The sweeping deal aims to link South Asia and the Middle East to help the flow of energy and trade from the Gulf to Europe

The chief of one of the world’s biggest chip equipment-makers, ASML, said isolating China completely will ‘force’ the country to ramp up innovation

Australian PM Anthony Albanese signed a strategic agreement with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Friday, which will see the two countries run joint naval patrols in the South China Sea

"The significance is that it shows that China has been able to stay 2-2.5 nodes behind the world's best (chip) companies," Dan Hutcheson, an analyst with TechInsights said

Myanmar, one the world’s leading producers of rare earths metals, has suspended mining for inspections, sending prices to 16-month highs

State media said the investment was a clear sign of Beijing's push to end the country's reliance on foreign semiconductor firms

Australian PM meets Chinese Premier at ASEAN summit, says trade has stabilized. Keen for more progress, he will visit Beijing later this year to mark the 50th anniversary of bilateral ties

Guterres warned of fragmentation "in world economic and financial systems" amid differing views on technology and security; he also urged solutions for poor nations' debt and climate change

Chinese Premier told a summit of Southeast Asian leaders it was important to oppose taking sides, to avoid bloc confrontation or a new Cold War; after talks on the South China Sea made no progress yet again

In interviews broadcast on Sunday, the US commerce secretary said China's economy did better when it was more transparent and market-oriented

Many analysts see a drift toward Japan-style stagnation, but there is also the risk of a crisis sparked by a spillover of debt from the property sector or local government

The 100-million-people country has only 5,000 to 6,000 trained hardware engineers for the chip sector, against expected demand of 20,000 in five years