Economy

China is Australia's largest trade partner, accounting for 26% of its exchange with the world, with Australian exports to China valued at a record AU$153 billion last year.
Trade

China plays hardball on trade as Australia tensions escalate

Beijing punishes Canberra with tariffs and bans for COVID-19 inquiry push

16 June 2020
Malcolm Turnbull, Australia's prime minister from 2015 to 2018, advocates a "no-shame, no-blame investigation" examining the origins and management of COVID-19.
Interview

Malcolm Turnbull argues Australia can withstand China's pressure

Ex-PM says reason Beijing buys iron ore is not 'because they like kangaroos'

15 June 2020
A boy receives polio vaccine drops at a Karachi train station in 2016.
Politics

Coronavirus threatens to upend Pakistan's long war against polio

39 nations at risk as public funds are diverted to fight COVID-19

3 June 2020
Asia is exercising an advantage over the "wild" West, remaining more cautious about reopening stores and restaurants amid the risk of additional novel coronavirus outbreaks. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
The Big Story

Exits from coronavirus lockdown split 'wild' West from 'cautious' East

Economies are impatient to reopen. Experts say it will trigger a second wave of infections

27 May 2020
A moratorium on insolvent trading appears to have allowed many Australian businesses to forge ahead, when they normally would have had to wind up their operations.
Economy

Australia risks 'insolvency tsunami' when coronavirus aid ends

'October cliff' looms for weak businesses that were likely doomed before pandemic

26 May 2020
Students from China at the Australian National University in Canberra: Chinese students looking for English-language education have few options outside of Australia, as the U.S. and U.K. struggle with the virus.
Opinion

China and Australia's relationship is souring but not weakening

COVID-19 and politics are driving them apart but trade keeps them together

23 May 2020
A Chinese flag placed on a street in Belgrade, Serbia, pictured on Apr. 13: countries which are reliant on China are being required to thank Beijing for the medical supplies.
Opinion

Winning compensation from China for coronavirus is a long shot

Legal claims stand no chance, but there are other kinds of punishment

22 May 2020
Governor Shaktikanta Das at a news conference in Mumbai, pictured on Feb. 6: in return for handing its wallet to Team Modi, the RBI should extract reform pledges.
Opinion

World watches as India's central bank prepares to fund government

Direct financing of fiscal deficits is looking attractive despite inflation risks

4 May 2020
A soldier guards an empty street following the lockdown in Manila on Apr. 24: policymakers need to cushion the current impact, even if it entails costs later on.
Opinion

Stimulus-driven inflation is the least of Asia's problems

Cost of inaction is much higher than putting too much money into system

3 May 2020
Meat, fish vegetables and fruit are among the items covered under a mutual supply initiative signed by Singapore and New Zealand.
Trade

TPP countries defy protectionist trend to maintain supply chains

Singapore teams with New Zealand and Japan to keep food and medical gear flowing

2 May 2020
Despite doubts about China's transparency, analysts give it credit for its aggressive pandemic response, including in Wuhan where the outbreak started.
Coronavirus

South Korea and China earn high marks in pandemic safety ranking

Israel leads while Philippines and Indonesia lag on venture fund's list

14 April 2020
China's Landbridge Group signed a 99-year lease for the strategically important Darwin Port in Australia's Northern Territory in 2015, sparking concerns about Chinese influence over national interests.
International relations

Australia tightens foreign investment rules after market tumble

Move seen as aiming at Chinese bargain hunters as coronavirus rattles stocks

14 April 2020
Scott Morrison during a press conference on Apr. 7: his team does not have anything concrete to say about weaning Australia off its addiction to China.
Opinion

Coronavirus hit means Australia is about to run out of luck

Collapse of Chinese demand puts first recession in 30 years within sight

13 April 2020
Singaporean freelance photographer Nicholas Yeo says he has lost around $4,200 from canceled gigs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Economy

'Gig economy' workers fall on hard times in Singapore and Australia

Freelancers say coronavirus has taken $215m bite out of incomes so far

8 April 2020
An empty harbor in Sydney on March 24: Australia has shut down nonessential businesses in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Economy

Australia faces end of world's longest boom with recession coming

After 29 years, coronavirus puts stop to economic run

1 April 2020
While avoiding using cash may reduce personal contact, there is no evidence that banknotes or coins carry disease.
Coronavirus

Merchants shun cash as coronavirus infection fears widen

Global health crisis speeds up cashless payments in Asia

26 March 2020
A member of the Indonesian Red Cross looks through goggles as she and her team disinfect in a Jakarta school on Monday. 
Economy

Four Asian central banks cut rates as virus rips markets

Indonesia, Australia, Philippines and Taiwan all move even as currencies slide

19 March 2020
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the White House on March 11.
Markets

Asian markets slide after Trump bans European travelers over virus

Circuit breakers triggered in Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines

12 March 2020
A crude oil import terminal in Qingdao, China, pictured in August 2019: the combination of easy money and cheap oil could worsen deflationary pressures.
Opinion

Oil price crash will not offer help that Asian economies need

Long-term uncertainty has grown, overturning budgets and demanding cool heads

12 March 2020
Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, pictured on Feb. 5: the coronavirus outbreak is nothing short of a human credit squeeze. 
Opinion

Asia has little hope of economic recovery in 2020

Coronavirus, oil shock, weakened central banks all bode ill for struggling region

11 March 2020
The coronavirus outbreak is fueling sales of masks in Malaysia but threatens to derail economies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Economy

Malaysia and Australia cut rates to counter coronavirus threat

Preventive measures spread among Asia-Pacific central banks

3 March 2020
A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, New York.
29 February 2020
AI is creating unfamiliar possibilities.
Opinion

It is time for G-20 to give way to tech-driven AI-20

Multilateral body based on harnessing artificial intelligence is way forward

28 February 2020
People wait at a crosswalk along the Dongseong-ro shopping street in Daegu, South Korea. The country reported 142 new coronavirus cases on Saturday.
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of Feb. 16 to Feb. 22, South Korea cases soar again, to 433

US confirms 34 additional infections and expects more from cruise ship

22 February 2020
Australian politics “weaponized” climate policy. Now, a brutal summer of wildfires has put the country on the front lines of a global crisis.
The Big Story

Australia locked in climate policy 'paralysis' despite summer of fire

Mining exec says 'we're not the bad guys, we're part of the solution'

19 February 2020