Evergrande Group, once the biggest property developer by sales, was ordered by a Hong Kong court to begin its liquidation process, which may take up to five years to complete. The Shenzhen-based company had tried to buy time to implement its debt-restructuring plan and deliver more apartments to its customers since Top Shine Global, one […]

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A drone attack on a US base in Jordan that left three US troops dead and 34 wounded underscores the urgent need to upgrade and revolutionize the US Army’s air defenses. It is unclear why US base defenses failed to intercept the drones, which were allegedly launched by Iran-backed militias from neighboring Syria on Sunday. […]

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The US Marine Corps (USMC) is set to deploy its advanced Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) to the Pacific despite questions about its readiness, maintenance and operation amid recent restrictions on surf-based use of the platform. The ACV deployment, expected in or around March, aims to fill a looming amphibious warfare ship shortage amid rising tensions […]

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More Japanese and German firms with operations in China expect the Chinese economy to deteriorate in 2024 than think the opposite, two surveys show. About 39% of Chinese branches of Japanese firms said the Chinese economic situation will worsen this year while only 25% anticipated an improvement, according to a survey of 1,713 firms by […]

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Hoping to improve stock market sentiment, Chinese authorities have unveiled a series of new measures – including a liquidity injection into the banking sector, which has already shown results with a short-term boost to the Chinese stock markets on Wednesday. Other measures, including a call to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to boost their listed shares, will […]

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The US has announced that its next-generation stealth bomber is now slated for production, signaling a new era in aerial warfare and strategic deterrence amid renewed great power competition with China and Russia. Several news outlets reported that the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, the next-generation aircraft of the US Air Force, is now ready for […]

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Taiwan is building a next-generation anti-submarine frigate while stepping up tests of its indigenous submarine amid a rising strategic debate over how best to balance its traditional and unconventional warfighting capabilities.  This month, Naval News reported that Taiwan has begun construction on a new light frigate for the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) with a […]

The post Taiwan torn on best naval way to repel a China invasion appeared first on Asia Times.

After falling 12.2% this year, Hong Kong’s stocks rebounded 2.63% on Tuesday on news that Beijing may mobilize about 2 trillion yuan (US$278 billion) through offshore entities to support beaten-down Chinese stocks. The Hang Seng Index, the benchmark of Hong Kong markets, increased 392 points to close at 15,353 on Tuesday. But it is still […]

The post China mulls market rescue as tears of regret flow appeared first on Asia Times.

South Korea has announced plans to build next-generation destroyers in the latest phase of a massive naval buildup of aircraft carriers, arsenal ships and conventional ballistic missile submarines. Naval News reported that South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) has completed the basic design for the Korean next-generation destroyer KDDX, marking a significant milestone […]

The post KDDX alert: S Korea’s next-gen destroyer making waves appeared first on Asia Times.

China’s population has shrunk for the second year in a row. The National Bureau of Statistics reports just 9.02 million births in 2023 – only half as many as in 2017. Set alongside China’s 11.1 million deaths in 2023, up 500,000 on 2022, it means China’s population shrank 2.08 million in 2023 after falling 850,000 […]

The post China’s falling population could halve by 2100 appeared first on Asia Times.

Beijing has kept progress of the discussion about building a new gas pipeline from Russia to China slow, as issues such as the gas price, a proposed new branch and a potential partnership in downstream businesses still linger. The feasibility study of the “Power of Siberia 2” project, designed to deliver 50 billion cubic meters […]

The post Power of Siberia 2 stuck on gas price, branch issues appeared first on Asia Times.

China’s pursuit of internationalizing the yuan, currency swaps, e-currency, cross-border deals and digitalized currency have recently made international news. These efforts are mainly on the rise with Gulf states. On November 28, 2023, the People’s Bank of China and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates renewed their currency swap agreement worth US$4.89 billion for five […]

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Chinese officials tout “Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy” as “epoch-making” and praise the “great insight” of Xi’s “Global Security Initiative.” When it comes to Taiwan, however, Xi appears stuck with a misguided and failing policy as underscored by the results of the island’s January 13 elections.  China’s policy holds that Taiwan must subordinate itself to the […]

The post Xi’s Taiwan rhetoric backfired at the ballot box appeared first on Asia Times.

The good news, according to Yuan Xin, vice-president of the Population Association of China, is that the reduction in the national headcount this year will be milder due to a cultural preference for having a baby during the Year of the Dragon. In China, some families prefer to have a baby in the Year of […]

The post China hopes for new births in year of the dragon appeared first on Asia Times.

Evidence has accumulated that, despite the United States’ export controls, China’s military-related firms, research centers and universities can still acquire Nvidia’s high-end artificial intelligence (AI) chip. Technology experts say the Biden administration has failed so far to stop small distributors from reselling and smuggling the chips into the Chinese underground markets. The US Commerce Department’s […]

The post China gets banned Nvidia AI chips via gray markets appeared first on Asia Times.

The US Navy is ramping up production of Ford-class aircraft carriers despite concerns about the growing vulnerability of the nuclear-powered massive ships to missile attacks, shortfalls in American shipbuilding capability and a seemingly outdated focus on obsolete design concepts. This month, Naval News reported that the US Navy is increasing deliveries of its new Ford-class […]

The post US carrier plan harbors risk of near-term obsolescence appeared first on Asia Times.

MANILA – The Filipino military chief has announced new plans for massive construction activities across all Philippine-claimed land features in the South China Sea, a move that promises to intensify already hot tensions with China over contested territories. General Romeo Brawner made the high-stakes announcement, which covers as many as nine disputed sea features, directly […]

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A minority political group in Taiwan, which now controls eight key seats in the Legislative Yuan, is demanding reform of the lawmaking body as a precondition for partnership with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).  After the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a third consecutive four-year term at the January 13 election, the Taiwan People’s […]

The post Taiwan’s new kingmaker holds the key to war and peace appeared first on Asia Times.

The US Navy is significantly upgrading four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers with advanced radars and electronic warfare systems in an apparent stopgap bid to counterbalance China’s growing naval might. This month, The Warzone reported that the US Navy has named the USS Pinckney, USS James E Williams, USS Chung Hoon and USS Halsey for the upgrades. The […]

The post US Navy in a losing race to close China fleet gap appeared first on Asia Times.

After months of intense campaigning, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Saturday emerged victorious in the 2024 Taiwan presidential election, securing an historic third consecutive term. However, the party’s dominance has gone from absolute to relative; it secured only 40% of the presidential votes, and fell short of retaining the majority of legislative seats. Meanwhile, […]

The post In re-electing DPP, Taiwan has kept the status quo appeared first on Asia Times.