Economy

Births in Hong Kong fell by more than half year-on-year in January.
Society

Birthrates tumble worldwide, clouding post-pandemic prospects

Maintaining growth and social safety nets face challenge if declines persist

11 April 2021
Mathias Cormann, Australia's former Finance Misister and the secretary-general designate of the OECD, pictured in October 2020: there is one way Cormann could be a real game-changer.
Opinion

The OECD should set its sights on China

Mathias Cormann's golden chance to even up the global economic system

8 April 2021
According to UNESCO and the International Telecommunication Union, 40% of students globally whose schools were closed due to COVID-19 do not have access to the internet.
28 March 2021
Britain is looking to the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere as it repositions itself in the world following Brexit.
Interview

UK will not compromise values for trade in 'critical' Indo-Pacific

British trade commissioner says TPP entry talks will start this year

24 March 2021
Uyghur demonstrators in Istanbul protest China's treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang on International Women's Day this month.
International relations

China-EU investment deal caught in Xinjiang sanctions crossfire

European Parliament head says Chinese tit-for-tat response will have 'consequences'

24 March 2021
A man collects recyclable materials from the shores of the Arabian Sea in Mumbai in June 2018: wherever we live, we can no longer afford to destroy it.
Opinion

Asia's century of domination not yet a certainty

Rising power is one thing, but real progress will only come with global collaboration

11 March 2021
After nearly half a century as part of the European Union or its precursor, the European Economic Community, the U.K. fully exited the EU at the end of last year to once again seek independent engagement with the world.
Asia Insight

'Global Britain' woos ASEAN in fields of former empire

But post-Brexit UK may have to wait out higher priorities for Southeast Asia

9 March 2021
Economists forecast that inflation will rise in the U.S. as the vaccination rollout continues. (Source photo by Reuters)
Datawatch

Japan and US savings surge, with vaccines set to trigger spending

With 'herd immunity' in sight hopes rise that economies will reopen

21 February 2021
Black smoke emitted from a coal-fired power plant in Jharkhand: the growth in Indian emissions is likely to offset any gains made in Europe.
Opinion

India's prosperity must not become hostage to European climate agenda

So-called border tax adjustments are really just a new generation of tariffs

19 February 2021
Empty chairs on a beach in Phuket, pictured in March 2020: an inability to vaccinate its populations means the country will be less appealing as a tourist destination.
Opinion

The looming complications of long COVID

Start-and-stop recovery will have economic, political and social consequences

16 February 2021
Palestinian medics unpack Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines on Feb. 3: EU and Japan can cooperate in COVAX facility aiming to provide vaccines to developing countries.
Opinion

EU-Japan partnership has a bright future

Agreements form solid basis for joint action in post-pandemic world

15 February 2021
President Joe Biden salutes before boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, for a trip to Camp David on Feb. 12.
International relations

Biden administration kicks off global tour of multilateralism

President to attend G-7 virtual meeting and address Munich Security Conference

15 February 2021
Despite a free trade agreement between the U.K. and EU, numerous administrative roadblocks remain that are worrying Japanese companies in Britain.
International relations

Third of Japan companies fear Brexit will hurt business: survey

Respondents cite new procedures and paperwork among negatives of breakup

6 February 2021
An online meeting between the foreign ministers of the U.K. and ASEAN countries in November. (Photo supplied by U.K. government)
Interview

UK makes ASEAN 'high priority' for post-Brexit trade deals

London looks for new commercial partners as it touts 'Global Britain' banner

2 February 2021
U.K. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss has formally requested to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in a push to expand post-Brexit trade with the Asia-Pacific region.
Trade

UK formally applies for TPP: Are Thailand, South Korea and China next?

Britain says the pact is a priority for the 'newly independent trading nation'

2 February 2021
Liz Truss, the U.K.'s secretary of state for international trade, holds the CPTPP application document. The U.K. will look east for opportunities in its post-Brexit trade environment. (Photo courtesy of the U.K. Department for International Trade)
Trade

UK to apply for TPP membership Monday for 'bridge' to Asia

'We're at the front of the queue,' International Trade Secretary Liz Truss says

31 January 2021
China is set to lay the final leg of a cross-border fiber optic cable in Pakistan, linking to a cable in the Arabian Sea. (Source photo by Getty Images)
Belt and Road

China builds Digital Silk Road in Pakistan to Africa and Europe

PEACE cable will reduce Pakistani internet traffic going through India

29 January 2021
European Council President Charles Michel looks at a screen during an EU-China Leaders' video conference in Brussels on Dec. 30, 2020: European countries are captured by China's expanding importance.
Opinion

The end of European influence in Asia

EU proving increasingly irrelevant in a region dominated by China

26 January 2021
European countries are accelerating investment in offshore wind power during the coronavirus pandemic. (Source photo by Reuters)
Datawatch

China and Japan lag Europe in 'green recovery' stimulus

Study says Asia's pandemic economic policies to negatively affect climate

18 January 2021
Demand for container shipping from Asia to Western markets has shown no sign of slowing after the year-end shopping season.
Transportation

Asian container rates soar as bunkered shoppers furnish homes

Consumers snap up furniture, appliances and toys to weather pandemic lockdowns

12 January 2021
Narendra Modi's self-reliance strategy has had the effect of threatening to de-globalize India.
Opinion

India self-isolates as China's economic might enfeebles West

New Delhi shows little understanding of China's growing power

7 January 2021
Xi Jinping had to move quickly -- while Angela Merkel still held the presidency of the Council of the EU and before Joe Biden's inauguration -- to drive his wedge between Europe and the U.S. (Source photo by Reuters) 
China up close

Analysis: China splits Atlantic with game-changing EU investment deal

Borrowing from an ancient divide and conquer strategy, Beijing one-ups Biden

7 January 2021
Emmanuel Macron attends an EU-China video conference along with Xi Jinping, Angela Merkel and others on Dec. 30: there is an air of unreality about the agreement.
Opinion

A silver lining to Europe's imperfect deal with China?

Brussels must develop a more active approach to dealings with Asia

6 January 2021
Xi Jinping waves during a video conference with European leaders from Beijing on Dec. 30: the deal amounts to so little.
Opinion

Europe's disappointing investment deal with China

Why rush a deal that is so inherently complex?

1 January 2021
Volkswagen EVs in Wolfsburg, Germany: Longtime automotive powerhouses like Japan and Germany risk economic dislocation as their industrial infrastructure changes to produce electric cars. (Getty/Kyodo)
Automobiles

Age of electric cars to drive painful job cuts for Japan and Germany

EVs requiring half the parts of conventional autos will bring tectonic shift to industry

30 December 2020