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Indonesia Fines TikTok Over Late Tokopedia Acquisition Notice

Indonesia's antitrust agency has fined TikTok $900,000 for failing to notify regulators in time about its acquisition of e-commerce platform Tokopedia, an official said on Monday. TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, completed an $840 million deal in January 2024 to acquire ...

Singapore Denies Entry to HK Activist, Citing ‘National Interests’

Singapore said Monday it had refused entry to Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law over the weekend as his presence would not be in the city-state's "national interests". The activist, who holds a UK refugee travel document, told AFP that he ...

BYD: 1 in 5 EVs Will Be Exported in 2025 as Production Ramps

China’s BYD expects to export 800,000 to 1,000,000 EVs in 2025, about a fifth of its 2025 sales as it moves more cars on its own vessels and adds capacity overseas. “We estimate that the proportion of our overseas sales would ...

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 ...

China Puts EV Exports Under Permit Regime from 2026

China will add electric vehicles, or EVs, to its export-permit list effective Jan. 1, 2026, the Ministry of Commerce said, citing “healthy development” of the sector. The step brings EVs into line with permit regimes already applied to other ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Revealing Reactions to China’s Festival of Optics

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 ...

Indonesia Prepares for Pivotal Talks on Expanding China-Financed ‘Whoosh’ High-Speed Railway

When the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail, known as the Whoosh, opened in October 2023, it quickly drew scrutiny. China provided billions in loans, KCIC—the China-Indonesia joint venture operating the line—reported losses, and parent companies like the state-owned PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) absorbed significant deficits. Critics ...

China Starts Pitching Car Factory System to Set ASEAN Standards

China’s auto manufacturers are moving from exporting vehicles to exporting manufacturing systems, technology platforms, and standards into ASEAN, using localized rollouts (right-hand models, local partners) to anchor market entry. SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW) used the 22nd ASEAN Expo to shift its ...

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 Leads Influence in Southeast Asia, but Neighbors Come First

China leads the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Influence Index by a point, 65 to 64 over the United States on the latest reading, but the study finds neighbors are more important than any external power, including China. However, Lowy records ...

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 ...

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 ...

ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting Pushes Regional Integration Amid Trade Tensions

The trade relationship between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is expected to take center stage at the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) gathering in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow. A consultation between the ten-country bloc and China will happen ...
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