China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry sits at the centre of numerous economic and geopolitical trends: consumer spending, environmental protection, trade policy, high-end manufacturing, technology and more. In this short series, we assess the current state of the sector within these broader contexts. Here, Yeon Woo Lee asks whether Beijing has written a blueprint for developing countries to kick-start their own contenders in the field.
Emerging markets once seemed like also-rans in the global car industry. In the days when
Nargiza Umarova is a head of the Centre for Strategic Connectivity at the Institute for Advanced International Studies, University of World Economy and Diplomacy, and an analyst at the non-governmental research institution Knowledge Caravan, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
US President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to help Lebanon “a lot” as its president, Joseph Aoun, sought Washington’s backing for a fragile effort to disarm Hezbollah and forge a path to peace with Israel.
Aoun, the first Lebanese president invited to Washington since 2009, asked Trump for political support and continued backing for the Lebanese army, which has begun deploying in southern areas under a US-backed framework agreement with Israel.
“We need to support the LAF,” Aoun said, referring
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that he was dismissing Oleksandr Syrsky, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s army, amid an ongoing political crisis triggered by the removal of a popular defence minister.
The Ukrainian leader announced he was appointing joint forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty in his place.
Syrsky, 60, had served in the role since 2024 and was among Kyiv’s most experienced commanders, having led the defence
The Solomon Islands, widely considered China’s closest security partner in the South Pacific, will soon sign a deal allowing the US Coast Guard to patrol its waters with local police aboard, Prime Minister Matthew Wale announced on a trip to Washington to strengthen bilateral ties.
While the South Pacific nation has deepened its ties with China over the past few years, particularly following
Republicans point to Beijing’s rising research spending, while Democrats warn Trump’s funding cuts could erode America’s ability to compete
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The bill also includes a ban on mobile phones in high schools, expected to take effect from the beginning of the next school year
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France’s parliament on Tuesday approved a bill banning social media access for children under 15, making France the first European country to bar children from apps such as TikTok.
President Emmanuel Macron has championed the ban as a flagship reform of his final term in office and pledged
US President Donald Trump’s administration is using another tariff threat to put fresh pressure on Canadian provinces to end their boycotts of American alcohol. But provincial leaders are not backing off.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would not lift his province’s ban on the sale of American wine and spirits in government-run stores unless the US removes sectoral tariffs on cars and steel.
“We have to negotiate through strength, not weakness. And we need to throw everything on the table,” he told reporters in Charlottetown
US president says Washington will discuss alleged 2020 election interference with Beijing but plays down prospects of retaliation
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