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China’s population is shrinking, with the number of deaths outstripping births.

‘Courses in love’: China steps up campaign to promote marriage, babies

Universities have been asked to educate single students on relationships and regular articles appear in state media about the benefits of having children.

  • Eleanor Olcott, Nian Liu and Wang Xueqiao
Wine for sale at a store in Shanghai. Chinese consumers have cut their spending on fine wines.

Fine wine market in the red as Chinese demand dries up

The falls mark a second consecutive tough year for the industry, which was hit in 2023 by higher interest rates and dwindling sales from Asia.

  • Laurence Fletcher
The wreckage of the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lays on the ground near the airport of Aktau.

Azerbaijani airliner crashes in Kazakhstan, killing dozens

The Embraer 190 was flying from Baku to the Russian city of Grozny when it tried an emergency landing. Remarkably, many passengers survived. Watch the footage.

  • Katie Marie Davies

This Month

A worker checks solar panels at a factory in Jiujiang in central China. The country has emerged as an industry leader in green energy sectors.

This is how China could lift growth while cutting global emissions

A shift towards green development could help stabilise the Chinese economy while supporting the world’s energy transition.

  • Yiping Huang
A Nissan electric vehicle displayed inside the company’s Ginza showroom in Tokyo.

Foxconn throws curveball in Nissan-Honda merger talks

The iPhone maker has thrown a potential spanner in the works by approaching struggling Nissan about acquiring a stake, according to sources and media reports.

  • Nicholas Takahashi
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Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida, left, and Toshihiro Mibe, Honda CEO, this week confirmed merger talks.

Merge or die: Honda-Nissan talks mark pivotal moment in painful transition

Japanese discussions signal industry-wide consolidation as carmakers struggle with electric vehicle transition costs and growing competition from China.

  • Jessica Sier
With the rise of Chinese dominance, we must strike the right balance between excessive deference towards Beijing and unnecessary provocation.

China to have 1000 nukes by 2030, says Pentagon

The annual China Military Power Report said the People’s Liberation Army had expanded its arsenal by 20 per cent in the 12 months to mid-2024.

  • Demetri Sevastopulo
Honda Motor CEO Toshihiro Mibe

Honda, Nissan consider merger to take on Tesla, China EVs

Such a deal would create an automotive rival to Toyota that would effectively consolidate the Japanese car industry into two camps.

  • Chester Dawson
A Huawei-Aito M5 electric vehicle at the Smart China Expo in Chongqing, China.

‘A different animal’: Inside Huawei’s new EV business

The Chinese tech giant’s multibillion-dollar unit is setting its sights on becoming a big supplier to the electric car industry despite US sanctions.

  • Edward White and Tina Hu
Hunting down winter bargains in Beijing. Consumption remains weak in China.

Weak consumption drags on China as Trump tariff threat looms

Weaker retail figures come despite a boost from online shopping promotions and government-subsidised trade-in programs that have lifted sales in some sectors.

  • Kevin Yao and Ethan Wang
South Koreans gathered outside the National Assembly in Seoul to celebrate after parliament voted to impeach the president.

South Korea’s leaders seek calm after president impeached

Political leaders and the central bank tried to reassure allies and markets of stability, after the president was suspended for trying to impose martial law.

  • Heekyong Yang and Josh Smith
Fiona Yue is the CEO of Merino & Co, a Perth-based wool company newly listed on the ASX.

Can a looming trade war revive this niche Australian industry?

Firms such as newly listed Merino & Co are positioning themselves between China and Donald Trump, who threatens to impose tariffs on Chinese products.

  • Jessica Sier
South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol.

South Korea’s parliament votes to impeach President Yoon

Mr Yoon’s presidential powers and duties will be suspended after copies of a document on the impeachment are delivered to him and to the Constitutional Court.

  • Hyung-Jin Kim and Kim Tong-Hyung
Xi Jinping

China’s ‘bazooka’ stimulus will have to wait - again

Beijing says “vigorous” efforts to boost domestic consumption are the country’s top economic priority, but details are once again lacking.

  • Jessica Sier
Banners calling for the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol displayed outside the National Assembly in Seoul this week.

South Korean upheaval rattles US plan to counter China

There are questions over whether a new government in Seoul might complicate Washington’s efforts under Donald Trump to counter the rise of China as a military superpower.

  • Edward White, Christian Davies, Leo Lewis and Demetri Sevastopulo
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South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol.

South Korea’s Yoon seeks to fight on as inquiries mount

The president is battling to stay in his role after his brief declaration of martial law last week stunned the nation and its allies.

  • Sangmi Cha and Seyoon Kim
Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

The four charts that show what’s wrong with China’s economy

Key indicators reveal the challenges facing Chinese policymakers as they gather to deal with the task of balancing short-term stimulus with longer-term reforms.

  • Jessica Sier
Animal spirits tamed: statues of bulls in Pudong’s Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai, China, in October

How Shanghai’s ambition to be the ‘future of finance’ fell apart

The port city was meant to be China’s answer to New York, but trade tensions and changing domestic priorities have taken a toll.

  • Thomas Hale and Cheng Leng
Commodity markets and the Aussie rallied after China’s leadership signalled bolder economic support next year.

China’s surprise pledge sends commodities soaring

BHP and Rio Tinto rallied with commodity prices after Beijing signalled bolder support for the world’s second-largest economy next year.

  • Joanne Tran
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol apologises for his actions at the presidential office in Seoul on Saturday.

Yoon survives impeachment vote after his power grab

The move to impeach the South Korean president was foiled by his conservative People Power Party, which boycotted the vote.

  • Soo-Hyang Choi and Sam Kim
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol apologises for his actions at the presidential office in Seoul on Saturday.

South Korea’s president apologises hours before impeachment vote

President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his regret for plunging the country into political turmoil, but did not resign from parliament.

  • Soo-Hyang Choi and Sam Kim
Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea on Thursday, December 5, 2024.

South Korea’s crisis deepens after party leader turns on president

The leader of the country’s ruling party now supports suspending Yoon Suk Yeol from office, a bombshell reversal that makes the president’s impeachment more likely.

  • Soo-Hyang Choi
South Korean veteran marines shave their head in a protest outside the presidential office in Seoul this week.

Why a destabilised South Korea is dangerous

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un is not backing down from his nuclear ambitions. A stable South Korea is crucial for peace in the region.

  • Edward Howell
BYD launched its Shark 6 plug in hybrid ute in Australia last month.

EVs to get even cheaper as price war enters ‘knockout’ round

Australia will benefit from a brutal and stepped up cost-cutting battle between China’s manufacturers.

  • Jessica Sier
Protesters stage a rally to demand South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to step down in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. The signs read “Punish.”

Yoon’s actions remind investors of all they dislike about South Korea

After briefly declaring martial law this week, the South Korean President can kiss goodbye to his plan to boost the nation’s notoriously depressed stock market.

  • Shuli Ren

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/world/asia