The Rare-Earth Choke Point: One Country, the Price of Everything
A few Chinese refineries turn rare earths into the magnets inside electric cars, wind turbines, AI servers and weapons, handing...
June 24, 2026Section
Asia Trade & Geopolitics
Asia-Pacific is the main stage of US-China rivalry – over trade, tariffs, technology, Taiwan and the sea lanes that carry global commerce. The Rio Times covers the trade fights, alliances and great-power maneuvering across the region, and how each turn reshapes the terms of trade for the Global South, Latin America included.
Browse by themeAsia Markets & Currencies · Asia Supply Chains & Critical Minerals · Asia Tech & Semiconductors · Asia & Latin America
Alibaba v. the Pentagon: Suing a Superpower Over a Blacklist
Alibaba sued the Pentagon June 23 to escape a 188-firm Chinese-military blacklist, calling its inclusion baseless—with a June 30 ban...
June 24, 2026
Asia Intelligence Brief — Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Asia Intelligence Brief for Wednesday: Japan's market fell a second day as its own chip stocks wobbled and took their...
June 24, 2026
Asia & Pacific Intelligence Brief — Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Asia Intelligence Brief for Tuesday: the chip rally that led Asia for months broke hard, with Korea's Kospi crashing 10%...
June 23, 2026 China’s Rare-Earth Lever: Retaliation as Industrial Policy
Washington expanded its list of Chinese military-linked firms. Beijing answered not with a negotiation but with a chokehold — adding...
June 22, 2026
Asia & Pacific Intelligence Brief — Monday, June 22, 2026
Asia Intelligence Brief for Monday: China struck back by restricting key US firms, India raced toward a first trade deal...
June 22, 2026
Asia & Pacific Intelligence Brief — Friday, June 19, 2026
Asia Intelligence Brief for Friday: an AI-driven earnings surge has lifted Taiwan and Korea so high their combined markets now...
June 19, 2026
China’s 55% Beef Tariff Hits Australia First, Brazil Next in Line
Australia is the first big supplier to trip China's 55% over-quota beef tariff, redirecting shipments and putting Brazil's looming quota...
June 19, 2026
Two Speeds: Asia’s Great Central-Bank Divergence
One global shock, opposite answers: the Philippines raised rates to fight inflation while China held them at record lows to...
June 19, 2026