Weekend Buzz: 25-26 October 2025

Trump Terminates Canada Trade Talks

President Donald Trump said he is ending all trade talks with Canada, the nation's second-largest trading partner, because of recent "egregious" TV ads that aired in the US criticizing Trump's tariff policies. The ad that set Trump off was created by the province of Ontario and featured 1987 anti-tariff comments by former president Ronald Reagan. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the ad's use will be paused, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he stands ready to resume trade negotiations. Trump has imposed 35 tariffs on Canada, with some exemptions, and angered Canadians earlier this year by suggesting Canada become the 51st state.

China's Five-Year Plan: Tech, AI, Infrastructure

China's 15th Five-Year Plan prioritizes national self-reliance in technology by promoting breakthroughs in integrated circuits and other cutting-edge technologies. Central to the strategy is a comprehensive "AI+" initiative to boost computing power and algorithms, aiming to make China a global leader in artificial intelligence. The plan also proposes the upgrading of 700,000 kilometers of underground pipelines at a cost of 5 trillion yuan (US$700 billion). On the healthcare front, the goal it to raise the average life expectancy to 80 from 79.

Ukraine Pursues Missiles, Frozen Russian Funds

The EU failed to agree on details of a proposal to release billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine's defenses, amid objections from Belgium. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelesky was in London for a Friday meeting of the 33-nation "coalition of the willing" organized by the UK and France to assist Ukraine. The agenda included discussions on release of frozen funds and provision of long-range missiles capable of targeting military sites deeper inside Russia.

US Strong Stance Against West Bank Annexation

US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Israel to make sure that nothing derails President Trump's fragile Gaza peace plan and prod progress toward its next steps, made it clear that the US will withdraw its support if Israel moves to annex swaths of the occupied West Bank. During the visit, ultra-right members of Israel's Knesset put in play legislation to allow annexations in preliminary votes that Vance called "an insult" and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said were going nowhere.

US Deploys Aircraft Carrier in Drug War

The US escalated its war against Latin American drug traffickers by deploying an aircraft carrier to Caribbean waters. That decision adds to the eight warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft already in the region. The US military has carried out 10 strikes against vessels it says were carrying illicit narcotics, killing about 40 people. The Trump administration on Friday imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro over allegations that Petro has refused to stop the flow of cocaine into the US.

Top Business

Wingtech Profit Up, Nexperia Drama Continues

Shanghai-based Wingtech, a chipmaking and automotive technology company whose Nexperia subsidiary is embroiled in a geopolitical squabble, reported third-quarter net profit surged 279 percent from a year earlier to 1 billion yuan (US$146 million), despite a 77 percent drop in revenue. The jump in profitability was driven by the company's high-margin semiconductor segment, where revenue climbed 12 percent on record sales in China.

Dutch-based chipmaker Nexperia was seized recently by Dutch regulators, citing national security concerns rooted in the US. The temporary takeover resulted in the ouster of Chief Executive Zhang Xuezhang and has fueled concerns about disruptions to the global supply chain of chips for auto manufacturing. This week, Nexperia's Chinese mainland subsidiary rejected an order from Dutch head office to remove John Chang as vice-president of global sales and marketing. Nexperia was originally founded by Dutch conglomerate Philips. In 2018, Wingtech acquired the company for US$3.6 billion.

Huagong Tech Profit, Hong Kong Listing

Huagong Tech reported a 41 percent jump in net profit in the first three quarters of 2025 and announced plans to list shares in Hong Kong to accelerate global expansion. The Wuhan-based laser and optical connectivity company said revenue in the first nine months rose 23 percent from a year earlier, while third-quarter profit climbed 31 percent. Huagong focuses on sensing, optical networking, and smart manufacturing, and has built research and production hubs across China, North America, Europe and Australia. Its optical module business, serving the fast-growing AI computing market, surged 124 percent in the first half of the year.

Automaker Profits Mixed

Changan Auto said third-quarter operating revenue rose 23 percent to 42 billion yuan (US$5.9 billion), with net profit attributable to shareholders increasing by 2 percent to 764 million yuan. The results were underpinned by robust sales, with about 2 million vehicles sold in the first nine months – an 8.4 percent increase. The growth was largely fueled by new energy vehicle sales, which soared by 60 percent. Changan said it is committing 250 million yuan to a newly established US$1 billion equity investment fund that will focus on new energy vehicle projects.

Guangzhou Automobile Group reported a net loss of 1.7 billion yuan for the third quarter of the year, following a similar loss in the second quarter. The automaker's operating revenue fell 14.6 percent to 24 billion yuan. GAC blamed intense competition in the domestic auto industry for the slide in sales and profitability. The cumulative net loss for the first nine months of the year reached 4.3 billion.

Economy & Markets

Yuan Rises in Global Rankings

The Chinese yuan's share of the global payments system in September rose to 3.2 percent from 2.9 percent in August, surpassing the Canadian dollar to rank fifth among world currencies. The achievement, reported by Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, commonly known as Swift, highlights progress in the Chinese government's ambition to elevate use of its currency. Swift said yuan payments rose 15.5 percent from August, exceeding the average 6.7 percent increase of all currencies. In September, the Bank for International Settlements, said the yuan accounted for 8.5 percent of all global currency transactions.

US Inflation Cooler Than Expected

US consumer prices in September rose 0.3 percent, yielding an annual inflation rate of 3 percent. The figure was more benign than market forecasts and didn't show signs that Trump administration tariffs are driving up prices. It paves the way for another Federal Reserve cut in interest rates. Excluding food and energy, the core Consumer Price Index gained 0.2 in the month. Consumer prices are the only economic figures to be released during the current US government shutdown.

Japan Inflation Worsens, Rice Prices Ease

Japan's headline and core inflation rates in September both accelerated to 2.9 percent from 2.7 percent in August, the first increase since May. Core inflation excludes the price of fresh foods, which are included in the headline rate. Rice prices, a major concern for consumers this year, eased to a 49 percent gain from 70 percent in August and a 50-year high of 102 percent in May.

Deep Dive

Investor Enthusiasm for AI Stocks in China Continues Unabated

The robust performance of Chinese stocks this year has been largely driven by the strong performance of companies related to work in artificial intelligence.

China Licensing List Drops 80 Drugs in Industry Housecleaning

China's drug regulator announced a deregistration of 80 pharmaceutical products this week. No public safety issues. No forced recalls. Just details on a plain list posted on the website of the National Medical Products Administration.

Are Gasoline-Powered Cars Dinosaurs? Not for Chinese Consumers

Though China is the world's biggest producer and market for electric cars, data shows that consumers aren't quite ready to abandon fossil fuel vehicles despite their environmental black marks.

Corporate

Alibaba Starts Sales of Smart Glasses

Alibaba said it began pre-sales of its Quark AI glasses on Friday at a discount from their retail price of 4,699 yuan (US$659). It also announced the launch of a new chatbot mode within its existing Quark app to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT. The twin announcements highlight the Hangzhou-based company's push deeper into the consumer market. The eyewear, the first to be released by the company, is powered by Alibaba's Qwen large language model and its Quark AI assistant. A rival to Meta's smart glasses, they support functions like hands-free calling, music streaming and real-time language translation.

ApicHope Wins Approval for New Endometriosis Drug

ApicHope Pharmaceutical said its wholly owned subsidiary has received approval from China's National Medical Products Administration to begin clinical trials for its innovative oral drug APH03621. The compound is designed to treat endometriosis – a chronic and painful gynecological condition. Currently, no oral therapies of the compound have been approved for sale in China. ApicHope said it plans to initiate clinical studies soon to assess the drug's safety and efficacy.

Gotion High-Tech Profit Skyrockets

Gotion High-Tech said net profit in the third quarter soared 1,434 percent from a year earlier to 2.1 billion yuan (US$304 million), though revenue rose a more modest 21 percent to 10 billion yuan. The company attributed earnings growth to business expansion and a higher valuation for shares it holds in Chery Automobile after Chery's initial public offering in Hong Kong. For the first three quarters of the year, Gotion High-Tech's net profit climbed 514 percent to 2.5 billion yuan on a 17 percent rise in revenue to 30 billion yuan.

Ping An Bank Profit, Revenue Fall

Ping An Bank reported a third-quarter net income of about 13.5 billion yuan (US$1.9 billion), a 2.8 percent drop, on a 9.2 decline in operating revenue. For the first nine months of this year, net declined 3.5 percent. To counter market challenges, the bank said it has successfully cut funding costs. The average interest rate on interest-bearing liabilities for the nine-month period fell 47 basis points to 1.7 percent.

Neolix Gets US$600 Million in Funding

Neolix Technologies, a Chinese maker of robovans used for urban delivery services, secured more than US$600 million in its latest funding round to finance overseas expansion. United Arab Emirates private equity firm Stone Venture led the fundraiser, with participation from China's Gaocheng Capital, Trustar Capital. Since its founding in 2018, Neolix has delivered more than 10,000 robovans.

SAIC Expands Smart Tech Investments

SAIC Motor Corp said it is ramping up its transition toward intelligent and connected mobility. Responding to an investor query on whether it plans to follow Seres' recent partnership with ByteDance's Volcano Engine on embodied AI, SAIC said on Friday it is pursuing a strategy to build a new smart industrial ecosystem. The company said it has invested in leading technology players including AgiBot, Horizon Robotics, Momenta, and Qingtao Energy – spanning robotics, artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and battery innovation. AgiBot recently produced its 1,000th mass-market embodied robot, while Horizon's Journey cumulative chip shipments have surpassed 10 million, the first time a domestic firm has reached that milestone.