China News

Ahead of China’s annual legislative meetings – typically a window into Beijing’s top-level policy agenda – this is the second 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. Beijing’s campaign to purge the bureaucracy of a growth-at-all-costs mindset has caught some local officials off guard, triggering a mix of confusion and contradictory...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

WeRide, one of China’s big three robotaxi companies, has cut research and development (R&D) costs by “millions” of US dollars by using artificial intelligence to train its fleet in virtual worlds, its CEO said. While rivals had also developed AI models simulating the physical world, WeRide’s efforts stood out as it was using its world model Genesis to support its global expansion strategy, said Tony Han. “It’s the first real marriage between physical AI and generative AI,” Han told the South...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

Early in 2021, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw and held talks with both General Min Aung Hlaing, the chief of the armed forces, and Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of the civilian government. The meeting was a chance for China to voice support for Myanmar’s “national conditions” development path and signal China’s long-term pragmatic approach to ties with its southwestern neighbour, irrespective of who was in power. That strategy, however, came under...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

If Caligula were the president of the United States, Taiwan’s leader William Lai Ching-te might still kowtow to him. By now, it seems pretty clear that US President Donald Trump has no real policies to speak of, only caprice and vague ideological preferences. That was how bad emperors acted, and Trump obviously sees himself as some kind of king, unrestrained by anything other than his personal inclinations. It’s not surprising there have been “No Kings” protests across the US. From his lifelong...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

In Washington, a city often in the spotlight for domestic and international politics, Hong Kong pianist Aristo Sham views his instrument as a platform that can bridge cultures, transcend politics and connect people across borders. At 28, fresh from a landmark international competition victory, Sham is building a global career where his music often speaks louder than diplomacy. On Wednesday, just before stepping onto the stage at the US capital’s Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium for a Year of the...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

Co-President of the Republic of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega has said that thanks to the solidarity extended by China, the Russian Federation and Mexico, his country now has a fleet of 4,610 buses and minibuses. He was speaking at a ceremony held on February 16, which this year was the day before the start of the … Continue reading China’s solidarity gives Nicaragua a fleet of thousands of buses

The post China’s solidarity gives Nicaragua a fleet of thousands of buses appeared first on Friends of Socialist China.

From Friends of Socialist China via This RSS Feed.

The following is a series of five articles, originally published in the Morning Star, and written by Jenny Clegg to introduce her recently published book, ‘Storming the Heavens: Peasants and Revolution in China, 1925-1949 Viewed Through a Marxist Lens’. Introducing the key themes of the book, which began life as her PhD thesis some decades … Continue reading Storming the heavens – a master class in revolution

The post Storming the heavens – a master class in revolution appeared first on Friends of Socialist China.

From Friends of Socialist China via This RSS Feed.

Beijing has called for all hands on deck to work out what ever-unpredictable US President Donald Trump might demand when he sits down with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a few weeks. Several sources, all speaking on condition of anonymity, said various Chinese government departments had been told to research and assess the US leader’s potential demands and come up with possible concessions Beijing could put on the table. According to the sources, the entities included China’s Ministry of...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

Importers in the United States are expected to front-load goods from China after the Supreme Court struck down the use of emergency powers as the legal basis for US President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, potentially opening a brief window of relief, analysts said. Companies selling products made in China, or using Chinese raw materials, were likely to place larger orders in the coming weeks amid uncertainty over whether Trump’s pledge to raise a new tariff – from 10 per cent to 15 per...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

Chinese scientists have developed a promising new battery technology that could dramatically increase the driving range of electric vehicles and allow them to perform more reliably in cold weather. Lithium batteries are essential components in products such as smartphones and EVs, but at present they are approaching their energy density ceiling, which limits the scope to improve their performance. The most common types of liquid-state battery – lithium iron phosphate and ternary lithium – are...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

China urged its citizens to leave Iran as soon as possible on Friday amid the growing risk of US air strikes after the latest round of talks ended without a deal. The foreign ministry in Beijing warned there had been a “significant increase in external security risks” in Iran and said its citizens should not travel to the country. It also said those who were already there should “strengthen their security precautions and evacuate as soon as possible”. “Chinese embassies and consulates in Iran...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

China’s leadership has stressed the need for a more proactive macroeconomic stance to support the country’s new five-year plan, ahead of next week’s annual “two sessions” – one of the country’s most important political events. Chaired by President Xi Jinping, the Politburo – a major decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party – met on Friday and set a decisive tone for policy direction, highlighting the need to expand domestic demand and strengthen new growth drivers. In an official...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

Global debt climbed to a record high in 2025, rising at the fastest pace since the pandemic, with China and the United States accounting for a large share of the increase, according to a new report. Total global debt surged to US$348 trillion last year, with nearly US$29 trillion of new debt added over the year, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said. Government borrowing accounted for more than US$10 trillion of the increase, with the United States, China and the euro zone together...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

China’s top court has hailed a mediated resolution to an international shipbuilding dispute as a landmark example of the country’s anti-sanctions law working to protect domestic industry. In a social media post on Friday, the Supreme People’s Court said the case was a milestone in China’s legal response to foreign “bullying” and “long-arm jurisdiction”. “Its ruling’s principles demonstrate China’s firm commitment to safeguarding the multilateral trading system and offer judicial insight towards...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

China has stepped in to mediate between Pakistan and Afghanistan following an escalation of their conflict, urging both sides to end the fighting and settle their disputes through dialogue. This comes after Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan on Friday, including the capital Kabul, and declared “open war” with its neighbour after months of deadly clashes. Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Friday that as a neighbour and a friend to both countries, China was...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

With China’s currency having steadily strengthened in recent months, the central bank has rolled out a pair of measures to lower foreign exchange hedging costs and support cross-border yuan financing. In a notice on Thursday, the People’s Bank of China refined the framework for domestic banks to conduct cross-border yuan interbank financing, explicitly endorsing their role in providing stable yuan liquidity to offshore markets through regulated channels. The move comes as Beijing has been...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

China has placed its nationals on high alert following a series of rebel attacks targeting the US$4.5 billion Niger-Benin oil pipeline and an Islamic State raid on the Nigerien capital’s international airport on January 29. On Monday, the Chinese embassy in Niamey urged citizens to avoid high-risk areas and instructed firms to implement emergency response plans as insurgent groups increasingly target Chinese-managed infrastructure. The warning follows recent attacks on the pipeline and a predawn...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

The United States needs to go on the offensive in space to be able to “turn around and punch” back at China’s rapidly expanding surveillance satellite network, according to a US Space Force general. According to the US military news website The War Zone, Lieutenant General Gregory Gagnon said China had built “the second-best remote sensing architecture in the world from outer space”. He said China had expanded from fewer than 100 satellites in 2013, when Chinese President Xi Jinping first came...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

Chinese lawmakers gather next week for the annual “two sessions” legislative meetings, where they will approve the 15th five-year plan and likely see a shift towards less emphasis on economic growth. Premier Li Qiang will summarise the new five-year plan and announce the 2026 GDP target on March 5, the first day of meetings for the National People’s Congress, the country’s legislature. Lawmakers will likely give near-unanimous support to the plan, which runs through 2030, when the meeting...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited China’s eastern tech hub of Hangzhou on Thursday and met leading figures including those from Alibaba Group Holding and Unitree Robotics, signalling growing international recognition of the country’s robotics and artificial intelligence technologies. Merz had lunch and took group photos with local entrepreneurs, including Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu Yongming and Unitree founder and CEO Wang Xingxing, according to a social media account run by Chinese state...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

A direct ancestor of modern humans may have arrived in China much earlier than previously thought, according to a study that may rewrite our understanding of how early hominin species spread around the world. An analysis of Homo erectus fossils found in modern-day Hubei province using new techniques concluded that the remains were almost 1.8 million years old – pushing back their arrival date by around 600,000 years and suggesting the species may have spread across continents earlier and more...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

Twenty-one of China’s 31 provincial-level regions have set lower annual growth targets ahead of the unveiling of the national goal on March 5. Guangdong, the most populous region, cut its target for 2026 to a range of 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent, versus “around 5 per cent” last year. Tianjin, Hebei and Shanxi are also among provinces with lower economic targets. Jiangxi is the only region with an increase. The national goal may be reduced to 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent from “around 5 per cent”,...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te’s rare reference to “mainland China” signals caution ahead of a highly anticipated Xi-Trump summit, according to analysts who say it is premature to declare a shift in his cross-strait policy. Addressing a group of Taiwanese businesspeople operating on the mainland on Tuesday, Lai used the term “mainland China” multiple times, contrasting with his frequent use of “China” in major speeches since his 2024 inauguration as the self-ruled island’s leader. During...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

This year’s Munich Security Conference arrived as less of a shock to Europeans, who have largely accepted that the good old days are gone for good. A few might still have got teary-eyed when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described America as eternally “the child of Europe”, but most in the audience understood the underlying message: “You are on your own now, Granny.” The difference between Rubio’s more measured phrasing and Vice-President J.D. Vance’s blunt remarks last year is largely a...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.

The United States has warned Syria against relying on Chinese technology in its telecommunications sector, arguing it conflicts with US interests and threatens US national security, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The message was conveyed during an unreported meeting between a US State Department team and Syrian Communications Minister Abdulsalam Haykal in San Francisco on Tuesday. Washington has been ‌coordinating closely with Damascus since 2024, when Syria’s now President...

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.