As China returns from its May Day holidays, the official imagery of bustling tourist sites and busy shopping streets paints a picture of resilience and confidence. This year, however, it’s tinged with nationalist defiance as Beijing contends with President Donald Trump’s intensifying trade war. While patriotic sentiment may boost morale, it masks deeper economic challenges — namely, a slowing industrial sector, fragile domestic demand, and supply strains worsened by global trade disruptions.

Although Beijing has spent years trying to pivot its growth model toward consumption, household spending still isn’t the main engine of China’s $17 trillion economy. The May Day holiday typically provides a useful read on consumer sentiment, but this year’s data is uneven. There is some activity, particularly in retail and tourism, yet it lacks the momentum needed to counteract the drag from weakening exports, an uncertain global outlook, and the economic distortions introduced by new tariffs.

On Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) jointly issued a notice of intent aimed at supporting projects geared towards reducing methane emissions within the oil and gas sectors. The purpose of this notice is to provide potential applicants…

More than 50 global companies are actively pursuing lithium deals under Chile’s new public-private model for the sector. Traditionally, US-based Albemarle and Chile-based Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM) have dominated the Atacama salt flat, which accounts for 30% of global lithium production. The new model proposed by President Gabriel Boric involves the state having a controlling stake in strategic operations, while private firms retain control of non-strategic projects. The government also plans to negotiate with Albemarle and SQM for larger stakes in their existing contracts, overseen by state-owned copper producer Codelco.