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US President Donald Trump said his troops will continue with “ferocious, unyielding resolve” the mission to “eliminate the intolerable threat posed by this sick and sinister regime” in Iran. “We projected for four to five weeks, but we have the capability to go longer than that,” Trump said, while also saying, “we’re already substantially ahead of our time projection”. In a speech on Monday during a ceremony in the White House, Trump seemed to respond to his critics by outlining the objectives...

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The massive American military strikes on Iran could add a new layer of uncertainty to US President Donald Trump’s high-stakes trip to China at the end of the month, observers warn. They said that while the visit was expected to go ahead as planned, the escalating conflict in the Middle East could fuel fresh concerns in Beijing over Washington’s global assertiveness and ambitions. Large-scale US and Israeli strikes on Iran since Saturday have killed senior Iranian figures including the supreme...

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Taiwan has reacted to the US strike on Iran with surprise, strategic calculation and renewed debate over the island’s air defence readiness. While some observers were struck by what they saw as overwhelming US military dominance, others said the conflict underscored the urgency of accelerating plans to build a more integrated, layered air defence network amid mounting pressure from Beijing. On Monday, the island’s cabinet said relevant ministries were “closely monitoring developments in the...

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Artificial intelligence has become a stronger force on the battlefield, with the US military’s use of AI-assisted strikes on Iran underscoring what analysts say is the “urgency” for China to accelerate its push for tech self-reliance. The US Department of Defence deployed Anthropic’s systems in the Iran campaign even after their deal collapsed, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal and Reuters. The technology was used for intelligence assessments, target identification and battle...

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

1. Iran strikes: Trump threatens more hits, Khamenei dead, Israel mounts new attacks On the final day of February, the US and Israel launched a shock military strike on Iran, killing hundreds – including the nation’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In response, Iran launched attacks...

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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. Born in China, raised in the US: adoptees explore their identity at Lunar New Year The Lunar New Year is a time for Chinese people to come together to celebrate family. But for those who were born in China and adopted by US couples, the holiday period can bring up complicated feelings about...

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The joint US-Israel attack on Iran and Tehran’s own retaliatory strikes on a handful of cities in the region have showcased advanced weapons from both sides, some deployed for the first time. Tomahawk Land-Attack Missiles Footage released by the US military confirmed the use of the Tomahawk Land-Attack Missiles. According to the US Navy, the missiles were launched by Arleigh Burke-class destroyers on February 28, in the strikes against Iran. The Tomahawk cruise missile is a long-range missile...

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Chinese technology companies that have rapidly expanded across the Middle East face a sudden test amid Iran’s response to the US-Israel attack, as mounting hostilities disrupt their operations. Several firms that accelerated investment in the region over the past year have temporarily suspended services, shifted staff to remote work and reviewed contingency plans as security risks mount in the short term. Baidu, which began operating its Apollo robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the...

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The escalating conflict in the Middle East – which is sending oil prices soaring and disrupting shipping traffic along the Strait of Hormuz – should not pose an immediate threat to China’s crude supply, but will add urgency to the country’s energy security drive, analysts said. Since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran over the weekend, commercial traffic has largely come to a standstill along the Strait of Hormuz – a waterway linking the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean...

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The head of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng said the country should accelerate the development of autonomous driving technology amid slowing sales growth in the sector. He Xiaopeng, founder and CEO of the Guangzhou-based company, said on Monday that the country should skip an intermediate step and move directly to a more advanced version of autonomous capabilities, adding that Beijing should adjust regulations and policies faster to make this happen. He said he would submit this...

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A veteran South China Sea expert has cast doubt on the prospects of finalising a code of conduct for the contested waters this year, even as ties between Beijing and Manila show signs of improvement. Wu Shicun, founding president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said it was “100 per cent not likely” that the document would be signed this year as the Philippines takes over the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). “I believe it cannot be...

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Hong Kong and Shanghai have signed an accord deepening their collaboration in promoting digitised cargo trade finance and strengthening mainland China’s connection to the global data ecosystem. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Shanghai Data Bureau and the National Technology Innovation Centre for Blockchain, according to a statement from Hong Kong’s de facto central bank. “This marks an important milestone in the collaboration...

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We have put together stories from our coverage of US and Israel’s war on Iran. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.

1. 5 takeaways from the first 2 days of US-Israel war against Iran Amid escalating US-Israeli strikes and Iranian retaliation, casualties emerge, oil spikes and global geopolitics face major shocks.
2. Why China’s ties with Iran will endure despite death of Khamenei China has strongly condemned the killing of the Iranian supreme leader,...

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Oil prices rose by the most in four years amid the US-Israeli war on Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for global crude supplies. Brent crude, the global benchmark, surged as much as 14 per cent to more than US$82 per barrel, the highest since January 2025, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Shipowners and traders are largely avoiding the Strait of Hormuz that links the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, which usually handles about 20 per cent of...

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More major US companies are set to join Beijing’s premier supply chain expo this summer, including its first artificial intelligence (AI) section, as business ties between the two superpowers enter a state of fragile stabilisation. A fresh wave of leading United States enterprises, alongside prominent figures from American academia and politics, will attend the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing in June, its organiser, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade,...

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The US and Israel’s air strikes against Iran, accompanied by electronic and cyber capabilities, were a “wake-up call” for China’s intelligence strategy and how its military will use advanced technologies in modern warfare, analysts say. During the weekend air strikes against Iran – dubbed Operation Epic Fury – that killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the US unleashed an array of weaponry against more than 1,000 Iranian targets, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, stealth fighters...

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China’s rapid push into artificial intelligence and its simultaneous energy transition are central to overtaking the United States in technological supremacy, according to a former finance vice-minister. Competition in the field of AI has shifted from purely a technological sprint to a broader contest over application scenarios and regulatory frameworks, led by the world’s two largest economies, Zhu Guangyao explained. “China’s leading position in energy transition has laid a solid foundation...

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China’s top research body has banned its scientists from using government funds to publish in some pricey Western journals, as the country rethinks how much it will pay for foreign prestige. A number of employees of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the world’s largest research institution said they were notified of changes to publication and reimbursement rules just before the Chinese New Year break. “For high-fee journals such as Cell Reports, Nature Communications and Science Advances,...

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Chinese companies are leading the way in personalised medicine, the development of healthcare treatments tailored for individual patients. MGI Tech last year unveiled the world’s fastest gene sequencing machine, while BGI Genomics has become the world’s biggest generator of data about human genes. Chinese biomedicine companies also have a world-leading pipeline of novel targeted therapies used in personalised or precision medicine (see previous China Future Tech). New technology, including...

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This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. US Dow futures dropped 400-570 points overnight, S&P 500 futures were down 1 per cent, while Nasdaq futures were down more than 1 per cent as the United States and Israel’s military campaign against Iran continued on Monday. Asian markets also opened lower amid fears of a broader Middle East escalation disrupting global supply chains and energy. China’s stock...

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Li Yanqing, executive vice-president and secretary general of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (Cansi), discusses the impact of US trade policies, global market cycles and China’s strategic pivot towards high-quality manufacturing. As a shipbuilding veteran who also serves as chairman of the ISO/TC 8 ships and marine technology committee, which oversees international standardisation for shipbuilding and marine operations, Li is a prominent voice for China’s industry on...

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Ahead of China’s annual legislative meetings – typically a window into Beijing’s top-level policy agenda – this is the fourth entry in a series examining the complex economic recalibration driving China’s growth philosophy and its wide-ranging implications for local governments, financial investors and private enterprises. China’s private businesses, many still facing cash flow problems amid a prolonged property slump, want treasury bonds and legal obligations on state-owned enterprises and...

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Li Yanqing, executive vice-president and secretary general of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (Cansi), discusses the impact of US trade policies, global market cycles and China’s strategic pivot towards high-quality manufacturing. As a shipbuilding veteran who also serves as chairman of the ISO/TC 8 ships and marine technology committee, which oversees international standardisation for shipbuilding and marine operations, Li is a prominent voice for China’s industry on...

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As China’s leaders convene for the annual “two sessions” starting this week, the eyes of the world will be fixed on Beijing. This gathering is no ordinary policy meeting. Beyond setting the economic growth target for 2026, it will finalise the 15th five-year plan (2026–2030), a blueprint that will define the nation’s economic and social priorities for the second half of this decade. In an era of intensifying great-power competition, particularly with the United States, these decisions will shape...

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The US military on Sunday confirmed that three American service members have been killed and five seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury, a joint military assault by the United States and Israel against Iran launched a day earlier. Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions and are being returned to duty, according to the US Central Command. “Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing,” the command said in a social media post. Calling the...

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