US trade officials finalised rough tax levels on most thermal cells from Southeast Asia, a key move toward wrapping up a year-old business situation in which American manufacturers accused Taiwanese companies of flooding the market with badly cheap goods. The case was brought last year by Korea’s Hanwha Qcells, Arizona-basedContinue Reading
Hong Kong may transform itself from a shipping port into a global supply chain services gateway to manage a raging US-China trade conflict while leveraging its placement as an international shipping and trading centre, industry leaders have said.
Kennedy Wong Ying-ho, honorary president of the Hong Kong Chinese Importers ’ and Exporters ’ Association, said on Thursday that the transition from being a re-exporting hub was crucial for the city amid challenges of growing trade protectionism worldwide and US tariff shock on small parcels.
“ In the past, Hong Kong ’s business was fairly simple. Our responsibility as a ‘superconnector’ meant organization was like buying with the left side and being able to purchase with the right. But then, the global supply chain is being reshaped, ” Wong told a television program.
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“Certain organic materials originate in one country or region, while a part of the developing takes position in another country, and lastly, the item goes for presentation and then move to yet another area. Hong Kong needs to provide some high-quality service along the links of the offer network. ”
Earlier this week, the association released a study report on how Hong Kong could elevate its position from “intermediary ” to “supply chain manager ” by integrating advantages in professional services such as finance, law and insurance to provide comprehensive trade support throughout the entire cycle.
The suggestions are in line with the funds blueprint by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po in February, in which mainland Chinese companies are encouraged to create a presence in Hong Kong by setting up foreign or provincial headquarters to help offshore trading and supply chain management, and expand worldwide.
Wong, also import and export sector lawmaker, said that Hong Kong should accelerate the development of new momentum in the “airport economy ” by building a highly efficient and high-value-added air cargo hub.
“Our airport handles nearly the highest volume of air cargo in the world, and with the completion of our third runway, we have what it takes to develop the ‘airport economy’ as neighbouring regions are rapidly emerging. Our advantage in sea freight has dwindled, ” he added.
The escalating trade war initiated by US President Donald Trump, which prompted Hongkong Post to stop accepting parcels for delivery to the country by land and sea starting Wednesday, in response to what it called “bullying ” tariff hikes.
Highlighting Hong Kong ’s world-class aviation infrastructure, Wong said that greater collaboration with e-commerce exporters in the Greater Bay Area was crucial to solidify the city ’s position as a leading air cargo hub in the evolving global trade landscape.
“Establishing dedicated logistics hubs for e-commerce near Hong Kong ’s airport cargo terminals leasing to major e-commerce platforms can create a cluster effect, ” Wong said.
“The international flight connections and the small package processing capabilities of airports in Guangdong and other Greater Bay Area provinces need to work together with Hong Kong ’s infrastructure to achieve true global reach. ”
Fellow lawmaker Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung of the commercial sector said the US-initiated trade war had negatively affected Hong Kong ’s manufacturing and re-export trade, with various businesses being forced to absorb costs, accepting loss-making orders or relocating production.
“The government needs to support businesses, especially [small and medium-sized enterprises] SMEs, to help them overcome difficulties while accelerating the exploration of emerging markets like Asean and the Middle East as well as mainland China, ” Lam said in the same radio show.
“It also needs to leverage Hong Kong ’s free port status and CEPA policies to facilitate joint ventures between Hong Kong and mainland businesses. ”
Lam added that attracting foreign investment to access the mainland market amid the volatile global environment would strengthen the city ’s position as an international financial and trade centre.
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But in every problems, there will be chances, he said.
“As firms seek to reconfigure their production and supply chain provisions, there will be new options for those who are resilient and fast to adapt to the new environment, ” Mr Gan added.
For example, Archisen, a Singapore-based agritech company, and Malaysian state-owned Johor Corporation (JCorp ) subsidiary, FarmByte, are jointly developing a smart indoor vertical farm in Nusajaya Tech Park that is expected to produce over 300 tonnes of leafy vegetables per year, he said.
“The JS-SEZ builds on the strong, longstanding economic partnership between Malaysia and Singapore to open a new frontier of opportunities for businesses, ” said Mr Gan.
At the same time, Mr Gan said that Singapore is committed to strengthening the basics of the Johor-Singapore SEZ in order to increase its value statement.
He pledged that both sides may aim to improve the flow of goods and people between Singapore and Johor by improving certification techniques and traditions techniques.
Both countries are willing to optimize approval processes, engage in skill development and create a second touchpoint for businesses, he said.
A joint project office to support Singapore-based companies keen on expanding into the zone will be set up by Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, together with Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Economic Development Board ( EDB), he said.
The office will complement the Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre- Johor ( IMFC-J) established by Malaysia.
The IMFC-J opened in end-February at Forest City. Johor deputy minister Onn Hafiz had called it a one-stop company that offers business conversation services for businesses willing on investing in the SEZ, and it is the first of its kind outside Klang Valley.
“At a period of considerable uncertainty, uncertainty and anxiety in the world economy, it is even more crucial that we team up with like-minded places; twice over on better communication and ease of doing business; and join hands with businesses and investors, ” said Mr Gan.
“This way, both Singapore and Malaysia is further gate our economies through the JS-SEZ and improve our supply chains, so that we can become more energetic and resilient up, and continue to create great jobs for individuals of both countries … across the Causeway, ” he added.
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Digital Nasional Berhad ( DNB), in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation ( MDEC ) and Maxis Berhad ( Maxis ), has led the second instalment of the EmpowerHER Digital programme, a national initiative dedicated to equipping B40 women with essential digital, financial and entrepreneurial skills to thrive in the digital economy.
In a statement, DNB said that building on the success of its annual conference held at SME Corp on 6 March 2025, the project reflects its dedication to closing the modern split and creating an inclusive ecosystem powered by global 5G connectivity. Through planned instruction, coaching and access to digital tools ,
EmpowerHER Digital is expected to gain at least 2,000 people across Malaysia, enabling them to achieve financial freedom and business trust.
Officiating the occasion at Menara Maxis, online minister Gobind Singh Deo emphasised the need for equitable online exposure. “EmpowerHER Digital equips girls with the knowledge they need to achieve — whether it ’s learning to market merchandise online, creating interesting information or handling finances properly. It demonstrates that the digital world is not just for corporate employees or tech experts; it is for everyone, ” he said.
Speaking on behalf of DNB, CEO Azman Ismail highlighted the transformative potential of technology in business. “Many new technologies, especially those powered by 5G, have enabled entrepreneurs to reach new markets in the blink of an eye. But digital technology is n’t just a platform for expansion beyond local boundaries— it also enables automation and innovation in business and production processes. ”
Meanwhile, MDEC CEO Anuar Fariz Fadzil added, “EmpowerHER Digital reflects MDEC’s commitment to shaping a more inclusive and sustainable digital economy. Through our programmes and partnerships, we support women entrepreneurs with access to digital tools, training and ecosystems that enable long-term success. By investing in women, we are investing in resilient communities and future-ready businesses — ensuring that digital transformation benefits all and leaves no one behind. ”
Expressing support for the programme, Maxis CEO Goh Seow Eng underscored the importance of digital empowerment. “We’re proud to support initiatives that equip women with essential entrepreneurial and digital skills to thrive in today’s economy. Through financial literacy workshops, practical guidance on digital tools, and insights into technologies like generative AI, we hope to support their journey in building sustainable businesses. This reflects our broader commitment to helping people and businesses succeed in an increasingly digital world. ”
Aligned with DNB’s ongoing efforts to broaden digital inclusion, the EmpowerHER Digital programme also places strong emphasis on sustainability and long-term impact. Through partnerships with Malaysia Digital-status companies, participants receive access to free and subsidised digital tools, financial education and mentorship — ensuring continued growth and support beyond the programme’s duration.
The event featured fireside chats and interactive workshops covering themes such as generative AI, financial literacy and digital branding. Speakers included Carol Fung of MDEC, finance and Gen AI experts from Maxis, and inspiring entrepreneurs such as Sue Chan from Suchan Patisserie, Kalaivany from Kalai Fashion, and Ida Farini Othman from Gogy Natural. Maxis also highlighted digitalisation grants available through the government’s Geran Digital PMKS Madani, for which Maxis is a certified digitalisation partner.
According to DNB, EmpowerHER Digital will continue to scale nationwide through strategic partnerships with government agencies and industry players. As a flagship digital inclusion initiative, it exemplifies the power of collaboration in shaping a more connected and equitable Malaysia.
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Democratic Party ( SDP ) launched its manifesto on Sunday ( Apr 20 ), unveiling policies around cost of living, healthcare, housing, education and immigration.
In launching its slogan “Thrive, Not Just Survive” on Saturday, the party called for Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) to be scrapped for everyday essentials and for medical costs to be lowered, among other proposals.
Its statement, launched on Sunday, is split into six areas: business, care, housing, education, immigration and culture shift.
One of its proposals is for the creation of a” simple national health insurance system” that eliminates the” complexities” of MediSave, MediShield, and CareShield.
Party chairman Paul Tambyah launched the manifesto on Sunday, alongside vice chairman Bryan Lim, and Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency ( GRC ) candidates Jufri Salim and Gigene Wong.
Speaking to reporters at Yew Tee Square , Professor Tambyah said:” The campaign statement is a claim, it’s a guarantee that we want you both to hold us accountable to. “
These are the key policies in SDP’s manifesto :
The SDP reiterated its visit to minimize GST and to remove it for necessities, such as meals and medicines.
It said it was “very hard to understand” increasing the GST from 7 per cent to 9 per cent at a time of world prices, adding that in some places, food requirements and main attention medical services are free from GST.
The group also proposed reducing revenues, saying that it is” well within the capacity of the state” as it owns most of the property in Singapore. It added that the government’s present approach of freebies and certificates provides “temporary comfort and a pillow at best”.
The SDP also asked the government to acquire a national minimum wage. It said that while the Progressive Wage Model is a” good start”, it does not “recognise the realities on the ground”.
” Permanent training is often not feasible for some fields, and not all employees are covered,” it added.
When workers lose their jobs, retrenchment insurance – paid out of an individual’s Central Provident Fund ( CPF ) account- should be introduced to provide them with support while they look for new jobs, said the party.
The state recently introduced a Jobseeker Support Scheme, but SDP said it was “extremely difficult and limited in the aid provided”.
” Our plan goes one step further than the diminishing help by providing real comfort while being green as it does not click… the resources but instead builds up a share from employees ‘ Pension efforts,” it said.
SDP even suggested divesting inadequate government-linked businesses that it said are” slowing down” the growth of little- and medium-sized companies, while “weaning our business of its addiction to multinational businesses”.
The opposition party said state investment firm Temasek” may become eliminated” and GIC’s operations and accounts made clear.
On helping the elderly, SDP said it “recognises the value” of the Silver Support Scheme, but wants a “much broader scheme” that assists 80 per cent of low-income elderly with S$ 500 a month to supplement their CPF.
It said this could be funded “out of a very small portion” of the interest income on investment of the reserves.
SDP also said the CPF minimum sum scheme should be abolished, as it is” not only impractical but also immoral”, and that people should be able to choose if they want to keep their money in their accounts to gather interest.
The party proposed that maternal and paediatric services should be “largely free” and funded by the government from taxes. This would reduce the cost of having and bringing up children and “potentially address” the problem of falling birth rates, it added.
Primary healthcare services for chronic illnesses should also be paid through a “risk pooling system”, so that the costs of running these systems are shared by all in the community, said SDP.
SDP also said the running costs of hospitals must be paid from taxes, and said the creation of healthcare clusters – the National Healthcare Group, the National University Health System, and Singhealth- has resulted in” significant” wastage and duplication, with multiple CEOs and administrators.
It said this system “needs to be abandoned” and called for Singapore to return to a” single unified public healthcare sector”.
SDP called for hospice care and home care to also be funded by taxes and donations, instead of being dependent on charity.
In funding these systems, the party called for a” single-payer universal healthcare system”, in which the government manages a central healthcare fund.
This fund will be run along the lines of a government-subsidised public insurance scheme to finance compulsory basic health, accident and pregnancy coverage for all citizens and permanent residents residing here for more than six months a year.
” No one should risk bankruptcy while seeking life-saving medical treatment,” said the party.
Weeks after a tense and widely televised spat with Ukraine’s leader during a meeting expected to lead to a critical minerals deal, Donald Trump announced that the long-awaited agreement would be signed next week.
“We have a minerals deal which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday,” the US president said during an Oval Office meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday. “And I assume they’re going to live up to the deal.”
Shortly after Trump’s remarks, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and economy minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, posted on social media that the two countries had virtually signed a memorandum as a first step towards the agreement.
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“We are happy to announce the filing, with our British lovers, of a document of purpose, which paves the way for an economic partnership agreement and the creation of the investment bank for the restoration of Ukraine, ” Svyrydenko wrote.
We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine. pic. twitter. com/AQsHPk Wh5X
— Yulia Svyrydenko ( @Svyrydenko_Y ) April 17, 2025
The joint US-Ukraine development deal grants American companies access to Ukraine’s vast mineral reserves and authorises them to take part in rebuilding the war-torn country ’s infrastructure.
It comes as Trump pushes Kyiv for compensation in return for the military aid and support provided by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
The US spent US$ 119. 7 billion on aid between January 2022 and December 2024, according to the Kiel Institute, a German-based think tank tracking support going to Ukraine.
However, Trump has claimed that the US has given Ukraine more than US$ 300 billion over the same time frame.
The pact coincides with worsening US-China relations, fuelled by escalating trade disputes, tit-for-tat tariffs and Beijing’s tightening grip on critical mineral exports.
Critical minerals are essential to the US economy, national security, and clean energy. Many are imported and prone to supply disruptions.
Though details of the deal are not known, Ukraine holds about 5 per cent of the world’s critical raw materials, according to a 2024 report by the World Economic Forum.
These include graphite, titanium, beryllium, and uranium as well as rare earth metals used in weapons, wind turbines and electronics.
China dominates the global rare earths market, both in mining and refining. It produces about 61 per cent of the world’s rare earths and handles 92 per cent of the global refining process, according to the International Energy Agency.
In response to Beijing’s export restrictions on six essential minerals imposed on April 4, Trump ordered a review of potential new tariffs on critical minerals imported to the US.
Last week, the US and Ukraine met in Washington to negotiate the deal. The meeting was “antagonistic”, according to a Reuters report, which said the new draft deal was more “expansive” than the one Kyiv rejected in February after a falling-out between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump has been ambivalent about the bigger issue of Ukraine’s security.
During his meeting with Trump in February, Zelensky asked for US security guarantees, like Western peacekeeping forces on the ground and protection against future attacks from Moscow.
But it has been reported that this key request will not be included in the final deal.
Russia, having launched its invasion in February 2022, now occupies 20 per cent of Ukrainian territory.
In recent weeks, Zelensky has accused China of supplying weapons and soldiers to Russia. Beijing has rejected the claims as “totally unfounded”.
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On Thursday, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, who earlier this month called China an “enabler ” in the war and said it provided “80 per cent of [Russia’s ] dual-use items”, declined to comment further on the issue.
“I’m not going to get into the specifics of what sectors that is in, but I think we’ve been very clear about our concern regarding China”, said Bruce when asked about Kviy’s allegations that Beijing was directly supporting Moscow ’s war effort.
The new minerals deal would arrive at a pivotal time as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to broker a ceasefire with the Kremlin.
Asked about a peace plan to resolve the Ukraine war and the imposition of US sanctions on Russia, which Trump seeks to involve in the plan, the president on Thursday said “we’re going to be hearing from them this week… very shortly, actually, and we’ll see”.
“We want the death and the killing to stop, ” Trump added.
The US leader’s muted remarks on Thursday followed a sharper critique he gave on Monday, when he blasted Moscow and Kyiv for failing to end the war.
“That’s a war that should have never been allowed to start and Biden could have stopped it and Zelensky could have stopped it and Putin should have never started it, ” Trump said. “Everybody is to blame. ”
Last week, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Witkoff described his five-hour meeting with Putin as “compelling,” saying he believed a peace deal was “emerging”.
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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was in Beijing on April 17 two weeks after the Trump administration imposed a sales ban on his company to China.
Huang, whose visit merited a reception by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at the Great Hall of the People, also met with Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT ), and Liang Wenfeng, founder and CEO of DeepSeek.
He added that” We welcome more US businesses, including Nvidia, to deepen their presence in the Foreign market and utilize their talents these to gain an edge in international contest.” He is also a part of the Politburo. In response, Huang remarked,” We look forward to deepening our presence in China and supporting the development of the local software ecosystem.”
In a split conference arranged by CCPIT, Huang told Ren,” We hope to continue to collaborate with China”. He was quoted by Chinese media as saying,” Nvidia will continue to make every effort to improve its product lineup in accordance with regulatory requirements and will steadfastly offer the Chinese marketplace,” according to him.
Huang officially discussed how Nvidia may give DeepSeek with AI chips that would satisfy both the company’s needs and regulation requirements during a meeting with Liang.
Nvidia issued a statement saying,” We regularly meet with government leaders to discuss our company’s products and technology”, but these were not regular meetings. The business is now at the core of US-China commerce and technology disputes that are becoming more and more thorny.
Nvidia had a busy year. In the evening of April 15, Nvidia revealed that imports of its H20 AI computers and similar devices to China and other countries of concern then require a permit from the US government, an attempt that “addresses the danger that the included products may be used in, or diverted to, a computer in China”.
Nvidia’s promote price dropped 6.3 % to US$ 105.10 in after-hours investing. By Thursday’s close ( Friday was a holiday ), it was down$ 104.42, bringing its year-to-date decline to$ 26.7 %.
With no permit likely to be granted, Nvidia stated that its results for the current fiscal quarter ending on April 27 “are expected to contain up to around$ 5.5 billion of costs associated with H20 materials for inventory, purchase commitments, and associated reserves”.
AMD’s MI308 AI accelerators are subject to the same new restrictions, which dropped 7.1 % in after-hours trading on Tuesday and finished the week down 27.5 % from the beginning of the year. ADM anticipates publishing special charges in the neighborhood of$ 800 million.
Intel’s Gaudi 3 processor is also affected. In the month to Thursday, Intel’s share price dropped 27 % due to this and other factors.
AMD’s MI308 was created with less performance in mind to meet previous US government export restrictions, similar to those on Nvidia’s H20. So were redesigned versions of Intel’s Gaudi 2 and Gaudi 3 AI accelerators.
The US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security ( BIS ) has placed a cap on the performance of AI processors that can be exported to China for the third time since October 2022, and Nvidia, AMD, and Intel have created new, less effective chips to lower the cap after Nvidia, AMD, and Intel have created new, less efficient versions of their chips. President Trump is implementing the same policy as President Joe Biden in this regard.
For Nvidia, the restriction timeline runs as such:
First, the reasons for this chain of events are that, despite the limitations, Chinese demand remained strong despite the performance of the available chips, and that, second, Chinese AI capabilities continued to advance despite the restrictions.
In addition to revealing the behind-the-curve incompetence of US government analysis and response, it demonstrates that, in the case of semiconductors, anything the Chinese want to buy, the US will refuse to sell, all the while complaining about its trade deficit with China.
Another wave of McCarthyite paranoia was sparked by the astonishing success of the Chinese AI model DeepSeek, which was trained using Nvidia H800 chips. According to The New York Times in January, DeepSeek” created a less expensive, competitive chatbot with fewer high-end computer chips than US behemoths like Google and OpenAI, showing the limitations of chip export control.”
On April 16, Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI ) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL ) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a report entitled” DeepSeek Unmasked: Exposing the CCP’s Latest Tool for Spying, Stealing, and Subverting US Export Control Restrictions”. DeepSeek poses” a serious threat to the United States ‘ national security,” according to the committee.
Chairman Moolenaar stated that:
DeepSeek isn’t just another AI app — it’s a weapon in the Chinese Communist Party’s arsenal, designed to spy on Americans, steal our technology, and subvert US law. We now know that this tool reportedly used cutting-edge Nvidia chips that shouldn’t have ended up in CCP hands and used US AI models. In order to demand answers, we’re writing a letter to Nvidia. American innovation should never be the engine of our adversaries ‘ ambitions.
However, only two days prior, on April 14, Nvidia made the announcement that it would produce up to$ 500 billion worth of supercomputers and other AI infrastructure in the US over the next four years.
In order to accomplish this, Nvidia is collaborating with Taiwanese contract manufacturers Foxconn ( Hon Hai Precision ) and Wistron to construct manufacturing facilities in Texas, Texas. The Blackwell AI processors at the heart of the AI supercomputers made there will be supplied by Taiwanese semiconductor foundry TSMC from its factories in Arizona.
Amkor and SPIL ( Silicon Precision Industries Co., Ltd. ), both located in Arizona, will take the chips together, package, and test them. As the name suggests, Amkor is Korean-American, whereas SPIL is Taiwanese.
CEO Huang said,” The engines of the world’s AI infrastructure are being built in the United States for the first time. Addition of American manufacturing improves our ability to meet the enormous and growing demand for supercomputers and AI chips, strengthens our supply chain, and increases our resilience.
That was what Trump aspired to hear. ” It’s the Trump Effect in action“, read a press release from the White House.
Although it won’t cost much and may take longer than Nvidia hopes, building AI supercomputers in the US should eventually be done with the support of so many top-notch companies.
Chinese server manufacturer H3C reported at the end of March that Nvidia H20 processors, which appear to be nearly sold out, were short. Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance and other Nvidia customers will also be affected, indicating that the new BIS restrictions are likely to disrupt China’s AI computing industry as intended.
Additionally, Nvidia could lose up to$ 15 billion in annual sales in addition to the anticipated$ 5.5 billion in special charges, which will benefit H3C, Huawei and Cambricon, two Chinese AI chip designers, for example.
The most technologically advanced Chinese substitute to Nvidia is already Huawei’s new Ascend 910C AI processor, which is reportedly the most advanced. Cambricon, which was founded in 2016, is much smaller than Huawei but has become a darling of the Chinese stock market, rising by about five times over the past year. Huawei is not traded on the stock exchange.
DeepSeek has already been distributed throughout China to People’s Liberation Army support services, corporate services, finance and other businesses, city government, and government agencies. Rather than having been designed” to spy on Americans”, as Congressman Moolenaar claims, it aims to provide AI solutions to practical problems across Chinese society.
Meanwhile, Dylan Patel and his fellow editors at SemiAnalysis, a well-known publication, claim that Huawei’s new CloudMatrix 394 AI accelerator, which is based on the Ascend 910C,” competes directly” with Nvidia’s premium GB200 Grace Blackwell Superchip and that its “rack scale solution” is “more advanced than Nvidia’s rack scale solution”.
” Rack scale solution” refers to the complete data center system, including GPUs, servers, networking, storage, power management and cooling.
According to SemiAnalysis,” the engineering advantage is at the system level not just at the chip level, with innovation at the accelerator, networking, optics, and software layers… Huawei is a generation behind in chips, but its scale-up solution is arguably a generation ahead of Nvidia and AMD’s current products on the market.”
Although Huawei’s solutions required more electricity, SemiAnalysis came to the conclusion that” China’s power deficiencies are relevant but not a limiting factor.”
Once again, US sanctions appear to be too little, too late, and more likely to promote rather than prevent the advance of Chinese technology. Nvidia and its smaller American rivals are likely to find themselves increasingly marginalized in the booming Chinese market for AI processors unless Trump changes tack in a deal with Beijing.
Follow this author on Twitter at X: @ScottFo83517667.
The Singapore People’s Party ( SPP ) unveiled its 16-page manifesto on Saturday ( April 19 ), calling for a minimum wage, lowering the eligibility age for singles who can purchase public housing to 30, and other reforms.
Party secretary-general Steve Chia, who introduced the manifesto under the slogan” It Is Time,” said:” We think it’s really time to take control of a lot of the policies and proposals that SPP is going to propose, and hope to propose, if we are elected in this election.
Mr. Chia reiterated that he will run for president in the upcoming election as part of the Bishan-Toa Payoh stone for SPP.  ,
He confirmed that Mr. Muhammad Norhakim, 31, and Mr. Williamson Lee, 46, who spoke in move and introduced some of the party’s proposed plans, will also be Genus candidates.  ,
Mr. Chia and Mr. Melvyn Chiu, both party members, have both paid their vote deposits, according to the poll department’s records.  ,
Mr. Chia declined to provide more information about where the other SPP users may battle, but it is anticipated that the four men will feature on the group’s lineup for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.  ,
Potong Pasir SMC will also be contested by SPP. During the 2020 General Election, the group fought for the same two divisions.
They spoke with journalists at Lorong 8 Toa Payoh Market and Hawker Centre, where they interacted with and distributed hard copies of their statement.
To address” the current challenges,” the report contains 40 policy proposals spread over nine different styles.  ,
Reducing the length of the Indian-Singaporean Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement ( CECA ), eliminating ethnic quotas, and reducing national service to 18 months are among the recommendations.
SPP also requested that the Constitution be amended to allow for the equal representation of smaller criticism parties in parliament.
Here are the important SPP ideas in its statement for the future vote:  ,  .
The party noted that Singaporeans are facing rising costs of living with stagnant income as the manifesto’s first style of financial security and fairness.  ,
The group suggested that any Goods and Services Tax increases been halted until Singapore’s combined budget deficit exceeds 3 percent of government income for three consecutive years.  ,
In order to “fund equitable relief,” it demanded that the government raise income taxes on the top 2 % of earners and reinstate estate taxes on the highest 2 % of earners. Additionally, SPP suggested more tickets and tax breaks for lower-income groups.  ,
To enable low-income workers and communities to “meet simple needs,” the party proposed a living wage plan. Additionally, it advised establishing a minimum income” to maintain dignity of living.”  ,
The criticism party demanded that the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices rules been codified into law, mandating good selecting and retrenchment benefits, in order to promote career and job protection.  ,
The SPP demanded in its declaration that the government review the CECA contract with India” to target labor outflow concerns” and gradually lower Special or Labour Pass quotas and interdependence ratios in automatable sectors.  ,
The group proposed enforcing higher regional hiring restrictions with a raised native qualifying income and offering tax cuts to businesses that prioritize Taiwanese professionals, managers, executives, and technicians.  ,
The group said in its statement that the government may prohibit the statutory retirement era of 63 and provide tax incentives for businesses hiring seniors over 70 who choose to stay employed.  ,
SPP’s declaration included a number of housing laws in various industries.  ,
The party demands that the minimum age for single applicants for Build-to-Order or resale Housing and Development Board ( HDB) apartments be 30 years old.  ,
Additionally, the statement suggested a five-year captain to rest ethnic quotas in HDB estates to assist “minority level masters in selling at fair market value.”  ,
According to the declaration, parents with two or more children should receive more grants to improve to a bigger level, and those with three or more children should be able to obtain a personal residence without paying extra buyer’s stamp duty.  ,
SPP suggested implementing a freedom of information act, lowering libel laws, and implementing a biennial 2 % budget reduction” to reduce unnecessary spending” in every ministry.  ,
The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee should be removed from the Prime Minister’s Office in order to “establish an independent committee for free and fair elections,” the group said. Election dates and times should be set for a level playing field.  ,
Additionally, the manifesto included suggestions in regards to education, care, and public transportation, including lowering the voting age to 18 and reducing class sizes in schools, expanding mental health resources, increasing go subsidies for low-income people and elders.  ,
As Washington tightens its undergraduate visa issuance, rising geopolitical tensions and trade war are having an impact on people-to-people exchanges between the US and China.  ,
Despite not providing specifics, the Trump administration reportedly revoked the visas of more than a thousand international students over the course of the previous month.
According to some media reports, the move may be connected to an executive order that US President Donald Trump signed in late January of this year to look into foreign students who had protested in favor of Palestine on US colleges or posted anti-Hamas messages on social media last year.
The majority of Chinese students who have just lost their permits are foreign students. The others are from Iran and India.
At least 1,300 international students and recent alumni at more than 200 US organizations were among the at least 1,300 who were cited as having seen their “legal standing change” in recent days, according to Inside Higher Education, a professional publication.  ,
One student was “detained at the border, denied entry, and deported to their home country,” according to the University of California San Diego (UCSD ). 35 students have had their F-1 visas revoked, according to the University of California San Diego (UCSD ). International students must have F-1 permits in order to research in the US, or they risk being deported.
A Chinese journalist from Shandong claims in an article that the US government’s recent decision to revoke international student permits is political campaign. He claims that many of those who posted pro-Palestine social media posts or participated in relevant protests are currently being investigated by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.  ,
The US government’s action may appear to be a crackdown on some regulations, but the poet claims that the government wants to have a chilling influence during a sensitive time, referring to the business battle. ” Targeting foreign students may win local hardliners and halt large-scale protests,” says the statement.
He claims it’s absurd that immigration officials asked an American student who posted a photo of children in Gaza to discuss any connections to Hamas to him.
He goes on to say that this “witch hunt” damages the income of American universities by hurting several major international talents.  ,
After learning that the US had revoked the visas of thousands of foreign students, some Chinese families who had planned to send their kids to the US for education had changed their minds. According to The South China Morning Post, on April 17, some Chinese families who had planned to send their children to the US changed their minds.
According to the SCMP, some parents wanted their children to switch from the Advanced Placement ( AP ) curriculum to the International Baccalaureate ( IB ) or A-level, according to a Shanghai-based study-abroad agent. The IB and A-level courses are for universities in Europe and the UK, while the AP education is for applying to American universities.
Four Chinese students sued in California on April 11 after the US federal revoked the visas of at least 529 students, faculty, and experts from 88 American institutions.
36 foreign students from 30 institutions across the US had written statements to a local judge over the weekend of April 12 through April 13, according to Clay Zhu, an attorney and managing partner at DeHeng Law Offices ‘ Silicon Valley company who represents the defendants.
One from Taiwan, three from Iran, and one from India, according to Zhu, are all from the Chinese island. He added that the complaint is intended to safeguard the rights of all foreign individuals who are impacted. Within a few days, a prosecutor may make a decision.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas, a Palestinian republican, Sunni Islamist social group, attacked Jewish areas, killing about 1,200 citizens and seizing 251 victims. Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the deaths and accidents of tens of thousands of Palestinians.
On lots of US college schools last year, numerous pro-Palestine students staged protests.
Trump signed an Executive Order on January 29 to overcome anti-semitism. According to him, according to his 2019 Executive Order on Combating Anti-Semitism, students encounter anti-Semitic abuse in classrooms and on campus at universities and colleges. He claimed that Israeli students in the US have endured an unending barrage of bias and abuse since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.
At least 300 international students ‘ permits were suspended, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on March 27.
We won’t grant you that visa if you say you’re coming not just to review but also to participate in activities that damage institutions, abuse students, overtake buildings, and cause conflict, according to Rubio.
Beijing authorities have criticized Israel’s military activity in Gaza on numerous occasions since October 2023 and reaffirmed China’s help for a Palestinian state.  ,
Some Chinese students in the US followed Beijing’s lead by taking to the streets and posting pro-Palestine and pro-Hamas information on their social media accounts, but many of them then feel regret.
China’s Ministry of Education issued an international study alert on April 9th, urging Chinese students to examine security risks and increase their awareness of precautions if they plan to study in particular US states. The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism also recommended that travelers thoroughly assess the dangers of visiting the US on the same time.
Both warnings can be seen in the context of China’s retaliatory measures against the Trump administration’s 14 % tariff on all Chinese goods.
There were roughly 1.1 million foreign students studying in the US in 2024. In the academic year 2023/24, the number of Chinese students in the US was 277, 398, 4.2 % down from 289, 526 in 2022/23 or 25.5 % down from the historical peak of 372, 532 in 2019/2020, according to Statista.com.
The Stop Chinese Communist Prying by Vindicating Intellectual Safeguards in Academia Act ( Stop CCP VISAs Act ) was introduced by US Congressman Riley Moore on March 14. He claimed that Chinese students have been allegedly spied on by American military personnel or allegedly stealing cutting-edge technology from American companies.  ,
” Every year, we grant student visas to almost 300,000 Chinese immigrants who reside in the US. According to Moore,” We’ve invited the CCP to spie on our defense, thieve our intellectual property, and harm our national security.” Congress must put an end to China’s abuse of our student immigration system. It’s about time to turn off the pipe and soon forbid all student visas for Chinese citizens.
Five Chinese students were arrested last October by the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) for photographing joint US-Taiwan live-fire military exercises near a military site in Michigan. Moore’s call came after the FBI arrested them. The reported incident took place in August of 2023.
The five were accused of conspiring to remove photographs from their devices and lying to authorities about their journey to Michigan. They received their degrees from the University of Michigan in flower of 2023. They were enrolled in a joint programme between Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China and the University of Michigan.
The post-Cold War consensus that assumed China may empower and deregulate had been ineffective for years, according to US Senator Ashley Moody, who supports the Stop CCP Visas Act. Otherwise, the CCP abused American goodwill and subversively eluded it by sending officials to our shores to eavesdrop on dissidents and state rivals, as well as to smuggle billions of dollars worth of research and intellectual property.
According to a writer from Guangdong, if the US forbids Foreign learners from studying it, its universities will drop top students and significant incomes because foreign students pay several times more than local students.
Read more: Xi travels to Southeast Asia in the midst of China’s severe import problems.
Business writer
Getty ImagesEvery phone comes with a tag which tells you it was designed in California.
Although the sleek square that controls most of our lives was created in the United States, it is most likely to have originated in China, where US taxes have already increased to 245 % on some Chinese goods.
More than 220 million smartphones are sold annually by Apple, and nine in ten of those are made in China, according to the majority of their sales. From the bright windows to the power packages, many of the elements in an Apple goods are made, sourced and assembled into iPhones, iPads or Macbooks in China. The US, Apple’s largest business, receives the majority of its products.
Fortunately for the company, Trump resigned from his taxes last week and immediately protected phones, computers, and some other electronic devices.
But the satisfaction is short-lived.
The president has since suggested that additional tariffs are coming:” Nobody is getting “off the rope,” he wrote on Truth Social while his presidency looked into” electronics and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN.”
The global supply chain that Apple has hailed as a power is then a risk.
The US and China, the country’s two biggest economies, are interconnected and Trump’s remarkable tariffs have upended that marriage immediately, leading to an obvious question: who is the more contingent of the two?
One of the world’s most valuable companies has a huge advantage over China by hosting its council lines. It was a calling cards to the West for quality production and has helped drive native technology.
In the 1990s, Apple began selling laptops to third-party vendors in China.
Apple found a crutch in China around 1997, when it was on the verge of bankruptcy as it struggled to compete with rivals. A young Taiwanese economy was opening up to international organizations to improve manufacturing and create more jobs.
Getty ImagesApple made its first product launch in China in 2001, through a Shanghai-based investing company. To produce iPods, iMacs, and later iPhones, it teamed up with Foxconn, a Taiwanese digital manufacturer based in China.
As Beijing began trading with the globe- encouraged by the US no less- Apple grew its footprints in what was becoming the world’s shop.
China was certainly ready to produce the phone at the time. However, supply chain professional Lin Xueping claims that Apple made the right choice and helped them develop into “manufacturing giants.”
He cites the example of Beijing Jingdiao, then a leading supplier of high-speed detail technology, which is used to make advanced parts effectively. The business, which cut acrylic, was not regarded as a machine tool-maker, but it eventually developed cutting glasses and gained the reputation of being” the legend of Apple’s mobile phone floor processing,” according to Mr. Lin.
In Beijing, Apple opened its first store there in 2008, the year the town hosted the Olympics and China’s connection with the West was at an all-time great. This quickly snowballed to 50 shops, with clients queuing out of the entrance.
As Apple’s profit margins increased, so did its Chinese assembly lines, with Foxconn running the nation’s largest phone shop in Zhengzhou, which has since been referred to as “iPhone City.”
Apple became a symbol of cutting-edge American technology for a rapidly expanding China, being basic however original and classy.
Nowadays, most of Apple’s beloved smartphones are manufactured by Foxconn. The world’s largest chip producer, TSMC, produces the sophisticated chips that strength them in Taiwan. Additionally, the manufacturing requires rare earth elements that are used in cameras and sound applications.
Some 150 of Apple’s best 187 manufacturers in 2024 had factories in China, according to an examination by Nikkei Asia.
In an interview last month, Mr. Cook, the CEO of Apple, stated that” there is no source ring in the world that is more important to us than China.”
Getty ImagesHowever, this time, the Trump administration used an illustration of Apple as an example before reversing levies on some technology. It thinks that rising income does encourage American businesses to produce goods instead.
” The troops of thousands and millions of human beings screwing in small screws to create smartphones- that kind of thing is going to come to America”, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an exam earlier this month.
Karoline Leavitt, a press secretary for the White House, reiterated last week that” President Trump has made it clear that America may depend on China to produce important technologies like semiconductors, cards, smartphones, and laptops.”
These businesses are working as hard as they can to inland their production in the United States as soon as possible, according to the president.
But many are cautious of that.
Eli Friedman, who previously served on the company’s scientific advisory board, calls the idea that Apple might relocate its assembly facility to the US “pure fantasy.”
Mr. Friedman claimed that the business has been considering expanding its supply chain to other countries since 2013, when he joined the board, but that the US was never an alternative.
He added that Apple didn’t make much progress over the next generation but “really made an effort” after the pandemic, when China’s tightly-controlled Covid lockdowns hurt manufacturing production.
Vietnam and India have been the most significant new places for assembly. However, of program, the majority of Apple production also takes place in China.
Apple did not respond to the BBC’s issues but its web says its supply chain extends” thousands of businesses and more than 50 nations”.
Getty ImagesAny alteration to Apple’s current supply chain would be a major blow to China, which is attempting to resurrect after the pandemic.
Many of the factors that the country wanted to be a manufacturing hub for American companies in the early 2000s band real nowadays- it creates hundreds of thousands of jobs, and gives the country a crucial border in world trade.
According to Jigar Dixit, a supply chain and operations consultant,” Apple sits at the intersection of US-China tensions, and tariffs highlight the cost of that exposure.”
It might explain why China did not respond to Trump’s threats by imposing a 25 % levie on US imports instead. China has also imposed export controls on a range of critical rare earth minerals and magnets it has in stores, dealing a blow to the US.
There is no denying that the US tariffs that are still being levied on other Chinese industries will suffer.
Trump has made it abundantly clear that he will target nations that are part of the Chinese supply chain, not just Beijing, which is currently facing higher tariffs. For instance Vietnam, where Apple has moved AirPods production, was facing 46 % tariffs before Trump hit pause for 90 days, so moving production elsewhere in Asia is not an easy way out.
Asia is where the tens or hundreds of thousands of Foxconn assembly sites could be located, and all of these nations are paying higher tariffs, according to Mr. Friedman.
What does Apple then do?
Getty ImagesThe company is fighting off stiff competition from Chinese firms as the government pushes for advanced tech manufacturing in a race with the US.
Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and other companies can now use Apple’s mature supply chain, according to Mr. Lin, because” Apple has cultivated China’s electronic manufacturing capabilities.”
Apple lost to Huawei and Vivo last year in the top spot in China’s smartphone market. Chinese people are not spending enough because of a sluggish economy and with ChatGPT banned in China, Apple is also struggling to retain an edge among buyers seeking AI-powered phones. In order to boost sales, it even offered sporadic discounts on iPhones in January.
As the Chinese Communist Party sought to censor political messages that people were sharing, Apple has had to restrict the use of Bluetooth and Airdrop on its devices despite holding President Xi Jinping in increasingly close control. It weathered a crackdown on the tech industry that even touched Alibaba founder and multi-billionaire Jack Ma.
Apple has announced a US investment of$ 500 billion ( £378 billion ), though it might not be enough to acquaint the Trump administration for a while.
More unexpected levies are anticipated as a result of the numerous U-turns and the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s tariffs, which could once again leave the company with little manoeuvring room and even less time.
Mr Dixit says smartphone tariffs will not cripple Apple should they rear their head again, but regardless will add “pressure- both operationally and politically” to a supply chain that cannot be unwound quickly.
According to Mr. Friedman, who made reference to last week’s smartphone exemption,” Clearly the severity of the immediate crisis has been lessened.”
” I really don’t believe that this will allow Apple to relax,” she said.
Additional reporting by Fan Wang
