Daily Buzz: 27 May 2025

Top News

Royal support for Canada

King Charles III began a two-day visit to Canada, where he will become the first British monarch since 1977 to open the nation's parliament. His address on Tuesday is expected to highlight support for the dominion in its battle with the US over trade and sovereignty. Prime Minister Mark Carney won election earlier this year on a wave of anti-Trump sentiment provoked by US President Donald Trump's repeated assertions that he would like to make America's northern neighbor the 51st state.

Trump calls Putin 'absolutely crazy'

US President Donald Trump stepped up rare criticism of President Vladmir Putin after Russia unleased its biggest drone and missile attack to date in Ukraine. Trump on his social media platform called the Russian leader "absolutely crazy" and warned that if Putin attempts to take over all of Ukraine, it will lead to the "downfall" of Russia. He also said he is considering further sanctions on Russia. The Kremlin dismissed the comments as "emotional overload of everyone involved." Trump also criticized Volodymir Zelensky after Ukraine's president earlier condemned "the silence of America" as encouragement for Russian attacks. Trump has threatened to pull the US out of peace efforts if no progress is made.

China attends ASEAN-GCC-China summit

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is among guests attending a two-day summit of Southeast Asian nations, China's biggest regional export market. The meeting of the 10-member ASEAN trading bloc, hosted by Malaysia, is likely to be dominated by concerns about US tariffs and calls for greater regional integration to withstand rising global trade protectionism. Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, were also attending.

Top Business

Electric-car price war?

Chinese electric carmaker BYD's price cuts of up to 35 percent fueled fears of a renewed price war in the highly competitive market of new energy vehicles, sending shares of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers plunging in Hong Kong trading. Shares in BYD fell 8.6 percent. Geely closed down 9.5 percent, and Li Auto lost 3.2 percent. BYD is offering discounts on 22 electric and plug-in hybrid models until the end of June, reflecting an effort to clear inventory of older models, according to Bloomberg News.

In April, BYD led sales of new energy vehicles in China, with almost 30 percent of the market, while Tesla trailed in eighth place at 3.2 percent, according to auto platform CNEV Post. In global sales of battery electric cars for the first quarter, BYD ranked first with a market share of 15 percent, followed by Tesla at 13 percent and Geely at 7 percent.

China backs smart supply chains

China's Ministry of Commerce and seven other agencies released a new plan on Monday to accelerate the development of "smart" supply chains across sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, wholesale and retail. The plan aims to cut nationwide logistics costs and boost industrial resilience by promoting AI-powered smart factories, warehousing and retail systems. Authorities are aiming for 100 major smart supply chains by 2030.

Meituan shares drop on regulatory draft

Shares in Meituan, a Chinese shopping platform and fast-food delivery service, fell 5.5 percent in Hong Kong after Chinese regulators issued draft guidelines related to the fees paid to online merchants. The guidelines, now open for comment, say the charges should be "reasonable and take into account the operational status of merchants." They followed merchants' complaints that the charges were opaque and complicated. Meituan shares suffered their biggest decline in a month. Shares in rival JD.com slid 1.2 percent.

Robot fights debut in China

China held the world's first kick-boxing tournament featuring humanoid robots in Hangzhou on Sunday, showcasing advanced robotics in a livestreamed event backed by China Media Group. Participants, including robots from Unitree Robotics, demonstrated combat capabilities powered entirely by domestically developed tech. While core algorithms performed well, experts noted a lack of sophisticated AI models serving as robot "brains," pointing to future demand for customized AI solutions.

Economy

Dollar's skid deepens

In Asian trading on Monday, the US dollar lost further ground against major world currencies after the Trump administration extended the deadline for 50 percent tariffs on the EU from June 1 to June 9. The euro rose as much as 0.55 percent against the dollar, and the yen added a quarter of a point against the greenback. The Australian and New Zealand dollars hit six-month highs. The US dollar index, which tracks the currency against six major rivals, sank 0.3 percent after losing 2 percent last week, as concerns about rising US government debt caused some investors to flee dollar-denominated assets. US markets were closed on Monday for a holiday.

US tariffs aimed at tanks, not socks

US President Donald Trump said his tariff policies are not aimed at encouraging domestic production of lower-cost, textile-related goods. "I'm not looking to make T-shirts. I'm not looking to make socks," he said. "We want to make big things. We want to do the AI thing with computers. We are looking to do chips and computers, and tanks and ships."

The penny drops

One-cent coins will stop being minted in the US next year, the Treasury Department confirmed, ending production that has been in place more than two centuries. President Donald Trump ordered the halt earlier this year, citing costs that outstripped usefulness.

The coins, minted with zinc and copper, cost about 3 US cents each to make.

Corporate

AI and computing merger

Shanghai-listed Hygon Information Technology, an AI chip developer, and Dawning Information Industry Co, a computer-server manufacturer, announced a merger valued at over 400 billion yuan (US$55.6 billion) on Monday. The move is expected to address surging domestic demand for artificial intelligence capabilities and bolster China's drive for technological independence to reduce reliance on US technologies. Shares in both companies were suspended ahead of the announcement.

Scania's new Chinese factory

Swedish truck maker Scania will begin operations at its new US$2.3 billion Chinese factory in the Jiangsu Province city of Rugao in October, Reuters reported, citing Chief Executive Christian Levin. The new Chinese factory will eventually reach a production capacity of 50,000 vehicles for the mainland and Asian markets. It will be Scania's fourth global production base, after sites in Sweden, the Netherlands and Brazil.

Renault to leverage Shanghai base

French carmaker Renault will apply insights gained from the Chinese mainland market to design new models at its development center in Shanghai, a senior executive told the South China Morning Post. In an interview, Vincent Piquet, chief financial officer at Renault Group's electric-car division Ampere, said the center is focused on making affordable electric vehicles for Europe and markets beyond. With support from the Shanghai operation, he said, Renault developed a more affordable version of its electric Twingo model in just 21 months, priced at less than €20,000 (US$22,646). The company expects its cheaper cars to compete with BYD's Seagull and Nio's Firefly.

Tripadvisor tallies fake reviews

US-based tourism platform Tripadvisor said about 8 percent of the 31 million reviews of travel sites and amenities submitted to the company in 2024 were fake, more than twice the number detected in 2022. Becky Foley, vice president of trust and safety at Tripadvisor, said the company's policing process means that not all the fake reviews were published. Some 7 percent of submissions in 2024 were auto-rejected before being posted and another 5 percent were referred to human review, she said. The company's annual Transparency Report noted numbers of reviews that are paid for by tourism operators to enhance their reputation. More than a third of them last year came from Indonesia and Vietnam.