Economy

Chang'e 5 probe gathers samples on the moon surface on Dec. 2, 2020: over a dozen Chinese institutes are working to extract Helium-3 from moon rock samples.
Opinion

Secret weapons technology poised to propel China ahead of the U.S.

Washington must develop its own 'Sputnik moments' to stay ahead

6 December 2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019. 
Your Week in Asia

Modi-Putin meeting, Summit for Democracy, China WTO anniversary

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

5 December 2021
An AI-powered robot attempts a shot during men's basketball final match of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: the problem is that AI systems are not governments that need to be nudged, encouraging the better angels of their nature.
Opinion

We all agree that AI needs global rules, but who will enforce them?

Regulating artificial intelligence is both too easy and too hard

3 December 2021
Shoppers at a street market in Istanbul on Nov. 18. The country's annual food price inflation came to 27.4% in October.
Commodities

Extreme food prices slam inflation-ridden Turkey and Sri Lanka

Vegetables vanish from dinner tables as price index soars 27%

3 December 2021
Chinese and U.S. flags at the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing in September. U.S. tariffs appear to be inflicting "minimal" pain on China, Nazak Nikakhtar told Nikkei.
Interview

U.S. unlikely to screen investments in China: ex-Trump official

Nazak Nikakhtar says Beijing now has 'no incentive' to alter trade practices

2 December 2021
Stream article image
Datawatch

New global rules set to end race to cut corporate taxes

Move set to spark big gains in tax revenues in many countries

2 December 2021
Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation via video link on Nov. 29: Xi elaborated nine programs of intended cooperation.
Opinion

Xi Jinping echoes Jack Ma as he plots future China-Africa ties

This year's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation marks a turning point

2 December 2021
Joe Biden participates in a virtual meeting with Xi Jinping at the White House on Nov. 15: the outcome of the rivalry should become clear in the next 10 years.
Opinion

Domestic politics, not conflict, will settle U.S.-China competition

Dangers at home the more pressing threat to each side's worldview

1 December 2021
Israel displays the Iron Dome missile interceptor at the Bangalore Aero-India air show. New Delhi is keen to gain access to Israel's advanced military technology.
International relations

India, Israel aim to boost ties through defense tech and trade

Two sides are resuming long-stalled talks on free trade agreement

28 November 2021
A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 26: Investors sold off risk assets, from stocks and oil to cryptocurrencies.
Markets

New omicron COVID variant throws wrench into pandemic recovery

Investors assess impact on economic normalization and Fed tapering

28 November 2021
Workers arrange blades at an assembly line in Rayong province, east of Bangkok, in April 2016: many of the necessary ingredients for productivity-led development are missing across much of  Southeast Asia.
Opinion

Southeast Asia risks stumbling toward a South American future

Current trajectory suggests region will struggle to escape middle-income trap

28 November 2021
A maze of crude oil pipes and valves at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas, pictured in June 2016: frustrated customers do not make for good business anywhere in the world.
Opinion

Tapping strategic oil reserves will never tame OPEC and its allies

Crude producers should nonetheless refrain from punishing buyer countries

27 November 2021
A screen displays leaders of the BRICS nations, clockwise from top left, Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, Cyril Ramaphosa and Jair Bolsonaro attending the 13th BRICS summit via video link on Sept. 9: strongmen tend to be weak where it matters most.
Opinion

Why the BRICs nations have not turned the world upside down

Grouping was never ready for today's crop of leaders

24 November 2021
Mining equipment at the Cananea copper mine in Mexico. Copper is high on the list of Mexican exports to China.
Trade

'No special treatment' for China's CPTPP bid: Mexican trade official

Undersecretary de la Mora says Beijing's application will face necessary screening

24 November 2021
The dollar rose as much as 0.24% to 115.13 yen on Nov. 23, reaching its highest point since March 2017. 
Currencies

Dollar hits new high on yen after Powell reappointment

U.S. Federal Reserve chairman's extension firms bets on greenback

23 November 2021
Central financial district of Hong Kong, pictured on Mar. 11: the choices of intellectual elites are influenced by whether or not governments have risen to contemporary challenges.
Opinion

Hong Kong highlights dilemma facing world's mobile elite

Deciding whether to stay put or migrate is a drama playing out across the globe

21 November 2021
What happens when virtual experiences are so enhanced that returning to reality leads to depression?
Opinion

Metaverse nightmare will strip-mine our fragile human reality

Governments need to act before certain things become irreversible

18 November 2021
In the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which handle 40% of the containers entering the U.S., backups have been observed since this summer, with many ships sitting offshore. (Source photo by Reuters)
Datawatch

U.S. retailers suffer shortages before holiday season

Shipping mess causing grave supply-side constraints at critical time for recovery

17 November 2021
Natalie Black, trade commissioner for the Asia-Pacific region: "Trade is about promoting free and open societies and demonstrating that capitalism works for everyone."
Interview

U.K. 'on track' to join CPTPP by 2022, trade official says

E-commerce, state spending talks 'moving incredibly quickly;' tariffs up next

16 November 2021
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo started her four-day tour through Asia with a visit to Japan Nov. 15.
Trade

U.S. won't join CPTPP but will seek new framework: Raimondo

Commerce chief says Biden administration ready to cooperate on digital technology and supply chains

16 November 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden's first virtual summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping comes after Beijing's ambassador to Washington warned that China will "make no promise to renounce the use of force" for Taiwan unification. (Photo courtesy of the White House) 
US-China tensions

Biden to tell Xi to 'play by the rules' at 1st virtual summit

Taiwan, Beijing Olympics and relationship management to headline 3rd direct talks

16 November 2021
Tsingtao beer can hardly be found anywhere in New York, even in Flushing, Queens, the city’s flourishing Asian neighborhood. 
Food & Beverage

Disaster in New York's Chinatown: No Tsingtao beer

Shipping crisis means supplies of China's best-known brew are running low

15 November 2021
The European Union's "Global Gateway" will emphasize sustainability and the EU's values to strengthen ties with partners. In the Indo-Pacific, the framework is set to focus on digital connectivity.
Belt and Road

EU to rival China's Belt and Road with overseas infrastructure plan

27-nation bloc to focus on digital connectivity in the Indo-Pacific region

15 November 2021
Facebook wants to make money and maintain its competitive edge.
Opinion

We must limit Facebook's ability to damage democracy

Information technology is changing the world much faster than global warming

15 November 2021
A girl receives a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Ho Chi Minh City on Oct. 27: Vietnam has received a string of investment commitments from drugmakers to increase production in the country.
Economy

Vietnam bags greentech and vaccine investment from U.K., France

Standard Chartered, Sanofi and AstraZeneca scramble to gain foothold

15 November 2021