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“Some of his ideas really are the same ideas that I have,” US President Donald Trump declared while hosting New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the Oval Office. “I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help him do a great job,” he added, marking a dramatic turnabout after months of attacking Mamdani as a “communist lunatic” endangering Trump’s beloved city. In another reversal, Trump also cleared the release of the Epstein files after months of stiff resistance in the face of growing...

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China’s finance minister has called for a more proactive fiscal policy to boost domestic demand, strengthen industrial security and advance technological self-reliance while mitigating debt risks, as Beijing prepares for one of its most important economic planning meetings of the year. Finance Minister Lan Foan outlined the country’s top fiscal priorities on Tuesday in an editorial published in the People’s Daily, the ruling Communist Party’s flagship newspaper. He stressed the need to support...

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The idea of launching a large-scale emergency rescue mission in space – involving thousands of engineers, scientists and government personnel in a matter of days – has been the stuff of movies. Films have dramatised such events as clock-ticking scenarios but in reality, even the most seasoned spacefaring nations have needed months to respond to in-orbit crises. China has revealed details of its emergency involving the damaged Shenzhou-20’s return capsule in November and how it pulled off its...

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China is stepping up its chip self-sufficiency push by combining relatively mature chips with new computing architectures in an effort to approach Nvidia’s performance levels, according to a top industry expert. Logic chips made with a 14-nanometre process, which are generally seen as trailing cutting-edge AI processors, could reach a performance comparable with Nvidia’s 4nm products if they were integrated with high-performance memory and an innovative computing architecture, said Wei Shaojun,...

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China will use new technology, especially artificial intelligence, to guard against Western influence and reinforce its own ideology, according to state media. At a study session of the Politburo, the Communist Party’s top decision-making body, on Friday, President Xi Jinping said new technologies such as AI and big data posed challenges to cyberspace governance but they also presented opportunities. According to state news agency Xinhua, Xi called for efforts to develop new information...

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Taiwan’s opposition lawmakers on Tuesday blocked a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) special defence budget from being placed on the agenda for review this week. The suspension prompted angry protests from the ruling independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), injecting fresh uncertainty into Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te’s ambitious military modernisation plan. The legislature’s procedure committee voted down Lai’s government’s request to schedule the bill for a...

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China’s People’s Liberation Army has shown off a “real steel” style military robot that mimicked a soldier’s combat moves in real time to defence representatives from 13 countries. Capturing every attack manoeuvre of a person wearing a lightweight motion-sensing device, the motion-controlled robot could precisely match moves with the help of artificial intelligence, according to the Chinese ministry newspaper Science and Technology Daily on November 28. It is a feat that could have come straight...

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German companies are accelerating efforts to partner with Chinese rivals, conceding in fresh survey results that the local competitors appear poised to seize the lead in global innovation. While business sentiment among surveyed German firms in China has seen a slight uptick, optimism has been tempered by fierce price competition and a nationalist “Buy China” push, according to findings from the German Chamber of Commerce’s 2025/26 Business Confidence Survey. About 56 per cent of surveyed firms...

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More than 1,900 flights from China to Japan scheduled for this month have now been cancelled, according to state media reports and travel experts, as a political dispute between the two nations over Taiwan grinds on. The figure represented more than 40 per cent of the flights from mainland China to Japan scheduled for December, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Monday, citing data from online platforms. Li Hanming, an independent air travel analyst, said his research indicated that...

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A diplomatic clash between China and Japan over recent remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is heating up at the United Nations. Chinese ambassador Fu Cong has sent a second letter to Secretary General Antonio Guterres, describing Takaichi’s comments over Taiwan as the “greatest challenge” to bilateral ties and urging Tokyo to retract them. Fu’s message was issued in response to his Japanese counterpart, Kazuyuki Yamazaki, who last week accused Beijing of “stifling” bilateral engagement and...

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As China’s traditional spirits and premium wines grapple with declining consumption, a significant shift is under way across the beverage landscape. This three-part series examines the challenges faced by Maotai town as its once-coveted baijiu liquor loses its lustre, the impact of economic shutdowns on European wine imports, and the rise of craft beer as a budget-friendly alternative for consumers seeking quality without breaking the bank. Despite the sweltering heat, the pavement outside a new...

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Chinese and Japanese coastguard vessels have been involved in a stand-off near the disputed Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. The two sides gave conflicting accounts of Tuesday’s incident, with the Chinese coastguards saying they had driven a Japanese fishing boat away from the islands, which are known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan. Liu Dejun, a spokesman for the coastguard, said the Chinese vessels took “necessary control measures” and issued warnings to the boat. “The Diaoyu Islands and...

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Chinese drug maker 3SBio plans to raise HK$3.12 billion (US$401 million) by selling a 4.14 per cent stake in the company to fund clinical research in China and the US and expand the global reach of its drug portfolio. The Shenyang-based biopharmaceutical firm has agreed to sell 105.1 million new shares at HK$29.62 each. The placing price represents a 6.5 per cent discount compared with Monday’s closing price of HK$31.68, according to its filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday. The...

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The PLA’s new “drone carrier”, a key asset for potential amphibious operations against Taiwan, appears to have conducted its second sea trial, marking quick progress towards deployment amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Tokyo over the island. A large vessel departed from the Hudong–Zhonghua shipyard on Friday, according to a navigation warning issued a day earlier by the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration. The notice did not identify the vessel, but it is believed to be the...

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Northern regions across China are introducing “snow breaks” this winter as part of broader efforts to stimulate domestic tourism and spending amid deflationary pressures. Northeastern Jilin province is the latest to announce the initiative, with plans to give primary and secondary school pupils a short holiday from Wednesday to Sunday. The additional days off will not shorten the traditional winter and summer holidays, the local government said. Government agencies, enterprises and public...

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The United States may have played a “critical” role in shaping the situation that led to the brief but bloody border war between China and India in 1962, an academic study has argued. The Asian neighbours have been working to improve relations in recent months, following a deadly clash in 2020. But the sensitivity of the border issue – one of the most intractable disputes between the two countries – can be traced back to the 1962 conflict, which left a profound fault line. However, a...

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Some of China’s affluent middle class is unwinding bets on Japan, cashing out in real estate and shelving migration plans as a diplomatic stand-off invites a wait-and-see mood on the once-hot destination for capital and talent. The reversal follows escalating tensions sparked by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan last month. Intermediaries report a surge in profit-taking on property and rising pessimism over immigration, with the chill extending to business visits and...

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Brazil’s central bank president, Gabriel Galipolo, said on Monday that China is exporting “disinflation or even deflation” to Brazil through a surge in low-cost imports, easing inflation. Speaking at an economics forum in São Paulo, Galipolo said Brazilian imports from China have grown while their prices have fallen, easing inflation in the short term but reflecting deeper imbalances in global trade. “It is, in a sense, offsetting an impact that would otherwise be even greater, both for the...

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The European Union has formally terminated a long-running dispute with China at the World Trade Organization, centred on Beijing’s alleged coercion of Lithuania in 2021. In a statement circulated to WTO members, the bloc said it was abandoning the case “considering the key objectives behind this dispute have been met and relevant trade has resumed”. The case arose after Lithuania permitted the opening of a controversially named “Taiwanese Representative Office” in its capital, Vilnius. Soon...

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Tokyo is considering exporting a missile system to the Philippines as it seeks to ease its weapons-export restrictions, Japanese media reported – a move likely to draw criticism from Beijing. The missile system, dubbed Type 03 Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile, is of the same type that Tokyo plans to deploy on Yonaguni, an island only 110 kilometres (68 miles) away from Taiwan. Beijing has blasted the deployment on Yonaguni as “extremely dangerous”. Kyodo News reported on Sunday that Japan has...

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We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.

1. Bankruptcies, suicides: US farmers detail cost of trade tensions High fuel costs, rising interest rates, falling crop prices and depressed Chinese demand amid geopolitical tensions had already eroded farm profits during the previous Joe Biden administration. Then came a seismic shift in US...

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Much research on cancer prevalence has focused on genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. But a new study by Argentine researchers offers a novel evolutionary perspective: the social structure of mammals may play a critical role in cancer risk. The new angle has been proposed by researchers from the cancer philosophy and biology systems group at the University of Buenos Aires, led by Professor Matías Blaustein. Their study, published on November 12 in the journal Science Advances, suggests...

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Abiding by international law is the only path to peace and sustainable development at sea, China’s foreign vice-minister Hua Chunying said on Monday in a veiled swipe at the US over its unilateral exploitation of seabed minerals. “The oceans are not calm. Certain countries have resorted to the unlawful use of force at sea under various pretexts, posing a serious threat to regional peace and security,” Hua said on Monday. She was delivering opening remarks at a forum in Beijing focused on...

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China’s most effective tool to revive consumption may be the simplest: a one-off distribution of 3,000 yuan (US$424) per person – funded by special sovereign bonds and valid for one year – could immediately lift demand, boost gross domestic product growth and help break the deflationary cycle that has taken hold since 2022. This proposal comes as China prepares to announce its 15th five-year plan, with policymakers expected to target around 5 per cent growth amid a sluggish post-pandemic...

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Taiwan has played down concerns that St Vincent and the Grenadines might switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing, insisting ties with its Caribbean ally remain stable despite a change of government in Kingstown. The reassurance follows last week’s victory by the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), with its leader Godwin Friday succeeding long-time Taipei supporter Ralph Gonsalves as prime minister. Friday did not publicly commit during the campaign to changing recognition from Taipei to...

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