China News

Consuming a diet with a moderate amount of lard can decrease both fat accumulation and inflammation in body fat, according to a new study by Chinese scientists. “These findings challenge the conventional view of animal fats and demonstrate that consuming lard at the recommended level (with dietary fat providing 25 per cent of energy) can confer metabolic benefits by regulating adipose tissue homeostasis,” the team wrote. Scientists from Hunan Agricultural University, the University of South...

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President Xi Jinping has instructed central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to serve as the bedrock of national development, urging them to drive industrial upgrading and secure critical technologies in the next phase of China’s growth. “Central SOEs must fully recognise the responsibilities and missions they shoulder and better serve the overall priorities of the party and the state,” he stressed in remarks conveyed to a meeting of central SOE leaders in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday, though he...

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The late Emperor Hirohito of Japan should be held accountable under international law for the crimes of Unit 731, according to Chinese scholars who say the wartime ruler authorised the infamous programme but was shielded from prosecution by US policy after World War II. The secret Japanese military unit in northeastern China, which was responsible for human experimentation, biological warfare and at least tens of thousands of civilian deaths, had been created by imperial order in 1936, said Zhou...

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With its signature fan-shaped wall of lipsticks displayed at the entrance, the Hong Kong store of Mao Geping Cosmetics at the Harbour City shopping complex in Tsim Sha Tsui appeared quiet on a recent weekday night. That underscored a sluggish state of affairs at Mao Geping, about two months after opening its first overseas location in the city, and the broader challenges faced by Chinese beauty – dubbed C-beauty – brands seeking to expand sales outside the mainland. The cosmetics firm was named...

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Washington is not pursuing a forceful strategy towards China but Beijing’s “historic” military build-up is making the US increasingly vulnerable, the Pentagon said in its annual report to Congress on military developments related to China. “We do not seek to strangle, dominate, or humiliate China … We seek only to deny the ability of any country in the Indo-Pacific to dominate us or our allies,” the 100-page report released on Tuesday said. “China’s historic military build-up has made the US...

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China should establish an “original” knowledge system regarding the history of its border regions to mitigate security risks from “hostile forces in the West”, according to a senior scholar at a prominent state-run think tank. Fan Enshi of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) also warned about the threat of “de-Sinicisation” in US-led historical perspectives, calling for a shift from “fragmented research” towards systematic domestic theories that could better project Chinese influence...

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China accused the United States at the United Nations on Tuesday of violating international law and destabilising the Caribbean region, as Washington defended its seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers and vowed to intensify pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government. Speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council requested by Venezuela and backed by China and Russia, Beijing said US actions carried out under the banner of counter-narcotics enforcement amounted to unilateral...

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In its push to secure supplies of critical minerals, the Donald Trump administration has increasingly looked abroad to reduce vulnerabilities in supply chains that underpin many of the world’s most advanced technologies. From China to the Democratic Republic of Congo to Ukraine, key strands of US foreign policy in recent months have centred on access to these materials – a group of roughly 60 minerals that the US Geological Survey considers vital to national and economic security, including rare...

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All eyes are on how Beijing’s “Chinese dream” of eventual Taiwan reunification will unfold at a time when the leader of the United States – Taipei’s top international backer – appears less likely to intervene in case of a cross-strait conflict. In the second of a three-part series, Amber Wang looks at the challenges facing the new Kuomintang leader. Read the first part here. There have been seven chairs of the Kuomintang, Taiwan’s main opposition party, since President Xi Jinping took the top...

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In November 2024, US president Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping made their first substantive joint statement about the national security risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI). Specifically, they noted that both the United States and China believe in “the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons”. That may sound like diplomatic low-hanging fruit, since it would be hard to find a reasonable person willing to argue that we should hand control over...

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In a decisive trade move against China’s semiconductor industry, the US Trade Representative Office said it had determined that Beijing’s drive for dominance in the sector is “unreasonable and discriminatory” and poses a direct threat to US commerce. In a formal Notice of Action filed with the Federal Register, the agency said the US is implementing a tariff action on a wide range of Chinese semiconductors, with an initial rate of 0 per cent. The rate is set to rise in 18 months, on June 23,...

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Though it did not come as a surprise, the US’ formal ban on the sale of new drones produced by China marks a “milestone” in the two countries’ strategic competition and technological decoupling, analysts said, with their rivalry continuing across numerous fields despite the temporary trade truce agreed between their leaders in October. Washington’s telecommunications regulator said on Monday that it is adding all foreign producers of drones and critical components – including those made by...

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Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.

1. Second reusable rocket recovery failure in a month puts China 10 years behind US The Long March 12A, China’s first state-owned reusable rocket, made its debut launch on Tuesday morning but the recovery of the first stage was a failure.
2. ‘Urgent’: has mainland China changed tone for Taiwan peaceful reunification? Analysts examine Taiwan-related policy...

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As Russia remains bogged down in Ukraine, Belarus – the Kremlin’s only ally in Europe – seeks to improve relations with the United States. Unwilling to remain completely dependent on its giant neighbour, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko seems to be attempting to revive his well-known “multi-vector” foreign policy, balancing between Moscow, the West and China. But will he succeed? As the year nears its end, the 71-year-old Belarusian strongman has made several “humanitarian” gestures...

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The Chinese authorities are investigating reports that cultural treasures from a leading state-run museum were secretly sold on the market by museum staff in an alleged scam that has been described as making the Louvre thieves look “dumb”. The scandal first came to light when a 16th-century painting that had been donated by the family of an art collector appeared for auction earlier this year. A former director of the museum has since come under scrutiny after a former underling claimed that he...

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China has pledged to empower local governments with city-specific measures to clear housing gluts and optimise supply next year, ramping up efforts to stabilise a real estate market that remains a persistent drag on the world’s second-largest economy. “Municipal governments should fully utilise their autonomy in regulating the property market, adjusting and optimising policies as appropriate,” said Ni Hong, the minister of housing and urban-rural development, at a two-day work conference that...

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Taiwan has bolstered security ahead of the coming holidays to pre-empt potential copycat attacks following a deadly mass stabbing that has left the island on edge. The island’s Ministry of the Interior and National Police Agency (NPA) ordered tighter deployments at transport hubs and major events, increased monitoring of online threats and accelerated reviews of police resources and command procedures. Announced in separate statements on Tuesday, the measures came after last week’s violence...

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The key to achieving wartime victory through expendable drones lies in “saturation attacks based on numerical superiority”, according to the Chinese military’s mouthpiece as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) accelerates its development of unmanned systems. The PLA Daily published a commentary on Tuesday titled “Exploring the Winning Formula for Unmanned Attrition Warfare” written by Zhou Xiaoli, Zhang Changfang and Zhu Qichao, although the outlet did not specify their institutional...

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Nvidia has told Chinese clients it aims to start shipping its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China before the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February, according to three people familiar with the matter. The US chip designer plans to fulfil initial orders from existing stock, with shipments expected to total 5,000 to 10,000 chip modules – equivalent to about 40,000 to 80,000 H200 AI chips, the ⁠first and second sources said. Nvidia has also told Chinese clients that it plans to add new...

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Germany’s trade deficit with China is on track to hit a record high in 2025 amid shrinking demand for German goods – a trend that appears unlikely to be reversed in the short term and which could trigger a protectionist backlash, according to analysts. China, already Germany’s biggest import partner, is set to increase its total exports to Germany by 7.2 per cent, with the value reaching €168 billion (US$197 billion), according to a forecast last week by Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI), an...

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One of China’s largest comic conventions has banned Japanese-themed content and derivative works just a week ahead of its opening amid spiralling tension between Tokyo and Beijing. Organisers of the Comicup (CP) 32nd edition “Pre” event – set to take place in Hangzhou on December 27 and 28 – informed exhibitors and visitors on Friday that there would be a “full-scale adjustment” of content shown throughout the venue. “Due to consideration regarding the current social environment and our cultural...

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A wave of online discussion blaming China’s last imperial dynasty for national historical sufferings has prompted official criticism after touching on sensitive questions, and ignited debate over historical narrative, nationalism and social governance. What began as a fringe literary interpretation of an 18th-century classical novel has evolved in recent weeks to become a viral internet topic, known as the “1644 historical perspective”. The main claim – which has exposed sharp divisions online –...

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China has drafted a law on Antarctic affairs, as Beijing looks to protect its interests and strengthen its role in the governance of the southernmost continent. The draft “Antarctic Activities and Environmental Protection Law” was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, on Monday for the first review, state media reported. “The legislation on Antarctic activities and environmental protection will help better coordinate, manage and...

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Russia’s shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China soared last month, consolidating Moscow’s role as the top energy supplier to the world’s second-largest economy even in the face of Western sanctions. Imports of LNG from Russia surged 142.6 per cent, year on year, to 1.6 million tonnes, displacing Australia to become one of China’s top two biggest suppliers alongside Qatar last month, according to the latest customs data. Russian LNG accounted for 23.5 per cent of China’s total...

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