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Intelligence for the New World Economy

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Intelligence for the New World Economy
Semafor World Economy
Andy Browne

Andy Browne

China Columnist

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How the Iran war is playing into China’s hands

China’s long-running bet on renewables is paying off, with the US pivoting hard toward fossil fuels.
A wind farm in China’s Gansu provinceCarlos Barria/Reuters

US’ ‘Pivot to Asia’ derailed by Iran campaign

US President Donald Trump’s “little excursion” in the Middle East risks weakening the US in the Asia-Pacific for years to come.
South Korean Navy’s destroyer Yulgok Yi I, the US Navy’s destroyer USS Benfold and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s destroyer Atago take part in joint naval missile defense exercises in international waters between Korea and JapanThe South Korean Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters

A contrast at the core of the US-China rivalry

A rare American atop a Chinese firm argues the US ‘can outpace China,’ but not without changes.
Kevin NolanKevin Nolan. Michael Hickey/Getty Images for GE Appliances, a Haier company

Altana CEO warns of China’s digital supply chain dominance

China’s control over digital trade networks is a critical vulnerability for the US at moments like the ongoing Iran conflict, Altana’s CEO told Semafor.
Evan Smith, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder at Altana and Ramesh Kollepara, Vice President & Global Chief Technology Officer at Kellanova take part in a conversation with Reuters Tech Reporter Echo Wang, during the Reuters NEXT conference in New York CityBrendan McDermid/Reuters

Trump’s China trip planning still scattershot, sources say

Sparse details surrounding the meeting reflects the gulf between the superpowers — and their starkly differing operating styles.
Reuters/Rashmi Aich

The US war with Iran is not a China checkmate

Nothing would give China’s leader more satisfaction than watching the US bog itself down in yet another Middle East quagmire.
A U.S. Marine Corps F-35C Lightning II prepares to launch from the flight deck of the U.S. Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location, March 2, 2026. US Navy/Handout via Reuters

Chinese EVs can save Detroit

After rolling across Southeast Asia, Europe, and Latin America, the Chinese electric vehicle juggernaut is targeting the US.

Why markets should care about Jimmy Lai’s sentence

Global investors remain unfazed by Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai’s 20-year prison sentence.

Sanae Takaichi’s tectonic victory

Japan’s prime minister won a huge election victory, sending geopolitical tremors rippling across Asia, and the world.

Xi is purging. Is this Stalinism?

Xi Jinping’s military purge raises deep and urgent questions about the man atop the leadership of the world’s second-biggest economy.

A former Chinese inmate on the risks of ‘middle powers’ turning to Beijing

The highest-profile Canadian held in China in recent times offers a critique of the choices London, Ottawa, and Berlin appear to be making.

How China beat conventional Western economics

A car made by a vacuum-cleaner company offers a case study in China’s industrial dominance.

The flaws in the Venezuela-Taiwan worldview

Claims that US actions toward Caracas embolden Beijing are mostly wrong-headed.

China’s economic challenges — in Chinese experts’ eyes

We surveyed Chinese economists and analysts for the year ahead. Here’s what they told us.

The essential China reading list

We asked 51 China watchers for the best book on the country they’ve read this year.

China’s soft power is pouring out of its censored internet

Cute dolls and video games have done more to boost ‘Cool China’ on the global stage than decades of state-led efforts.

Beijing’s best bet in Taiwan is a firebrand who once railed against China

Cheng Li-Wun’s surprising rise to the top of the Kuomintang speaks to powerful political currents stirring in Taiwan at a grassroots level.

How African nations got stuck with China

Superpower policies toward Africa ahead of the G20 showcase how Beijing makes inroads, even by default.