Daily Buzz:2 October 2025

US Trade Official Says Current Tariffs on China a 'Good Status Quo'

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said this week that Trump administration tariffs of about 55 percent on China are a "good status quo" amid negotiations on a new trade deal. Greer in a New York speech said, "If you ask the president, 'Do we have a deal with China?' He would say, 'Yeah, this is our deal. I've got 55 percent tariffs on it. That's the deal.'" On November 10, the second mutually agreed truce in the bilateral tariff war is due to expire. If it is not renewed, US tariffs on China would snap back to 145 percent, and Chinese tariffs on the US would revert to 125 percent.

Separately, President Donald Trump accused China of using soy beans as a bargaining chip in bilateral trade talks, costing American farmers billions of dollars in lost sales. China hasn't bought any US soybeans this harvest season, shifting purchases to Brazil and Argentina. Trump said he will raise the issue if he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea later this month.

US Government Shut Down by Congressional Deadlock Over Spending

The US government shut down at midnight on Tuesday as the federal fiscal year expired with no forward funding and Congressional Republicans and Democrats remained deadlocked over a new spending bill in a dispute over healthcare funding. This is the 15th shutdown since 1980, with the longest lasting 35 days during President Donald Trump's first term in office.

The nonpartisan Congressional budget office estimates that up to 750,000 federal employees may be furloughed this time and the shutdown will cost the economy about US$400 million a day. Some but not all government services are halted. Essential federal employees will stay on the job. US stocks rose as investors bet on a short shutdown, with the S&P 500 index closing at a record high. Reflecting the more risk-averse, gold also surged to a new record.

Russia Says Ukraine Nuclear Plant It Controls Needs External Power Source

Russia said external power must be restored to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine that it currently controls, Reuters reported. The reactors are now being cooled by emergency diesel generators. The UN nuclear watchdog has repeated warned about the danger of a nuclear meltdown at the plant, Europe's largest, which has seen intense drone and artillery attacks in its vicinity. Russian-installed managers of the plant said radiation levels remain normal, but accused Ukrainian shelling of cutting the plant's last remaining power line. Ukraine, in turn, accused Russian shelling of preventing the reconnection of external power. The Zaporizhzhia facility sits 500 kilometers from the Chernobyl plant, site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986.

EU Leaders Pledge Tightened Defenses Against Russian Drones

EU leaders meeting in Copenhagen agreed to bolster defenses against the intrusion of Russian drones in members' airspace. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen accused the Kremlin of trying to "sow division and anxiety in our societies." Last month, Russian drones were shot down over Poland and also appeared in Romanian airspace, and a Russian fighter jet encroached on Estonian airspace.

Earthquake in Philippines Kills at Least 69

At least 69 people were killed by a 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck the central Philippines, with Cebu province declaring a state of calamity. Rescuers are still searching through rubble to find survivors. Buildings, roads and bridges have been damaged, emergency services said.

Top Business

AI Frenzy Lifts Nvidia to World First in Market Cap

The investment frenzy in AI-related technologies boosted the market capitalization of Nvidia, a leading AI chip firm, to US$4.5 billion this week, the first company in the world to hit that level. Nvidia shares have risen almost 40 percent this year as the company signs more deals to cement its market dominance, including a US$100 billion investment in OpenAI announced last week by Nvidia. The bull market in technology shares has sent the Shanghai stock market to a 10-year high.

Taiwan Pushes Back on Idea of 50-50 Split in Production of US Chip Supply

Taiwan is balking at a US request to move enough chip production stateside to cover half of America's demand, Bloomberg reported. The region's officials indicated resistance in responding to comments by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik, who said earlier this week that the US wants to reduced its reliance on overseas chipmaking and raise US-based production to a 50 percent split between America and Taiwan production. The policy is aimed primarily at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world's largest contract chipmaker.

Biomap Says It Has Surpassed Alphabet Unit in AI Technology for Drug Research

Chinese biotech startup Biomap, established by Baidu founder Robin Li, said it has surpassed Alphabet's AlphaFold in commercializing artificial intelligence use in drug research, the South China Morning Post reported. Biomap head Wei Liu told the newspaper that the technology gap between his company and AlphaFold has reversed. "I think we are ahead," he said. Liu said previously the company will pursue an initial public offering in Hong Kong within next 18 months.

China Reaches Milestone in Underwater Energy Pipelines

China has reached the milestone of 10,000 kilometers of undersea energy pipelines, according to China National Offshore Oil Corporation. The pipelines deliver oil and gas to China's distribution points. The latest section of a subsea pipeline was installed earlier this week in Bohai Bay. The length of undersea pipelines is forecast to reach 13,000 kilometers by 2030.

Economy & Markets

Chinese New Home Prices Rise Slowly, Resale Prices Drop

Prices of new homes in China rose in September, Reuters reported, citing property research firm China Index Academy. Prices of existing homes fell. New home prices were up 0.9 percent in the month from a 0.2 percent gain in August. Resale prices declined 0.74 percent after a similar drop a month earlier. September is traditionally a strong month for home purchases, but the nation's property market has been struggling since debt defaults reduced activity by about a quarter since 2021.

BYD, XPeng Post Higher Vehicle Sales

Chinese electric carmaker BYD reported sales of 396,270 vehicles in September, slightly down from 419,426 units a year earlier, and cumulative 2025 sales of 3.26 million vehicles, up 18.6 percent on the year. In other reports of September sales of new energy vehicles, XPeng Motors said sales surged 95 percent to 41,581 new and sales for first nine month tripled from a year earlier to 313,196 vehicles. Li Auto reported 33,951 new vehicles in September and 93,211 for the year to date

National Day Box Office Heralds Strong Holiday Audiences

It was off to the flicks for Chinese residents taking "staycations" this National Day holiday period. On the first day of the eight-day holiday, newly released films grossed more than 230 million yuan (US$32.3 million), according to ticketing platform Maoyan. Among the new releases, "The Volunteers: Peace at Last," the third installment of director Chen Kaige's war trilogy," topped the charts, followed by fantasy action movie "A Writer's Odyssey II," crime drama "Sound of Silence" and the comedy "Row to Win."

Shanghai Opens Intelligent Supercharging Station for Electric Cars

Shanghai officially launched its first intelligent highway supercharging station at the Fengjing service area on the G60 Shanghai-Kunming Expressway. The station has the capacity to charge 16 electric vehicles at the same time with a 60-watt power load, reducing charging times from about 30 minutes at conventional charging stations to just minutes.

China Central Bank Announces Reverse Repo Operation

The People's Bank of China announced this week that it will conduct a 1.1 trillion yuan (US$155 billion) outright reverse repo operation on October 9 to maintain ample liquidity in the banking system. The repo will carry a term of 91 days. Some 800 billion yuan of three-month reverse repos are set to mature in October, with the October 9 operation to result in an increase of 300 billion yuan in outstanding three-month outright reverse repos in the month.

Corporate

Battery Maker CATL to Take Control of Shenghua New Material

Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) said it will spend 2.1 billion yuan (US$295 million) to increase its stake in Shenghua New Material to 51 percent from 18.7 percent to enhance research, development, production and market expansion in lithium iron phosphate cathode materials. Shenghua's current largest shareholder, Fulin Precision, said it will invest an additional 1 billion yuan in the company but its holding will drop to 47 percent from 80 percent.

Eve Energy Signs European Deals on Energy Storage Facilities

Huizhou-based Eve Energy said it signed a deal with European renewable energy firm TSL Assembly to deploy 1 gigawatt-hours energy storage systems across Central and Eastern Europe in the next five years. The value of the contract wasn't disclosed. Eve said its project services will be supported by its office in Germany. The company also announced a 500-megawatt-hour deal with Polish solar systems operator CommVolt to build energy storage projects. Last year, Eve Energy ranked second worldwide in installations of energy storage, Yicai Global reported.

IGarden Becomes Official Supplier to German Rowing Federation

IGarden, the outdoor lifestyle brand under Shenzhen-based Fairland Group, signed an agreement with the German Rowing Federation in Shanghai to become its exclusive supplier of smart outdoor technology. The collaboration marks a major step forward in iGarden's global strategy to expand its presence within the international sports market.

Zhongwei, XTC Link Arms on Lithium Battery Supply Chain

Beijing-based Zhongwei and Xiamen-based XTC New Energy Materials, two leading Chinese suppliers of materials used in lithium-battery production, formed a supply-chain partnership and said they will also co-develop new products, including solid-state battery materials. The liaison forecasts a volume of 335,000 metric tons battery material in the next three years.

Epson Launches New Smart Home Projectors in Shanghai

Epson, which holds one-third of the global market in projectors, unveiled its new EF-52 and EF-50 series home theater projectors in Shanghai, featuring "triple core engine" technology that improves image quality, size and heat dissipation. To enhance its software ecosystem, Epson has partnered with Tencent Video to jointly develop user-interface systems and integrate Tencent Video's AI service.

Jovo Invests in Chinese Project Turning Coal to Natural Gas

Zhuhai-based Jovo Energy, a Chinese wholesaler of liquefied natural gas, said it plans to invest 3.5 billion yuan (US$485 million) in a coal-to-natural gas project in the northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The project will have annual gas production capacity of 1.5 billion cubic meters in its first phase.