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US-China trade war

US-China trade war
Breaking news and analysis on the US-China trade war, its history and timeline, and the impact on the global economy.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his end-of-year press conference at the State Department on Friday. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

Rubio swaps hawk for diplomat in year-end pivot on China

Top US envoy eschews ‘pacing threat’ label, stressing cooperation and Western hemisphere priorities for 2026.

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China economy

Opinion | Why China is cracking down on ‘involution’

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TikTok

TikTok deal, China slowdown, Vanke debt deadline

US-China relations

China cuts US Treasury holdings to lowest level since 2008

The stockpile has now fallen to nearly half its November 2013 peak, financial data shows, as long-term sell-off continues.

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China is now in third place among foreign US Treasury holders, behind Japan and the United Kingdom. Photo: dpa
Mainland China

Trump signs defence bill restricting investment in Chinese tech, military firms

Key provisions target contracts with Chinese biotech companies and outbound investment in technologies with military applications in China.

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United States

TikTok reaches deal on new US venture with American investor group

The deal was signed on Thursday, with the landmark move ending years of legal and political uncertainty.

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Mainland China

China reportedly sticking to its soybean deal with US, but worries remain

Beijing secures 7 million tonnes of soybeans, passing halfway mark of its US purchase agreement. However, little has been shipped so far.

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China secures 7 million tonnes of soybeans, passing halfway mark of its US purchase agreement. Photo: The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS
US-China relations

Opinion | Mark 2025. It’s the year China became a peer power to America

China not only forced a trade war backdown, it displayed its hi-tech military might from the waters off Australia to the skies near Japan.

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US-China relations

US highlights Panama security ties as China-linked canal ports deal stalls

US envoy’s coastguard visit near Panama comes as Beijing presses for Cosco control and Washington pushes back.

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US-China relations

As Trump upends US foreign policy, analysts see fresh openings for China

After a turbulent year, experts expect continued disruption to reshape global influence, testing alliances and altering the balance of power.

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Illustration: Brian Wang
China exports

China confirms issuing of first general licences for rare earth exports

Beijing says it is now granting longer permits giving foreign companies easier access to vital minerals, but many details remain unclear.

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Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. Photo: Reuters
China trade

China jails antimony smugglers in tough stance on critical minerals

Dozens convicted of illegally shipping 166 tonnes of the strategic material, marking a major enforcement of Beijing’s export controls.

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China trade

China’s Hainan launches separate customs regime allowing tariff-free imports

Most goods can enter Hainan with zero import duties under the new system, as China looks to turn the island into a strategic buffer zone.

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China trade

As trade deficit mounts, is EU selling what China wants to buy?

Traditional European exports like cars are losing their appeal, while restrictions crimp sales of sought-after lithography machines.

A China-Europe freight train leave the transshipment yard of Tongjiang North Railway Station in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province on December 9. Photo: Xinhua
US-China decoupling

Open Questions | Yeo on how Trump wants to avoid Taiwan upending China relations

Former Singapore foreign minister George Yeo says that Donald Trump is prioritising stable relations with China, and that the US is facing decline amid a shift to a multipolar world.

illustration by Lau Ka-kuen
United States

Trump gives himself high marks in 2025 report card, with his eyes on 2026 fight

In a White House speech, the president claimed economic and foreign policy wins while urging voters to back his agenda in the midterms.

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US-China tech war

Editorial | Export curbs or not, Trump’s America can’t slow China’s tech surge

US debate over how to contain China’s tech development is irrelevant as Chinese domestic industry development has already taken full flight.

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US-China relations

‘A risk’: wealthy Chinese appear to shun Trump’s ‘gold card’ immigration scheme

Initial excitement fizzles amid limited benefits and security concerns, immigration agents say.

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US President Donald Trump holds up the original US$5 million gold card as he speaks to reporters while on board Air Force One, on April 3. Photo: AP
China trade

China bets big on copper processing, but ‘weaponisation’ risks are low: analysts

Beijing views copper as critical for EVs and AI, but a reliance on imported ore limits China’s ability to use the strategic metal as leverage.

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Rare earths

China eases grip on rare earths

China has suspended export controls on critical minerals introduced in October and eased the licensing process for others following the Trump-Xi summit in South Korea.

China exports

Surviving the shocks: what China and the US learned from 2025’s trade war

Businesses and officials faced a year of disruption – and in some cases, resilience – as tariffs and export controls roiled global markets.

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Illustration: Davies Christian
China-Latin America relations

Chile’s sharp shift to the right puts it at the centre of China-US rivalry

Election of Jose Antonio Kast in Latin American country adds to Donald Trump’s vocal allies but analysts expect China ties to stay stable.

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Supporters of Chile’s winning presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast react as the first election results are announced on Sunday. Photo: AFP
China-Latin America relations

Mexico stands by its decision for 50 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods

Government defends tariff package as vital to supporting domestic workers and producers, and not aimed at curbing imports from China.

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Science

Why China’s growing demand for rare-earth steel is bad news for America’s F-35

Advanced product is used in huge infrastructure projects but that has further reduced supply for overseas buyers like the US defence sector.

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United States

‘Efforts to choke China cannot succeed’: Xi Jinping to top leadership

China’s rise is unstoppable, president tells central economic work conference, hails ‘moral backbone’ in rare allusion to US trade war.

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President Xi Jinping (centre) has called for planning “rooted in reality, aiming for real, unembellished growth that drives high-quality and sustainable development”. Photo: Xinhua
China consumption

Forging ahead: China’s copper heartland vows to build US$28 billion empire

Shandong province plans to create a world-class smelting hub by 2027 to secure supply chains for the strategic metal as prices sizzle.

Employees wind copper rods in July at a workshop that recycles copper in China’s Anhui province. Photo: AFP
Science

US green tech retreat echoes mistake of China’s Qing dynasty before collapse

While Washington pulls back on climate, Beijing is making it possible for developing nations to leapfrog into a cleaner energy era.

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Rare earths

China-free supply chain? US firm has a rare earth strategy – but can it work?

Backed by Washington, REalloys seeks to break dependence on China but says achieving fully self-sufficient supply chain will take time.

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