Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 67

India is set to be the world’s fourth-largest economy — but sustained growth will warrant more reforms

A top Indian official’s recent claim that the South Asian powerhouse has become the world’s fourth-largest economy has created a lot of buzz in the country’s social media, with an outpouring of self-congratulatory messages. While India has taken giant strides in boosting its GDP — it was ranked No. 10 in 2014 — and continues to be the fastest-growing major economy, it’s best to take the latest

India approves stealth fighter program amid tensions with Pakistan

India’s defense minister has approved a framework for building the country’s most advanced stealth fighter jet, the defense ministry said on Tuesday, amid a new arms race with Pakistan weeks after a military conflict between the neighbors. Indian state-run Aeronautical Development Agency, which is executing the program, will shortly invite initial interest from defense firms for developing a

India’s iPhone exports to the U.S. soared an estimated 76%. But Trump, Beijing won’t make further growth easy

Shipments of iPhones from India to the U.S. rose 76% in April year on year, estimates from a technology market analyst firm shows. The surge comes as Apple accelerates its “made in India” plans, which analysts say will meet pushback from President Donald Trump and Beijing.The data from Canalys, now part of Omdia, showed that U.S. iPhones shipped from India in April reached roughly 3,000,000.

The West is recycling rare earths to escape China’s grip — but it’s not enough

As China tightens its grip on the global supply of key minerals, the West is working to reduce its dependence on Chinese rare earth. This includes finding alternative sources of rare earth minerals, developing technologies to reduce reliance, and recovering existing stockpiles through recycling products that are reaching the end of their shelf life.“You cannot build a modern car without rare

ASEAN opens summit with Persian Gulf nations and China as US threatens tariffs

A regional association of Southeast Asian nations held a summit Tuesday with China and six Persian Gulf countries in efforts to expand economic engagement and bolster resilience amid global trade volatility due to U.S. tariff hikes. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in his opening remarks, said the inaugural summit in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur would open up a new chapter of

China stages first-ever humanoid robot kickboxing match

In a clash of metal, might and artificial intelligence, Unitree Robotics’ humanoid robots threw punches and kicks in the world’s first kickboxing fight of its kind in China. The China Media Group (CMG) World Robot Competition – Mecha Fighting Series, the first-ever humanoid robot fighting tournament, kicked off in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on May 25.  State-owned Chinese Central

Peng Zhou: Chinese research not taken as seriously as papers from elsewhere

My new research suggests there is a stubborn pattern in academic publishing. My co-author and I examined some 8,000 articles published in the world’s most reputable economics journals to study citations, which are where academics cite previously published research in their papers. We found that papers whose lead authors had Chinese surnames received on average 14% fewer citations than comparable

The case for a stronger Chinese yuan

The uptick in the yuan since Chinese and US trade officials met in Geneva has traders wondering if a currency agreement was struck behind the scenes. Only Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and their aides know for sure. But the yuan’s recent appreciation flies in the face of an economy experiencing a property crisis fueling deflation and a central bank in

Taiwan president William Lai calls for EU economic agreement

President William Lai yesterday called on the European Parliament to support the signing of an economic partnership agreement (EPA) between Taiwan and the EU, citing the potential for enhanced economic security. An EPA would “not only yield mutually beneficial win-win developments, but also consolidate economic security and boost international competitiveness on both sides,” Lai said during a

Vingroup tests the line of Vietnam’s new capitalism

On May 11, 2025, Vietnamese media widely reported that Vingroup, one of the nation’s most powerful private conglomerates, offered to take full control of the North–South high-speed railway project. However, less than 24 hours later, the headlines suddenly vanished as articles disappeared online, links went dead and state-controlled media fell silent. The cause behind the censorship: the full