Global Pulse

标签： Asia

亚洲

  • China records over 1 billion online audiovisual users, topping all other internet apps

    China records over 1 billion online audiovisual users, topping all other internet apps

    In a new industry report released this Wednesday at a national online audiovisual conference held in Chengdu, the capital of southwest China’s Sichuan province, the China Netcasting Services Association announced a major milestone for the country’s digital content sector: as of December 2025, the total number of online audiovisual users in China hit 1.099 billion, making it the most widely used internet service by user base in the country.

    The report confirms that the online audiovisual industry has maintained its position as China’s dominant digital service, demonstrating extraordinary resilience and enduring mass appeal even as competition across the country’s digital landscape continues to intensify. Beyond the user growth milestone, the report outlines robust expansion across multiple core industry metrics. In 2025, the total market size of China’s online audiovisual sector grew 5.3 percent year-over-year to reach nearly 1.29 trillion yuan, equivalent to approximately 188 billion U.S. dollars. The number of registered enterprises operating in the space has also surpassed 800,000, with micro-sized businesses accounting for 87.8 percent of all market participants, signaling a dynamic, accessible market for new and small-scale creators and operators.

    Among all online audiovisual formats, short-form video has emerged as the primary engine of the sector’s ongoing growth. It is the only major category of internet application in China that recorded simultaneous increases in total user count and daily usage rate in 2025. Notably, short video platforms have also become the main on-ramp for first-time internet users in China, with 44.6 percent of new internet users accessing the web for the first time via short video applications.

    User engagement with online audiovisual content also reached new heights last year. The report found that the average daily time spent by users viewing online audiovisual content hit 201 minutes per person. One of the fastest-growing segments is micro-dramas, short-form serialized content that has exploded in popularity, jumping in usage to rank as the second most popular audiovisual format nationwide, outpacing traditional long-form video and trailing only short-form clips.

    The report also highlighted the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on the sector, which is reshaping content creation and consumption patterns. In 2025, more than 2 billion AI-generated audio and video clips were produced in China, representing a 14-fold year-over-year increase. Surveys included in the report found that more than half of all online audiovisual users regularly consume AI-generated short video content.

    Zhou Jie, deputy secretary-general of the China Netcasting Services Association, noted that the integration of generative artificial intelligence into digital content creation has become a core growth driver for the industry. This technological fusion is unlocking untapped creative capacity and fundamentally reshaping how audiences interact with online content, he added.

  • Kazakhstan sentences 19 for protest against repression in China’s Xinjiang region

    Kazakhstan sentences 19 for protest against repression in China’s Xinjiang region

    In a landmark decision that human rights advocates call an unprecedented shift in Central Asian geopolitical alignment, a Kazakh court has convicted 19 ethnic Kazakh activists who staged a protest against China’s long-running crackdown in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in late 2023. The ruling marks the harshest crackdown to date on voices critical of Chinese policy in the neighboring country, according to regional experts and rights watchdogs.

    The November 2023 demonstration, held near Kazakhstan’s border with China, saw the activists call for the release of a Kazakh citizen detained by Chinese authorities in Xinjiang. During the protest, participants burned Chinese national flags and portraits of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, actions that Beijing later decried as a deliberate provocation. All 19 individuals convicted are citizens of Kazakhstan.

    Court documents and local media reports confirm the sentencing: 11 of the activists received five-year prison terms on charges of “inciting discord,” while the remaining eight were handed down suspended sentences with strict movement restrictions. Shinquat Baizhan, the legal representative for the convicted group, has publicly verified these details.

    Background to the verdict stretches back to 2017, when the Chinese government launched a sweeping security campaign in Xinjiang that interned more than one million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim-majority ethnic minority groups in mass detention camps and prisons. While Beijing claims the campaign targeted extremism and has since wound down large-scale detentions, the region remains under heavy authoritarian control, with severe constraints on religious practice, cultural expression and cross-border movement. More than one million ethnic Kazakhs reside in Xinjiang, with thousands detained and countless others separated from family members across the border in Kazakhstan.

    For Kazakhstan, a Central Asian nation of 19 million people that counts China as its largest trading and investment partner, Xinjiang policy has long been a sensitive diplomatic issue. Yalkun Uluyol, a China researcher with Human Rights Watch, explained that Kazakh authorities launched criminal probes into the protesters only after receiving a formal diplomatic protest from the Chinese consulate in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest commercial city. The Associated Press obtained and reviewed the diplomatic note, in which Beijing called the demonstration “an open provocation against the national dignity of the People’s Republic of China and an insult to the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people.”

    When contacted for comment on the verdict, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs framed the proceedings as an exclusive internal matter for Kazakhstan, adding that the country is a “friendly neighbor” that “understands China’s position on Xinjiang governance.” Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry declined to provide any comment on the case.

    The convicted protesters are all affiliated with Atajurt, a grassroots human rights organization that advocates for ethnic Kazakhs affected by repression in Xinjiang. The group has long operated under pressure in Kazakhstan, an authoritarian state that has little tolerance for domestic dissent. In 2019, authorities arrested Atajurt founder Serikzhan Bilash, forcing him into exile after he signed an agreement pledging to end all political activity. Until recently, however, the Kazakh government allowed limited Atajurt operations, acknowledging widespread public sympathy in the country for ethnic Kazakhs suffering persecution across the border.

    That quiet tolerance has now evaporated, Uluyol said, as Kazakhstan deepens its economic and political ties to Beijing. “This is unprecedented. It signals that Kazakhstan is willing to sacrifice freedom of its people to maintain good relations with Beijing,” he noted. Prior to this ruling, individual activists speaking out on Xinjiang had faced pressure, but rights groups confirm this is the first time such a large group of activists has been given prison sentences for their advocacy.

    Exiled Atajurt founder Bilash, now residing in the United States, warned the convictions will have far-reaching consequences for human rights documentation and support in Xinjiang. For years, the group has provided financial aid to families of detained ethnic Kazakhs, submitted testimonial evidence to the United Nations and foreign embassies, and collected hundreds of first-hand accounts from people searching for missing relatives detained in China.

    “The world will lose more than just a human rights organization; it will lose the biggest window into the humanitarian disaster in neighboring Xinjiang,” Bilash said.

  • War memorial visit a reminder of sacrifice, unity

    War memorial visit a reminder of sacrifice, unity

    Ahead of the 2026 Tengchong Mt Gaoligong Ultra marathon held in Yunnan, Southwest China, 10 American runners and their family members made a meaningful stop that went far beyond pre-race preparation: a visit to a local war memorial honoring the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931–1945). The trip offered the group a deeply personal look at the shared wartime history that binds China and the United States, a history too often overlooked in modern discourse.

    The memorial, located in the strategic border city of Tengchong, centers its exhibits on two defining chapters of WWII history in the region: the campaigns of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, which fought to retake the vital China-Myanmar supply line from Japanese occupation, and the legacy of the Flying Tigers, the official American Volunteer Group that played a critical role in the Allied war effort in Asia. Formed in 1941, the Flying Tigers conducted dangerous supply runs along the treacherous “Hump” air route connecting India to China’s Kunming and Chongqing, delivering critical resources to Chinese and American ground forces fighting on the front lines.

    For 80-year-old Bob Becker, whose father and uncle both served in World War II in the region, the visit was far more than a historical tour. Walking through the memorial’s halls, studying well-preserved flight suits, personal artifacts, and candid photographs of American airmen interacting with local Chinese civilians, as a guide detailed how Flying Tigers members fought side-by-side with Chinese troops and civilians, Becker was overcome with emotion. “It was very impressive and I got emotional. I felt a real connection because my father and my uncle both fought in World War II here,” he said. He added that he was deeply moved by the selfless spirit of all those who fought, their commitment to standing for justice, and their dedication to the greater good.

    Becker shared a hopeful vision for future cross-cultural exchange, saying he hopes more Americans will travel to the site to experience these shared historical stories firsthand, and come away with a deeper understanding of the long-standing historic bond between the people of China and the United States.

    Other participants echoed the meaning of the experience. Greg Pressler, another participating American runner, stressed that the visit reinforced why collective memory of war is so critical. “When we forget history, we are at risk of repeating it,” he noted. In an era of growing global instability, Pressler said hearing accounts of sacrifice from both Chinese people and foreign volunteers who came to China’s aid was incredibly moving. The memorial, he added, makes clear just how much can be achieved when people set aside their differences to stand with one another in need.

    For endurance athlete David Green, the trip even renewed a sense of optimism. Learning the detailed history of how the two nations collaborated closely to defeat aggression offered a powerful example of what can be accomplished when nations work toward a common goal. “It renews my hope,” he said, “that people, even from different backgrounds, can unite together.”

  • HH-200 commercial cargo drone completes debut flight

    HH-200 commercial cargo drone completes debut flight

    China’s top aerospace manufacturer, Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC), has marked a key milestone in the nation’s commercial unmanned aerial transport sector with the successful first flight of its new HH-200 large cargo drone, the company confirmed in an official statement released on Wednesday. Developed by AVIC’s Xi’an Aircraft Industry Group, the prototype aircraft lifted off from an airport in Weinan, Shaanxi Province at 9:35 a.m. local time, completed a 15-minute airborne test, and touched down safely at the departure airfield. Throughout the maiden flight, all on-board systems operated as designed, the aircraft maintained stable performance, and every pre-planned test maneuver was executed without issue. The development of the HH-200 comes in response to two key driving forces: the rapid growth of China’s express logistics industry and the government’s ongoing policy push to unlock the economic potential of the country’s low-altitude airspace.

    According to official specifications from the program’s engineering team, the twin-engine HH-200 measures 12.2 meters in length with a 16.8-meter wingspan, and is rated to carry maximum payloads of 1.5 metric tons. It has a maximum cruising speed of 310 kilometers per hour and a maximum flying range of 2,360 kilometers, with a standard cargo hold volume of 12 cubic meters that can be expanded to 18 cubic meters for larger loads.

    Meng Fantao, technical director of the HH drone series, explained that the HH-200 was engineered to fully comply with civil aviation safety standards, and is equipped with cutting-edge intelligent autonomous flight capabilities and AI-powered automatic obstacle avoidance systems. The aircraft boasts an impressive service life of 50,000 flight hours and 15,000 takeoff-landing cycles, with a full life-cycle operating cost of just 0.68 U.S. dollars per ton-kilometer – one-third the operating cost of comparable manned cargo aircraft with the same carrying capacity. Furthermore, the drone features a user-friendly loading and unloading design that allows just two ground operators to complete the entire process in five minutes. The HH-200 can operate from runways as short as 500 meters, is capable of taking off and landing from high-altitude airfields located more than 4,200 meters above sea level, and can operate reliably in extreme temperature conditions ranging from -40°C to 50°C.

    The versatile platform can deliver essential goods to hard-to-reach locations including mountainous regions, remote islands, snow-covered highlands and plateaus. It can also be quickly reconfigured to support a wide range of other mission profiles, including emergency disaster rescue, wildfire suppression, weather modification, aerial remote sensing, and agricultural and forestry pest and disease control. As of the first flight date, the HH-200 has already received 20 letters of intent from commercial buyers, and AVIC plans to establish deep collaborative partnerships with domestic express delivery companies to accelerate the commercial rollout of the entire HH drone series. This successful maiden flight is not an isolated effort for AVIC; the state-owned aerospace giant has already developed and conducted test flights for multiple other cargo drone models, including the smaller HH-100 and the TP2000, as China builds out its domestic commercial unmanned freight sector.

  • Modi is pushing to get more women into India’s Parliament. That could have other consequences

    Modi is pushing to get more women into India’s Parliament. That could have other consequences

    NEW DELHI – India’s Parliament kicked off a historic debate Thursday on a transformative bill that would reserve one-third of all national and state legislative seats for women, a proposal framed as a decades-overdue step to expand gender representation in Indian politics that is already sparking fierce political friction over its tie to a sweeping electoral boundary overhaul.

    If enacted, the legislation would accelerate implementation of a 2023 law mandating 33% female reservation in legislative bodies, marking one of the most significant shifts to India’s political landscape since the country gained independence in 1947. For a national legislature where women currently hold just 14% of lower house seats, the reform could dramatically expand female participation in a system long dominated by male politicians.

    The core point of controversy stems from the bill’s dependency on a separate, contentious delimitation proposal that would redraw India’s parliamentary voting boundaries based on 2011 census population data. If approved, the redraw could expand the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of Parliament, from the current 543 to roughly 850.

    While broad cross-party support exists for the goal of increasing women’s representation in Parliament, opposition parties have raised urgent alarms over the linked boundary redraw, warning the process would be manipulated to shift political advantage toward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The bills are being considered during a three-day special parliamentary session, and both require a two-thirds majority vote in both upper and lower houses to pass. Modi’s National Democratic Alliance coalition currently holds 293 seats, 67 short of the 360 votes needed for approval.

    Proponents of the quota argue the reform will close India’s persistent gender gap in political leadership. Several of India’s regional neighbors, including Nepal and Bangladesh, already enforce similar female reservation policies for national legislatures, and India has long required 33% of seats in local governance bodies to be reserved for women. Supporters say adding hundreds of women to national and state legislatures will reframe policy priorities to address long-neglected issues such as women’s healthcare, access to education, and gender-based violence. The exact mechanism for allocating female seats in the expanded parliament has not yet been clarified.

    Women’s rights advocate Ranjana Kumari emphasized that the reform would make India’s democracy truly reflective of its population, pushing political parties to field far more female candidates than they currently do. “The door is little open. Women will enter and fill the room slowly,” Kumari noted.

    For young Indian women, the reform also carries profound symbolic meaning. Pranita Gupta, a 23-year-old law graduate, said the policy would instill “a sense of confidence that we can participate in politics and we can be part of Parliament not only as an exception but as well as a norm.”

    Critics of the linked delimitation process warn that basing new constituency boundaries on population will reallocate parliamentary power toward India’s faster-growing northern states, where the BJP holds its strongest base of support, at the expense of southern states that have seen sharper declines in birth rates and built more robust regional economies. India’s Constitution requires parliamentary seat allocations to be revised after each national census to reflect population shifts, but boundary redraws have not been conducted since the 1971 census, as successive governments delayed the process over fears of political conflict driven by uneven population growth across regions.

    Southern state leaders argue that a population-based delimitation would punish regions that successfully reduced population growth, cutting their seat share and national political influence while awarding additional seats to northern states. The BJP has dismissed these concerns as unfounded and misleading, according to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who pushed back against criticism earlier this week.

    Political backlash has already spread rapidly. On Thursday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin publicly burned a copy of the delimitation bill and raised a black flag in protest, urging residents across his southern state to join the demonstration. Several other southern state parliamentary representatives appeared in the legislature dressed in black to signal their opposition. India’s top opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has alleged the delimitation process is a deliberate attempt to gerrymander parliamentary constituencies to benefit the BJP ahead of the 2029 national elections. “Delimitation should be based on a transparent policy framework, developed after wide consultations with a consensus,” Gandhi wrote on the social platform X Wednesday.

  • Lionel Rosenblatt, whose advocacy for refugees began with derring-do in Vietnam, dies at 82

    Lionel Rosenblatt, whose advocacy for refugees began with derring-do in Vietnam, dies at 82

    Lionel Rosenblatt, the former U.S. Foreign Service Officer who turned a defiant unauthorized rescue mission in 1975 into a decades-long career championing vulnerable displaced people around the globe, has passed away at 82 following a battle with cancer. His death was confirmed Saturday in the Washington, D.C. area, where he spent his later years engaging with humanitarian advocacy work.

    Rosenblatt’s legacy in refugee advocacy is anchored in a bold act of conscience that unfolded as communist forces closed in on Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, in the spring of 1975. A young State Department official at the time, Rosenblatt grew deeply alarmed by the danger facing hundreds of Vietnamese citizens who had worked alongside the U.S. government and military, who faced certain persecution once Saigon fell. Stymied by then-U.S. Ambassador Graham Martin’s refusal to move forward with an urgent evacuation, Rosenblatt and his colleague Craig Johnstone made the risky choice to defy official protocol. The pair took personal leave, funded their own travel to Saigon, and organized emergency flights out of the country that saved between 200 and 400 at-risk Vietnamese. Upon their return to Washington, then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger delivered a formal, pro-forma reprimand, but privately praised the pair’s action, and no official disciplinary action was ever taken.

    Born in New York City in 1943, Rosenblatt joined the U.S. State Department in 1966, with early diplomatic postings in Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, and Washington D.C. After the 1975 fall of Saigon, he went on to serve as the U.S. Embassy’s refugee coordinator in Bangkok between 1976 and 1981, where he managed the ongoing crisis of Vietnamese “boat people” and Cambodians fleeing mass famine after Vietnamese forces ousted the brutal Khmer Rouge regime from power in 1979. He maintained a lifelong, particular devotion to supporting displaced communities across Southeast Asia.

    One of Rosenblatt’s most notable acts of quiet advocacy came in the 1970s, when he championed the Hmong hill-tribe minority from Laos. Thousands of Hmong had fought as proxy soldiers for the U.S. during the classified “Secret War” that supported a pro-Western government against the communist Pathet Lao. When the Pathet Lao took power in 1975, tens of thousands of Hmong fled persecution to Thailand, but many faced widespread bias and closed doors to resettlement in the United States. Frustrated by what he saw as a profound injustice, Rosenblatt and his team intentionally obscured the Hmong’s ethnic identity on official resettlement paperwork to guarantee their entry to safety. In a 2022 television interview, he reflected on the injustice: “It was always a mystery to me why they were good enough to fight for us but not good enough to consider for resettlement.”

    The 1975 Saigon evacuation launched Rosenblatt into a decades-long public career as a high-profile advocate for refugee rights. From 1990 to 2001, he served as president of Refugees International, a leading Washington-based humanitarian advocacy organization. In that role, he lobbied aggressively for more urgent, robust humanitarian intervention in global crisis zones including Bosnia and Rwanda, pushing global leaders to act when many were willing to turn away from mass displacement and violence.

    Current Refugees International President Jeremy Konyndyk paid tribute to Rosenblatt this week, remembering him as a “fierce, creative, passionate champion for refugees” who “helped to shape a generation of humanitarian leaders.”

  • Australia boosts military spending as Iran war makes global impact

    Australia boosts military spending as Iran war makes global impact

    CANBERRA, MELBOURNE – Amid escalating regional and global tensions sparked by the recent conflict between the U.S.-Israel coalition and Iran, Australia has announced the largest peacetime expansion of defense investment in the nation’s modern history, according to Defense Minister Richard Marles, who spoke to reporters Thursday. Marles used the announcement of the two-year defense strategy update to reveal the federal government plans to inject an extra AU$53 billion (US$38 billion) into defense programs over the coming 10 years, setting a clear timeline to lift Australia’s defense budget from its current 2.8% of gross domestic product to 3% by 2033. This milestone spending shift comes as the nation confronts what Marles described as the most unstable and dangerous strategic environment it has faced since the conclusion of World War II. When pressed to quantify how the February strikes targeting Iran by the United States and Israel have worsened Australia’s security risks, Marles declined to give a definitive measure, but emphasized that the conflict has already upended long-standing global security dynamics. “I don’t think anyone could honestly answer that question,” Marles told reporters. “It greatly complicates the global strategic landscape. The world feels less safe.” Despite these heightened risks, Marles reaffirmed Australia’s backing for the international goal of preventing Iran from developing a deployable nuclear weapons capability. Marles pushed back on speculation that the dramatic spending increase is a reaction to pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, noting the U.S. Pentagon’s January National Defense Strategy publicly pressured American allies to take greater ownership of their own regional security. He stressed that all defense resourcing decisions are being made independently by the Australian government, pointing to the expansion as the outcome of the current administration’s long-term planning rather than external pressure. “What that has yielded to date is, under our government, the biggest peacetime increase in defense spending that our nation has seen,” Marles said. The updated strategy centers on boosting Australian defense self-reliance – a priority Marles clarified is not equivalent to pursuing full military self-sufficiency, nor does it signal a retreat from Australia’s long-standing alliance commitments. “This is not about jettisoning alliance relationships. To the contrary, alliances, especially with the United States, will always be fundamental to Australia’s defense,” Marles said. The cornerstone of Australia’s long-term defense modernization is the AUKUS partnership, a trilateral security agreement with the U.S. and United Kingdom that will deliver a fleet of at least eight nuclear-powered submarines to the Royal Australian Navy. The massive submarine project, the largest defense acquisition in Australian history, is projected to cost between AU$268 billion (US$193 billion) and AU$368 billion (US$264 billion) over its 30-year lifecycle.

  • Sri Lankan buyer paid $286 for barrel of oil, as actual prices diverge from markets

    Sri Lankan buyer paid $286 for barrel of oil, as actual prices diverge from markets

    Speaking at a Hong Kong investment forum on Tuesday, HSBC Group CEO Georges Elhedery drew attention to a stark gap between widely cited Western oil benchmark prices and the exorbitant actual costs that Asian buyers are currently facing, triggered by escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran.

    Against a backdrop of intensifying conflict in the Middle East, global headline oil prices have already climbed above $100 per barrel, but Elhedery warned these public figures do not capture the full extent of the market disruption.

    “What worries me is not the headlines. I mean, oil headline is above $100, $110,” Elhedery stated in comments recorded by Bloomberg and obtained by independent news outlet Sherwood. “Realistically, if you are now trying to get oil from the Middle East, you may be paying $140, $150.”

    The most extreme recorded case he cited saw a single barrel of oil reach $286 for buyers in Sri Lanka, a small South Asian island nation heavily dependent on imported Middle Eastern energy supplies.

    Current benchmark prices paint a far rosier picture than on-ground market conditions. As of this week, U.S.-based West Texas Intermediate trades around $91 per barrel, while the global benchmark Brent hovers near $95. The Omani benchmark, which is most closely aligned to Asian trade flows, sits around $100 per barrel – still less than two-thirds of the $150 price tag Elhedery says most Asian importers now pay.

    The root of this gap lies in rapidly tightening energy supplies driven by geopolitical escalation. Iran has taken control of the Strait of Hormuz, the critical chokepoint through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass, halting most oil exports from Gulf nations. In response, the U.S. has implemented its own full blockade of Iranian oil exports this week, further squeezing available supply. Oil shipments through the strait have slowed to a fraction of normal volumes, leaving importers scrambling to secure alternative cargoes.

    While Saudi Arabia has stepped in as the region’s largest remaining exporter, moving roughly five million barrels of crude daily through its Red Sea port of Yanbu, this shift has brought new layers of cost that are not reflected in standard benchmark pricing. Shipping costs for cargo pulled from the Red Sea now run between $30 and $40 per barrel, a massive jump from pre-crisis levels. Meanwhile, insurance premiums have exploded: what previously cost importers 25 basis points of the cargo value now hits 5 percent, and most underwriters have pulled all war risk coverage entirely, leaving buyers to shoulder that risk at the elevated 5 percent rate.

    Geopolitical risks have continued to escalate in the days following Elhedery’s remarks. Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen have already disrupted traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another key Red Sea chokepoint, via repeated attacks on international commercial shipping. On Wednesday, a senior Iranian military commander issued a new threat to shut down all shipping across the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman unless the U.S. withdraws its blockade on Iranian oil exports. “Iran’s powerful armed forces will not allow any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, or the Red Sea,” stated Major General Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran’s military joint command.

    This report was originally published by Middle East Eye, an independent outlet focused on coverage of the Middle East, North Africa and global affairs connected to the region.

  • Asian stocks mostly higher after Wall Street hits record and oil steadies

    Asian stocks mostly higher after Wall Street hits record and oil steadies

    Global financial markets kicked off Thursday with broad gains across most Asian equity benchmarks and stable oil prices, driven growing investor optimism that a temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran will be extended and new diplomatic negotiations will move forward. The conflict, which began in late February, has roiled energy markets and raised widespread concerns over global supply chains, making any signs of de-escalation a major catalyst for risk assets.

    In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 surged 2.4% to close at 59,549.59, while South Korea’s Kospi climbed 2% to 6,215.38. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index recorded a 1.2% uptick to 26,269.99, and mainland China’s Shanghai Composite edged 0.6% higher to 4,050.42. China’s latest quarterly economic data released Thursday showed 5% year-over-year growth for the first three months of the year, an acceleration from the final quarter of 2023. While most economists note that China’s economy has so far absorbed the initial spillover effects of the Iran conflict relatively well, some caution that the country’s large export-driven manufacturing sector could face more substantial headwinds in coming months as broader global economic growth slows. Elsewhere in the region, Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.9% in midday trading, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 bucked the upward trend to edge 0.1% lower.

    The optimism around diplomacy stems from anonymous regional officials who told the Associated Press on Wednesday that Washington and Tehran have reached an “in principle” agreement to extend their existing two-week ceasefire, which is set to expire next week. The two sides are also reportedly making progress toward organizing a second round of formal negotiations. Additional diplomatic efforts are underway, with Pakistani army chief currently visiting Tehran to help broker further talks between the two parties.

    Even as hopes for peace grow, the U.S. is moving ahead with plans to increase economic pressure on Iran. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a warning this week that Washington is preparing to implement new secondary sanctions targeting any entities that continue business with Iran, including potentially Chinese companies that purchase Iranian crude oil.

    Global oil markets held steady on Thursday after months of extreme volatility tied to the conflict. Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, ticked up less than 0.1% to settle at $94.94 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4% to $91.66 per barrel. Oil prices spiked sharply immediately after the war began in late February, after the Strait of Hormuz — a critical global shipping chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil supply passes — was effectively closed to commercial traffic. The U.S. implemented a new naval blockade of Iranian ports this week, aiming to force Tehran to reopen the strait as part of any negotiated ceasefire deal.

    Strategists at ING Bank warned in a client note Thursday that significant uncertainty remains for energy markets. “The key upside risk for the market is that peace talks between the US and Iran break down,” wrote analysts Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey. “This isn’t an unrealistic scenario, given that US and Iranian demands remain fairly wide apart.”

    The positive momentum for risk assets already spilled over to U.S. markets on Wednesday, with Wall Street hitting new record highs on the ceasefire optimism. The benchmark S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to close at 7,022.95, surpassing its previous all-time high set back in January. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite jumped 1.6% to 24,016.02, though the Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend to dip 0.2% to 48,463.72.

    Several major U.S. banks outperformed the broader market after releasing stronger-than-expected first quarter earnings results. Bank of America shares rose 1.8%, with CEO Brian Moynihan noting ongoing signs of a resilient U.S. economy, including steady consumer spending. Morgan Stanley followed a similar trajectory, with shares gaining 4.5% after its own positive earnings report. In one of the most notable individual stock moves of the day, San Francisco-based footwear brand Allbirds saw its share price skyrocket 582% to nearly $17 per share after the company announced it would pivot its core business focus to artificial intelligence and rebrand as NewBird AI.

    In other commodity trading, safe-haven assets gold and silver both posted gains on Thursday. Gold climbed 0.5% to $4,846.40 per ounce, while silver rose 1.3% to $80.62 per ounce. In currency markets, the U.S. dollar weakened slightly against the Japanese yen, falling to 158.58 yen from 159 yen in the prior session. The euro also ticked higher, trading at $1.1814 up from $1.1799 on Wednesday.

  • Japan pledges $10bn to help Asian countries deal with oil crisis

    Japan pledges $10bn to help Asian countries deal with oil crisis

    Against a backdrop of sweeping energy market chaos sparked by the ongoing Iran war, Japan has launched a landmark $10 billion (£7.4 billion) cooperation initiative to support neighboring Asian economies, particularly those in Southeast Asia, in stabilizing critical energy supplies including crude oil. The new framework was formally announced Wednesday by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, following a virtual summit that brought together leaders from across the region.

    In a post-meeting press briefing, Takaichi emphasized the deep, interconnected economic ties that bind Japan to the broader Asian region, noting that Japan itself relies on Southeast Asian supplies of petroleum-derived products, most crucially for the manufacturing of essential medical equipment. “Japan is closely interconnected with each Asian country through supply chains and mutually dependent with them,” she stated.

    The core goals of the cooperation framework are threefold: to help regional states secure steady access to crude oil and refined petroleum products, to preserve the integrity of cross-border supply chains, and to expand strategic energy stockpiling capacity across the region. Geographically, Asia faces uniquely high risk from energy disruptions tied to tensions around the Strait of Hormuz: nearly 90 percent of all oil and gas moving through the critical global chokepoint is destined for Asian markets, leaving the region disproportionately exposed to blockades or shipping interruptions.

    According to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the $10 billion pledged is roughly equal to the total annual value of crude oil imports by all member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The initiative received broad backing from participating leaders, including representatives from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh and South Korea. Funding for the plan will be pooled from multiple sources, including Japan’s state-backed financial institutions such as the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, alongside contributions from the Asian Development Bank.

    Takaichi moved to reassure the Japanese public, confirming that the new initiative would not compromise domestic energy security in Japan. As of the end of 2025, Japan holds strategic crude oil reserves sufficient to cover 254 days of domestic consumption, though the ongoing global energy crisis has already prompted Japanese authorities to draw down these stockpiles. Last month, Japan released a historic volume of reserves equal to 50 days of domestic use, with a further release equivalent to 20 days of consumption scheduled for early May.

    Domestically, Japan continues to grapple with growing anxiety over potential shortages of naphtha, a crude-derived petrochemical that serves as a foundational raw material for plastic manufacturing. These concerns are most acute in the country’s healthcare sector, where critical supplies ranging from syringes and disposable gloves to dialysis equipment depend on naphtha inputs. Japan’s healthcare system is already operating under significant strain from an aging population, and shortages of the material could exacerbate existing pressures. While Takaichi has called for calm, affirming that no immediate supply disruptions are expected, market jitters and public worry persist.

    Energy insecurity has already spread across Southeast Asia, where skyrocketing oil prices have hit household budgets and government budgets hard. Many regional governments have rolled out public energy conservation campaigns, urging citizens to carpool and reduce air conditioning use to cut demand. The Philippines has already gone a step further, declaring a national energy emergency. Speaking at Wednesday’s Japan-hosted summit, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on ASEAN to activate its longstanding regional fuel-sharing pact to mitigate the crisis. “No single country in Asia can insulate itself from supply chain shocks of this scale by acting alone,” he told attendees.