Tag - china

 
 

CHINA

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attend a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 17, 2026
Xi welcomes slew of world leaders as Trump fights with allies
Xi has held at least five high-profile tête-à-têtes, despite the lack of any formal gathering in China’s capital this week.
A giant screen broadcasts news showing Chinese President Xi Jinping shaking hands with Cheng Li-wun, chairperson of Kuomintang, Taiwan's largest opposition party, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 17, 2026
China’s information war turns Taiwan’s own voices against it
Taiwan’s defense ministry said it is countering a massive increase in Chinese “cognitive warfare.”
Shoji Terayama, co-CEO of ACSL, at the company’s headquarters last month
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 17, 2026
Japanese drone maker notes tailwind as demand jumps and China frozen out of U.S.
Escalating geopolitical tensions might present opportunities for Japanese companies in a market long dominated by China’s DJI. 
Male participants line up to get weighed and have their waist measured at a local community center in Wuxi, in eastern China's Jiangsu province.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 17, 2026
Chinese slimmers trade lost fat for beef
Rising obesity rates have led to unusual weight-loss programs springing up across China.
The LNG Aquarius liquefied natural gas tanker in the Java Sea, off Indonesia.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2026
Iran war pushes Asia to think twice before doubling down on LNG
The near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the serious damage sustained by Qatar’s LNG export plant has sent prices higher and buyers scrambling for alternatives.
Travelers at Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai. The Chinese travel and tourism economy grew 9.9% last year, more than twice the global rate.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2026
China on track to be top tourism economy as travelers skip U.S.
The U.S. has seen a sharp pullback in foreign arrivals amid tighter immigration restrictions and rising geopolitical frictions.
U.S. allies should resist distancing themselves from Washington over Donald Trump and instead strengthen long-term economic and defense ties with the U.S. to safeguard their interests against emerging global rivals.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2026
The case for ‘hardened engagement’ with America
Allowing a distaste for one U.S. president (no matter how bombastic) to sever the ties that bind the free world is not only bad policy, it’s a recipe for strategic irrelevance.
Osamu Izawa, Japan's ambassador to NATO, speaks during an interview with The Japan Times at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 16, 2026
Japan-NATO cooperation enters new ‘concrete’ phase, Tokyo’s envoy to alliance says
The ambassador pointed to the creation of a high-level defense industry cooperation dialogue, but hinted that even more tie-ups were to come.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to representatives of the media at the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD
Apr 15, 2026
Trump says he asked China’s Xi not to give Iran weapons
Last week, the U.S. president threatened countries with an ​immediate 50% tariff if they supplied Iran with weapons.
Tourists take photos of blooming cherry blossoms in Kyoto on March 28.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2026
Japan tourism hits record despite China spat and Iran war
The number of international visitors was 3.6 million, up 3.5% year-on-year, a new record for March.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov shake hands at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
Xi meets Russian official as leaders flock to China over Middle East war
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow could “compensate” for China’s energy shortages as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains choked by the Iran war.
The Zhuque-3 rocket by China’s private rocket firm LandSpace, takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Dec. 3, 2025.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
Iran used Chinese spy satellite to target U.S. bases
The satellite, built and launched by Chinese company Earth Eye, was acquired by the Iran’s forces ‌after it ‌was launched into space from China, a Financial Times report said.
Taiwan's legislature called on parties to meet on Wednesday to discuss the general budget and a draft special defense bill, both of which are stalled.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
Taiwan resumes defense debate after opposition outreach to Xi
Taiwan’s legislature called on parties to meet to discuss the general budget and a draft special defense bill, but the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang may be unwilling to compromise.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at an International Institute of Finance event during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2026
Bessent says China has been unreliable partner by hoarding oil during war
China already had a strategic petroleum reserve that was roughly the same size as that of the entire reserve held by the 32-member International Energy Agency.
Yoshinobu Kusunoki, commissioner-general of the National Police Agency, speaks during an emergency meeting of security personnel held at the agency on March 30 after a Ground Self-Defense Force member allegedly trespassed at the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 15, 2026
GSDF member served fresh warrant over trespass at Chinese Embassy in Tokyo
The 23-year-old suspect told police he wanted to ask the ambassador to refrain from hard-line statements against Japan, and planned to kill himself if the demand was rejected.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an order raising tariffs in the Oval Office in Washington in February 2025.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 14, 2026
Trump, ‘The Art of the Deal’ and the ‘TACO’ myth
The question is not whether Trump “chickens out,” but whether the final outcome leaves him in a stronger position.
Visitors look at a display of semiconductor devices at the SuperSiC booth during SEMICON China, a trade fair for semiconductor technology, in Shanghai on March 25.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2026
China’s export engine stutters as Iran war chills global demand
The effects of the conflict in the Middle East have exposed the risks in Beijing’s strategy of leaning on manufacturing to sustain growth.
Philippine soldiers fire a howitzer during the annual joint Balikatan military exercises in Aparri, Cagayan province, the Philippines, last May.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2026
Japan to deploy 1,400 troops and missiles to large-scale drills in expanded role
The scale and diversity of the contingent means that Japan will be the third-largest troop contributor to the biggest-ever iteration of the drills in the Philippines.
Japan's annual saury catches were around 300,000 tons until 2009 before plunging to about 18,000 tons in 2022.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2026
Japan seeks to reduce saury fishing quotas at annual talks in Osaka
At the ongoing meeting in Osaka, Japan is proposing a 10% quota cut to support stock recovery, but China is expected to oppose it.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi (left) helps hold up a nameplate for one of the two new drone-focused offices established within the Ground Self-Defense Force on Monday in Tokyo, in this image posted to X by the GSDF.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 14, 2026
Taking lessons from Ukraine and Middle East, GSDF establishes new drone offices
A promotion office will oversee research and development of unmanned assets, while a systems office will focus on their procurement and maintenance.

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
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