China, US to Hold Trade Talks in South Korea Next Week

Investors are looking for further signs of easing tensions between President Donald Trump and his counterpart, Xi Jinping, to help remove an overhang on Chinese markets, with geopolitical and trade issues in focus. Expectations for a concrete deal between the world’s two largest economies remain low, though the meeting of the two leaders may calm trade tensions between their countries. Any such improvement, along with a potential easing of curbs on US tech exports to China, could boost Chinese exporters and Tech hardware makers.

A successful meeting between the two leaders on May 14-15 may provide an extra boost for Chinese equities, which have lagged their Asian peers even as regional markets rallied last month on easing concerns over the Iran war. Optimism over a stronger yuan is also building as the dollar has retreated. Any structural disagreements, on the other hand, could reignite volatility in local stocks. Senior Chinese and us officials will hold talks in South Korea next week, Beijing's Commerce Ministry said in a statement that Vice Premier He Lifeng, Beijing's top economic official, will attend "consultations on mutual economic and trade issues" on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Reference Sources

1. bloomberg - Stock Trader’s Guide to Navigating High Stakes Trump-Xi Talks
2. bangkokpost - World’s 2 most powerful men to meet again. What to know.
3. hongkongfp - What does China want out of Xi-Trump summit?
4. aawsat - China, US to Hold Trade Talks in South Korea Next Week

Intel to expand investment in Vietnam

Intel has announced plans to expand investment, support workforce training, and help develop the semiconductor Ecosystem in Vietnam.

The announcement was made during talks about Intel's new strategic orientations in Vietnam between Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui Hoang Phuong and Sarah Kemp, vice president of Intel's International government affairs.

Phuong praised Intel's contributions to Vietnam's electronics and semiconductor sectors and affirmed that the Ministry will continue to support Intel and enterprises in the supply chain in expanding high-tech investment in Vietnam.

Phuong proposed five priority areas of cooperation with Intel, including expanding investment, research and production activities, providing advisory support for the National centre for semiconductor chip pilot production, cooperating in the development of the first semiconductor chip manufacturing plant in Vietnam, strengthening semiconductor workforce training, and developing the semiconductor industry Ecosystem in Vietnam. Both sides expressed their commitment to deeper cooperation in the next stage of development, with the shared goal of making Vietnam a key link in the global semiconductor value chain.

Intel products Vietnam remains the largest assembly and test factory within Intel's worldwide operations, with total pledged investment capital reaching nearly us $4.12 billion as of the first quarter of 2026.

Reference Sources

1. thestarmy - Intel to expand investment in Vietnam

Microsoft’s African Data Center Falters on Payment Demands

A Microsoft data center site in East Africa has been delayed due to disagreements with the Kenyan government over the company's request for guaranteed payments.

Microsoft and its partner, Abu Dhabi-Based Tech conglomerate G42, had asked the Kenyan government to commit to paying for a certain amount of capacity annually.

When the government couldn't provide the guarantees at the level Microsoft requested, the talks broke down.

The group may ultimately decide to scale back the project.

The agreement struck in 2024 envisioned a $1 billion Geothermal-Powered project to dramatically increase cloud computing in the region.

The site is the centerpiece of a Microsoft commitment to help Kenya build out artificial intelligence, which includes job training and new software models.

The project would have dramatically increased the cloud computing capabilities of the region and served as a counter to Chinese companies' technological expansion across Africa. Talks for a 60 megawatt project with local developer Ecocloud are continuing, one of the people said.

Reference Sources

1. bloomberg - Microsoft’s African Data Center Falters on Payment Demands
2. thestarmy - Microsoft’s African data center falters on payment demands, Bloomberg News reports

The CommonWealth English daily news digest is a service curated by CommonWealth English team with the help of AI tools.  

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