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For decades, the US security umbrella was the bedrock underpinning the Gulf states’ prosperity and stability. Today, Iranian missiles and drones have paralysed the Strait of Hormuz and hit civilian airports, ports, hotels and refineries across every Gulf country, despite thousands of American troops and advanced interceptors on the ground. The armed conflict has forced the region to confront a stark new reality. A Chinese scholar argued that the US-Israel war on Iran and ensuing Hormuz crisis...

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China’s central bank named the continued stability of the country’s capital markets as a priority for 2026, a goal taking on greater significance as global markets are tested by the reverberations of the escalating US-Israel war on Iran. The People’s Bank of China designated the stability of stock, bond and foreign exchange markets as one of its “major tasks” for the year, according to a readout from a high-level meeting hosted by bank governor Pan Gongsheng on Wednesday. The bank also vowed to...

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A former top-ranking scientist in the Chinese military and one-time nuclear test site commander, Liu Guozhi, has been removed from the website of the country’s top national research institute. In 2016, Liu was named head of the science and technology commission of the Central Military Commission – China’s top military decision-making and command body – a position he is believed to have held until the early 2020s. Liu, 65, was elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 2009. Some Chinese...

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The US military strike against Iran is, by most accounts, a war of choice. Most policy analysts believe Iran poses no imminent threat to the United States. President Donald Trump’s decision appears partly intended to offset the political fallout from setbacks in his tariff policies and reinforce his image as a strongman president. Trump is believed to have been encouraged by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to wage war. US military preparations for the operation appear limited and there...

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China has pledged to work with Southeast Asian countries on energy security as the war in the Middle East continued to take its toll on global oil and gas supplies. “China stands ready to strengthen cooperation and coordination with Southeast Asian countries and jointly address energy security issues,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular press conference on Thursday. Lin also called for an end to the conflict, saying: “Relevant countries need to stop military operations at...

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China and Japan’s long-standing rivalry has deep historic roots, and relations between the two have taken a significant turn for the worse in recent months. This article, the third in a three-part series, looks at how US President Donald Trump, Taiwan and war in the Middle East factor into their relationship. Read the second part here. As Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to host regional leaders for the Apec summit later this year, observers are closely watching whether the summit could...

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With the US-Israel war on Iran entering its third week, the world faces the risk of a more severe oil shock as military strikes expand to major energy infrastructure, heightening fears of a prolonged conflict. In this explainer, the South China Morning Post examines the latest developments and factors driving oil price volatility and assesses the potential impact on the global economy. Energy infrastructure: what is the latest? An Israeli air strike hit energy facilities on Wednesday at Iran’s...

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A recession mindset took hold among global investors after strikes on energy infrastructure in the Middle East heightened fears that disruption to production and distribution would keep oil prices elevated for longer, darkening the global economic outlook. Crude prices staged a comeback on Thursday after Iran attacked a liquefied petroleum gas site in Qatar in retaliation for Israel’s strikes on its South Pars gas field. Brent futures surged 5.5 per cent to US$113.53 a barrel in London, and...

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Shanghai certified 30 new regional headquarters of multinational corporations and 15 research and development centres funded by overseas entities on Wednesday – a sign of continued interest in the Chinese financial hub despite an overall decline in the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI). Of the companies whose headquarters and R&D centres were certified this week in a ceremony hosted by the city’s mayor, Gong Zheng, eight are on the Fortune 500 list, according to a statement from the...

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Recent mishaps involving the USS Gerald R. Ford suggest America’s military is overstretched and its industrial base has been weakened, according to Chinese analysts. The warship – the world’s most advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier – has been supporting the US operation against Iran in the Red Sea. But US media reported this week that it would head to Greece for repairs after a 30-hour fire last Thursday destroyed more than 600 sailors’ berths. That followed reports in January of plumbing...

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Beijing has accused Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te of “glorifying Japanese colonial rule” in a recent speech. The People’s Liberation Army also stepped up the number of sorties by aircraft around the island after Lai made the comments on Saturday at an event to mark the 30th anniversary of Taiwan’s first direct elections. Lai, from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, told the event that the early days of Kuomintang (KMT) rule over Taiwan under Chiang Kai-shek were...

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GLP, a global operator and investor in logistics, digital infrastructure, renewable energy and finance, is deepening its commitment to China’s growth, projecting as much as a 50 per cent rise in logistics rental rates, supported by stronger domestic consumption and wider adoption of alternative energies. Angela Zhao, CEO of GLP China, said the country’s 15th five-year development plan for 2026 to 2030 would further cement the company’s role as a global thematic investor in “new economy”...

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As the war in Iran rages and the consequences of the shock to commodity markets become clearer, the vulnerability of Asia’s economies tops the list of concerns in the research reports of investment banks. The region’s reliance on energy imports from the Gulf has come under scrutiny. The facts speak for themselves. Three-quarters of the oil supplies that passed through the Strait of Hormuz before Iran effectively closed the waterway were destined for China, India, Japan and South Korea. While...

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China’s urban youth unemployment rate fell in February for the sixth consecutive month, though the marginal improvement provides little reprieve for jobseekers in a challenging post-holiday labour market. The jobless rate for the 16-to-24 age group, excluding students, edged down to 16.1 per cent in February from 16.3 per cent in January, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. The figure has been gradually declining since August, when a record 12.2 million...

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Chinese authorities have renewed their push for stricter oversight of the electric vehicle (EV) market, urging carmakers to move away from aggressive discounting and focus instead on technological innovation. The directive comes as domestic manufacturers struggle with cooling demand and the phasing out of long-standing government subsidies. At a high-level meeting on March 17, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission and the State...

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Zhang Jinshui, a pioneering scientist in remote sensing who led major R&D programmes in China and was instrumental in enhancing the country’s food security with satellite technologies, has died at the age of 47. Zhang, a professor and doctoral supervisor in the faculty of geographical science at Beijing Normal University, died in Beijing on March 9 following “unsuccessful medical treatment”, according to multiple mainland media reports. Last Wednesday the research institute where he had been...

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The United Nations has warned the conflict in the Middle East is sending shock waves from the fertiliser industry to food prices, as countries across the northern hemisphere – including China – enter their spring planting seasons. If the conflict lasts longer than three months, the impact would become “significantly more serious”, affecting input costs in agriculture and disrupting the next planting season with longer-term consequences, chief economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of...

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Timing is everything in modern warfare, where even a nanosecond’s delay can make the difference between hitting or missing a target in a coordinated drone or missile attack. China may now have taken a major step forward in this field with the mass production of the world’s smallest atomic clock – something the researchers behind it say could transform drone warfare, underwater navigation and battlefield communication. Developed by a research team led by Professor Chen Jiehua from Wuhan...

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China’s recent changes to the rules governing its global payment system could pave the way for turning it into a genuine alternative to Western networks, according to a new report. Beijing now appears to be moving towards building the Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) into a global platform compliant with multicurrency settlements and other foreign payment channels, said the study led by Ju Jiandong, a chair professor at Tsinghua University’s PBC School of Finance. Beijing recently...

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The People’s Liberation Army has announced a new AI-assisted task dispatch system for China’s aerial refuelling tankers, days after a US military tanker crashed in the Middle East. According to the official PLA Daily, the Chinese air force has streamlined its aerial refuelling operations with a smart artificial intelligence (AI) system to improve efficiency and safety. The report on Monday came just days after a US Air Force Boeing KC-135 “Stratotanker” aerial refuelling tanker crashed in...

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Chinese toymaker Pop Mart and Sony Pictures Entertainment announced on Thursday a feature film starring Labubu, the company’s most popular character. Analysts said the film was a strategic move to extend Labubu’s intellectual property (IP) value and support medium-term growth, following the trajectory of global icons like Barbie and Hello Kitty. The film, still in early development, would be a mix of live action and computer-generated imagery, Pop Mart said in a statement. Lung Ka-sing, the...

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China and Japan’s long-standing rivalry has deep historic roots, and relations between the two have taken a significant turn for the worse in recent months. This, the second in a three-part series, looks at whether Beijing overplayed its hand on the Taiwan issue in the face of what is a ‘strategic reality’ for Japan and how it may leverage its history of Japanese aggression. Find the first part here. More than four months into the bitter chill that has settled over China-Japan relations, the...

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Beijing’s global pharmaceutical push is following a playbook seen in rare earths, semiconductors and electric vehicles, US lawmakers said on Wednesday, as concerns grow over the United States’ reliance on Chinese drug ingredients. “China is cornering the market on our medicines – from the supply of generic drugs that Americans depend on every day, to the cutting-edge biotech pipeline that will determine who leads medicine in the years and decades ahead,” said John Moolenaar, the chair of the...

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China does ⁠not currently plan to attack ⁠Taiwan in 2027 and seeks to ⁠control the island without the use of force, the US intelligence community said on Wednesday, striking a measured tone on one of the world’s biggest potential flashpoints. The assessment in the intelligence agencies’ annual report on global threats comes as Beijing has stepped up ‌pressure on Taiwan with frequent military drills, even as US President Donald Trump has played down the risk of Chinese military action while he is...

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