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The profile of one of China’s top nuclear weapons scientists has been scrubbed from the website of the nation’s engineering brains trust. Zhao Xiangeng, 72, was a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), the nation’s highest academic body for engineering science and technology, but his profile page has disappeared from the CAE’s site. It is not known when the page was removed, but Chinese media reports noted the change on Saturday. Similar online references to other CAE academicians,...

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With the conclusion of China’s annual parliamentary “two sessions” meetings, emerging policy priorities suggest its relationship with the United States is entering a new technological era. This year’s government work report set an economic growth target of 4.5 to 5 per cent and announced increased fiscal support for science and technology, including a 10 per cent funding rise for research and development and over 16 per cent for basic research. More than routine budget adjustments, these figures...

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Chinese and Vietnamese personnel will carry out a joint naval patrol and training exercise in the Gulf of Tonkin this week, extending a practice that has continued despite long-standing competing maritime claims. The joint manoeuvres will take place as part of the China-Vietnam Border Defence Friendship Exchange, which will include medical and cultural exchange events, China’s defence ministry said on Sunday. They will be conducted in waters off China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and...

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Moonshot AI is seeking to raise as much as US$1 billion in an expanded funding round that would value the start-up at about US$18 billion, more than quadrupling its valuation in just three months and underscoring growing interest in Chinese artificial intelligence developers racing to rival Silicon Valley leaders. The company behind the Kimi chatbot kicked off discussions for the latest round, people familiar with the matter said, after securing more than US$700 million earlier this year, which...

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Chinese researchers have developed a wearable human-robot hybrid device that could transform soldiers into mighty “centaurs”, enabling them to push beyond their physical limits while walking and hauling loads in brutal environments. The People’s Liberation Army has already rolled out exoskeleton robot systems to boost soldiers’ stamina and mobility. But this new device, dubbed the “centaur robot”, promises to give an even greater extra push. The system, developed by a group at the Southern...

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TikTok’s ⁠Chinese parent, ByteDance, has put ⁠on hold the global ⁠launch of its latest video-generation model, Seedance 2.0, after copyright disputes with major Hollywood studios and streaming platforms, The Information reported on Saturday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the situation. Reuters could not ‌immediately verify the report. ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ByteDance said last month it would take steps to prevent the unauthorised use of...

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Ambassadors from the EU’s 27 member states will huddle in Brussels this week to thrash out a memorandum on critical minerals with the United States. Underpinning the debate will be a tension that girds many elements of the bloc’s dealings in 2026: capacity versus trust. Envoys will negotiate in the shadow of a new trade threat from US President Donald Trump, who last week shocked Brussels with a tariff investigation linked to overcapacity and forced labour of 60 economies, including China, the...

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Senior officials from China and the United States have started a new round of trade talks in Paris, as the two sides seek to pave the way for US President Donald Trump’s expected visit to Beijing later this month. The delegations – led by Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – arrived at the headquarters of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Sunday. Talks began at 10.05am local time, according to a source familiar with the...

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Central Asian governments are leveraging the diplomatic fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran to assert their autonomy and reinforce their long-standing strategy of balancing major powers, according to analysts. For decades, the five former Soviet republics have been seen as Russia’s “backyard”. However, as the conflict in Iran deepens, these nations are moving to recalibrate their geopolitical ties, signalling a shift away from their role as a passive buffer zone for great powers. The shift...

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Several years ago, prime ground-floor spaces in major shopping malls across Beijing and Shanghai’s business districts were commonly occupied by electric vehicle (EV) showrooms, with staff often escorting customers to car parks for test drives. Many of these stores have now closed amid sluggish EV sales – yet mall owners have not been left disappointed. Instead, a new retail landscape is emerging, filled with tenants who are proving to be even more effective at drawing crowds and boosting rental...

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Japan has deployed its domestically produced long-range missiles near the East China Sea – a move that could be interpreted by Beijing as crossing a “strategic threshold”, analysts said. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on Monday that the upgraded Type-12 surface-to-ship missiles would be deployed at Camp Kengun in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto by the end of this month. Army vehicles carrying the first batch of missile launchers were reportedly spotted...

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A budget bubble tea chain from China best known for its cheap ice creams and drinks may soon be adding roller coasters and immersive shows to its menu. Mixue, boasting more stores than McDonald’s and growing rapidly outside China, is planning to build a theme park at its headquarters in Zhengzhou, the capital of central China’s Henan province. The park will be based on its Snow King mascot, a singing snowman that has become one of Chinese retailing’s most recognisable intellectual properties...

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The increasing military use of drones has raised questions about the future role of helicopters as countries such as China and the United States increasingly pivot towards the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Traditionally, helicopters have been used for a wide range of functions ranging from transport to surveillance, but these functions are now increasingly being taken over by pilotless aircraft. Both the Chinese and US armed forces are increasingly building up their UAS fleets –...

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Washington’s redeployment of elements of its missile defence systems from South Korea to the Middle East could be read by China as a short-term capability gap in the region, analysts said. They said the move also underlined US flexibility to move its assets across theatres of operation. A Washington Post report on Tuesday citing two unnamed US government officials said that the United States had been moving parts of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system stationed in...

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Chinese researchers have proposed a semi-humanoid robot mounted on a wheeled platform as part of key infrastructure for the country’s lunar research station slated to take shape by 2035. Combining mobility with humanlike dexterity, the robot is designed to move across the lunar surface while carrying out delicate operations, from construction and maintenance to scientific experiments, sampling and analysis, according to researchers from the Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering. Its...

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China’s national flag carrier is set to run direct passenger flights to North Korea for the first time in six years later this month, the latest sign of warming ties between the two neighbours. The official app of Air China, one of the country’s largest state-owned airlines, shows bookings have opened for direct flights between Beijing and Pyongyang starting on March 30. The service appears to be weekly for now, with bookings available only on Mondays. Based on current listings, initial economy...

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Living in container houses under the constant shadow of terrorism, Chinese diplomats in Somalia represent the extreme front line of a new, assertive era in Beijing’s foreign policy. During a video call to staff at the Chinese embassy in Mogadishu, Foreign Minister Wang Yi laid bare the “complex and severe risks of terrorism”, using the situation in the war-torn nation as a stark reminder of why China was overhauling how it protected its citizens and interests overseas. The call was made in...

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China announced visa-free entry for Canadian and British nationals on February 17, allowing citizens of the two countries to cross the border and stay for up to 30 days with no more than a passport. The move was just the latest expansion of China’s visa-free policies, which have eased entry rules for citizens of dozens of nations over the past few years as part of an effort to boost tourism. Immigration officials now allow travellers from dozens of countries to stay without a visa for up to 10...

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Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai has come under fire over what he said was a private visit to Japan to support the island’s team at the World Baseball Classic last week – a trip that drew a sharp rebuke from Beijing. Cho travelled to Tokyo on March 7, watching Taiwan defeat the Czech Republic 14-0 at the Tokyo Dome in the tournament’s Pool C round. He returned to Taipei the same day. It was the first visit to Japan by a sitting Taiwanese premier since Tokyo ended official ties with Taipei in 1972...

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Two prominent Chinese business leaders have pledged to double down on outbound investment – including in the Middle East and Latin America – even as geopolitical risks intensify following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran and Washington’s increasing interventions in the western hemisphere. Li Dongsheng, founder and chairman of Chinese electronics giant TCL, said the recent crisis in the Middle East had only a temporary impact on the company’s operations there and that the overall...

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Chinese companies in several sectors – including energy, petrochemicals and agriculture – stand to benefit from surging oil prices and the yuan’s easing deflation, which analysts said could help investors find gains amid the negative effects of the Middle East war. Petrochemical companies on mainland China’s exchanges, including Satellite Chemical and Guangdong Redwall New Materials, raised product prices to reflect the surge in oil costs, a move that sent their stock prices soaring. Fertiliser...

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Following the bestial war crime committed by the United States on February 28, when it murdered at least 175 civilians, the overwhelming majority of them young schoolgirls, in its missile attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in the southern Iranian town of Minab, the Red Cross Society of China has decided to provide the … Continue reading China extends support to bereaved parents of Iranian schoolgirls

The post China extends support to bereaved parents of Iranian schoolgirls appeared first on Friends of Socialist China.

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The Trump administration has sought to minimise the impact of the Strait of Hormuz’s effective closure while offering few details on how it might restore oil flows through the strategic waterway. “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News aired on Friday, urging oil tankers to “show some guts.” Trump said Washington was still considering escorting ships through the strait but did not indicate whether a decision had been made. “We would do it...

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Trade talks between China and the United States in Paris this weekend are likely to focus on setting the scene for the Beijing summit between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump later this month, analysts said, downplaying the prospects of any significant breakthroughs. Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are expected to discuss potential deals on tariffs, investment, and trade in soybeans and rare earths, which would be presented as deliverables for the...

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The video below is an interview of Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez by Jason Smith, for CGTN’s The Bridge podcast. In this wide-ranging discussion, touching on a range of issues from the war in Iran to the nature of China’s whole-process people’s democracy, Carlos opines that “democracy” is not an abstract universal but … Continue reading Interview: Why does the West fear China?

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