Taiwanese tech titan TSMC has started mass producing its cutting-edge 2-nanometer semiconductor chips, the company said in a statement seen by AFP on Wednesday.

In a high-security Shenzhen laboratory, Chinese scientists have built what Washington has spent years trying to prevent: a prototype of a machine capable of producing the cutting-edge semiconductor chips that power artificial intelligence, smartphones and weapons central to Western military dominance.

President Donald Trump's administration warned on Tuesday the United States could impose fees or restrictions on European service providers in response to what it called “discriminatory” actions against US firms.

In a light-filled workshop in eastern China, a robotic arm moved a partially assembled autonomous vehicle as workers calibrated its cameras, typical of the incremental automation being adopted even across smaller factories in the world's manufacturing powerhouse.

China's economy is expected to have grown "around 5 percent" in 2025, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday, despite "pressure" during a year he described as "very unusual", state media reported.

Domestic players must adapt agilely and effectively to a noticeable shift in segment-specific consumer behavior amid weaker purchasing power, whether to more affordable products or reduced spending, including strategic marketing that takes a balanced approach to incorporating both online and offline channels.

As a 34-year-old based in Jakarta, Rosa “Ocha” Wardani is all too familiar with how the local society treats someone referred to as plus-size. After having her third child in 2018, she was well aware of how her weight could not seem to go down, adding that she puts on an extra 10 kg every time she’s carrying a child.

GSM, officially known as Green and Smart Mobility JSC, is targeting a valuation of US$2 billion to $3 billion in the initial public offering that could take place in late 2026 to early 2027, two sources said.

China's foreign ministry announced sanctions on Friday targeting 10 individuals and 20 US defense firms, including Boeing's St. Louis branch, over arms sales to Taiwan.

Stocks began 2026 on a positive note in holiday-thinned trade as investors braced for a year set to test the AI-led rally, usher in a change of guard at the Federal Reserve and potentially more market turbulence under Donald Trump's presidency.

The US dollar held steady on Wednesday but was headed for its biggest annual drop since 2017 as interest rate cuts, fiscal worries and erratic trade policies under US President Donald Trump cast a shadow on currency markets in 2025.