesia Trade Surplus Masks a Persistent China Deficit Problem

China has tightened its hold on Indonesia’s economy, emerging as the largest buyer of non-oil exports (22.64%) and the largest source of non-oil imports (40.35%) of Indonesia's trade from January to July 2025. China is Indonesia’s top buyer of non-oil ...

China Redirects Exports to Thailand as U.S. Tariffs Bite

China is redirecting billions of dollars’ worth of exports into Thailand as new U.S. tariffs make access to the American market more difficult, raising concerns about widening trade deficits and the future of Thai industries. Thailand could face the highest ...

Indonesia’s Imports from China Hit $40 Billion, Surplus Persists

Indonesia posted a $19.5 billion trade surplus between January and June 2025, up from $15.6 billion in the same period last year. The record marked its 62nd consecutive month of surplus, according to official data released Friday by Badan ...

Vietnam Posts $10B Surplus in 2025, Deficit with China Hits $66B

Vietnam posted a $10.2B trade surplus in 2025, but a surging $66.5B deficit with China underscores deepening supply chain dependencies.

U.S. Demands That Vietnam Cut Trade with China

The United States reportedly sent a “long” list of “tough” requests to Vietnamese trade negotiators as a prerequisite for a trade deal. The demands include reducing its imports of Chinese-made industrial components and reshaping its supply chains to exclude China. The ...
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