🇨🇳 China stocks face earnings drag

Chinese equities are facing added pressure as third-quarter profit growth for mainland listed companies is expected to slow, according to Shanghai-based brokerage Shenwan Hongyuan Group. The forecast, based on industrial profit data from the National Bureau of Statistics, comes as investors brace for weaker earnings across consumer goods, real estate, household appliances, agriculture and parts of the new-energy sector in China.

Industrial profits rose 15.7% year on year in the first eight months, down from 18.7% growth in the first half, while listed companies had posted 19.5% profit growth in the first six months, the fastest pace since 2022. The weaker outlook adds to pressure on the CSI 300 Index, which entered a bear market last week amid disappointment over Beijing’s limited stimulus measures and reduced confidence despite reported state-backed ETF buying.

Third-quarter reports are due by the end of October. Weak results from major firms have already reinforced caution, with CATL shares falling 14% last week after its quarterly profit growth more than halved from the previous quarter.

#China

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🇰🇷🇺🇸 Seoul Clarifies OPCON Remarks

South Korea’s defense ministry said Tuesday that Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul’s comments on trusting the U.S. military were meant to rebut opposition criticism of Seoul’s push to regain wartime operational control, not to question the alliance. During a parliamentary audit in Seoul, the ministry said Kang was responding to a lawmaker’s argument that U.S. difficulties in the Iran conflict cast doubt on the OPCON transition.

Kang had argued that, by that logic, South Korea could also not rely on the U.S. military in a war with North Korea, which he said was not the case. He reiterated that OPCON transfer should proceed on a foundation of trust, under a roadmap for a combined forces structure led by a South Korean general with U.S. forces in a supporting role.

The clarification follows domestic media reports portraying Kang’s remarks as a challenge to U.S. credibility. The exchange reflects continued political sensitivity in South Korea over alliance management and the timing of wartime command transfer.

#SouthKorea #UnitedStates

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🇺🇸🇨🇳 Alibaba Wins Partial Court Relief

A federal judge in San Jose, California, on Monday granted Alibaba’s request for a preliminary injunction, blocking part of the Pentagon-related contract restrictions tied to the US military blacklist. The order bars the US government from denying Pentagon contracts solely because a company, its parent, or subsidiary has business ties with a firm lobbying for Alibaba.

Alibaba sued the US government in June, seeking removal from the Pentagon’s list of Chinese companies deemed linked to the Chinese military. The case sits within broader US restrictions on Chinese technology groups and adds a legal challenge to how blacklist designations affect access to defense contracts.

The ruling does not remove Alibaba from the blacklist, but it temporarily limits how the designation can be used in federal contracting. The underlying lawsuit remains active.

#US #China

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🇰🇵🇰🇷 North Korea Deploys Legacy Artillery

South Korea’s military said North Korean artillery newly spotted near the western inter-Korean border appears to be an older system, not the “new tactical weapons” Pyongyang had threatened to deploy. Photos published by Yonhap showed what experts identified as a 122mm self-propelled howitzer in Kaepung County, with the Joint Chiefs of Staff saying legacy artillery had been placed in coastal areas in plain view.

The deployment follows recent threats by Kim Yo-jong to position new weapons along the fortified border and resume anti-South propaganda broadcasts. It also comes amid North Korean border reinforcement work, including tactical roads and fences, which Seoul says has extended southward across the Military Demarcation Line.

South Korean officials described the artillery placement as unusual because it marks the first known deployment of a heavy weapons system directly along the border. Images also showed nearby soldiers conducting what appeared to be a drill.

#NorthKorea #SouthKorea

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🇰🇷🇰🇵🇨🇳 Seoul Sees Talks Discussed

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Seoul sees a possibility that North Korea and China discussed resuming Pyongyang-Washington dialogue during Kim Jong-un’s surprise visit to Dandong last week, according to remarks made during a parliamentary audit on Oct. 27. Cho made the comment in response to a lawmaker’s question, while noting it was too early to draw firm conclusions from Kim not meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Kim made a one-day trip to Dandong on Saturday, where he met Wang Huning, China’s top political adviser, and visited a war memorial and a bus factory as Pyongyang and Beijing moved to deepen ties. The visit came ahead of next month’s APEC summit in Shenzhen, which U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to attend, and after Trump signaled interest in resuming dialogue with Kim.

Cho said Seoul is consulting with Washington and other relevant parties to help facilitate North Korea-U.S. dialogue and reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula. He also said South Korea would work closely with China and Russia to help bring North Korea back to negotiations.

#SouthKorea #NorthKorea #China

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🇰🇷 IAEA Nuclear Conference Opens in Incheon

The IAEA’s quadrennial ministerial conference on nuclear power opened in Incheon on Oct. 27 for a three-day run, marking the first time the event has been held in South Korea. About 800 participants, including government officials from 60 member states, NGOs and nuclear industry companies, are attending discussions on new nuclear technologies, regulation and industry growth.

The conference comes amid rising global investment in nuclear energy as AI and advanced industries increase power demand. Seoul used the event to position itself as a future manufacturing hub for nuclear technology, while pledging safety in operation, decommissioning and new applications, including maritime use, under frameworks tied to nuclear security and non-proliferation.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi canceled his trip but delivered a video address calling on governments to protect existing nuclear capacity. South Korea is also hosting a session on technological innovation and international cooperation, alongside industry exchanges with U.S. firms.

#SouthKorea #UnitedStates

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🇹🇼🇨🇳 Taiwan Rejects Beijing’s WWII Narrative

Taiwan’s defence minister Wellington Koo on Oct. 27 accused China of conducting cognitive warfare after Beijing marked the 1945 handover of Taiwan with high-resolution satellite images of Taipei and a PLA Eastern Theatre Command poster showing the island alongside fighter jets and warships. China framed the anniversary as Taiwan’s “restoration”, while Taipei said the People’s Republic of China, founded in 1949, had no role in the war against Japan.

Japan ruled Taiwan from 1895 until 1945, when it transferred the island to the Republic of China government. Both Beijing and Taipei commemorate the handover, but Taipei rejects Beijing’s claim to historical continuity, arguing that the PRC cannot use the Second World War settlement to justify sovereignty over the island.

Taiwan’s military instead marked the late-October 1949 PLA invasion attempt on Kinmen, which failed and left the islands under Taipei’s control. Koo said the date was more relevant as a reminder that China’s objective of annexing Taiwan by force has not changed.

#Taiwan #China

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🇹🇼🇨🇳 Taiwan MAC Rejects Independence Framing

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council deputy minister Shen You-zhong said in Taipei on Oct. 27 that Taiwan has never had a “Taiwan independence” option, responding after TV host Tsai Kang-yong said he had not supported independence in recent social media posts, according to the report. Shen said Taiwan currently has no “independence issue” and called on the public to value its democratic way of life and jointly defend sovereignty.

The remarks followed backlash from mainland Chinese netizens after Tsai appeared on Oct. 4 at a campaign event for DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Pao-yang, after which several mainland partner brands cut ties with him. Shen said Taiwan already possesses the elements of statehood, including government, territory, people and sovereignty, and that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other.

Beijing had earlier responded through the Taiwan Affairs Office on Oct. 14, saying there is no room for ambiguity on major issues and reiterating opposition to any form of “Taiwan independence” separatist activity.

#Taiwan #China

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🇲🇲🇩🇰 Myanmar junta case filed in Denmark

A Myanmar refugee living in Denmark has filed a complaint with Danish authorities against Myanmar’s military junta over alleged war crimes against minorities. The complainant, Ngun Siang Dim, a member of the Chin minority, said she witnessed 40 houses burn in Chin State and that relatives and friends were killed or permanently disabled by junta-laid landmines.

The case relies on Denmark’s universal jurisdiction framework, adopted in 2025, which allows prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide regardless of where they were committed if the complainant or alleged perpetrator is in Denmark. Lawyers said other Myanmar refugees in Denmark could join the complaint, potentially widening the scope of any investigation into alleged international crimes and human rights violations.

Myanmar has been in civil war since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021, with ACLED estimating more than 100,000 deaths. The filing also follows a separate move announced earlier this year in East Timor to investigate alleged junta war crimes.

#Myanmar #Denmark

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🇭🇰 Hong Kong probes breach-linked scam calls

Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog said nearly 2,000 customers of Hong Kong Airlines and retailers Yoho and Broadway Lifestyle received suspected scam calls after separate data leaks, and has opened an investigation. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data reported 23 complaints and 20 inquiries linked to the incidents.

Preliminary findings showed 815 airline passengers with flights departing between September 29 and October 22 were affected, with names, phone numbers, flight dates, flight numbers and travel routes potentially exposed. The watchdog also found 790 Yoho customers who ordered between September 29 and October 12 received fraudulent calls, while Broadway Lifestyle reported exposure of customer names, phone numbers, purchased items and transaction amounts.

The cases point to immediate fraud risks following commercial data breaches in Hong Kong, particularly where travel and retail transaction data are involved. The watchdog urged customers to verify callers through official channels and not disclose banking or password details.

#HongKong

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🇮🇩 Borneo Haze Crisis Deepens

Residents in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, are facing severe respiratory distress after months of wildfires and toxic haze on Indonesian Borneo. According to reporting by The Straits Times, more than 11,000 people were treated for respiratory infections in the city, while free oxygen and treatment posts have been set up by the government and NGOs.

Indonesia’s health ministry said more than 300,000 people across seven provinces suffered respiratory tract infections between August and October. The fires have burned over 1.9 million hectares, and the haze has extended beyond Indonesia, adding to domestic pressure and regional concern over transboundary pollution.

The health burden is rising as fires continue near residential areas. The crisis is also feeding scrutiny of Indonesia’s fire control capacity and its cross-border environmental impact.

#Indonesia

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🇵🇭🇺🇸 Asean defence talks in Cebu

Asean defence ministers met US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in Cebu, Philippines, for the 20th Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting, with Hegseth attending bilateral and multilateral sessions, according to the meeting coverage. The gathering brings together Southeast Asian defence officials and the US counterpart in a formal regional security format.

The talks come as Washington says the visit is meant to reaffirm US commitment to peace and security in the Pacific. The meeting also precedes an expected November visit by US President Donald Trump to China for the APEC summit in Shenzhen, where he is expected to meet Xi Jinping for the third time this year.

The Cebu meeting places US-Asean defence engagement immediately ahead of a higher-level US-China diplomatic encounter in the region.

#Philippines #UnitedStates #China

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🇨🇳 China Starts Floating Science Platform

China has formally moved into the engineering construction phase of the Deep-Sea All-Weather Resident Floating Research Facility, a mobile artificial island led by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. On October 18, the university signed a 2.7 billion yuan construction contract with a shipbuilder under China State Shipbuilding Corporation for the semi-submersible twin-hull platform, due for delivery by June 2030.

The project is designated as a major national scientific infrastructure scheme under China’s 14th five-year plan and is described as the world’s first mobile, self-sustaining artificial island. Measuring 138 metres by 85 metres with a displacement of about 74,000 tonnes, it is designed to support more than 200 researchers, operate in sea state 7, survive Force 17 typhoons, and provide a stable platform for deep-sea equipment trials, typhoon detection, and long-term marine observation in the far sea.

The facility combines functions that conventional research vessels and fixed offshore platforms cannot provide simultaneously: mobility, endurance, and stability in extreme conditions. Chinese officials have also said it will be open to international research institutions and enterprises.

#China

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🇯🇵🇺🇸 Defense Chiefs Back Higher Spending

Japan and the United States on Thursday affirmed the importance of boosting defense investment, according to Kyodo. The statement came from the two countries' defense chiefs and centered on strengthening bilateral security coordination.

The announcement adds to the ongoing expansion of Japan-U.S. defense cooperation amid a more demanding regional security environment. Higher defense investment is a core pillar of alliance interoperability, force readiness, and longer-term capability development.

The signal is primarily strategic: Tokyo and Washington are aligning around sustained resource increases as part of the alliance framework.

#Japan #USA

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🇯🇵🇺🇸 Japan hedges against US gridlock

Japan is accelerating regional defence partnerships as US midterm battles threaten to divert Washington’s attention from East Asia. The concern in Tokyo is that post-election paralysis, including deeper political gridlock and legal battles around President Donald Trump’s administration, could complicate long-term security planning.

The article says Tokyo still relies on the US alliance, but no longer expects the predictability that defined earlier decades. A Reuters/Ipsos poll cited in the report showed Democrats with a nine-point lead on the generic congressional ballot, raising the prospect of a House flip and reinforcing concerns that domestic confrontation in Washington could weaken focus on the Indo-Pacific.

For Japan, the immediate response is to reduce overreliance on a single security guarantor by widening defence ties across the region. The shift reflects a more structural reassessment of US political reliability rather than a break with the alliance.

#Japan #USA

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🇨🇳🇹🇼 China Rejects Taiwan Attack Allegation

China on Oct. 28 dismissed Taiwan’s accusation that Beijing was linked to a September plot targeting comedian Huang Yi-hao, after Taiwanese prosecutors indicted five people over plans to stage a car crash and break the comedian’s arms and legs. In Beijing, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua said Taiwan’s ruling DPP was fabricating claims to stir anti-China sentiment and provoke cross-strait confrontation.

Taiwan says the case reflects a broader pattern of Chinese “transnational repression” against critics and people Beijing views as separatists or politically suspect. The dispute comes ahead of November local elections on the island, with China framing the allegations as election-linked political messaging and Taiwan presenting them as a security and free speech issue.

The exchange adds to already tense cross-strait relations and keeps political coercion and influence operations at the center of Taiwan’s domestic debate.

#China #Taiwan

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🇰🇷 SK hynix Q3 profit surges

SK hynix said its third-quarter revenue and operating profit reached new highs in South Korea, as AI-driven memory demand lifted prices and utilization. In a regulatory filing, the company reported revenue of 104.61 trillion won and operating profit of 83.33 trillion won for July-September, up 327.9% and 557.2% year-on-year respectively, while net profit rose 215.7% to 39.77 trillion won.

The company said it has posted record quarterly revenue and operating profit for six consecutive quarters, supported by high-bandwidth memory sales and tighter memory supply. It added that virtually all DRAM and HBM production capacity through 2029 has already been sold out, and expects memory shortages to persist through 2030 as AI infrastructure investment expands.

SK hynix also announced shareholder returns exceeding 100 trillion won for 2026, including more than 30 trillion won in cash dividends, after completing a 40 trillion-won program last week. The update came days after the company suspended plans to list its U.S. subsidiary Solidigm.

#SouthKorea #Japan

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🇰🇷 Samsung Electro-Mechanics Posts Record Q3

Samsung Electro-Mechanics said in South Korea that third-quarter revenue and operating profit reached record highs, with operating profit rising 165.5% year-on-year to 691 billion won and revenue up 30.3% to 3.76 trillion won, according to a regulatory filing. Net profit increased 115.7% to 485 billion won.

The company attributed the gains to stronger sales of MLCCs used in AI data centers, including servers and network equipment, alongside automotive applications. Sales also expanded across its component business, including flip-chip ball grid array substrates for AI data centers and automotive uses, while camera module shipments rose for next-generation EV platforms of global customers.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics said it is working to fulfill long-term MLCC supply agreements with major global technology companies and plans to expand advanced product development. It also aims to respond to rising demand for package substrates tied to AI infrastructure and increase camera module sales for EV platforms.

#SouthKorea

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🇮🇳🇪🇺 India Seeks Deeper Europe Defence Ties

India has emerged as a major ammunition supplier to Europe since the start of the Ukraine war, with exports of shells, mortars, propellants and explosives reaching about US$872 million, according to data reported by SCMP. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said India is now looking to expand into European procurement programmes through joint ventures with European firms.

Trade Data Monitor figures sourced from India’s commerce ministry show a 1,600% rise from US$49.2 million in the four years before February 2022. India ranked as the second-largest supplier of shells, mortars, propellants and explosives to Europe in the four years since 2022, but Europe’s wider arms market remains dominated by the US and South Korea, which hold deeper industrial links and larger procurement shares.

The next phase for New Delhi is moving from emergency ammunition sales to longer-term industrial cooperation, including co-development, standards alignment and local partnerships. That would determine whether wartime demand translates into a durable place in Europe’s defence supply chain.

#India #EuropeanUnion

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🇹🇭🇨🇳 Chinese EV imports jump in Thailand

Thailand’s electric passenger car imports rose 138% year-on-year in September to US$421 million, with China supplying nearly 99% of the total, as shipments surged ahead of a planned tax change. The September figure was also 86% above August, while January-September imports reached US$2.37 billion, with 96% sourced from China.

The increase comes as Thailand considers an excise tax of about 30% on fully imported EVs under a three-tier structure designed to favour domestic manufacturing. The proposed framework would apply the highest rate to fully imported vehicles, a lower rate to locally assembled cars using imported components, and the lowest to EVs with higher domestic content, reflecting Bangkok’s effort to shift EV demand into local production and jobs.

Battery-electric vehicle sales in Thailand rose 80% in September, and new registrations are forecast at 200,000 to 220,000 in 2026. The import spike indicates Chinese brands are strengthening their position in Thailand’s fast-expanding EV market before new tax rules take effect.

#Thailand #China

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