The Trump administration has lifted export license requirements for chip design software sales in China, implementing a trade deal to ease some restrictions on essential technologies. Three leading semiconductor software providers — Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems and Germany’s Siemens — were told by the Commerce Department that they no longer need to seek licenses for business in China. Under the agreement finalized last week, Washington allowed China-bound shipments of EDA software, a key tool for the semiconductor industry, as well as ethane and jet engines, provided Beijing honors its pledge to speed export approvals for critical minerals.

While Beijing and Washington may be upholding their truce for now, China is also wary about what’s happening elsewhere: US efforts to forge deals that could isolate them from global supply chains. The US is pushing major trading partners in Asia and Europe for commitments to counter what Washington sees as China’s unfair trade practices. President Donald Trump’s tariff agreement with Vietnam is an example, placing higher levies on goods deemed to be “transshipping” — where components from China and other nations are routed through Vietnam or subject to minimal final assembly before being exported to the US. Bloomberg Economics said the deal risks provoking retaliatory steps from China. —Ritsuko Ando

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A senior Chinese official said he was “optimistic” about the future of his nation’s ties with the US, one of the most upbeat comments from Beijing in recent weeks about a relationship upended by Trump’s trade war. Both Chinese and Americans are hoping for a “friendly, good” relationship, and politicians are expected to heed the will of the people, Liu Jianchao, head of the Communist Party’s International Department, said. Liu said war between China and the US was “unimaginable,” while highlighting Taiwan and the South China Sea as possible flashpoints. 

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Rachel Reeves will stay on as Chancellor of the Exchequer, as he sought to draw a line under speculation about her future that sparked a bond selloff. Starmer’s comments to the BBC, in which he said Reeves would stay as chancellor “for many years to come,” triggered a market rebound, bolstering the pound. They had tumbled earlier Wednesday after a tearful appearance by Reeves in the House of Commons fueled rumors that she was about to leave her position. That came after Starmer performed a U-turn on his flagship welfare reforms following a rebellion by Labour lawmakers. Despite Reeves’ failure to get spending plans past the ruling party, many bond traders see her as their preferred chancellor because of her stance on restricting government borrowing. 

Reeves outside 11 Downing Street ahead of the presentation of the spending review in June.  Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

DeepSeek is stepping up its recruitment on LinkedIn, suggesting the Chinese AI startup may be looking to hire talent from outside the country. The Hangzhou-based company posted 10 positions on the networking platform over the last week, its first listings for several months. The jobs are based in Beijing and Hangzhou, and include three roles focused on artificial general intelligence, or AGI. DeepSeek’s rivals in the US like OpenAI and Meta Platforms have been racing to lure top AI talent in a quest to dominate the fast-developing technology. 

Thailand’s suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was sworn in as a cabinet minister, even as the Constitutional Court reviews her alleged misconduct. She was named Minister of Culture, a move that allows her to attend ministerial meetings. The court earlier this week suspended her authority following a controversial phone call between Paetongtarn and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, in which they discussed a simmering border dispute between the two countries. A leaked audio of the call triggered an uproar and led to speculation that smaller parties in the ruling bloc may explore new alliances, threatening the government’s stability and ability to pass key legislation. The renewed turbulence has also raised questions about the country’s economy. The SET Index is already the world’s worst-performing stock benchmark this year. 

Paetongtarn before being sworn in.  Photographer: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP

BlackRock is in talks about a possible sale of its stake in the leasing rights to Saudi Aramco’s natural-gas pipeline network back to the energy giant, according to sources. BlackRock’s stake in the assets, which it acquired in 2021, is likely to be worth billions of dollars. A consortium led by the firm had invested $15.5 billion to buy 49% of the entity that holds leasing rights over the pipelines — a deal hailed by Aramco as a demonstration of its ability to draw global investors. A decision to buy back at least a portion of the gas pipeline business would indicate Aramco sees value in increasing its stake in a business that’s vital to the kingdom’s energy infrastructure. It mirrors a move by Abu Dhabi, where asset manager Lunate bought back BlackRock and KKR & Co.’s 40% stake in Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s oil pipeline network last year. 

Japan government bond investors breathed a sigh of relief after a successful 30-year auction indicated that policymakers are managing to quell debt-market volatility. The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of market demand, was the strongest since February. “Not stellar, but good enough,” said Martin Whetton, head of financial markets strategy at Westpac Banking Corp. The auction came on the heels of a spike in 30-year yields in the UK and US. Such global trends, as well as Japan’s upper house election this month, are expected to keep investors on guard over the sustainability of the country’s debt. 

AirAsia is nearing an agreement to buy dozens more Airbus single-aisle aircraft, with a possible announcement during Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s state visit to France this week, according to people familiar with the matter. The Southeast Asian low-cost carrier has 240 mostly single-aisle aircraft in its fleet, and a backlog of more than 350 orders for the top-selling A320 family of jets. 

An Airbus aircraft operated by AirAsia in Kuala Lumpur. Photographer: Samsul Said/Bloomberg

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