China will accelerate investment in alternative nickel supply sources and strengthen its role across the metal’s wider supply chain, analysts said, after the United States finalised a deal with Indonesia on Thursday that will give America unrestricted access to the country’s industrial commodities.
While the US Supreme Court’s tariff ruling last week could add some uncertainty to US-Indonesia trade, the agreement has the potential to reshape the global supply chain for nickel – a metal used to…
Unlocking contractual freedom and dispute resolution in China’s GBA
Fuelled by foreign investment and innovation, the GBA economy’s growth means more business transactions and cross-border deals, which had led to more contracts and disputes requiring resolution.
Chinese shoppers are Asia’s biggest airport spenders, study finds
Chinese travellers are outspending their Asian peers at the region’s airports in search of gifts, food and luxury purchases, a trade association has found.
Passengers from China have led the recovery in Asia’s airport retail since the Covid-19 pandemic, spending twice the regional average on luxury goods, according to a study by the Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific and Middle East released earlier this month.
China’s travellers have logged the “highest spend per passenger of any…
China’s C909 jet gets international uplift with funding for adoptive airline
China’s leading planemaker is redoubling its efforts to boost the international profile of its home-grown jets in 2026, injecting a sizeable amount of capital into a subsidiary carrier as it attempts to widen its planes’ coverage area and attract more overseas buyers.
The state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), manufacturer of the C909 regional airliner and the company’s flagship narrowbody C919, recently infused 634 million yuan (US$91.76 million) into C909 launch customer…
Thailand sees Lunar New Year travel boom as Chinese tourists back in droves
Resorts are near capacity in Pattaya, Bangkok restaurants are doing a roaring trade and the strict time slots to visit the Louis Vuitton pop-up “hotel” in the Thai capital are fully booked.
As this year’s Lunar New Year holiday draws to a close, Thailand’s tourist businesses are totting up the receipts from what many hope will be an enduring rebound in Chinese visitors.
More than 30,000 Chinese visitors have arrived each day since the start of January. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)…
Ancient Chinese astrology gets a Gen Z rebrand in Southeast Asia
Yik Wai Chee doesn’t think of himself as a believer.
The 33-year-old senior executive at a Malaysia-based AI company is the kind of person who deals in data and decision-making frameworks, not destiny.
Yet for years, he has consulted bazi, the ancient Chinese system of elemental forecasting, as a kind of strategic gut check on his life.
“For me, it is just a long-term ‘luck check’ to see if there are general strategies I can adapt to get through some life challenges,” he said. “If it doesn’t…
Unearthed temple in Nepal sheds new light on Buddha’s early life
Nepal’s Lumbini has long anchored the Buddhist pilgrimage map as the Buddha’s birthplace. Nearby, however, stand the fortified ruins of Tilaurakot – believed to be the ancient capital where Siddhartha Gautam spent his princely years – a site of profound historical weight that draws only a fraction of the visitors.
A newly unearthed temple could change that, archaeologists say, offering fresh evidence that Tilaurakot once held far greater religious significance to Buddhists than its quiet present…
US to remove Vietnam from tech export control list, Hanoi says
US President Donald Trump told Vietnam’s top leader To Lam he would “instruct the relevant agencies” to remove the country from a list restricted from accessing advanced US technologies, Vietnam’s government announced on Saturday.
The two leaders met in person for the first time at the White House on Friday, after Lam attended the inaugural meeting of Trump’s “Board of Peace” in Washington.
“Donald Trump said he would instruct the relevant agencies to soon remove Vietnam from the strategic…
US tariffs ruling creates immediate business uncertainty and casts doubt on recent US trade deals
Global businesses importing goods to the US on Friday face immediate uncertainty over the rate of tariffs that will apply to imported products following a major ruling by the US’ highest court, according to an expert in international trade.
‘Significant’ changes to English planning rules on way as industry consulted
Forthcoming planning reforms in England should be the most significant in years – but authorities need to be prepared for them now for them to have any immediate benefits, experts have warned.