Beijing urges Washington to adhere to previously reached consensuses and considers President Donald Trump’s threats of new tariffs a mistake, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said.
“China urges the United States to immediately reconsider its mistaken actions, adhere to the important consensuses reached during telephone conversations between the two heads of state, safeguard the hard-won results of consultations, and continue to use the mechanism of China–US trade and economic consultations,” the statement published on the ministry’s website said.
Beijing emphasized that it stands for resolving differences through dialogue, and if Washington insists “on the wrong path,” China will take measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests.
“Deliberate threats of high tariffs are the wrong way to build relations with China,” the ministry stressed. The agency also noted that US statements about possible new tariffs are an example of double standards.
On Saturday night, Trump announced that he intends, starting November 1, “or maybe even earlier,” to impose additional 100% tariffs on goods imported from China.
“Starting November 1, or perhaps earlier, depending on China’s actions, the United States will impose 100% tariffs in addition to the existing ones. In addition, starting November 1, we will implement export control measures for any vital software,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump explained that he made this decision because China “declared that starting November 1 it would implement serious export control measures on almost all products manufactured in the PRC.” “This will affect all countries and is clearly a plan that China has been preparing for years,” the US president said.
Top countries whose citizens become entrepreneurs in Ukraine
Over 1.6 thousand sole proprietorships were opened by foreigners in Ukraine in the first 9 months of 2025, according to the Unified State Register. This is almost 10% less than during the same period last year. At the same time, the net increase between openings and closures this year amounted to 490 non-resident entrepreneurs. Most often, citizens of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Uzbekistan become entrepreneurs in Ukraine.
Foreigners registered 1,648 sole proprietorships this year in Ukraine, which is 10% less than in the same period last year. Overall, only 0.7% of all new entrepreneurs this year are non-residents of Ukraine.
At the same time, 1,158 foreign sole proprietors ceased their activities during the same period. The net growth amounted to 490 non-resident entrepreneurs. In total, more than 213 thousand entrepreneurs closed down in Ukraine during this period, with foreigners making up only 0.5%.
Unlike Ukrainians, most foreign entrepreneurs are men: 69% versus 31% women.
It is worth noting that non-resident entrepreneurs are quite resilient: the median operating time of such a business in Ukraine is 3.1 years. The record holder was a woman with Russian citizenship whose business operated for 30 years and closed at the beginning of this year. For comparison, Ukrainian sole proprietorships last slightly less — 2.5 years.
“Opening sole proprietorships by foreigners is an absolutely normal and legal practice. People who have a temporary or permanent residence permit in Ukraine obtain a tax identification number (TIN), so they can officially run a business and pay taxes on par with Ukrainian citizens. As for citizens of the Russian Federation — they are no exception to this rule. Only those who legally reside in Ukraine can start their own business. In this case, the procedure does not differ from opening a sole proprietorship by any other non-resident,” notes Denys Popov, head of the legal department of Opendatabot, lawyer, and arbitration manager.
Most new entrepreneurs come from Azerbaijan — 229 (14%), followed by citizens of the Russian Federation — 222 (14%), Uzbekistan — 160 (10%), Moldova — 125 (8%), and Armenia — 95 (6%).
The highest number of business closures were among citizens of Russia — 241 (21%), Azerbaijan — 157 (14%), Moldova — 102 (9%), Uzbekistan — 91 (8%), and Belarus — 69 (6%).
The majority of foreigners choose the trade sector — nearly every third business. Other popular sectors include food service (14%), wholesale trade (9%), computer programming (6%), and information services (4%).
Most closures also occur in these sectors: retail trade (37%), computer programming (10%), and food service (9%).
Every third foreign entrepreneur starts their business in Kyiv: 544 in 2025. Next come Odesa region — 300 (18%), Kyiv region — 138 (8%), Kharkiv region — 104 (6%), and Lviv region — 83 (5%). The fewest foreign entrepreneurs are registered in Volyn, Chernihiv, Sumy, Donetsk, and Kherson regions — from 2 to 17.
Foreigners mostly close their businesses in the same regions: Kyiv — 297 (26%), Odesa (17%), Kharkiv (9%), Kyiv region (8%), and Dnipropetrovsk (5%).
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/fops-foreigners-2025
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/fops-foreigners-2025
The mining and metallurgical group Metinvest plans to invest $293 million in its assets this year, while last year the total amount of investments, including joint ventures, amounted to $251 million, about 90% of which went to the development of Ukrainian enterprises. According to dsnews.ua’s article “Top 10 Successful Investor Companies in Ukraine,” Metinvest entered the top ten leading investors in Ukraine: $90 million in the first half of 2025. These investments were directed mainly at supporting technologies, maintaining production volumes, and ensuring labor safety.
As before, the funds are concentrated on critical areas: the mining segment, to ensure the production cycle, and the energy sector, to minimize blackout risks.
Despite the proximity of the front line, Metinvest continues large-scale repair and modernization works at its enterprises. In the first half of 2025, investments in repairs and equipment amounted to $28.8 million at Kametstal, $6.4 million at Zaporizhstal, $19 million at Northern GOK, and $3 million at Central GOK. The group focuses particularly on Kametstal and the mining and beneficiation plants.
At Kametstal, the first overhaul of Blast Furnace No. 9 since the start of the full-scale invasion was completed for $16 million, and equipment of one of the converters was restored. At Southern GOK, a new vacuum pump production station No. 4 is being built with a planned capacity of over 100,000 tons of concentrate per month.
A priority is the construction of a tailings thickening plant at Northern GOK. The relevant equipment will be purchased from the Finnish industrial manufacturer Metso Finland, for which Metinvest opened a credit line of EUR 23.6 million at Deutsche Bank.
The group is taking up the challenge of “greening” production processes, particularly within the EU’s environmental policy framework. From 2026, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) should come into full effect, obliging importers to buy certificates compensating for emissions contained in goods imported to the EU. The EU may postpone CBAM for Ukraine due to the war.
At Northern GOK, one of the LURGI 552 roasting machines is being redesigned to produce improved pellets that meet EU green metallurgy requirements. Capital investments at Kametstal also support the green transition. Overall, the group estimates the green modernization of its assets at about $8 billion.
The group pays special attention to energy security. Between 2022 and 2024, it spent UAH 159.4 million on 242 diesel generators with a total capacity of 22.9 MW. Another UAH 240 million was allocated to modernize and maintain steam generation with a nominal capacity of 89 MW. At Kametstal, maneuverable gas generation has started in pilot mode.
Metinvest has major plans for developing its own generation: gas piston generators at Northern, Central GOKs and Kametstal (29 MW, $26 million), as well as solar power plants at Central GOK (23.8 MW) and Kametstal (13.3 MW) worth $18.1 million in 2025–2026.
Another important direction is investment in artificial intelligence technologies. Metinvest Digital, the group’s IT company, is responsible for R&D. Its solutions are quickly implemented in production. The AI tool ForgeCheck helps control product quality at Zaporizhstal by detecting slab defects, reducing complaints and saving electricity.
Another system, the SPAIS platform, integrates into industrial video surveillance to monitor safety compliance, helping reduce workplace violations.
According to Metinvest B.V.’s report, in the first half of 2025, capital investments decreased by 28% to $91 million compared to $127 million a year earlier. $52 million was invested in metallurgy and $38 million in mining. 79% of expenses went to maintenance (90% in the first half of 2024), the rest to strategic projects.
In 2024, capital investments decreased by 17% to $235 million from $284 million in 2023. $81 million was invested in metallurgy and $146 million in mining.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical companies. Its enterprises are located in Ukraine — in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions — as well as in European countries. The main shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage it. Metinvest Holding LLC is the group’s management company.
The state enterprise “Medical Procurement of Ukraine” (MPU) purchased two sets of equipment for the production of radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosing cancer at early stages, for the creation of nuclear medicine centers, from the company LLC “Protek Solutions Ukraine” for UAH 445 million.
According to the MPU press release, five suppliers took part in the auction, and the winner, LLC “Protek Solutions Ukraine,” offered a price 31.5% lower than expected.
Delivery of the equipment is scheduled for July 2027, taking into account the production time of the main component of this equipment set — cyclotrons — which exceeds one year.
The nuclear medicine centers are planned to be built in two cities — in Kyiv, based at the National Cancer Institute, and in Lviv, based at the Lviv Regional Oncological Diagnostic and Treatment Center.
The procurement was financed by the European Union through the Ukraine Facility instrument.
One set of equipment for creating a nuclear medicine center consists of 46 items. The main element is a cyclotron — a particle accelerator that directs a beam of energy onto special materials or capsules (targets) to obtain radioactive isotopes.
The nuclear medicine center also includes the setup of a radiochemical laboratory for the production of radiopharmaceuticals, which are made using the radioactive isotopes “extracted” by the cyclotron.
Mostly, a radioactive isotope of fluorine is used for this purpose, embedding it into a glucose molecule since glucose is the main source of energy for cells. At the same time, tumor cells consume more glucose than normal ones because they grow and divide faster.
After such a radiopharmaceutical is injected into a patient’s body, it accumulates in cancerous tissues and “highlights” these areas during scanning with a positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET-CT). Such diagnostics help detect cancer at early stages and ensure timely treatment.
The half-life of a fluorine-based radiopharmaceutical is about 110 minutes — an extremely short time, making long-distance transportation impossible. That is why hospitals establish nuclear medicine centers that allow the production of radiopharmaceuticals directly near the PET-CT diagnostic room.
The MPU notes that in developed countries, there are 1–3 PET-CT scanners per million inhabitants, while in Ukraine there are only five such machines providing positron emission tomography services under the Medical Guarantees Program (MGP), with only two nuclear medicine centers equipped with cyclotrons for radiopharmaceutical production.
According to the National Cancer Registry, on average 80% of cancer cases in Ukraine are diagnosed at late stages (III–IV), with poorer recovery forecasts. At the same time, oncologists note that if cancer is diagnosed at stage I, it can be cured in 90–100% of cases, at stage II — in 70–80%, and at stage III — in 30–35%.
Passenger traffic across the Ukrainian border in the sixth week of autumn, from October 4 to 10, decreased by 8.2% to 515,000, according to data from the State Border Guard Service.
According to it, the number of arrivals to Ukraine during the week decreased from 278,000 to 253,000, while the number of departures fell from 283,000 to 262,000.
The number of vehicles passing through border checkpoints also decreased to 129,000 from 137,000, while the flow of vehicles carrying humanitarian cargo increased from 481 to 501.
As of 9:00 a.m. this Saturday, according to the State Border Guard Service, the largest queue on the border with Poland consisted of 45 cars at the Shehyni checkpoint, with another 35 cars waiting at Krakivets, 25 at Ustyluh, and 10 at Hrushiv.
On the border with Hungary, small queues of 10 cars were observed at the Tysa, Vylok, and Luzhanka crossings, with another 5 cars waiting at Kosyno, while on the border with Slovakia there was a queue only at the Uzhhorod checkpoint — 11 cars.
Finally, on the border with Romania, 15 cars accumulated at the Porubne checkpoint, while there were no queues at all other points, nor on the border with Moldova.
The total number of border crossings this week was, for the first time in a long while, lower than last year’s (by 1.3%), because last year during the same week pilgrims were leaving after celebrating Rosh Hashanah. Therefore, the number of those leaving the country was significantly higher than those entering — 272,000 versus 250,000 respectively. However, vehicle flow was lower then — 124,000.
Last year, passenger traffic remained at about this level until a slight increase during the autumn school holidays, after which it fell by about 20% before the Christmas and New Year holidays.
As reported, since May 10, 2022, the outflow of refugees from Ukraine that began with the start of the war was replaced by an inflow that lasted until September 23, 2022, totaling 409,000 people. However, since late September, possibly under the influence of news about mobilization in Russia and “pseudo-referendums” in occupied territories, and later massive shelling of energy infrastructure, the number of people leaving began to exceed those entering. From late September 2022 to the first anniversary of the full-scale war, this surplus reached 223,000 people.
During the second year of the full-scale war, the number of border crossings leaving Ukraine exceeded entries by 25,000, in the third year by 187,000, and since the beginning of the fourth year by 189,000.
As Serhiy Soboliev, then Deputy Minister of Economy, noted in early March 2023, the return of every 100,000 Ukrainians home adds 0.5% to GDP growth.
In its July inflation report, the National Bank worsened its migration forecast: while in April it expected a net inflow to Ukraine of 0.2 million people in 2026, it now forecasts a net outflow of 0.2 million, matching this year’s estimate. “Net return will begin only in 2027 (about 0.1 million people, compared to 0.5 million in the previous forecast),” the NBU added. In absolute terms, the NBU estimates the number of migrants currently abroad at about 5.8 million.
According to updated UNHCR data, the number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe as of October 3, 2025, was estimated at 5.192 million (5.138 million as of September 2), and worldwide at 5.753 million (5.696 million).
Within Ukraine itself, according to the latest UN data from July this year, there were 3.340 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), compared to 3.757 million in April.
In January-September 2025, Ukrainian enterprises increased exports of ferrous metal scrap by 54.1% compared to the same period last year, from 202,421 thousand tons to 311,840 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), 28,785 thousand tons were exported in September, 34,713 thousand tons in August, 44,842 thousand tons in July, and a record 47, 691 thousand tons, in May – 28.6 thousand tons, in April – 46.321 thousand tons, in March – 39.908 thousand tons, in February – 25.284 thousand tons, and in January – 15.696 thousand tons of scrap metal.
In monetary terms, scrap exports in January-September increased by 44.6% to $93.571 million from $64.703 million.
During this period, scrap exports were formally carried out mainly to Poland (81.95% of shipments in monetary terms), Greece (5.92%), and Italy (4.50%).
In the first nine months of this year, Ukraine imported 34 tons of scrap worth $13,000 from Poland (53.85%), the Seychelles (30.77%), and the British Virgin Islands (7.69%).
As reported, due to the sharp increase in exports of strategic raw materials from Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture initiated the introduction of a licensing and quota regime for scrap exports with a zero quota. A public discussion of the draft resolution is currently underway. Its implementation is expected to contribute to the smooth operation of Ukraine’s metallurgical and foundry industries, as well as to stabilize the situation with regard to meeting the demand for scrap on the domestic market of Ukraine.
In 2024, Ukraine’s scrap collection companies increased their exports of ferrous metal scrap by 60.7% compared to 2023, from 182,465 thousand tons to 293,190 thousand tons. In monetary terms, scrap exports for the year increased by 73.2% to $91.311 million from $52.723 million.
