Daily Buzz: 13 April 2026

US Imposes Naval Blockade on Hormuz Strait After Peace Talks Fail

The US announced a naval blockade of Iran's ports and the Hormuz Strait after marathon talks with Iran in Pakistan on Saturday failed to reach agreement on ending a war now in its seventh week. US Vice President JD Vance, who led the US negotiating team in 21 hours of the highest bilateral talks in 50 years, flew home after saying Iran rejected the "final and best US offer." The sticking point, he said, was Iran's refusal to give up its ambitions for nuclear weapons. State media in Iran said the US made "unreasonable" demands that "prevented a framework for agreement."

A two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, now nearing the start of its second week, appears intact for now. US President Donald Trump held the door open for Iran to change its stance and accept the US peace offer, but he also announced a naval blockade of the strait aimed at Iran's shipments of oil, which have continued while other traffic in the region has been largely choked. The president made no mention of earlier threats of massive attacks on Iran's power plants and bridges if no deal were forthcoming.

Tanker traffic through the strait has plunged due to the threat of Iranian attacks, triggering the largest oil supply disruption in history. About 20 percent of global oil supplies passed through the waterway before the US and Israel attacked Iran. Tehran has been allowing select vessels through the strait, charging tolls for passage. Three supertankers transited the narrow waterway on Saturday. One of the carriers, sailing under the Liberian flag, was carrying up to 2 million barrels of crude from the Persian Gulf to Malaysia. The destination of the other two other carriers, both chartered by the trading arm of China's Sinopec, was unknown.

Oil prices surged past US$100 a barrel when trading resumed Sunday evening in New York. Benchmark Brent futures rose 7 percent to US$102.50.

After the talks in Islamabad hit a wall, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his nation is willing to resume attacks on Iran and the war against Iranian ally Hezbollah in Lebanon would continue. The Lebanese government said the death toll in that conflict has risen to 2,000, including many civilians, and 6,300 people have been injured.

Hungarian Voters End Orban's 16-Year Rule

Hungarian voters rejected the pro-Russian, anti-EU politics of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, handing his party a resounding election defeat after 16 years in office. Amid a high turnout of 80 percent, voters handed the two-year-old, center-right Tisza party of Peter Magyar two-thirds of seats in parliament. "Together we liberated Hungary," Magyar, 45, who has a reputation as a "dark horse" in terms of personality and policies, told his supporters. Right-wing nationalist Orban, 62, was politically cozy with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, who sent his vice president to Budapest last week to try to galvanize support for Orban. Hungary has been a thorn in the side of the EU, where Orban sided with Moscow in the Ukraine war and blocked a US$105 billion EU loan to Kiev using frozen Russian assets. Magyar promised voters he would fight corruption and return independence to the judiciary. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said of Magyar's victory, "Europe's heart is beating stronger. Hungary has chosen Europe."

Chinese Mainland Allows Taiwan TV Programs

Beijing announced 10 policies after the five-day visit of Cheng Li-wun, Taiwan's head of the KMT party, who led the first high-level delegation of its kind in 10 years. The policies are aimed at promoting peaceful relations, including opening Chinese mainland trade fairs to Taiwan agricultural products, expanding sales channels, and allowing TV dramas, documentaries and animations to be broadcast on mainland channels and streaming sites. They also allow residents of Shanghai and Fujian Province to travel to Taiwan again.

Russian Refuses to Extend Holiday Truce With Ukraine

Russia refused to extend a 32-hour Orthodox Easter truce with Ukraine unless Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accepts its peace terms. Ukraine reported 2,300 truce violations during the religious holiday, and Moscow accused Kiev of nearly 2,000 breaches. A peaceful settlement to the four-year war is not on the horizon, as Russian continues to demand large territorial concessions from Ukraine.

UK Puts Chagos Sovereignty Plan on Hold

The UK government withdrew legislation to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean back to Mauritius and lease the Diego Garcia US-British military base there for 99 years. The policy suspension came after US President Donald Trump called the transfer a "act of great stupidity" in an about-face from his earlier approval. The US considers the military base a strategic asset because of its proximity to the Middle East.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Arrives for Three-Day Visit

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, arrived in Beijing on Sunday evening to start a three-day visit at the invitation of Premier Li Qiang. He is accompanied by investment and industry ministers along with a delegation of business leaders.

Top Business

Cathay Pacific Cuts Scheduled Flights as Jet-Fuel Supply Tightens

Hong Kong flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways said on Saturday it will cut 2 percent of scheduled flights from mid-May to the end of June amid a looming jet fuel supply crisis facing global aviation ahead of the peak summer travel season. Its budget subsidiary HK Express will pare 6 percent of flight, beginning May 11. Cathay said suspension of its passenger services to Dubai and Riyadh will remain in effect until June 30. Willie Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association, said earlier this month that jet fuel prices could stay high for some time, and the situation will take time to recover when the war ends. Supplies of jet fuel are expected to hit a crunch point in three or so weeks, as oil vessels that were already at sea when the war started unload cargoes, and future shipments are curtailed by the war.

NovaFusionX Secures New Round of Investment

Shanghai-based nuclear fusion startup NovaFusionX completed a 700 million yuan (US$176 million) funding round, bringing its total fundraising in a year to 1.2 billion yuan. It was a record for a privately owned fusion startup. The latest round included a fund operated by e-commerce giant Meituan and private equity firm Hillhouse Capital. NovaFusionX is aiming to become China's first private company to reach a fusion temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius. It plans to build China's first small-scale distributed fusion demonstration power plant sometime in the first half of the 2030s. The company said nuclear fusion, where atomic nuclei are forced to fuse, producing the same force that powers the sun, is the ultimate energy source for the AI era.

Economy & Markets

Hong Kong Issues First Stablecoin Licenses

Hong Kong issued its first licenses for Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoins to HSBC and Standard Chartered, the first and third biggest banks in the city by assets. The move is part of the city's campaign to become a global hub for regulated digital currencies in finance and trade. Stablecoins are type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value and are usually pegged to a fiat currency. Both banks are expected ⁠to launch stablecoins in the second half of this year, covering cross-border and local use, as well as digital asset trading, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which received 36 applications for licenses after the program was announced last year.

Chinese Land Auction Revenue Drops in First Quarter

Land auctions in 300 Chinese cities, a prime source of revenue for local governments, slumped 46 percent in value in the first quarter to 215 billion yuan (US$31.5 billion), but premium sites drew fierce bidding, according to China Index Academy. Guangzhou topped auction results, with a quadrupling of sales value, with Shanghai ranking second despite a 37 percent decline.

Corporate

Hyundai Seeking to Regain Chinese Market Share

Hyundai Motor plans to introduce new models tailored to Chinese motorists under its Ioniq brand as it seeks to build on its first sales recovery in the domestic market in six years. The new models will integrate local technology tuned to domestic consumer preferences, the South China Morning Post reported. Foreign carmakers have lost market share in the Chinese market as domestic rivals rolled out smart-driving cars at lower prices. Hyundai, whose deliveries to Chinese mainland customers plunged nearly 80 per cent between 2018 and 2024, reported a 15 per cent rebound in mainland sales last year. In October, through its joint venture with Beijing-based BAIC Motor, the South Korean company unveiled the Elixio brand electric SUV, priced to compete with BYD's Yuan Plus and Geely's Galaxy E5.

Chery Eyes Production Expansion in Europe

Automaker Chery, China's largest car exporter, said it is seeking to expand car production in Europe through partnerships with other automakers that will allow it to use existing factories, Reuters reported. "The company is looking for other production capacities in ‌Europe," Lionel French Keogh, chief commercial officer in France for Chery, said during a launch event in Paris for the carmaker's Omoda and Jaecoo brands. Last year, Chery's sales in Europe rose nearly sixfold, with overseas markets comprising 47 percent of total sales. Chery earlier invested in a joint venture in Spain, utilizing a former Nissan assembly plant.

WeRide Chief Brushes Aside Competition Fears

WeRide Chief Executive Tony Han told Yicai that he's not worried that an influx of new players in the robotaxi market will challenge his company's leading position. "To truly enter the robotaxi industry and compete, a company must have at least 100 fully autonomous driving taxis that have safely operated for at least six months," he said. "Only then are they qualified to compete with us."

Among the major players are Pony.ai, Baidu's Apollo Go and carmaker Xpeng. In addition to operations in major Chinese cities, Guangzhou-based WeRide, in conjunction with Uber, recently launched fully driverless ‌robotaxi operations in Dubai, and the company has active plans to enter Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Slovakia.

VW Anhui Venture Taps FAW-VW Sales Network

Volkswagen Anhui Automobile, a joint venture between VW and Jianghuai Auto, signed an agreement with FAW-Volkswagen to use that joint venture's dealer network to speed up sales of electric vehicles. VW-Anhui, a relative newcomer to the industry, has suffered sluggish sales of its first model, the ID.UNYX 06, since it was released in mid- 2024.

Popeyes Returns to Beijing After 24 Years

US southern fried chicken chain Popeyes is ramping up its presence in China with the reopening of an outlet in Beijing after 24 years' absence from the city. The company said it is bullish about growth potential in China, though it faces a highly competitive market of both domestic and foreign players. Popeyes China business was acquired by Canadian-based Restaurant Brands International in 2024 for US$15 million. It has existing outlets in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing, and is planning up to 20 shops in Beijing this year.