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Autos Brief Energy & Environment Tech, Media & Telecom

BYD, Ford in talks over hybrid-vehicle batteries

BYD and Ford are in discussions on a partnership in which the American carmaker would buy batteries from the Chinese auto company for some of Ford’s hybrid-vehicle models, reports the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. The two companies are still discussing how the arrangement would work. One idea is that Ford would […]

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Autos Brief Commodities

Chinese automakers under pressure as chip, metal prices soar

China’s automakers are heading into 2026 under mounting financial pressures as prices for key components such as memory chips, battery-grade lithium carbonate, copper and aluminum continue to climb, reportsCaixin. The added burden could inflate production costs by thousands of yuan per vehicle, Caixin says, citing UBS Group. Despite these rising costs, manufacturers are unlikely to […]

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Brief Economics & Trade

China’s foreign trade hits record  $6.5TN in 2025

China’s foreign trade hit a record RMB 45.5 trillion ($6.5 trillion) in 2025, reports Caixin. This was due to robust growth in mechanical and electrical exports, which for the first time made up more than 60% of total outbound shipments. Customs data show imports and exports combined rose 3.8% last year, extending a growth streak to […]

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Politics & Society Weekly

Diplomatic perspectives

There is a view of world history that it moves in century-long cycles, with the Napoleonic wars at the beginning of the 19th century marking the beginning of one cycle, World War I the beginning of another and the current geopolitical uncertainties the beginning of yet another cycle which will see significant changes to the […]

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Brief Economics & Trade Politics & Society

China sees record $1.2TN trade surplus for 2025

China on Wednesday reported a record trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025, reports Reuters. This was due to booming exports to non-US markets as producers ​looked to diversify away from the pressures of the Trump administration. A push by policymakers for Chinese firms to diversify beyond the world’s top consumer market by shifting ‌focus […]