China
China’s Private Sector Factory Surge Hits Five-Year High as Divergence With Official Data Widens
Caixin PMI jumps to 52.1 in February, fastest expansion since December 2020, while state data shows contraction—a split that complicates PBOC policy calculus and signals uneven recovery.
China’s Services Sector Hits 33-Month High While Western Peers Stall
February PMI surge to 56.7 signals consumption resilience despite property crisis, widening gap with manufacturing-led slowdowns across US and Europe.
China’s 450 km/h Train Redefines Global Rail Competition
CRRC's CR450 prototype sets a new speed benchmark, widening the gap with Japan and Europe as Beijing leverages high-speed rail for Belt and Road exports.
Myanmar Junta Releases 7,300 Political Prisoners in Calculated Pre-Parliament Maneuver
Mass amnesty excludes Aung San Suu Kyi as military seeks legitimacy ahead of new parliament session and mounting regional isolation.
Korean Equities Collapse 7% as Middle East Crisis Triggers Foreign Exodus
The KOSPI recorded its steepest decline in 19 months amid escalating geopolitical tensions and a sharp selloff by foreign investors.
Iran Crisis Exposes China’s Energy Achilles Heel as Oil Hits $79
Strait of Hormuz disruption forces Beijing to confront decade of vulnerability despite 1.5 billion barrel strategic reserve.
NIST Bars Foreign Scientists from Labs in Sharp Escalation of U.S. Tech Decoupling
New three-year cap on international researchers threatens to expel 500 scientists and erode America's position at the centre of global standards-setting.
Washington Locks Indonesia Into Trade Orbit as Nickel Becomes New Leverage Point
US-Indonesia reciprocal trade pact delivers concrete friend-shoring gains in critical minerals, testing whether tariff diplomacy can durably reshape supply chains dominated by Chinese capital.
NASA Shifts Artemis to Annual Launches as SLS Cost Crisis Deepens
The agency will target 10-month launch intervals while pushing the first lunar landing to 2028, escalating scrutiny of the $4 billion-per-launch rocket.
China’s Emissions Fall as Solar Surge Breaks Carbon-Growth Link
Historic decoupling sees CO2 drop 1% while electricity demand rises 5%, powered by 277 GW of new solar in 2024—more than rest of world combined.
China’s Two Sessions Open Under Shadow of Tech Ambitions and Economic Rebalancing
Global investors await signals from Beijing's annual parliamentary session on AI governance, semiconductor policy, and the size of stimulus measures as China attempts to balance strategic technology goals against a weakening consumer economy.
China’s Humanoid Robot Dominance Widens as U.S. Struggles to Scale
Chinese firms now control 90% of global humanoid robot shipments, replicating the electric vehicle playbook while Tesla's Optimus remains in R&D and U.S. startups face deployment delays.