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A man walks through the Central Business District on a rainy day, in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2023

West's de-risking starts to bite China's prospects

China is outwardly confident about growth despite a global economic slowdown
Chinese leader Xi Jinping receives European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel ahead of the 24th EU-China Summit in Beijing on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 8, 2023

Amid trade and Ukraine concerns, EU takes strong stance in Beijing

Europe’s top two officials visited China with a list of economic grievances, calling on Beijing to improve market access and cut trade imbalances.
Chinese President Xi Jinping during a military parade in October 2019
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 31, 2023

Sweeping Chinese military purge exposes weakness and could widen

China's top lawmakers ousted nine senior military officers from the national legislative body on Friday, state media reported.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko (left), Head of the Ukrainian President's Office Andriy Yermak (center) and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov attend a news conference during the World Economic Forum in Davos on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2024

Ukraine says China is needed for peace process

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will lead a delegation in Davos this week, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to arrive in Bern, Switzerland on Monday.
China's economy grew 5.2% last year, more than most major economies. But for many in the country, the world's second-largest economy feels like it's shrinking.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 18, 2024

For many in China, the economy feels like it is in recession

A crisis of confidence is keeping Chinese consumers from spending and businesses in the world's second-largest economy from hiring and investing.
Aryna Sabalenka will be seeking her second Grand Slam title when she competes in the Australian Open final on Saturday.
TENNIS
Jan 26, 2024

Aryna Sabalenka looking to lean on experience in Australian Open final

The world No. 2 is the favorite to claim her second major crown at Rod Laver Arena.
Aryna Sabalenka with the winner's trophy on Sunday, a day after she defended her Australian Open title.
TENNIS
Jan 28, 2024

Sabalenka hails team for adding madness to her method after Melbourne triumph

The Belarusian became the first woman since her compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2013 to retain the Australian Open title.
A protester throws a portrait of a politician after demonstrators broke into the government headquarters in Hong Kong on July 1, 2019, on the 22nd anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 1, 2024

Hong Kong court convicts six over 2019 legislature storming

Judge found them guilty on charges including entering the legislative chamber, rioting and causing criminal damage.
The tail of a BYD electric vehicle sports the company’s motto, “build your dreams,” at a dealership in Shenzhen, China, on Jan. 29.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 12, 2024

How China built BYD, its Tesla killer

BYD’s sales, over 80% of them in China, passed Tesla in worldwide sales of fully electric cars late last year.
China's C919 — the country's first domestically developed large, narrow-body passenger aircraft, is displayed at the Singapore Air Show on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Feb 20, 2024

China debuts C919 aircraft in Singapore, but can it challenge Boeing and Airbus?

The Asian powerhouse hopes the country's first domestically developed large, narrow-body passenger aircraft will help it break into new markets.
China saw a record six months of outflows from the equity market until this month, while foreign direct investment is at a 30-year low.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 26, 2024

China’s quant clampdown risks damaging fragile markets for years

Beijing's changes made it hard for quant funds' data-reliant models to outperform the market, and even resulting in repeated wrong predictions.
Aoi Suzuki’s son runs past a home in Taketomi on Iriomote Island (not to be confused with Taketomi Island, which lies to the east of Iriomote). The Suzukis run the Takemori Inn, one of the few hotels on Iriomote.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 29, 2024

[Rebroadcast] Traveling Okinawa with a broken heart

This week on Deep Dive we get contributing writer and photographer Lance Henderstein to read us his article on traveling Okinawa during the rainy season.
Prospective foreign vocational school graduates who finish education ministry-accredited academic courses will be granted “technology, humanities and international affairs” residence status intended for white-collar workers such as engineers, interpreters and designers, even if their jobs don’t necessarily relate to what they have studied.
JAPAN
Feb 29, 2024

Japan eases residency rules for foreign graduates of vocational schools

The relaxation of rules is aimed at retaining highly skilled professionals amid a chronic labor shortage.
A DJI drone emerges from the casing on top of a BYD Yangwang U8 vehicle.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024

China EV makers woo buyers with in-car beds, kitchens and drones

Top EV makers are facing a slowdown in demand at home as consumers curb spending.
Fans wave Chinese national flags during an international friendly match between China and Syria, in Chengdu, China, in 2023.
SOCCER
Mar 26, 2024

Former China soccer chief given life sentence for 'huge' bribery

Chen Xuyuan took advantage of his positions to accept sums totaling 81.03 million yuan, reports said.
An online army of Chinese nationalists have taken it upon themselves to punish perceived insults to the country — including from some of China’s leading business figures.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 27, 2024

Why are China’s nationalists attacking the country’s heroes?

Many of the grievances seem to be fueled by discontent over China’s economic malaise, potentially making it harder for authorities to quell public anger.
A Xiaomi SU7 electric vehicle on display at one of the company's stores in Shanghai on Tuesday. Xiaomi declared its ambition for the SU7 to become one of China's three best-selling luxury electric vehicle models, sounding a challenge to Tesla and other rivals in an increasingly crowded market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2024

Xiaomi stakes growth on debut in China’s cut-throat EV market

Reception for the SU7 vehicle will likely dictate Xiaomi’s stock momentum after a 22% gain since a February low.
Sogo Fitness believes there's no point in working out if you're not having a good time and making new friends while you're doing it.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Apr 1, 2024

Blurring the lines between fitness and social club

Sogo Fitness started with a simple goal — create a community through social events based around keeping fit and healthy.
A giant screen shows Chinese leader Xi Jinping next to a flag of the Communist Party of China, at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing in October 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 21, 2024

Xi orders China’s biggest military reorganization since 2015

China will terminate the Strategic Support Force, which was created to enhance capabilities in space, cyber, political and electronic warfare.
Yum China, which operates KFC and Pizza Hut, plans to add more than 5,000 outlets by 2026 with more than 50% of them outside megacities.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 23, 2024

China’s small towns thrive as more opt out of demanding megacity life

As an economic downturn in China’s biggest cities prompts layoffs and competition for remaining posts, many are finding a better quality of life elsewhere.
Visitors can make their own instant noodles at the Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2024

‘Mystery meat’ in cup noodles sells out in Japan as a solo product

For Nissin Food Products, tapping into new trends is a way to respond to consumers in a market that now offers a wide range of choices.
A Chinese military ship northwest of Pengjia Island, off the coast of northern Taiwan, on Thursday
ASIA PACIFIC
May 23, 2024

China's military kicks off large-scale 'punishment' drills around Taiwan

The large-scale joint military exercises come days after the self-ruled island’s new president was sworn into office.
A SAIC Motor MG EXE181 concept EV during the Beijing Auto Show earlier this year.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 27, 2024

Xi’s China EV dream came true, but 10 years on, walls are going up.

China also overtook Japan as the largest auto exporter, but such achievements are also adding to tensions with the West.
Japan Coast Guard patrol ships try to block the way of a China Coast Guard ship (center) near Uotsurijima in the Senkaku Islands chain on April 27.
JAPAN
May 27, 2024

Japan spots Chinese ships near Senkaku Islands for record 158 days

The territorial dispute over the Tokyo-controlled islets, known as the Diaoyu by China, is a long-running sore point between Japan and China.
While the recent trilateral summit between Japan, South Korea and China in Seoul was aimed at restarting dialogue, it yielded minimal concrete outcomes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 30, 2024

Lessons from the Japan-South Korea-China summit

The underlying force driving the trilateral summit — which yielded little in substance — is the fact that Beijing needed these talks more than Tokyo and Seoul.
The NewsBreak company logo adorns a sign at a corporate office building in Mountain View, California, on April 26
WORLD
Jun 6, 2024

Top news app in U.S. has Chinese origins and ‘writes fiction’ with AI

NewsBreak launched in the U.S. in 2015 as a subsidiary of Yidian, a Chinese news aggregation app.
A group of Chinese tourists walks through the Ginza district in Tokyo.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 22, 2024

Japan and Thailand top list of travel destinations for Chinese tourists

The return of Chinese tourists is being closely watched, as their numbers and spending are crucial for the tourism industry’s recovery.
The holding lot of the Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation-Volkswagen joint venture in Shanghai in April 2023. As the European Union moves to impose tariffs on Chinese cars, Germany, with an auto industry deeply enmeshed with China, is stuck in the middle.
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2024

Germany hopes to head off a trade war with China

China’s EV exports threaten European automakers, but companies like Volkswagen have extensive operations in China and fear retaliatory actions by Beijing.
Emergency personnel and investigators examine the site of a deadly blaze that tore through a lithium battery factory owned by South Korean battery maker Aricell in Hwaseong on Tuesday, a day after the fire left 23 dead.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 26, 2024

Deadly fire exposes harsh conditions migrant workers face in South Korea

Foreign nationals do dirty, hazardous work, and advocates say the blaze that killed 23 at a battery plant shows that they need better protection.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping with French President Emmanuel Macron in France in May. As part of a charm offensive, Xi visited France and other European countries in the spring.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 1, 2024

Expectations vs. reality of Xi Jinping's charm offensive

Beijing is trying to win back favor in several countries to tackle its economic woes, with Xi courting bilateral relations with leaders in Europe and beyond.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic