China says its exports to the US have plummeted ahead of trade talks

Euronews

20 hours ago

Shares in chip designer Alphawave rose sharply on Monday after the British-Canadian firm agreed to be acquired by US rival Qualcomm for around $2.4bn (€2.1bn) in cash.
As of around 9.45am London time, Alphawave's stock had risen around 23% in daily trading on the LSE.
Qualcomm's offer values each share at 183p, a 96% premium on the closing price seen on 31 March, the final day before Qualcomm and Alphawave announced they were holding discussions.
The $2.4bn valuation is still half of the total worth attributed to Alphawave when it launched an IPO in 2021.
At its stock market debut, Alphawave shares were worth 410p each and the group was valued at £3.1bn (€2.7bn), although the firm has generally traded well below this level since its IPO.
The deal is expected to close in the first three months of 2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.
Alphawave designs semiconductor technology for data centres and AI applications, thus providing Qualcomm with an opportunity to diversify away from smartphone components.
'Qualcomm's acquisition of Alphawave Semi represents a significant milestone for us and an opportunity for our business to join forces with a respected industry leader and drive value to our customers,' said Tony Pialis, CEO of Alphawave Semi.
'By combining our resources and expertise, we will be well-positioned to expand our product offerings, reach a broader customer base, and enhance our technological capabilities,' he added.
Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm, commented on the deal: 'The combined teams share the goal of building advanced technology solutions and enabling next-level connected computing performance across a wide array of high growth areas, including data center infrastructure.'
Alphawave said its directors would unanimously advise shareholders to vote in favour of the takeover.
For the deal to go ahead, it would require a green light from investors representing 75% of shares.
The takeover raises concerns about the attractiveness of listing in the UK, particularly after other high-profile departures from the LSE.
Food-delivery service Deliveroo and cybersecurity and AI firm Darktrace have both agreed to be acquired by US firms. The fintech Wise also announced last week that it would be moving its primary listing to the US.
China's exports rose 4.8% in May from a year earlier, according to data released on Monday just hours ahead of another round of trade talks between the US and China.
The total was a bit lower than expected, as shipments to the United States fell 34.5% in the same time period.
Imports declined 3.4% year-on-year, leaving a trade surplus of $103.2bn (€90.33bn).
China exported $28.8bn to the United States in May (compared to $44 billion last year), while its imports from the US fell 7.4% to $10.8bn, the report said.
Still, exports to Southeast Asia and the European Union remained robust, growing 14.8% and 12% year-on-year.
'The acceleration of exports to other economies has helped China's exports remain relatively buoyant in the face of the trade war,' Lynne Song of ING Economics said in a commentary.
Still, trade slowed in May from an 8.1% jump in China's global exports in April.
Many businesses had rushed orders to try to beat higher tariffs, even as some new import duties took effect or remained in place.
Exports will likely rebound somewhat in June thanks to a 90-day suspension of most of the tariffs China and the US imposed on each other in their escalating trade war.
'But with tariffs likely to remain elevated and Chinese manufacturers facing broader constraints on their ability to sustain rapid gains in global market share, we think export growth will slow further by year-end,' Zichun Huang of Capital Economics said in a report.
Despite the tariffs truce, the rancour between Beijing and Washington has persisted, with angry exchanges over advanced semiconductors, 'rare earths' that are vital to many industries, and visas for Chinese students at American universities.
The next round of negotiations is due to take place on Monday in London, following a phone call last week between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Other figures released on Monday highlight how slowing exports are impacting the world's second largest economy, since China imports many of the components and materials needed for the goods it assembles for the world.
At the same time, China's own domestic markets are suffering. The government reported that consumer prices fell 0.1% in May, pointing to sluggish demand. The persisting deflation partly reflects lower food prices, economists said.
Producer price deflation was worse, contracting 3.3% in May, its lowest level in almost two years, after falling 2.7% in April.
Salaries vary widely across sectors and professions in Europe. While a number of jobs are disappearing, new ones are also emerging. Some roles, like those in healthcare, continue to be essential.
So, which sectors offer the highest pay in Europe? And what are the top-earning jobs? Exploring these questions can help when choosing a career — though salary may not be the main driver for everyone.
Euronews Business analyses the highest-paying roles in Europe, using data shared by the global hiring platform Indeed with our journalists.
The analysis covers four countries (the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands) and the salary data reflects annual earnings from May 2024 to April 2025. The occupation 'physicians and surgeons' is excluded from the main dataset, prompting a separate analysis.
Medical consultants, radiologists, medical directors, orthodontists, and dentists are consistently among the highest-paid roles across all countries. These jobs appear in categories including: medical technician, medical information, nursing, and dental.
This is especially true in the UK, where nearly half of the top 20 highest-paying jobs fall under these brackets. In France, three of the top four highest-paying jobs are also in these categories — particularly dental roles.
Titles such as managing director, director of strategy, project director, and director of technology are well compensated across countries. These positions are found in sectors like sales, banking and finance, technology, and general management, indicating that leadership roles tend to carry premium compensation in many industries.
Roles in software development, information design and documentation, and IT operations — like software engineer, data engineer, and SAP consultant — are well-paid, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands.
While entry-level sales roles are less lucrative, senior roles like sales director, head of sales, and enterprise account executive show high earning potential. These roles often come with large pay packages in Germany and the Netherlands, where experienced sales professionals can earn salaries comparable to those seen in tech or management roles.
Positions like tax director, labour law attorney (or an employment solicitor), and financial controller are consistently high-paying, particularly in Germany and the UK. These roles fall under legal, accounting, and banking and finance categories and reward deep regulatory or financial expertise.
Job skills are constantly evolving, especially with advancements in technology.
'Continuous learning is essential in a fast-evolving market,' Pawel Adrjan, Director of Economic Research at Indeed, told Euronews Business. 'As was the case with all prior cases of technological innovations, professionals who proactively learn new tools, platforms, and methodologies will position themselves more competitively to work most efficiently with the emerging technologies.'
In Germany, corporate tax advisors receive the highest annual median salary, at €145,000. The chart also displays mean salaries for comparison.
Various sales roles, such as managing director and head of sales, follow closely, with median earnings ranging from €107,500 to €138,243.
A labour law attorney earns €105,000, while a lawyer receives €93,334.
System applications product (SAP) consultants earn just below the €100,000 threshold, with senior system engineers close behind at €95,000.
Other tech roles such as IT security specialist and technical SAP consultant make around €90,000.
In the management category, directors also earn approximately €90,000. There is only one medical title listed — dentists — earning a median salary of nearly €86,000.
In France, dentists top the list with the highest annual median salary at €95,000, followed by orthodontists earning €78,750. In the tech sector, network architects receive €72,361, while medical technicians in the healthcare field make €70,000.
A compliance officer in production and manufacturing earns €67,500. Roles like domain manager and sales agent follow, with salaries of around €65,000 and €64,855 respectively.
The digital transformation consultant and mechanical designer earn €62,750 and €62,500.
Several positions report identical median salaries of €60,000, including engineering director, real estate salesperson, operations director, senior sales representative, account executive, production director, human resources director, cloud architect (cloud IT professional) and loan broker advisor.
Healthcare professions dominate the top end of the UK salary spectrum, with nine of the top 20 highest-paying roles in this sector.
In the UK, fashion models top the list with a striking annual median salary of €166,390 (£140,000).
They are followed by medical consultants, earning €145,821 (£111,412). Medical directors and radiologists both earn €137,566.
Other high earners in the healthcare sector include orthodontists (€130,767), clinical consultants (€125,392), chief nursing officers (€124,793), and clinical directors (€109,442).
Associate dentists (€116,785) and periodontists (€113,808) are also among the top earners. In sterling, their annual salaries range from £96,000 to £116,000.
Senior leadership and technical roles also feature prominently: project directors earn €122,528, directors of technology €121,821, and microbiologists €121,313.
In the Netherlands, roles in management, accounting, and software development are among the best-paid.
General directors lead with a median annual salary of €115,000.
Other top-paying roles include business controllers (€80,000), team leaders (€78,206), and engineers (€75,208).
Finance roles like controllers and financial controllers also perform well, earning between €72,500 and €75,816.
Salaries in sales and tech positions tend to cluster between €56,500 and €66,000, with roles such as sales manager, software engineer, data analyst, and account executive all falling within this range.
'Attending a top-ranked university can certainly influence job prospects and salary potential, especially in countries like France or the UK,' Pawel Adrjan said.
He noted that graduating from elite educational institutions like grandes écoles and universities with a long history can be perceived as a signal of ability in the labour market.
'However, recent trends we observe on Indeed in both the UK and France show that formal education requirements in job postings are becoming less common, especially in high-skill fields like IT and data science, suggesting a gradual shift toward skills-based hiring,' he added.
As jobs continue to evolve, it's completely natural for the highest-paying roles to change too.
'Over the next 5-10 years, we anticipate that green energy, AI/GenAI, cybersecurity, and biotechnology will produce new top-earning job titles,' said Adrjan of Indeed.
He explained that roles like AI ethicist, key sustainability roles, GenAI engineers, and climate data analysts are gaining traction and are likely to move into the upper salary echelons as demand for specialised expertise in these areas grows.