Skip to content

All posts by RWZ - 6. page

RFI: Chinese Tourist Arrivals to Japan Continued to Grow Despite Travel Warnings

Radio France Internationale (RFI) recently reported that the Japan Tourism Agency said the ongoing diplomatic crisis between Japan and China has had little impact on overall inbound tourism, with the number of tourists visiting Japan in November increasing by 10.4 percent compared to the same period last year. The growth rate of tourists from mainland China still reached three percent in November.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks about “Taiwan in trouble” have drawn the ire of the Chinese government, and the current diplomatic dispute between China and Japan continues. Subsequently, in mid-November, the Chinese government issued travel warnings to its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan. China’s three major airlines cooperated with the government’s measure, reducing the number of flights to Japan until the end of March 2026.

Since the beginning of 2025, tourists from mainland China have been the largest group of visitors to Japan, accounting for nearly a quarter of the total number of tourists entering Japan. Currently, the growth in the number of tourists entering Japan is mainly brought by tourists from South Korea, Taiwan and the United States.

Source: RFI, December 17, 2025
https://tinyurl.com/48sp6yxf

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s November Retail Sales Growth Slowed to Three-Year Low

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that, data just released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed the year-over-year growth rate of retail sales of consumer goods in November, a key indicator of consumption, slowed sharply to 1.3 percent from 2.9 percent in October. The numbers are far below market expectations and reached the lowest growth rate since the end of the strict Zero-Covid measures in December 2022.

Automobile sales were the major drag on retail growth, falling 8.3 percent year-over-year in November, down from -6.6 percent in October and marking the lowest level since April 2022. Growth in trade-in goods such as home appliances and mobile phones also generally slowed. The year-over-year growth rate of gold and silver jewelry consumption fell 29.1 percent from its high to 8.5 percent. And the year-over-year growth rate of catering also slowed to 3.2 percent in November, down from 3.8 percent in October.

Economists pointed out that the problem of insufficient aggregate demand in China’s economy remains severe. The overall overcapacity problem led to insufficient demand. It’s worth noting that the data from the National Bureau of Statistics also shows the year-over-year growth rate of real estate investment further declined by -30.1 percent in November.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, December 15, 2025
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/finance/china/story20251215-7968567

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

RFI: EU Raids Temu’s European Headquarters

Radio France Internationale (RFI) recently reported that the European Union has intensified its oversight of Temu, a Chinese e-commerce platform. Multiple sources confirmed that the European Commission carried out a surprise inspection of Temu’s European headquarters in Dublin, focusing on whether the company has received subsidies from the Chinese government that could constitute unfair competition in the EU market.

A European Commission spokesperson confirmed that “the Commission conducted an unannounced on-site inspection of a company operating in the EU e-commerce sector, pursuant to the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR),” though the Commission did not disclose the company’s name or location.

The FSR is designed to curb market distortions in the EU caused by subsidies granted by non-EU governments. Companies found in violation may face fines of up to 10 percent of their annual global turnover. The inspection comes as the EU tightens regulation of low-cost goods from China, with a surge of inexpensive parcels—most originating from China—entering the European market through cross-border e-commerce channels.

According to Temu’s latest transparency report, the platform has approximately 116 million monthly active users in the EU. As the EU continues to strengthen digital regulation and fair-trade enforcement, the legal and commercial environment facing Temu is becoming increasingly restrictive.

Source: RFI, December 10, 2025
https://tinyurl.com/cum9fdtv

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

CNA: NVIDIA Develops Location Verification Technology

Taiwan’s primary news agency, the Central News Agency (CNA), recently reported that NVIDIA has confirmed the development of a “location verification” technology capable of determining the country in which its chips are actually operating. The feature is designed to help prevent NVIDIA’s artificial intelligence (AI) chips from being smuggled into countries subject to U.S. export restrictions.

The technology has been demonstrated privately over the past few months but has not yet been officially released. It can be installed by customers and relies on NVIDIA GPUs’ confidential (secure) computing capabilities. According to NVIDIA sources, the software was originally created to help customers monitor overall computing performance. It estimates a chip’s location by analyzing communication latency with NVIDIA servers, with accuracy comparable to that of standard internet-based location services. NVIDIA stressed that the software does not allow the company to remotely control or interfere with customer systems, and that all telemetry data sent to NVIDIA servers is read-only, meaning the servers cannot write data back to the chips.

NVIDIA’s location-verification feature is widely seen as a response to pressure from the White House and bipartisan members of Congress to strengthen export controls. In recent weeks, the U.S. Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against several China-linked smuggling networks, accusing them of attempting to illegally export more than US$160 million worth of NVIDIA chips to China.

Source: CNA, December 11, 2025
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/ait/202512110148.aspx

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

Lianhe Zaobao: China’s November Exports Rebound as Shipments to the U.S. Continue to Slow

Singapore’s leading Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported that newly released data from China’s General Administration of Customs show China’s exports grew 5.9 percent year over year in November, exceeding market expectations.

By product category, exports of machinery, electronics, and high-tech goods accelerated. Shipments of integrated circuits and automobiles posted particularly strong growth, rising 34.2 percent and 53.0 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. By destination, exports to the European Union surged 14.3 percent, the fastest pace since July 2022, with France, Germany, and Italy all recording double-digit increases. Exports to Africa and Latin America also rose sharply, up 28.2 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively. In contrast, export growth to ASEAN slowed to 8.4 percent, the weakest increase since February.

Exports to the United States declined further, plunging 28.6 percent year over year in November, marking the eighth consecutive month of double-digit drops. Analysts cited by Lianhe Zaobao said the overall rebound suggests Chinese exporters are making significant progress in expanding into non-U.S. markets. They added that the slowdown in exports to ASEAN may be linked to a retreat in re-export trade following higher U.S. tariffs on Southeast Asian countries.

China’s export growth outpaced import growth in November, pushing the country’s cumulative trade surplus to a record high exceeding US$1 trillion.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, December 8, 2025
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20251208-7933064

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

DW Chinese: China’s Manufacturing PMI in Contraction for Eighth Consecutive Month

Data recently released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed the Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reached 49.2 in November, remaining below the 50-point threshold that marks expansion from contraction. This indicates China’s manufacturing sector declined for the eighth consecutive month, Deutsche Welle Chinese reports.

The latest data shows that Chinese companies have been struggling to recover since the pandemic. Furthermore, the U.S.-China trade dispute has severely impacted many factories and manufacturing sectors. Looking at the sub-indices, production output remained at 50.0, showing a stagnant year-over-year growth; both the new orders and new export orders indices improved compared to October, but still did not return to the expansion range above 50.

The PMI for Chinese small manufacturing companies rose by two percentage points in November, reaching a near six-month high of 49.1. This improvement may be attributed to the resilience of the export sector and the recent reduction of high tariffs by U.S. President Trump, which has partially alleviated the export pressure on Chinese products.

China’s policymakers now face a dilemma: continue pushing through difficult structural reforms, or should they introduce more stimulus policies to boost domestic demand?

Source: Deutsche Welle Chinese, November 30, 2025
https://tinyurl.com/2m42mc5m

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

LTN: Taiwan Blocks Chinese Social Media App “Red Note” for One Year

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that the Taiwanese Interior Ministry has announced a one-year ban on the popular Chinese social media app Red Note, citing a crackdown on fraud.

Governments around the world expressed deep concern about cybersecurity vulnerabilities associated with Chinese apps like Red Note and TikTok, as well as the growing prevalence of disinformation campaigns on such apps. Furthermore, Chinese regulations require Chinese-operated companies to store data domestically within China and to allow the Chinese government full access to that data. Beijing actively monitors and censors content that it deems unfavorable, a practice experts say can influence public opinion.

Red Note has rapidly gained popularity among young people in Taiwan in recent years, reaching three million users, or 13% of Taiwan’s population of 23 million. This Red Note platform has raised concerns among Taiwanese officials, as Red Note has been involved in 1,706 fraud cases within the past two years. The Taiwanese Ministry of the Interior said that Red Note is a “malicious platform” that “transmits users’ personal data to certain locations in China,” and that Red Note is illegal in Taiwan as the platform “did not appoint a legal representative in Taiwan, comply with local laws and regulations, and fulfill [other] legal obligations.”

Source: LTN, December 6, 2025
https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/5269356

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

Lianhe Zaobao: One-Third of Surveyed EU Companies Plan to Stop Procurement in China

A new survey released by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China shows that one-third of surveyed EU chamber of commerce member companies are considering shifting their sourcing out of China and are seeking new supply chain arrangements. The shift is primarily motivated by uncertainty around the U.S.-China trade war as well as tightening Chinese export controls.

The survey, conducted from November 6 to 24, involved 131 member companies of the EU chamber of commerce. The survey revealed that 32 percent of respondents planned to shift their procurement outside of China due to Beijing’s export controls; and 39 percent indicated that the Ministry of Commerce of China was processing export licenses slower than the promised 45 days.

The survey also showed that nearly 70 percent of respondents indicated their overseas production facilities rely on Chinese components affected by export controls; 50 percent indicated that the products of their suppliers or customers have already been or will soon be included in the scope of controls.

In October of this year, China announced stricter export controls on rare earths, shocking global markets and exacerbating European companies’ concerns about further disruptions to supply chains. Of the 131 companies surveyed, 75 indicated that they had been affected by the relevant controls. For now, the U.S. and China have not yet formally signed an agreement, and the EU is also trying to include itself in the relevant arrangements.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, December 1, 2025
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20251201-7899734

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend