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Nikkei Asia
2 days ago
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
China's Pop Mart soars past Sanrio in market cap on Labubu blind box boom
HONG KONG -- China's burgeoning "designer" toy industry has entered the spotlight with the meteoric rise of Pop Mart, whose blind boxes with random toys have won the hearts and wallets of young consumers. The industry looks set to grow to 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) next year, the Communist Party-run People's Daily reports.
Epoch Times
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
China Ousts Another High-Ranking Military Leader as Purge Deepens
A senior member of the Chinese military elite has been removed as delegate to the Communist Party-run legislature, a development that casts a shadow over the fate of another longtime ally of leader Xi Jinping. China announced the decision late on Wednesday to expel Adm. Miao Hua in an online statement from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. China's defense ministry said in November 2024 that Miao was suspended from office and placed under investigation for 'serious violations of discipline,' a euphemism for corruption and disloyalty. Analysts have Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has initiated a crackdown on corruption aimed at purging Party officials and military generals deemed corrupt or disloyal. The drive led to the downfall of numerous high-ranking military officers linked to his The latest military purge, however, has claimed some of Xi's longtime allies, such as Miao, Miao held the position of director of the Political Work Department for seven years before being suspended last November. This crucial role oversees the military's ideological loyalty to the Communist Party and is key in determining the promotion of senior military officers. Related Stories 3/27/2025 4/28/2025 He has served as a member of the Party's Central Military Commission (CMC) since October 2017. The CMC commands the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and represents one of the highest echelons of power in China. When Xi unveiled the leadership lineup following the 20th Party congress in October 2022, two vice chairmen and four members were on the CMC. As of Wednesday night, Miao remains listed as a CMC member on the Ministry of Defense's website, though the link to his profile has been disabled. In contrast, clicking on the names of other CMC members still brings up their previous news articles. A Experts who track China's military interpreted Wednesday's announcement as an indicator of Miao's downfall. 'It seems to be an official acknowledgment that Miao Hua has either been found to be corrupt, politically disloyal, or is preparing to take any actions against Xi Jinping,' Shen Ming-Shih, a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a think tank funded by the Taiwanese government, told The Epoch Times. Miao is the second CMC member to be purged, following former defense minister Li Shangfu, who was The removal of Miao came amid growing speculation about the fate of Gen. He Weidong, the vice chair of CMC and a member of the Politburo, the Party's second-highest tier of power. He, the military's No. 3 officer, has missed at least three key political events this month in which all CMC leaders were expected to appear. The most recent one was the Politburo's study session on April 25. Footage broadcast on state television CCTV showed that the session was attended by Politburo's all 24 members except top diplomat Wang Yi, who was on a visit to Kazakhstan, and He Weidong. In mid-March, two Chinese commentators, citing their sources close to the Party's top ranks, told The Epoch Times that He was Gen. He Weidong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), attends the opening ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing on March 4, 2025. Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images The defense ministry has said they were ' 'We have responded to this question before,' Zhang Xiaogang, the ministry's spokesman, told reporters. The official silence has only deepened the intrigue, with analysts comparing the response to that of the reported purge of Adm. Dong Jun, the current defense minister, which Beijing dismissed as ' For Taiwanese researcher Shen, who has long studied China and the PLA, the general's continued absence from major events indicates that he may have fallen from grace. Nevertheless, Shen said if the general were confirmed to have been purged, it would embarrass Xi, whose ties with He date back over two decades in Fujian, a coastal province in southern China. 'The CMC initially had seven members, but now only has four left. Xi Jinping is also embarrassed now,' Shen said. Luo Ya contributed to this report.
Indian Express
25-04-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
China this week: Beijing isn't backing off, even as the US comes under pressure on trade. Here's what's happening right now
President Donald Trump's tariffs have been targeted primarily at China. But on April 22, the President said the current 145% tariff rate on China was 'very high and it won't be that high' over time. A day later, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there was 'an opportunity for a big deal' between the two countries – but added that the US would not unilaterally reduce all tariffs on China. American media have reported a willingness within the Trump administration to talk with China and reduce tariffs up to 50%. On April 24, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said of the reports: 'All of this is fake news.' On April 23, Fu Cong, China's ambassador to the United Nations, said China had risen to the occasion 'in the face of the US abuse of tariffs' and taken 'decisive countermeasures not only to safeguard its own legitimate rights and interests, but also to uphold the common interests of the international community'. He warned that 'bullying the weak, threats and coercion, and imposing one's will on others will not win popular support, and will ultimately backfire'. Here's what China has done over the past week. APPOINTED A NEW TRADE ENVOY Li Chenggang, 58, China's Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since 2021, is now the International Trade Negotiation Representative at China's Ministry of Commerce, essentially Beijing's top international trade negotiator. Li has long been a vocal critic of President Trump's mercantilist economic ideas. In July 2018, when the first Trump administration planned to impose 10% tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese imports into the US, Li, who was then China's Assistant Commerce Minister, stressed that China's 'stance of opposing unilateralism and supporting multilateralism will not change', and when 'they (the US) go low, we go high', according to a Reuters report from the time. And in February this year, Li told a meeting of the WTO General Council that through its 'series of tariff shocks,' the US was 'unilaterally and arbitrarily, blatantly violating WTO rules', according to a report by the South China Morning Post. UPSHOT: No official explanation was provided for replacing the incumbent in the post with Li. But analysts said China could be firming up mechanisms on the trade front ahead of possible negotiations with the US or bilateral discussions with other countries. CALLED ON EUROPE TO ACT Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger and called on the United Kingdom and European Union to 'jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system' amid 'indiscriminate [American] attacks on other countries through its arbitrary imposition of tariffs', the Communist Party-run China Daily reported on April 24. Lammy said, 'The UK is ready to maintain communication with China on this matter'. The European Commission had said on April 22 that the EU would not decouple from the Chinese economy as a condition for a trade deal with the US. UPSHOT: After the US and China, Europe as a whole holds a sizable share of global trade. US-EU goods trade stood at around $975 billion in 2024, while the China-EU trade was around $762 billion. But while the US is primarily a consumer of European exports (a fifth of the EU's exports in 2024 was to the US), China is mainly the supplier to Europe (more than a fifth of EU imports in 2024 were from China). It is difficult for any country or region to replace the US as a trade partner, but cooperation between China and the EU could help both sides weather the storm of Trump's tariffs better. An EU-China Summit is slated for July in Beijing to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relations. A Nikkei Asia report on April 21 said China has frozen purchase orders for American soybean and corn since mid-January, and sought to turn to Brazil to buy instead. 'US Department of Agriculture data covering foreign orders for soybeans and corn shows none made by Chinese companies since January 16, just days before Trump took office,' the report said. Agriculture is an important component of the US-China bilateral trade. Among agri commodities, soybean is the top Chinese import from the US. The US and Brazil are two of the world's biggest soybean producers, and China has become their major customer over the last two decades as demand for edible oil and animal protein (soybean is processed to feed livestock) has risen in the country. UPSHOT: Since 2018, when the first US-China tariff dispute arose, China has been seeking to reduce import dependence on food items. Chinese livestock companies have been reducing the use of soymeal in animal feed, and Beijing has approved genetically modified soybean and corn to boost domestic output, according to a Reuters report from last year. Soybean is the biggest US export of a single product to China by value. There is genuine apprehension among American corn farmers, many of whom are part of President Trump's political base. Brazil produces 40% of the world's soybean and, along with Argentina, accounts for more than half of all production. The US produces 28%. On April 21, the Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times reported that China was accelerating the expansion of 'pilot programs for the services sector'. Restrictions would be lifted on certain services in nine cities, including the commercial hub of Shenzhen. Foreign doctors will be allowed to open clinics, and overseas medical professionals can carry out short-term practice. Foreign-invested travel agencies will be allowed to 'operate outbound tourism services'. UPSHOT: The report quoted Ling Ji, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative, as saying Trump's reciprocal tariffs have 'seriously undermined the multilateral trading system, severely disrupted the international trade order and posed significant threats to the security and stability of global production and supply chains'. As several world capitals watch America's seeming backsliding with dismay, China has been seeking to project itself as a torchbearer of free trade and international commerce. Signalling a willingness to open up to the world at a time when the US is shutting itself in is part of that projection. Citing sources, the Financial Times reported on April 21 that Chinese state-backed funds were cutting off private equity investments in the US in response to 'pressure from the Chinese government'. Some of the biggest US-based PE firms, such as the Carlyle Group and Blackstone, have previously received funding from Chinese firms, the report said. UPSHOT: This would be a direct intervention by the Chinese state to slow down investments by Chinese entities in the US economy. One of these entities, the China Investment Corporation (CIC), was established in 2007 with the objective of 'diversifying China's foreign exchange holdings and seeking maximum returns for its shareholders within acceptable risk tolerance'. The CIC's annual report for 2021 said its net assets stood at $1.35 trillion.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
China's military launches live-fire exercise in escalation of ongoing surprise drills near Taiwan
The Chinese military practiced live-fire strikes in the East China Sea in an escalation of ongoing surprise drills near Taiwan, the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command said in a statement Wednesday. China's armed forces launched exercises, dubbed 'Strait Thunder-2025A,' in the middle and southern areas of the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, focusing on testing the troops' capabilities of 'joint blockade and control' and 'precision strikes on key targets,' the Eastern Theater Command's spokesperson Senior Colonel Shi Yi said. As part of the drills, which were not announced ahead of time, the ground army of the Eastern Theater Command conducted 'live-fire long-range strike drills in designated areas of the East China Sea,' according to the statement. 'The drills involved precision strikes on simulated targets such as key ports and energy facilities and achieved the intended results,' Shi added. Wednesday's drills came after the PLA conducted joint exercises involving its army, navy, air force and rocket force around Taiwan 'from multiple directions' on Tuesday, days after US defense chief Pete Hegseth vowed to counter 'China's aggression' on his first visit to Asia. Eastern Theater Command said the drills were a 'stern warning and forceful deterrence against 'Taiwan Independence' separatist forces,' calling them 'legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China's sovereignty and national unity.' For Taiwan, a democracy of some 23 million people that sits just 80 miles from China at its nearest point, the drills are the latest reminder of the threat that comes from its giant Communist Party-run neighbor, which claims the island as its own and has vowed to seize it by force if necessary. Taiwan has denounced the drills as an 'irrational provocation' and accused China of being a 'troublemaker.' The United States, Taiwan's biggest international backer, condemned what it called 'China's irresponsible threats and military pressure operations near Taiwan.' 'China's escalating military intimidation tactics only serve to exacerbate tensions and undermine cross-Strait peace and stability,' the State Department said in a statement. This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN
02-04-2025
- Politics
- CNN
China's military launches live-fire exercise in escalation of ongoing surprise drills near Taiwan
The Chinese military practiced live-fire strikes in the East China Sea in an escalation of ongoing surprise drills near Taiwan, the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command said in a statement Wednesday. China's armed forces launched exercises, dubbed 'Strait Thunder-2025A,' in the middle and southern areas of the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, focusing on testing the troops' capabilities of 'joint blockade and control' and 'precision strikes on key targets,' the Eastern Theater Command's spokesperson Senior Colonel Shi Yi said. As part of the drills, which were not announced ahead of time, the ground army of the Eastern Theater Command conducted 'live-fire long-range strike drills in designated areas of the East China Sea,' according to the statement. 'The drills involved precision strikes on simulated targets such as key ports and energy facilities and achieved the intended results,' Shi added. Wednesday's drills came after the PLA conducted joint exercises involving its army, navy, air force and rocket force around Taiwan 'from multiple directions' on Tuesday, days after US defense chief Pete Hegseth vowed to counter 'China's aggression' on his first visit to Asia. Eastern Theater Command said the drills were a 'stern warning and forceful deterrence against 'Taiwan Independence' separatist forces,' calling them 'legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China's sovereignty and national unity.' For Taiwan, a democracy of some 23 million people that sits just 80 miles from China at its nearest point, the drills are the latest reminder of the threat that comes from its giant Communist Party-run neighbor, which claims the island as its own and has vowed to seize it by force if necessary. Taiwan has denounced the drills as an 'irrational provocation' and accused China of being a 'troublemaker.' The United States, Taiwan's biggest international backer, condemned what it called 'China's irresponsible threats and military pressure operations near Taiwan.' 'China's escalating military intimidation tactics only serve to exacerbate tensions and undermine cross-Strait peace and stability,' the State Department said in a statement. This is a developing story and will be updated.
