Overseas investments by Chinese businesses are poised to surge after peaking in 2016 and then plunging amid internal and external pressures. Now, companies in the tech, energy and EV sectors are ‘in the driver’s seat’.

Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao met Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Saturday in Ho Chi Minh City, with trade and Vietnamese infrastructure on the agenda.

Seven new dry ports that Mongolia is building will help expedite the flow of goods, including critical coal headed for not only China, but also Europe.

In an annual ranking of English skills, mainland China had a precipitous fall, a sign the language is a lower priority among learners as relations with the West worsen and recent reforms limit schoolwork.

China’s tourism sector was hard hit by three years of zero-Covid, but in October and November, officials confirmed travellers from dozens of countries can again arrive through several visa-free schemes.

A much-anticipated return of travel inflows to China has not materialised as quickly as hoped, but resumption of direct routes – particularly from the US – should lead to more encouraging numbers in 2024.

Orders for Taiwan’s exports fell by 4.6 per cent in October, year on year, to US$52.87 billion, with analysts pointing to the impact of high interest rates in the West.

Despite a precipitous decline in cross-strait relations, products from mainland China hold appeal for many shoppers in Taiwan as the mainland’s technological capacity sharpens and economies of scale keep retail prices low.

New Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu is considered more pro-China than his India-leaning predecessor, with collaboration in renewable energy projects seen to offer potential, according to a Hong Kong-based diplomat.

When China’s post-lockdown recovery began, financial institutions were bullish on the country’s growth prospects. In the months since, those institutions have had to repeatedly return to the drawing board.

A Chinese official has warned against countries forming ‘small cliques’ – suggesting lingering concerns over being shut out of important value chains.

Impact of China’s ‘one-off’ 1 trillion yuan (US$137 billion) issuance of sovereign bonds is set to wear off, with tapering expected as the property market, youth unemployment and local government debts slow growth.

China has come under pressure to offer more relief to heavily indebted nations amid allegations from other countries that it has engaged in ‘debt-trap diplomacy’.

Potential import agreements could lead to a broader and more definitive relationship between China and Afghanistan, as the latter country struggles to pull itself out of a war- and disaster-induced economic slump.

Export numbers from September appeared to signal a change in fortune for Taiwan’s monthly figures, but the October data suggest that change was more a temporary blip than the vanguard of a full turnaround.

Beijing is making inroads in Latin America, and China now considers Colombia a ‘strategic partner’, with the livestock giant able to help meet the demand for beef among Chinese consumers.

Beijing’s financial work conference has laid out lofty goals for the future of the special administrative region. But will the central government deliver, and shore up the city’s efforts to rebuild its image?

The third-quarter GDP figures for Taiwan’s economy have arrived, bringing relief from the threat of contraction but also prompting concerns over how the hi-tech hub can turn record AI chip demand into tangible growth.

Though its semiconductor industry is already world-leading, Taiwan is eyeing even wider expansion for its chip firms as global demand rises and uncertainty grows about the future of cross-strait relations.

Chinese tourists hit 40.3 million in the first half of 2023, down from 155 million in all of 2019, but those who travel are seen to ‘prioritise personalised travel services catering to specific interests and passions’.

Unease around the future of the island’s relationship with mainland China has led Taiwan’s young companies to look for customer bases in the Asean region and the US – and the government is helping them along the way.

First Economic Working Group meeting between China and the United States on Tuesday could help set the stage for President Xi Jinping’s potential visit to the United States next month, analysts said.

As part of his country’s overall drive to enhance connectivity with China, the Turkish consul general in Hong Kong has set out estimates for a massive increase in tourism by 2030.

Though buoyed by high levels of interest in the chips needed to operate and develop AI, Taiwan’s export orders experienced yet another month of descent.

Talks between Chinese customs officials and Malaysian agricultural personnel on the import of fresh durians are moving forward, with some suggesting approval could come as early as 2024.

Taiwan’s exports rose by 3.4 per cent in September, year on year, to US$38.81 billion, data released on Wednesday showed, amid increased demand for semiconductors for generative artificial intelligence use.

The latest financial stability report by the IMF suggests that China’s economy could be facing even more dire straits, and a ‘sharp repricing of assets’ is possible.

An investigation by mainland officials into Taiwan’s trade practices could conclude right before a pivotal election – a decision that stands to further fray already strained relations.

Slow recovery of travel sector expected to have wider implications on Chinese economy.

Qatar’s consul general in Hong Kong discusses the role that China has played in helping Qatar position itself as an ‘economic hub’ in the Persian Gulf.