Author: Alexander Casey

Following China’s ban of Taiwanese pineapple and wax apple imports in 2021, grouper fish and citrus fruits joined Beijing’s expanding list of restricted Taiwanese agricultural imports in August 2022. Because agriculture accounts for just 0.6 per cent of Taiwan’s exports to China, the direct economic impact of these restrictions is limited. Yet the coercive nature of these measures suggest that Taiwan needs to be prepared for the future. The official reasoning behind the bans is sanitary and phytosanitary concerns, such as excessive pesticide residue and fruit insects. While WTO rules grant China the right to impose measures necessary to protect…

On the afternoon of 9 December local time, the first China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit was held at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh. President Xi Jinping attended the Summit with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah of Bahrain, Crown Prince Sheikh Meshaal Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah of Kuwait, Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said of Oman, the Ruler of Fujairah Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammad Al Sharqi of the UAE, and GCC…

China’s top health authority has announced that it has stopped publishing daily Covid-19 case numbers, as reports claimed that the true toll of the country’s ongoing outbreak is much worse than the official figures published by authorities. The National Health Commission (NHC) said Sunday that “relevant outbreak information” would instead be published by China’s CDC, a sub-department managed by the NHC. The decision to delegate its case counts to a lower authority comes as China experiences an unprecedented coronavirus wave following a drastic easing of restrictions. The statement did not say how often China’s CDC would publish its Covid reports. Traditionally, China’s CDC…

As Asia’s ecommerce market continues to grow at an explosive rate, businesses must be prepared to adapt and take advantage of the opportunities it presents. According to a recent report, the ecommerce market in Asia is expected to reach $1.89 trillion USD by 2023, up from $1.3 trillion USD in 2019, representing a compound annual growth rate of 9.5%. This growth is being driven by the rise of mobile payments and improved internet infrastructure as well as a shift in consumer behavior toward online shopping. However, more is needed than simply having a presence on online marketplaces. To succeed in the…