Hong Kong stocks fell to a nearly three-month low on Wednesday, reports the South China Morning Post. This comes as surging oil prices fuelled bets that rising energy costs would stoke inflation and cripple global growth. The Hang Seng Index closed 2% lower at 25,249.48, the lowest since December 16. The Hang Seng Tech Index lost […]
Category: Politics & Society
The escalating conflict in Iran has disrupted Chinese car shipments to the Middle East, reports Caixin. The situation is paralyzing Chinese business operations in Iran and threatening the viability of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a crucial transshipment hub. A source at a Chinese state-owned automaker told Caixin that his company’s business in Iran has […]
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Birthrate blues
With China’s primary school enrolment rate for 2025 down 10% from the previous year, and for sure falling ever faster, the shadow of the demographic steamroller is getting ever longer. Just 14.617 million children enrolled in primary schools across the country, and projections see that number halving over the next six years. 2025 also saw […]
Chinese technology companies that have rapidly expanded across the Middle East are facing disruptions to their operations in light of the Iran conflict, reports the South China Morning Post. Baidu, WeRide and Meituan are among companies halting operations or instituting remote work, as some Chinese nationals seek to escape the region. Baidu, which began operating its Apollo robotaxi […]
Refiners in China, the world’s top oil importer, have enough supply on hand to weather near-term disruption from the Iran conflict, reports Reuters citing traders. The supply is bolstered by recent record purchases of Iranian and Russian crude and robust government stockpiling. China has around 900 million barrels in strategic inventories, or 78 days’ worth of imports, according to […]