Economy

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, flanked by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, left, and European Council President Donald Tusk (Photo by Uichiro Kasai)
International relations

Free trade sphere grows, leaving US in the cold

Japan-EU pact cuts duties on cars, wine and cheese in blow to American competitiveness

18 July 2018
European Council President Donald Tusk, left, said that Japan and the EU were "sending a clear message" against protectionism by signing the Economic Partnership Agreement.(Photo by Takuya Imai)
International relations

Japan and EU form world's largest free-trade bloc

Signing Economic Partnership Agreement sends anti-protectionist message

17 July 2018
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, pictured here in Brussels last March, are trying to send a free-trade message to U.S. President Donald Trump. 
Economy

Five things to know about Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement

World's largest free-trade bloc aims to counter growing protectionism

17 July 2018
European Council President Donald Tusk, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker met Monday in Beijing for the 20th China-EU summit.
Trade war

China cozies up to EU with support for WTO reform

Beijing pivots to Europe as trade war with US heats up

17 July 2018
Stream article image
Economy

Jaguar Land Rover warns 'bad Brexit' to cost $1.6bn

Luxury automaker urges UK to ensure certainty for business

5 July 2018
China's Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant will demonstrate the Hualong One reactor technology that is to be exported to the U.K.
Asia Insight

China's nuclear industry shows potential to overpower rivals

Tech gains and low costs put more reactor export deals within reach

3 July 2018
Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has Chinese cash and no major political opposition at home, is alienating Cambodia's biggest trade partners.
Hun Sen's Cambodia

US and EU bolster threat of sanctions before Cambodian elections

As China makes Hun Sen rich, the West reminds him who buys his country's exports

25 June 2018
British Prime Minister Theresa May greets her Thai counterpart, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who staged a military coup four years ago. (Getty Images)
International relations

Thailand and the UK aim to resume trade talks next year

Negotiations to take place after Brexit and Thai elections

22 June 2018
Volvo Cars' strategy of increasing production in the U.S. could be negatively affected by a full-blown trade war jeopardizing exports to Europe and China.
Companies

Volvo Cars opens first plant in US as auto tariffs loom

Rising trade tensions could threaten plans to use the factory as an export hub

21 June 2018
European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, left, and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida at trade talks last year. Both sides hope the EPA will take effect in 2019.
Trade war

Japan and EU to ink free trade pact July 11

Both sides eager to finalize the deal as US hardens its protectionist stance

21 June 2018
A Chinese steel furnace in Dalian. Multilateral talks to discuss overcapacity have broken down after the U.S. placed tariffs on its trading partners.
Trade war

International steel conference canceled under trade tensions

Efforts to reduce excess output derailed as US spars with EU and China

19 June 2018
China's retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. prompted alarm from American soybean farmers, a vital political constituency that fears damage from the escalating trade feud. 
Trade war

US tariffs spark vicious cycle of retribution

Escalating trade feuds with China, Canada and Europe endanger growth worldwide

17 June 2018
U.S. President Donald Trump also wants Russia reinstated into the group.
International relations

G-7 statement in doubt as allies confront Trump on trade

European leaders oppose any document that excludes multilateral approach

9 June 2018
The EU, Mexico and Canada have promised to retaliate to steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the U.S.
Trade war

US sends message to China with metal tariffs as allies retaliate

Beijing calls for 'normal trade order' while EU presses countermeasures

1 June 2018
A convocation ceremony at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore in 2017. (Photo by Simon Roughneen)
Education

Asia's universities rise in global reputation rankings

Singapore schools make biggest leap, Times Higher Education survey finds

31 May 2018
EDP operates power plants and facilities in 14 countries such as this thermal power plant in Soto De Ribera, Spain. (Courtesy of Energias de Portugal)
Business deals

Chinese utility will need more than high bid to win Portugal's EDP

Three Gorges group faces resistance from shareholders, public and other governments

27 May 2018
A worker in Belgrade, Serbia, walks on a site where a railway line to Budapest, Hungary, is being rebuilt.
International relations

China unsettles EU with Belt and Road moves in the Balkans

Beijing's influence in Europe's 'powder keg' risks stoking old rivalries

25 May 2018
Angela Merkel met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on her 11th trip to China as German chancellor.
International relations

China reaches out to Germany under 'free trade' banner

Leaders vow cooperation on self-driving cars as Trump's auto tariffs loom

25 May 2018
Mitsubishi cars wait to be exported to the U.S. market at a port in Aichi Prefecture in central Japan. (Photo by Takuya Imai)
Trade war

Trump auto tariff threat draws criticism from Japan and China

Automaker stocks hit by reports of potential 25% levy

24 May 2018
NIO’s ES8 electric SUV on display at Auto China
24 May 2018
Indian generic drug company Lupin, which runs this plant in the state of Goa, has been shopping abroad.
24 May 2018
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg fields questions at the European Parliament about a data breach, which the GDPR seeks to prevent.
Business trends

Japanese blue chips not prepared for EU data security rules

Nikkei survey shows 80% of companies not yet GDPR-compliant

24 May 2018
Construction is underway for this Belt and Road-branded train project in Jakarta. Private funding will play a key role in completing the Beijing-led economic zone stretching from Asia to Europe.
Business trends

Belt and Road offers path into China for foreign financial firms

Investors offer vital funding for projects with eye toward looser ownership rules

18 May 2018
Many vulnerable migrant workers are used to unload and sort fish in Thai ports.
International relations

EU remains unconvinced by Thai seafood industry reforms

Big fishing companies are resisting official efforts to eliminate unsustainable practices

18 May 2018
China is already the world's biggest semiconductor market, and Beijing seeks to make its chipmaking industry a more powerful contender.
10 May 2018