(Translated by https://www.hiragana.jp/)
Politics: News & Insights - Nikkei Asia

Politics

Wang Xiaohong, Xi Jinping's minister of public security, might be China's most important player in trade negotiations with the U.S. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters, AP and Yusuke Hinata)
Robin Zeng Yuqun, Chairman of Chinese battery giant CATL, third from left, toasts after CATL debuted trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, in Hong Kong on May 20. (AFP/Jiji)
Equities

CATL ups amount raised to $5.3bn Hong Kong debut on world's top offering this year

Chinese battery adds coffer to fund European expansion after 16% surge on day one

21 May 2025
Moutai baijiu is typically used by high-ranking officials for entertainment and gift-giving. (Photo by Kohei Fujimura)
Food & Beverage

China's Moutai serves shareholders juice, not baijiu, as austerity bites

Liquor maker sees demand fall as Beijing calls on officials to rein in spending

21 May 2025
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee meets with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Qatar on May 11. Three days later, the Emir hosted U.S. President Donald Trump. (Hong Kong Government website) 
International relations

Hong Kong woos Gulf states as Trump launches charm offensive in the region

City aligns with China's push for influence, sidesteps human rights concerns

20 May 2025
Funds tied to prominent investors like Warren Buffett, David Tepper and George Soros have made major moves since the start of the year. (Source photos by Reuters)
Markets

Soros, other US investors lock in profits on China's DeepSeek tech boom

AI developer's rise created opening to sell ahead of Trump tariffs

20 May 2025
China's economy grew 4.9% in the first quarter, below the government's target of 5%.
Economy

Global economy slows as inflation saps consumer spending

Trump tariffs cast pall over future, prompting households to save in Q1

19 May 2025
China's strategy to wait for the U.S. to seek out tariff talks draws on a theory of waiting out the enemy developed by Mao Zedong.
Trump tariffs

China's rare-earth gambit with Trump echoes Mao's 'protracted war'

Global Times commentator hails tariff deal as 'huge victory' for Beijing

18 May 2025
Nvidia is warning that U.S. export controls are giving Huawei a free hand in the Chinese AI chip market. 
Technology

Nvidia to ship new AI chip for China next quarter, modified Blackwell later

Company says US restrictions 'shield' Huawei from competition in key market

17 May 2025
Huawei's HarmonyOS is the company's answer to efforts by Washington to restrict the flow of high-end tech into China.
Huawei crackdown

Block Huawei's HarmonyOS together with US allies, lawmakers urge

House committee alleges operating system opens path to Chinese spying

16 May 2025
Cranes at the Port of Los Angeles have no ships to unload on May 13, after tariffs imposed on Chinese imports by the Trump administration brought bilateral trade to a virtual standstill.
Trump tariffs

Top US port operator sees no repeat of COVID-era's 'huge ramp-ups'

Port of Los Angeles maintains current outlook amid lingering uncertainties

16 May 2025
China's President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the opening ceremony for the China-CELAC Forum ministerial meeting in Beijing on May 13.
Opinion

China is not shy about taking on the US in Latin America

American hegemony in its 'backyard' may be entering its final years

16 May 2025
An artist's impression of Phnom Penh's Techo Takhmao International Airport, the first phase of which is scheduled to open on July 10. (Screenshot from Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation's website)
International relations

US assesses financial support for construction of Cambodia airport

Move comes despite bilateral tariff and aid funding tensions

16 May 2025
China's new nuclear reactors will all be built in coastal regions.
Energy

China on track to become top nuclear power generator by 2030

Beijing approves 10 new reactors as construction stalls in US

16 May 2025
Chinese President Xi Jinping was willing to take an economic hit rather than be the first to blink.
Trump tariffs

China's Xi stood up to Trump's tariff blitz with years of preparation

Beijing pushed to increase self-reliance in the 7 years since Trump's first term

15 May 2025
The shares of some shipping companies listed in Hong Kong have rebounded by double digits in recent days following the trade war truce between the U.S. and China. 
Trump tariffs

Trans-Pacific freight rates set to recover as tariff window opens

US importers jump at opportunities offered by the 90-day truce

15 May 2025
The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security says anyone using Huawei's Ascend chips without a license will be considered in violation of export control rules.
Huawei crackdown

US issues worldwide restriction on using Huawei AI chips

Move comes despite recent Washington-Beijing tariff climbdown

15 May 2025
Vice Premier He Lifeng, now in the middle of China's trade negotiations with the U.S., first bonded with President Xi Jinping over their love for basketball 40 years ago. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Getty Images and Reuters)
China up close

Analysis: Xi Jinping's basketball buddy at center of US trade talks

Vice Premier He Lifeng's negotiation skills to be tested during 90-day truce

15 May 2025
Zhao Weiguo, then chairman of Tsinghua Unigroup, poses during an interview with Reuters in Beijing, on Nov. 15, 2015.
Crime

Tsinghua Unigroup ex-chairman gets suspended death sentence over corruption

Chinese court's sentence won't be carried out if he doesn't commit further crimes for 2 years

14 May 2025
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Source photos by AP)
Comment

US seeks 'great rebalance' with China beyond trade

Bessent sees dollar's oversupply threatening currency's supremacy

14 May 2025
A Buddha statue is pictured in Tawang in India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh in 2017.
International relations

India slams China for renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh

Says Beijing's 'preposterous' bid won't change fact that the region is its 'integral part'

14 May 2025
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks to Nikkei Asia during an interview on May 14: She said defining the national security exemption "is going to be quite difficult." (Photo by Yuji Murakami)
Interview

WTO wants reform to security exemption used to justify tariffs

Director-General calls on member states to negotiate more 'careful' definition

14 May 2025
Employees work on machines at a Chinese-funded textile factory in Cambodia. Chinese investments in Southeast Asia have increased since U.S. President Donald Trump escalated the trade war he initiated during his first term.
Trump tariffs

Trump tariff twists drive Chinese manufacturers to Southeast Asia

Reshuffling of supply chain to stay as uncertainty looks set to continue

14 May 2025
Taiwan's former President Tsai Ing-wen is making an unofficial visit to the U.K., which is Taiwan's fourth-largest trading partner and second-largest source of investment from Europe. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Kosaku Mimura and Reuters) 
International relations

Tsai Ing-wen visit highlights deepening Taiwan-UK ties: 5 things to know

Defense and other cooperation has taken root, and experts see scope for more

14 May 2025
No authoritarian regime has achieved enduring success, former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told Nikkei in a recent interview. (Photo by Satoko Kawasaki)
Interview

ASEAN can be mediator in US-China rivalry: Indonesia's Yudhoyono

Multilateralism is the key to preventing World War III, ex-president says

14 May 2025
An electronic board shows Shanghai stock indexes. Slowing economic growth in China has investors looking overseas.
Finance

Japan pushes China to allow more investment in foreign markets

Lack of good domestic targets means surplus funds pile up

14 May 2025
Chinese President Xi Jinping, front center, and other leaders from South America pose for a photo during the China-CELAC Forum in Beijing on May 13.
International relations

China's Xi courts Latin American leaders amid US trade tensions

Washington wants to pressure southern neighbors to lean away from Beijing

13 May 2025
The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce USA's latest report reveals that half of surveyed Chinese firms in the U.S. indicated plans to deprioritize investments in the American market to reduce policy risk.
Business trends

Chinese firms in US to hold back investments over inflation, survey shows

Uncertainty in American economy and bilateral tensions with China top concerns

13 May 2025
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te speaks to Nikkei Asia at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. (Photo by Sae Kamae)
Interview

Taiwan's Lai urges 'non-red' supply chain to counter 'unfair' China trade

President calls on Japan to play leadership role in a changing Indo-Pacific

13 May 2025
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, right, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer attend a news conference after trade talks with China in Geneva on May 12.
Trump tariffs

US and China agree to slash tariffs in surprise turn

Both sides to talk more on fentanyl smuggling, America's trade deficit

13 May 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, during a cabinet meeting at the White House on April 30.
Indo-Pacific

Is Taiwan 'existential' to US interest?: 5 things to know

Pentagon begins devising National Defense Strategy to lay out MAGA worldview

12 May 2025