China's domestic economic challenges
In this series, the Post explores the various domestic economic issues that China faces as it navigates an unprecedented trade war with the United States.
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South China Morning Post
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- South China Morning Post
Trump confirms he made a deal with Nvidia chief to let tech company sell chips to China
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had personally negotiated a deal with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, letting the tech giant sell a lower-end chip in China in exchange for part of those sales revenues being paid to the US government. The highly unusual deal was first reported on Sunday by the Financial Times. The arrangement comes amid Washington's years-long push to restrict Beijing's access to cutting-edge semiconductors, a policy rooted in concerns that advanced AI processors could bolster China's military capabilities. Since 2022, Washington has imposed export controls on such chips, hitting US chipmakers hard — particularly Nvidia, the dominant player in the industry. Speaking at a White House news conference, Trump said that the agreement centred around Nvidia's H20 chip, which he called 'obsolete' but still commercially viable. 'H20 is obsolete but it still has a market,' Trump said. 'So I said, listen, I want 20 percent if I am going to approve this for you, for our country ... I don't want it myself.' According to Trump, Huang pushed back slightly. 'He said, will you make 15? So we negotiated a little deal,' Trump added.
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Singaporean semiconductor equipment maker ASMPT to close Shenzhen plant, axe 950 workers
Singapore -based ASMPT , which makes semiconductor assembly and packaging equipment, will close its factory in Shenzhen and lay off 950 workers to streamline its operations in mainland China, the company's largest market. Shutting down ASMPT Equipment (Shenzhen), which falls under the company's semiconductor solutions segment, 'was a tough but necessary decision' to better align the company 'with evolving market dynamics and customer needs', according to the Hong Kong -listed firm's statement on Monday. 'Comprehensive support measures are being put in place to assist impacted staff through the transition,' ASMPT said. 'Other key global manufacturing operations are unaffected by the closure.' ASMPT earlier disclosed that it would incur a one-time restructuring charge of around 360 million yuan (US$50 million), covering severance, shutdown expenses and inventory write-offs. The company expected the voluntary liquidation to save it 115 million yuan annually in operating costs based on current production levels. The company's shares closed up 2.1 per cent to HK$70.20 on Monday. The restructuring of ASMPT's mainland operations appears to temper the optimism expressed by CEO Robin Ng last month, when he said the firm posted 'better-than-expected bookings for the first half of 2025'.
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Some relief, some worry - how did the world react to Trump's new chip tariffs?
When US President Donald Trump announced Washington would be imposing a 100 per cent tariff on semiconductor and chip imports last week, it sent shock waves through countries with strong or emergent manufacturing clusters – but some markets responded with relief. Here, we attempt to provide more context for what this tariff could entail and examine its potential impact across different regions. What did Trump say, and how did markets react? Trump broached the subject during Apple CEO Tim Cook's August 7 visit to the White House, where the president also unveiled a US$600 billion commitment from the tech company over the next four years to expand its domestic manufacturing footprint. While making the tariff threat, Trump added a major caveat: 'If you've made a commitment to build [in the US] or if you're in the process of building [in the US], there's no tariff … [but] if you say you've committed but don't build, we'll add up the charges.' Despite the threat of triple-digit tariffs on the critical technological product, the market's focus has been on those exemptions. With Trump's statement, the uncertainty over what form semiconductor tariffs would take has been lifted – at least temporarily. While details are limited so far, the move comports with Trump's strategy to encourage high-end companies to establish manufacturing facilities in the US.
