EU countries must urgently diversify 5G suppliers in Huawei aftermath, Commission says July 24, 2020 EU countries must take urgent action to diversify their 5G suppliers, the European Commission said today, a move set to shrink Huawei’s presence in Europe as the US pressured the bloc to follow the UK and ban the Chinese company from 5G networks. In November last year, the European Union agreed to take a tough [...]
Tiktok could be sold to US investors to avoid American ban July 22, 2020 Beleaguered video app Tiktok could be split from its Chinese parent company Bytedance and sold off to US investors in a bid to curtail a mooted ban on the app in America, as questions over the company’s data protection policies face mounting criticism on both sides of the Atlantic. Tiktok’s $110bn (£86bn) parent firm Bytedance [...]
Mike Pompeo calls for global coalition to ‘push back’ against China July 21, 2020 US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has called for “every nation” to form a coalition to “push back” against China at a press conference today in London. Pompeo took aim at Chinese leader Xi Jinping, saying that his government’s “exploitation of [the coronavirus] disaster to further its own interests has been disgraceful”, while also calling [...]
Volvo targets return to profit in second half after coronavirus hit July 21, 2020 Swedish car maker Volvo said that it expected its business to bounce back strongly in the second half of the year after falling to a 989m Swedish crown (£87m) loss for the first half. Although the automaker was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, it said that it expected the downturn to be a temporary [...]
BHP hits iron ore, coal and copper guidance despite coronavirus July 21, 2020 Mining giant BHP today said that it had hit its guidance for production of iron ore, coal and copper despite the disruption caused by the coronavirus crisis. However, it warned that so-called second waves of the new disease could hit short-term demand for its commodities, prompting it to broaden the range of its output forecasts [...]
Tory MPs amp up pressure for UK ban on Tiktok July 20, 2020 A group of senior Conservative MPs have warned that Chinese social media app Tiktok is”’as much a threat to Britain” as banned telecoms firm Huawei, as tensions between London and Beijing continue to sour. The government last week announced it will introduce a ban on new Huawei products from the UK’s 5G network from next [...]
Britain enters talks with Japan to fill Huawei vacuum as trade deal deadline looms July 20, 2020 The British government has entered talks with Japan to help build the UK’s 5G infrastructure after it last week banned Huawei technology from the network over national security concerns. British officials held talks with their counterparts in Tokyo last Thursday about the future of the UK’s 5G networks, according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei, with businesses [...]
Rare earth miner Pensana inks deal with Chinese firm for Angola project July 20, 2020 Rare earth metals firm Pensana has today announced that it is exploring a partnership with China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) to develop its flagship mine in Angola. The project, at Longonjo in the southern African country, is the first new rare earth mine in over a decade. The mine, which is slated to start [...]
Ant Financial to float in dual Shanghai-Hong Kong listing July 20, 2020 Alibaba’s payments arm Ant Financial has started the process of a concurrent initial public offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The world’s most valuable tech unicorn said it would list its shares on both the Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style Star Market and the Hong Kong stock exchange. In a statement Ant Financial, which provides the digital payment [...]
In allying with Iran, China signals the start of Cold War II July 20, 2020 To read the lion’s share of today’s headlines, you would think the western world is in its final days, a Rome tottering on the edge of the abyss. And yet geopolitically, for all our leaders’ unheroic bungling of the coronavirus pandemic, our primary strategic rival China has had a far worse innings. Overconfident President Xi [...]