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US trading partners in Asia started weighing fresh uncertainties on Saturday after President Donald Trump vowed to ‌impose a new tariff on imports, hours after the Supreme Court struck down many of the ​sweeping levies he used to ‌launch a global trade war.The court's ruling invalidated a number of tariffs that the Trump administration ‌had imposed on ⁠Asian export powerhouses from China and ‌South Korea to Japan and Taiwan, the ‌world's largest chip maker and a key player in tech supply chains.Within hours, Trump said he would impose ⁠a new 10% duty on US imports from all countries starting on Tuesday for an initial 150 days under a different law, prompting analysts to warn that more measures could follow, threatening more confusion for businesses and investors.In Japan, a government spokesman said Tokyo "will carefully examine the content of this ruling and the Trump administration's response to it, and respond appropriately."China, which is preparing to host Trump in late March, has yet to formally comment or launch any counter moves with the country on an extended holiday. But ​a senior financial official in China-ruled Hong Kong described the US situation as a "fiasco".Christopher Hui, Hong Kong's secretary for financial services and the treasury, Trump's new levy served to underscore Hong Kong's "unique trade advantages", Hui said."This shows the stability of Hong ‌Kong's policies and our certainty... it shows ⁠global investors the importance ​of predictability," Hui said at a media briefing on Saturday when asked how the new ​US tariffs would affect the city's economy.Hong Kong operates as a separate customs territory from mainland China, a status that has shielded it from direct exposure to US tariffs targeting Chinese goods.While Washington has imposed duties on mainland exports, Hong Kong-made products have generally faced lower tariff rates, allowing the city to maintain trade flows even as Sino-US tensions escalated.Before the Supreme Court's ruling, Trump's tariff push had strained Washington's diplomatic relations across Asia, particularly for export-reliant economies integrated into US-bound supply chains.Friday's ruling concerns only the tariffs launched by Trump on the basis of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, intended for national emergencies.Trade policy monitor Global Trade Alert estimated that by itself, the ruling cuts the trade-weighted average ‌U.S. tariff almost in half from 15.4% to ‌8.3%.For those countries on higher US ⁠tariff levels, the change is more dramatic. For China, Brazil and India, it will mean double-digit percentage point cuts, ⁠albeit to still-high levels.In Taiwan, the government ⁠said it was monitoring the situation closely, noting that the US government had yet to determine how to fully implement its trade deals with many countries."While the initial impact on Taiwan appears limited, the government will closely monitor developments and maintain close communication with the US to understand specific implementation details and respond appropriately," a cabinet statement said.Taiwan has signed two recent deals with the US — one was a Memorandum of Understanding last month that committed Taiwan to invest $250bn and the second was signed this month to lowering reciprocal tariffs.Analysts say the Supreme Court's ruling against Trump's more aggressive tariff measures may offer little relief for the global economy. They warned of looming confusion as trading nations brace for moves by Trump to find other means of using levies to circumvent the ruling.Thailand's Trade Policy and Strategy Office head Nantapong Chiralerspong said the ruling might even benefit its exports as uncertainty drove a fresh round of "front loading", where shippers race to move goods to the US, fearing even higher tariffs.In corporate disclosures tracked by Reuters, firms across the Asia-Pacific region reported financial hits, supply shifts and withdrawals as levies ‌escalated through 2025 and early ​2026. 

China this month marks a year since it last imported liquefied natural gas from the US amid a tense trade war between the world's two largest economies. Yet throughout the past year, Chinese firms have continued purchasing US LNG under long-term supply ‌contracts with American producers. Instead of delivering the super-chilled fuel home, they have often diverted it to Europe, where ​demand has surged in recent years. This apparent disconnect ‌between politics and commerce highlights how deeply intertwined US and Chinese energy systems remain, despite efforts by Washington ‌and Beijing to decouple their ⁠economies as they compete for ‌global influence. It also underscores the growing flexibility and liquidity ‌of the global LNG market, which has expanded rapidly in recent years, driven in large part by explosive growth in the US. ⁠The US became the world's largest LNG exporter in 2023. Since 2018, Chinese energy companies including PetroChina, CNOOC and Unipec have signed nearly 20 LNG supply contracts with US producers such as Cheniere Energy, Venture Global and NextDecade, totalling around 25mn metric tons of supply per year, according to data from the Center on Global Energy Policy. Most of these long-term contracts, which underpin the financing of multi-billion-dollar LNG projects along the US Gulf Coast, run for 20 or 25 years. The US exported nearly 110mn tons of LNG last year, accounting for more than a quarter of global supply. China, the world's largest ​LNG importer, bought 4.3mn tons of US LNG in 2024, around 5% of total American exports that year, according to data from analytics firm Kpler. China last imported a cargo of US LNG in February 2025, shortly after the two countries entered a new round of tit-for-tat ‌tariffs. US President Donald Trump imposed a 10% ⁠tariff on Chinese imports on February ​10. Beijing responded with a raft of countermeasures, including a 15% levy on US LNG imports. The two ​sides went on to raise reciprocal tariffs in the following months before agreeing on a "trade truce” in November. While China halted imports of US LNG, it has continued buying significant volumes of ethane, a petrochemical feedstock. Chinese ethane imports averaged 325,000 barrels per day in 2025, accounting for more than 60% of total US ethane exports. It last imported US crude oil in April 2025, according to Kpler. Trump has sought to establish US "energy dominance” by expanding domestic oil and gas production, often using America’s vast resource base as leverage in trade negotiations. Washington and Beijing are now preparing for a possible visit by Trump to China in April, which could help ease some of the trade tensions. For now, however, China is unlikely to resume LNG imports from the US at scale, according to Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy."Chinese companies ‌can still make money and trade US LNG,” Corbeau ‌said. "China has access to ample LNG supplies, notably growing ⁠volumes from Russia.” Most US LNG supply contracts allow buyers full flexibility to ship and sell cargoes anywhere in ⁠the world or to resell them to third parties such ⁠as trading houses. This contrasts with many other LNG suppliers, which often impose strict destination clauses. The five main Chinese buyers of US LNG — PetroChina, ENN Natural Gas, CNOOC, Sinochem and Sinopec — chartered a combined 3.3mn tons of LNG from US export terminals in the 12 months to February, according to Reuters calculations based on Kpler data. The vast majority of those cargoes were delivered to Europe. For example, of the 27 cargoes chartered by PetroChina since February 2025, 23 were delivered to Europe, two to Brazil and two to Bangladesh. ​Similarly, all 10 cargoes chartered by ENN were delivered to Europe, according to Reuters analysis. Many other cargoes were likely sold to other buyers before loading. China’s total LNG imports fell 14% in 2025 from a year earlier to 67mn tons, reflecting slower industrial activity, rapid expansion of renewable energy, higher domestic gas production and increased pipeline gas imports from Russia. China also began importing LNG last August from Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, in defiance of US sanctions. Political and economic tensions between Beijing and Washington are likely to remain a defining feature of global trade for years. As a result, China may seek to limit its exposure to US energy. But its involvement in US LNG is unlikely to disappear. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters 

Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (Comac) is set to miss a revised delivery target for its marquee C919 single-aisle jet, dealing a blow to its global ambitions after trade war-induced headwinds helped hamper production.China’s answer to Airbus SE and Boeing Co had shipped just 13 of its flagship C919 aircraft in the year through December 22, data from aviation consultancy Cirium and Planespotters.net show. That matches the same number of C919s it handed airlines in 2024.Comac, as it’s known, slashed its annual delivery target to 25 aircraft from 75 earlier this year, Bloomberg has reported — but is still on track to fall well short. With just days left in 2025, the planemaker is set to miss even the revised goal by almost 50% — and the original target by more than 80% — barring a late surge in deliveries.Among expected recipients of the C919, China’s three largest carriers — Air China Ltd, China Southern Airlines Co and China Eastern Airlines Corp — planned to induct a combined 32 aircraft, according to their 2024 annual reports. So far, they’ve received a dozen, according to the data.Comac didn’t respond to a faxed request for comment on its total number of deliveries. Air China, China Southern and China Eastern didn’t reply to requests for comment.The potential miss comes as Comac last month received a boost from several state-owned shareholders, injecting 44bn yuan ($6.3bn) into the planemaker, according to data from Chinese corporate registry platform Tianyancha that was cited by local media. The cash would enable Comac to scale up and boost production.Comac said as recently as a supplier conference in March 2025 that it planned to raise capacity output next year to make 100 of the aircraft. That will be followed by 150 in both 2027 and 2028, and then 200 annually by 2029, the company said.But challenges this year hurt capacity, notably difficulties receiving a steady flow of parts for new aircraft — including engines from CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and France’s Safran SA, that were subjected to a US export ban. Comac depends on those engines for the C919, and also uses GE engines for its smaller C909 regional jet.The Chinese company is pressing ahead with efforts to sell its aircraft overseas, seeking to capitalise on strong global demand for new fuel-efficient jets priced below rivals from Airbus and Boeing, even as the lack of gold-standard airworthiness certification from US and European regulators continues to constrain sales.The push comes as the world’s two dominant planemakers have been hobbled by parts shortages and quality lapses, creating an opening for smaller players like Comac and Brazil’s Embraer. 

President Xi Jinping said China has reached a consensus with the United States on economic and trade issues, state media reported, after meeting Thursday with US leader Donald Trump. Trump and Xi met for the first time since 2019 in Busan, South Korea, engaging in closely-watched talks, as their two countries remain locked in a blistering trade war.The tussle between the world's top two economies, which encompasses everything from rare earths to soybeans and port fees, has rocked markets and gummed up supply chains for months. On Thursday, Xi told Trump that the two countries "should have positive interactions on the regional and international stage", Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.Xi said that teams from both sides had "exchanged in-depth views on important economic and trade issues and reached a consensus on resolving them", according to the Xinhua readout which offered no details on specific agreements reached."Both teams should refine and finalise follow-up work as soon as possible, maintain and implement the consensus and provide tangible results to set minds at ease about the economies of China, the United States and the world," he added.

Donald Trump arrived in Japan on Monday, on the next leg of an Asia tour that could see the US president and China's Xi Jinping end their bruising trade war. Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said he was hopeful of a deal when he sees Xi on Thursday, while also indicating he was willing to extend his trip in order to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un."I have a lot of respect for President Xi and we are going to I think... come away with a deal," Trump told reporters en route from Malaysia, where comments from US and Chinese negotiators raised hopes of an accord.As dozens of people gathered at Haneda Airport to take photos, the presidential plane -- also bearing Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent -- touched down at sunset. Sporting a golden tie, Trump then boarded a helicopter to take him into the bright lights of the Japanese metropolis in time for an evening audience with the emperor. On Tuesday, Trump is expected to meet new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and make a speech on the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, docked at the US naval base Yokosuka."I hear phenomenal things. (Takaichi) was a great ally and friend of Shinzo Abe, who was my friend," Trump said, referring to the assassinated former premier."That really helps Japan and the United States, I think she's going to be great."Markets watchingTrump's Asia trip, his first tour of the region since returning to office, kicked off in Malaysia on Sunday with a flurry of agreements. That included rewarding neighbours Cambodia and Thailand with trade agreements after co-signing their ceasefire pact on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit. He also agreed a trade and minerals deal with Malaysia, and moved to mend fences with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.But the greatest prize for Trump-and for global markets remains a China deal.Trump is due to meet Xi on Thursday in South Korea for their first face-to-face talks since the 79-year-old Republican's return to the White House. Before Trump's arrival in Malaysia, Bessent and China's Vice Premier He Lifeng held two days of trade talks. China's vice commerce minister, Li Chenggang, said a "preliminary consensus" had been reached.Bessent said on Air Force One on Monday that they had agreed "a framework for President Trump (and) President Xi to decide". "It's going to be great for China, great for us," Trump told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.Hot trucks On Friday, Takaichi announced in her first policy speech that Japan would be spending two percent of gross domestic product on defence this fiscal year. But Washington, which has around 60,000 military personnel in Japan, wants Tokyo to spend even more, potentially matching the five percent of GDP pledged by NATO members in June. Most Japanese imports into the United States are subject to tariffs of 15 percent, less painful than the 25 percent first threatened. But Trump also wants Japan to import more American products, including rice, soybeans and cars, as well as "hot" Ford F-150 pickup trucks.Questions also surround Japan's commitment to invest $550 billion in the United States, as specified in their July trade deal."What I expect is that, since he (Trump) is someone who acts decisively, things might move in a positive direction for Japan," said Tokyo resident Sayaka Kamimoto, 45.Kim meeting? Trump is due in the South Korean port city of Busan on Wednesday ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and will meet President Lee Jae Myung. Trump has also fuelled speculation that he could meet North Korea's Kim while on the Korean peninsula. The two leaders last met in 2019 at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the border area separating the two Koreas."I would love to meet with him if he'd like to meet. I got along great with Kim Jong Un. I liked him. He liked me," Trump said on Air Force One.Asked if he would extend his trip to enable a meeting, he said: "Well, I hadn't thought of it, but I think the answer would be yeah, I would, I would do that, sure."

US President Donald Trump affirmed that he is working hard on resolving the Ukrainian crisis, amid the ongoing Russian military operation against Ukraine since February 24, 2022. Trump added, in press statements, that he continues to work on ending the Russian war on Ukraine, saying he is working diligently on this file, ahead of the expected visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House scheduled for Friday. On another note, the US President stated that the United States is in a trade war with China. In response to a question about the possibility of escalating relations with China into a trade war, Trump said, "We're in one now."