World News by Wild Rose

In hindsight, it was only a matter of time before Esha Yusof joined the growing ranks of Malaysian shoppers being drawn to Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo. Esha is a relative newcomer. She signed up in July, more than half a year after the platform launched in Malaysia – and has been smitten with it ever since. Rock-bottom prices, a vast range of products and seamless payments through a popular local e-wallet make it easy for the 32-year-old to spend an average of 500 ringgit (US$122) a month...

Beijing warned Brussels not to “fantasise” that taking a hard line will force it into concessions, as the bloc confirmed plans for a gung-ho new kill switch that will allow Brussels to “immediately” kick China out of the single market. Exactly a week after the two sides struck a surprise deal to restrict the volume of hybrid cars China ships to Europe, the flare-up suggests the threat of a trade war between two of the world’s three biggest economies has far from subsided. “The EU should not...

A US congressional committee has released details of investigations into dozens of researchers, many of them Chinese-American, revealing the scale of government scrutiny sweeping academia over alleged links to China. The documents – running to hundreds of pages – were released alongside a separate report by the House Select Committee on China. Titled “How to Stop China’s Theft of Taxpayer-Funded Research”, the report pushes back against arguments by universities and academic groups that tighter...

Tanzania geopolitics explained: the US review, China's TAZARA railway, Russia's uranium, Gulf ports, India and BRICS, with US$ figures as of October 2026. The post Tanzania Geopolitics Explained 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times.

Japan is increasingly turning to foreign companies to accelerate its military modernisation, drawing on overseas technology, expertise and production capacity to plug defence gaps that could prove critical in a potential regional conflict involving China. The push has gathered momentum over the past week, with Tokyo confirming a contract for Ukrainian interceptor drones and a multinational fighter consortium preparing to expand its design operations in Japan. French defence giant Thales is also...

China warned the European Union not to underestimate Beijing’s determination to defend its interests, dismissing claims that the bloc’s pressure yielded concessions in recent automotive trade talks.

China’s R&D investment grew by 8.2 per cent last year – fuelled by double-digit growth in fundamental science and university funding – in sharp contrast with deep budget cuts across the US research sector. Total investment in research and experimental development crossed 3.9 trillion yuan (US$583 billion) in 2025, “maintaining a trajectory of steady growth”, the National Bureau of Statistics said when releasing the data on Friday. State news agency Xinhua noted on Friday that in the five years...

While Washington’s efforts to block Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) were originally intended to protect its domestic automotive industry, they have sparked concerns the strategy is hurting America’s carmaking competitiveness. With a lack of a coherent industrial policy discouraging long-term investment, the protectionist approach was backfiring on Detroit’s EV transition, said David Zhang, a macroeconomics and policy analyst at Trivium China, who added that EVs could be a “perfect concession” in...

UBS Chief Economist Arend Kapteyn discusses the Fed’s rate outlook following hotter inflation data, the impact of AI investment and borrowing on bond yields, and why he believes AI fundamentals remain strong despite the recent market selloff. Kapteyn also weighs in on Europe’s economic challenges, competition with China and France’s fiscal outlook. He spoke on Bloomberg Brief. (Source: Bloomberg)

Tesla unveiled its new Roadster sports car, which will give the company another offering in its lineup when it goes on sale. China moved to stabilize its equity market by urging companies and state funds to buy shares while guiding some investors to curb selling, people familiar with the matter said. Financial regulators held a meeting Thursday to discuss stabilization measures for the stock market, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private deliberations. The Opening Trade has everything you need to know as markets open across Europe. With analysis you won't find anywhere else, we break down the biggest stories of the day and speak to top guests who have skin in the game. Hosted by Anna Edwards, Guy Johnson and Tom Mackenzie. (Source: Bloomberg)

Rio Times · Asia Intelligence Brief October 16, 2026 — Indonesia's Jakarta Composite fell more than 10% after MSCI warned its emerging-market status was no longer appropriate; South Korea's Kospi rose 2.1% and Japan's Nikkei rose 1.4% in partial recovery; China's Wang Yi told Israel to stop West Bank settlement expansion. The post Asia Intelligence Brief — Friday, October 16, 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times.

Chinese scientists have unearthed a fossil of the earliest known flightless bird, offering compelling evidence that not all early birds evolved to take to the skies. The discovery could also challenge long-held assumptions – including ideas dating back to evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin – that flightlessness in birds arose only as a secondary adaptation after earlier species had mastered flight. The 150 million-year-old fossil of the Late Jurassic avialan Yuezhuornis yangyuanensis found in...

Beijing’s gold purchases reflect a shift away from reliance on US dollar assets, experts say.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Israel to halt and reverse West Bank settlement expansion and called for an immediate easing of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, in a meeting with Israel’s president on Thursday. “The imperative priority is to fully open access routes into Gaza. Two million civilians must not be left to struggle on the brink of survival, nor can this humanitarian catastrophe be allowed to spread,” Wang said, according to a statement released by China’s foreign ministry on...

Beijing has invited White House press secretary Katie Zacharia to visit the country more often after she said in an interview that China “doesn’t even have proper toilets”. The newly appointed spokeswoman for the Trump administration made the controversial remarks in an interview on Thursday with conservative commentator Jack Posobiec, when talking about the perception around 2016 that “the gold days, the glory days of the US were over and China was on the horizon”. “I remember this very...

Angola is considering selling bonds in China or tapping Islamic debt markets in the Middle East as the oil-producing nation seeks to diversify its sources of financing, according to a senior finance official.

Sanctions and a North Korean leadership that prioritises security dim prospects for trade, analysts say.

China will restrict exports of several solar technologies, as Beijing seeks to maintain its technological edge in renewable energy while countries including the US and India ramp up domestic manufacturing.

China has purchased more cargoes of US soybeans, extending a buying spree this week that marks its first acquisitions since the leaders of the two countries held a summit in late September.

European Union leaders supported creating a tool to potentially shut out Chinese goods as a growing flood of low-cost imports pushed the bilateral trade deficit to a record. Officials could start work on developing a trade “kill switch”, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signalled to EU leaders at a Brussels meeting on Thursday, the South China Morning Post reported, citing unidentified people briefed on the talks. Leaders requested a proposal by year-end, Bloomberg News said....

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on the sidelines of a conference.

French luxury giant LVMH Group kicked off a global open-house event showcasing its craftsmanship in Shanghai on Thursday, as the event’s founder Antoine Arnault hailed a “special bond” with Chinese customers at a launch event in Paris. It came as the group faced pressure from sluggish demand in China and a backlash over a lawsuit against a local tea company. At the launch event at the Samaritaine department store in central Paris for this year’s Les Journées Particulières, first initiated by...

A 17-year-old artificial intelligence researcher formerly with Moonshot AI has announced his departure for the United States, sparking intense speculation about his next move amid heated competition for elite talent between Silicon Valley and China’s tech hubs. Nathan Chen Guangyu wrote on social media on Thursday that he had left the Beijing-based start-up after less than a year, describing his time there as “the best [year] of my life so far”. The announcement caught many industry observers by...

China has stockpiled enough natural gas to meet winter demand, according to analysts, as importers acted early to build supplies in anticipation of price spikes from the Iran war.

The Monty Python star reinvented himself as a travel filmmaker, and has now visited more than 100 countries — most recently, the Philippines. (Source: Bloomberg)

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese scientists say they spotted possible Israeli electronic warfare units Chinese military scientists claim they have developed an algorithm that could help identify electronic warfare units using civil aviation flight data. 2....

Indonesian officials, looking to alleviate poverty in their country and eyeing the rise of rural economies in China, are turning to Beijing for help that may include stoking the exports of a potentially lucrative durian crop. Indonesian Transmigration Minister Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara began a seven-day visit to China on Monday, with Indonesia’s state-owned Antara news agency saying consultations with Beijing’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, companies and academic...

'The Palestinian question is the greatest historical injustice of this century,' China's foreign minister said.

The most consequential outcome of President Xi Jinping’s Washington visit might be his US counterpart Donald Trump’s unusually lavish welcome. It told Beijing, US allies and global markets that, however fierce the strategic rivalry, China’s importance makes sustained diplomatic engagement essential. The airport greeting, lavish banquet at the White House and flyover by military aircraft restored the appearance of a workable relationship between two powers. Even so, Beijing has learned not to...

The coming Apec finance ministers’ meeting in Hong Kong will demonstrate “China’s voice” in regional stability, with the city uniquely placed to bring together regional leaders for important exchanges in a geopolitically charged world, the treasury chief has said. In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post on Thursday, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu said the timing of the meeting of finance ministers from the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic...