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News about international trade flows, statistics and policy decisions from the world’s most important trading economies and trade-related bodies, including the World Trade Organisation.
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China trade

China trade surplus hits US$1.2 trillion even with Trump tariffs

Chinese exporters brushed off the US trade war in 2025, partly by finding new markets, while lower oil prices and investments in renewable power kept imports flat amid economic growth.

China trade

China’s US$1.2 trillion trade surplus

China trade

As China’s US exports plunge, Beijing banks on diversification for 2026 growth

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China-India relations

Building bridges? India proposes inviting Chinese firms back to public projects

India plans to remove curbs that effectively shut Chinese firms out of most of its government projects in a bid to ease shortages and delays.

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Employees work on a wind turbine blade at an Adani Group factory in Mundra, India. Photo: AFP
US-China trade war

US government approves Nvidia H200 chip exports to China

Trump administration on Tuesday gave the green light to China-bound sales of Nvidia’s second most powerful AI chips.

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Singapore

Singapore urged to expand Johor SEZ to Indonesia to deepen Asean integration

The city state’s business federation and accounting firm PwC Singapore say such a move will ramp up the region’s allure to global investors.

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China manufacturing

Fears over China’s trade surplus misplaced as West also driving trend: analysts

China’s global manufacturing dominance is a tale of two halves; reliant on home-grown industrial growth and Western consumption, experts say.

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An aerial drone photo shows a cargo ship docking at Lianyungang Port, east China’s Jiangsu Province. China’s foreign trade in goods has sustained strong resilience with steady growth in the first 11 months of 2025 despite external headwinds, according to official data. Photo: Xinhua
Vietnam

As Vietnam’s US trade surplus outpaces China, Trump tries to fix ‘imbalance’

Jennifer Wicks McNamara is set to replace Marc Knapper as US ambassador to Vietnam as Hanoi’s trade surplus with US surpasses Beijing for first time.

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India

Germany’s Merz backs India-EU trade deal during first official visit to Asia

The German chancellor and India’s Modi have signed agreements aimed at boosting bilateral trade and enhancing defence cooperation.

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Donald Trump

Video | Trump slaps 25% extra tariffs on Iran’s trading partners

Trump announces tariffs ‘effective immediately’ on economies doing business with Tehran, including India and China, Iran’s largest trading partner.

U.S. President Donald Trump points while sitting next to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as they attend a meeting with oil industry executives, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 9, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
China-EU relations

China-EU deal on EVs marks rare agreement in frosty relations

The EU will waive tariffs on China-made battery electric vehicles if carmakers set a minimum price that offsets the effect of subsidies.

Photo: AFP
China-EU relations

Opinion | EU-China ties are stuck between interdependence and rivalry

To break the pattern of trade escalations with Beijing, Brussels must move beyond tariffs and invest in its own competitiveness.

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US-China relations

China’s US embassy decries ‘coercion’ after Trump’s Iran tariff move

China’s embassy opposes Washington’s ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ after Trump announces a 25 per cent tariff on countries doing business with Iran.

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China-Latin America relations

Argentina’s Milei plans 2026 China trip despite US pressure on ties

Leader cites China as a key trade partner, underscoring a sharp shift from his 2023 campaign attacks to a more pragmatic stance.

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Argentine President Javier Milei speaks at the America Business Forum at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, in November. Photo: Reuters
China trade

Japan firms seen ‘stockpiling’ rare earths as Tokyo looks to G7 amid China row

Amid fears of potential mineral export curbs by Beijing, Japanese industry is bracing, and Tokyo appears keen on a united international response.

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Japan’s finance minister said she would attend a G7 gathering in Washington on Monday with the “risk of a rare-earth-supply interruption from China in mind”. Photo: Getty Images
China trade

China pledges green-energy push with Global South, signals wider market opening

Sixth entry in Communist Party mouthpiece’s editorial series calls domestic market ‘world’s rarest resource’, vows supply-chain support to aid industrialisation.

Japan

Japan launches world’s first mission to lift rare earth from deep sea

Tokyo has been reducing its dependence on China for the critical minerals amid a major diplomatic dispute with Beijing.

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India

India’s Modi to host German leader to bolster trade, defence ties

Merz’s visit is his first to an Asian country since he took office, ahead of a planned EU-India summit and as they work on a free-trade agreement.

A poster featuring German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (right) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Ahmedabad, India, on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE
Singapore

Singapore businesses list rising costs and tariffs as their biggest challenges

A new survey shows supply chain difficulties, unfamiliarity with new markets, and lack of funding are also key hurdles for local firms.

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong firm aims to build 30,000 modular flats a year with Saudi partner

AluHouse and Saudi Arabian partner will build factory to produce prefabricated flats and meet rising demand for homes in the Middle East.

European Union

‘Sell out’: Irish farmers out in force against EU-Mercosur trade deal

Farmers fear the deal will result in an influx of an extra 99,000 tonnes of cheap beef from South America, disrupting Irish agriculture.

Farmers take part in a protest against the EU-Mercosur trade deal, in the town of Athlone, Ireland, on Saturday. Photo: AFP
China exports

Goodwill or necessity? Why is China slashing solar and battery subsidies?

Analysts expect policy will signal to Europe that Beijing is interested in serious trade relations and is a good partner.

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Authorities announced on Friday China will cancel export VAT rebates for solar panels and lower rebates for batteries from 9 per cent to 6 per cent from April 1. The rebates for batteries will be cancelled on January 1, 2027. Photo: VCG via Getty Images
US-China relations

US government abandons plan to blacklist Chinese-made drones

Commerce Department, FCC make U-turn after barring imports of new Chinese drone models in December to address national security concerns.

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US-China relations

Trump-Xi diplomacy put to test thanks to contentious tit-for-tat Covid lawsuits

Unpaid billions of dollars in judgments against China sucks US State Department into escalating legal dispute, but Beijing remains defiant.

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European Union

EU agrees to ‘world’s largest’ free-trade zone with Mercosur pact after 25 years

The EU sealed the historic deal with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to form a 700 million strong bloc, defying fierce farmer opposition.

EU flags waving in front of the European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: Shutterstock
Alibaba

Alibaba logistics unit Cainiao opens US-Mexico cross-border service

Cainiao is expected to control key nodes including sorting, line-haul transfer and last-mile delivery for the service.

Cainiao, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group Holding, continues its overseas expansion. Photo: Cainiao
China trade

With US focused on Venezuela, China has window to pressure Japan: analysts

Beijing’s trade actions raise stakes with Tokyo, as China’s rare earth power and Japan’s chip dominance are seen as potentially key levers in their bilateral dispute.

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Diplomacy

Editorial | For South Korea to reset relations with China, it must withstand US pressure

The South Korean president’s visit to China was a sign of a more pragmatic approach that departs from that of his US-leaning predecessor.

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