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TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Wednesday (Dec 17) she is "always open" to dialogue with China despite a diplomatic row between Tokyo and Beijing over comments she made about Taiwan. "China is an important neighbour for Japan, and we need to build constructive and stable relationships," Takaichi told a news conference. "Japan is always open to dialogue with China. We're not shutting our door." China and Japan are enmeshed in a spat over Takaichi's suggestion in November that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan. Beijing claims the self-ruled democratic island as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. The comments triggered a sharp diplomatic backlash from China, which has urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan. Official data released on Wednesday showed the warning has had an impact on visitor numbers. Arrivals from mainland China to Japan last mo...

China launches island-wide special customs operations in Hainan FTP By: Global Times | Published: Dec 18, 2025 10:55 AM China on Thursday launched island-wide special customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), the world's largest FTP by area, allowing freer entry of overseas goods, expanded zero-tariff coverage and more business-friendly measures, according to Xinhua News Agency. The move is widely seen as a landmark step in China's ...

The first cargo truck passes through Xinhai Port in Haikou following the launch of island-wide special customs operations at the Hainan Free Trade Port, on December 18, 2025. Photo: Tao Mingyang/GT The Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) officially launched island-wide special customs operations on Thursday, with a package of policies — including zero tariffs and preferential tax rates — taking effect, marking another milestone in China's opening-up. With the move, the tropical island of more than 30,000 square kilometers has been designated as a special customs supervision zone, which makes it the world's largest FTP by area, according to the Xinhua News Agency.  Following the island-wide launch, Hainan will operate as a special customs supervision zone, implementing a liberalized and facilitative system characterized by a clearly defined framework of "freer access at the first line, regulated access at the second line, and free flows within the island." Under this...

Japan is home to a network of little-known companies that dominate in key materials that are indispensable for semiconductor manufacturing [HONG KONG] Semiconductor materials linchpin Resonac Holdings is eyeing solid growth from Beijing's ambition to build its own chip industry, leaving the door open for further investment in China in the years ahead. Tokyo-based Resonac, which supplies crucial chemicals used to make cutting-edge chips, has bolstered production capacity in China to meet demand driven by a state-backed push to create a domestic semiconductor supply chain, according to chief executive officer Hidehito Takahashi. While Resonac's current production capacity in Ch ina is enough for the time being, the company may consider another round of investment in a few years if there is significant growth, he said. China is studying plans to pour as much as US$70 billion of state money into its semiconductor industry, deemed critical to win any technological conflict, Blo...

SHENZHEN – China has made boosting domestic demand – household consumption in particular – its top economic priority for a second year running, reaffirming the focus for 2026 at a key annual economic policy meeting on Dec 10 and 11. The emphasis is clear, but analysts say the results will not come quickly, even as the urgency to translate policy intent into stronger consumption persists in Beijing's long-avowed effort to r ebalance growth away from exports. ChinaChina economyChina reforms

Singapore and China's cooperation is built on the trust and understanding developed over 35 years of diplomatic ties, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said, describing the partnership as one that continues to evolve by identifying shared interests despite differing priorities. "It's this whole journey of working together, growing together, developing together, and building trust and understanding with each other, generation after generation, that has culminated in today's collaboration," he told Singapore media on Dec 15 after holding top-level annual talks with his Chinese counterpart, Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, in Chongqing. "At the end of the day, we are two different countries. Our priorities, interests and focus differ, but we continue to find areas of common interest and are able to work together for the mutual benefit of our businesses and our people," DPM Gan said. The meetings comprised those for the Joint Council for Bilateral Coopera...

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, attends the sixth China-Russia Media Forum and delivers a keynote speech in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai) The sixth China-Russia Media Forum, which was held in Beijing on Tuesday, discussed promoting friendship between and supporting development of the two countries through media cooperation. Li Shulei, who is a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, attended the forum and delivered a keynote speech. Attendees said that under the strategic guidance of heads of the two countries, China-Russia relations have maintained stable, healthy and high-level development, creating a model for a new type of international relations and relations between nei ghboring major countrie...

Most Spanish firms are now subject to a relatively moderate tariff of 9.8 per cent. Spain's Litera Meat got the lowest rate, at only 4.9 per cent - an outcome the company described as "very positive". Giuseppe Aloisio, head of Spanish industry group Anice, said he expected talks to continue, as the duties would hurt company margins. In France, Anne Richard, director of pork industry association Inaporc, said: "There's a sense of relief as all our abattoirs that export have been recognised as cooperating and have been granted a rate of 9.8 per cent." "Having said that, we can't exactly rejoice at the prospect of a tax." Morten Boje Hviid, the CEO of Denmark's Agriculture and Food Council, said the final tariffs were still high and created unequal competitive conditions, generating price pressures within the EU. China's approach was "dividing European economic policy," said Nemesio Sanchez, an international trade consultant s...

At a sprawling industrial complex in the Inner Mongolian city of Baotou, workers feed bag after bag of rare-earth additives into roaring furnaces, turning ordinary steel into a high-performance alloy worth twice as much. This is the front line of a technological leap being powered by China's dominance in critical minerals and its strategic industrial policy. The advanced rare-earth steel being produced is used in the country's most ambitious engineering projects – from high-speed railways to wind turbines and the world's largest hydropower dam being built in Tibet, according to a report in the official Sc ience and Technology Daily. But growing demand for rare earths in China's steel industry – in addition to Beijing's export controls – has reduced the supply to overseas buyers even further. China has a stranglehold on rare earths , which are needed for everything from electric cars to electronics and defence technologies. China accounts for about 70 per cent ...

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