Business confidence among European companies in China has improved for the first time in five years. Chinese companies operating in the EU have been targeted by new EU regulatory proposals in 2026. Chinese media have been warning of retaliation. The debate on China-EU relations held at the European Commission on May 29 was closely watched.
US President Donald Trump launched a tariff war against China. Washington has expanded restrictions on Chinese access to advanced technologies. Beijing's progress in strategic sectors has forced a dramatic shift. China may need its own system to restrict the outflow of critical technologies in areas where it has achieved global advantages. A groundbreaking study on the matter was published in the Bulletin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It produced a list of 63 technologies viewed as strategically sensitive or globally competitive.
China's contribution to global growth is underestimated, but the yuan is positioned to emerge as a fundamentally strong global currency, according to a new study from a prominent Beijing-based think tank. China's investment scale could be as much as 3.4 times that of the United States when measured by the volume of physical investment.
Taiwan's GDP grew 14.55 percent in the first quarter of the year. The agency revised the annual growth rate upward by 1.93 percentage points to its highest in 16 years. The 2025 GDP per capita growth estimate was revised upward to 8.76 percent to US$39,515.
Trump's two-day summit in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping was one of the most consequential diplomatic visits of Trump's presidency. Taiwan is the most important issue in the bilateral relationship between the US and China. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi took a swipe at the United States at the UN in May.
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For decades, China maintained double-digit GDP growth. When growth slowed, contradictions became even more severe. China’s dependence on high growth rates stems from a distorted industrial model. To address this crisis, policy incentives must shift the focus of the production sector away from a reliance on volume and toward true value-based management.
John Lee Ka-chiu is leading the biggest delegation to date to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It includes 40 local representatives and some 30 mainland entrepreneurs. The delegation visited Astana Hub, a major innovation cluster in Central Eurasia, and the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), a special economic zone in the capital. It also reached an agreement with the AIFC Authority to help entrepreneurs develop business links.
The U.S. brought a fair number of complaints against China and was reasonably successful. Chad points out that the EU, Japan and other countries did not do the same. Chad and Jamieson Greer had an exchange at a recent CFR event. Greer wanted to get something from China on trade but they didn't get anything.
The government last month revised its 2026 forecasts for underlying and headline consumer price inflation from 1.7% and 1.8% to 2.5% and 2.6%. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the surge in global fuel prices was expected to affect fuel-related consumer prices, pushing inflation higher. He said Hong Kong's service-based economy and stable energy supplies from mainland China have mitigated the effects of external shocks.