Daily Buzz: 4 March 2026

As Middle East War Continues, Countries Count the Cost

The joint US-Israel attack on Iran and Iranian retaliatory strikes continued into a fourth day, causing economic and travel havoc across the Middle East. President Donald Trump said "everything's been knocked out in Iran" and proposed to provide maritime insurance guarantees and US naval escorts to encourage the resumption of tanker shipping through vital Strait of Hormuz "if necessary." About 20 percent of the world's oil and natural gas supplies passes through the waterway every day. Iran has warned it will strike any ships attempting to cross through it. France said it is sending its only aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean after Iranian drones hit a UK military base in Cyprus, and Trump said the US is cutting all trade ties with Spain after that nation refused to let American forces use its bases for Iran-linked missions.

The US said it has hit more than 1,700 targets in Iran since the start of the war, and Israel also continued attacks Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon. Iranian drones and missiles have struck military, diplomatic, airports and energy infrastructure in the Gulf states, shaking residents long used to relative security. The United Arab Emirates said it has been exposed to over 1,000 attacks from Tehran. The US embassy in the Saudi capital of Riyadh and the US consulate in Dubai were hit, with no major damage reported. Tehran said Iran's Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was damaged by a US-Israeli strike. A high-rise building in the Lebanese city of Tyre collapsed after being hit by Israeli munitions. Amazon Web Services said two of its data centers in the Gulf region were damaged by direct drone strikes, interrupting banking and payment services. Washington admitted US Marines opened fire on Pakistani demonstrators who tried to storm its consulate in Karachi to protest of the killing of Iran's leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

US President Donald Trump said a "big wave" of US attacks on Iran is yet to come. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there won't be an "endless war" in the Middle East, trying to assuage fears throughout a region that has seen its fair share of prolonged conflicts. An estimated 1 million airline passengers have been affected by closure of Gulf airports and the cancellation of 11,000 flights across the region. Motorists around the world are finding price spikes at gasoline pumps. Tokyo told Japanese shipowners to redirect their vessels away from the Persian Gulf.

China Touts Economic Resilience Ahead of Two Sessions

China remains a beacon of stability and reliability in a turbulent world, with a resilient economy that is growing despite headwinds in trade and geopolitics, a senior political adviser said on Tuesday. Liu Jieyi, speaking at a press conference ahead of the start of annual Two Sessions meetings of the Communist Party's legislature and consultative conference, said, "The world today is going through significant changes, and global challenges have become even more pronounced. Our economy has always advanced by overcoming obstacles and grown stronger through trials and challenges. Although we still face some longstanding issues and new challenges, our foundation remains solid, our strengths numerous, our resilience strong, and our potential enormous."

During the National People's Congress, Premier Li Qiang is scheduled to announce China's growth target for 2026, which is expected to be around the 5 percent achieved last year. The twin meetings will adopt the 15th Five-Year Plan and discuss major policies guiding the economy, social programs, science and technology, renewable energy, industrial upgrading, and investment this year. Global Times, citing Bloomberg News, said traders and investors are watching for reassurance that the rally in technology stocks "still has further to run." Some observers say the real story lies in the continuation of a fundamental shift of the Chinese economic model – from growth at any cost to more measured, quality growth.

Top Business

Chinese Companies in Middle East Keep a Wary Watch

Chinese companies, especially robotaxi operators that have made rapid progress expanding into the Middle East, are on alert against possible risks from war repercussions. Baidu's Apollo Go self-driving taxis that began testing in Abu Dhabi in January, have been suspended at times. WeRide moved all its self-driving taxis into indoor lots. Pony.ai said road testing in Dubai and Doha has been intermittently disrupted. Meituan said it may have to curtail or suspend operations of its food-delivery service Keeta in the Gulf and Saudi Arabia if they come under threat.

Zhengahou-based GL Tech, a Chinese equipment maker, said its operations in Israel haven't been uninterrupted by the war. Jihong Group, a paper packaging maker with a production site in the United Arab Emirates, said its factory operations remain stable. Elegant Home-Tech, a maker of polyvinyl chloride flooring, said delivery times in European markets have been lengthened and logistical costs have risen, Yicai reported. Shenkai Petroleum & Chemical Equipment, which counts the Middle East as one of its key export destinations, said that it has developed emergency plans to address risks.

Separately, the South China Morning Post reported that China could potentially face shortages of methanol – a vital industrial chemical compound – if the Iran war drags on and causes lengthy disruptions to shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is one of the world's largest methanol producers. The closure of the strait is also a concern for the up to 50 percent of China's crude oil imports and about 30 percent of its natural gas imports that use the waterway, according to Global Times.

Noetix, Galbot Rake in Funding After Dancing Robots on TV

Beijing-based startups Noetix Robotics and Galbot said their fundraising efforts were given a boost by the performance of their robots in the annual Chinese Lunar New Year TV gala. Noetix said it secured 1 billion yuan (US$145.3 million) in funding round led by Chendao Capital, a subsidiary of Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL). Galbot, which is mulling an initial public offering, said it received 2.5 billion yuan from the National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund and China Petroleum & Chemical.

Separately, Yicai Global reported that KargoBot, a Chinese autonomous truck startup once owned by ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, secured more than US$100 million in a funding round that included Horizon Robotics and Beijing venture capital firm Gaorong Ventures. The company said it's aiming to deploy 1,000 robo-trucks this year, designed for long-haul freight transport.

OpenAI Chief Admits Defense Contract Looks 'Opportunistic'

OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman said his company's rushed deal with the US Department of Defense after the Trump administration booted out rival Anthropic's AI tools, looked "opportunistic and sloppy," amid backlash about what some viewed as capitulation to unethical use of AI technology. Anthropic got into a dispute with the Pentagon over use of its Claude AI system in autonomous weaponry without human control and in public surveillance. Altman said the defense contract, which followed closely on the ouster of Anthropic, would be amended to ensure ethical guardrails. OpenAI "shouldn't have rushed" to get the deal, he said.

Economy & Markets

China Weathers Global Market Turmoil, Oil Prices Continue To Surge

In China, stock markets have remained relatively stable though not immune to a global rout amid the Middle East war. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index on Tuesday lost 1.4 percent after a day-earlier gain, the Shenzhen Component Index dropped 3.1 percent and the tech-focused ChiNext lost 2.6 percent. Shares related to energy companies continued to soar, with shares of China National Petroleum, China Petroleum & Chemical and China National Offshore Oil hitting the daily trading ceiling of 10 percent in response to surging oil prices. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 1.1 percent, and Japan's Nikkei dropped 3 percent. South Korea's Kospi, reopening after a Monday holiday, dived 7.2 percent, though its defense-related stocks rose.

In Europe, the Stoxx600 index was down 3.1 percent. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 index fell 1 percent, recovering from steeper losses after President Donald Trump suggested the US would provide naval escorts and insurance guarantees to shipping in the Persian Gulf. Benchmark Brent crude was trading up 5 percent at US$81.48 a barrel in late New York trading, and natural gas prices also surged. Gold, however, fell 4 percent to US$5,113 an ounce as investors turned to the rising US dollar and cash products as safe-haven investments.

XtalPi Signals First Annual Profit

Chinese AI drug researcher XtalPi Holdings told the Hong Kong stock exchange said it expects to show its first profit when it reports 2025 earnings. It is projecting to turn to net profit of at least 100 million yuan (US$14.5 million) from a loss of 1.5 billion yuan in 2024, citing an increase in revenue in its robotics and drug research operations.

Japan Factory Capex Rises 6.5 Percent

Japanese spending on factories and equipment in the last three months of 2025 rose 6.5 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance reported. The higher capital spending is expected to lift growth figures for the fiscal year ending March 31. It was the fourth consecutive month of increases.

Corporate

Huawei Batteries to Be Used in Amazon Energy Project

Chinese technology giant Huawei will sell batteries to UK-based Aggreko for use in energy storage for a US$165.5 million renewable energy project in Brazil's Amazon region, Reuters reported. It will be the biggest energy storage system and part of the biggest micro-grid project in Latin America. The Huawei batteries will complement solar plants scheduled to come on line beginning next year.

Separately, Huawei unveiled its latest computing systems – the Atlas 950 SuperPoD and the TaiShan 950 SuperPoD – at the Barcelona electronics fair, the first overseas exhibit of its AI supernode clusters as an alternative to Nvidia.

Apple's New iPad Air, iPhone 17 Models to Begin China Sales

Apple said its new M4-powered iPad Air will be available for sale in China next week, at a starting price of 4,499 yuan. (US$653), and also launched the new iPhone 17e at the same starting price. Apple is facing stiff competition in China, the world's biggest consumer electronics market, from domestic rivals such as Huawei, Xiaomi and Honor.

Rokid Integrates Gemini Into AI Glasses

Chinese smart glasses maker Rokid unveiled an AI model upgrade that integrates Google's Gemini, making its smart glasses the first in the world to support the Gemini model. Users can now seamlessly switch between ChatGPT, DeepSeek and Qwen for enhanced real-time translation and multimodal interaction.