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Beijing confirmed on Thursday that it has begun granting general licences with lengthier terms for exports of rare earth elements to foreign companies, though business groups said more guidance was needed on the policy’s implementation. “With the accumulation of relevant export compliance experience, some exporters have initially met the basic requirements to apply for general licences,” said He Yadong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom), at a press conference. “To my knowledge,...

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Beijing has condemned Washington for its decision to sell about US$11 billion in weapons to Taiwan, calling it a grave violation of its sovereignty and a dangerous signal to separatist forces. Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua said on Thursday that the sale amounted to “flagrant interference in China’s internal affairs”. Chen said it also “gravely violates” the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiques, particularly the August 17 communique –...

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Alibaba Group Holding is folding its mapping and navigation platform Amap into its Qwen artificial intelligence app, in a tie-up the company says will sharpen Qwen’s real-world “life services” just weeks after the app’s debut. The integration, announced on Thursday, lets Qwen users handle travel and lifestyle requests – from restaurant and hotel recommendations to route planning and turn-by-turn navigation – in a single conversational interface. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. Alibaba...

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The US Congress passed its annual defence bill on Wednesday, easing concerns among researchers by dropping a controversial proposal targeting US-China scientific collaboration, even as it imposed new restrictions on Chinese biotechnology companies. The SAFE (Securing American Funding and Expertise from Adversarial Research Exploitation) Research Act would have denied federal funding to any US researcher working with scientists from China and several other countries, but it did not make it into...

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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. As trade deficit mounts, is EU offering China what it wants to buy? Facing an ever-increasing trade deficit with China, Europe has limited options to balance the situation in the short term even though it still holds an edge in key sectors including pharmaceuticals, machinery and components, analysts said.
2. China FM Wang Yi reaffirms Beijing’s backing for...

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In a landmark achievement for brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, scientists with the Chinese Academy of Sciences have enabled a paralysed man to control smart wheelchairs, robotic dogs and even perform paid work – all through the power of thought. Announced by the Centre for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT) this week, the development is the first time an individual with a high-level spinal cord injury has achieved stable, real-world control of multiple...

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A Chinese court has convicted 27 individuals of smuggling more than 166 tonnes of antimony, a critical mineral used in weapons, semiconductors and flame removedants, in a significant enforcement action under Beijing’s tighter export controls for dual-use items. The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court in Guangdong province ruled that the group had illegally shipped the critical mineral without obtaining export licences, according to a statement released on Tuesday. Lead defendant Wang Wubin was...

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Beijing sent a special envoy to Thailand and Cambodia on Thursday for peace mediation efforts after the two Southeast Asian neighbours engaged in another major exchange of fire. “As a close neighbour and friend of Cambodia and Thailand, China closely follows the ongoing border conflict between the two countries and has shuttled between the two sides to promote peace,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement on Wednesday. “Through its own way, China has been working actively...

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China’s military mouthpiece aimed its rhetoric at Japan’s space ambitions and its new intelligence unit on Thursday, accusing Tokyo of embarking on a space arms race and undermining regional security. The criticism in two articles in the PLA Daily is the latest salvo in a diplomatic dust-up over the past month that has involved near-daily rebukes from Beijing. In one of the articles, two researchers from the People’s Liberation Army’s Space Engineering University in Beijing accused Japan of...

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Late last year, as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen began her second term in office, a giant purple banner was draped over the side of the EU executive arm’s headquarters, declaring: “United for our Future, 2024-2029.” While unity among the EU’s 27 member states has always been elusive, it has rarely been more critical. Its leaders will gather on Thursday to try to round off the year with a collective bang, but there is growing fear it will end with a series of disparate...

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China extended its support to Venezuela and opposed “unilateral bullying” in a foreign ministers’ phone call on Wednesday amid rising US pressure on the South American country. Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil that China and Venezuela were strategic partners and that mutual trust and support were a tradition of bilateral ties. In a veiled swipe at the US, Wang said “China opposes all forms of unilateral bullying and supports countries in safeguarding their...

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Facing an ever-increasing trade deficit with China, Europe has limited options to balance the situation in the short term even though it still holds an edge in key sectors including pharmaceuticals, machinery and components, analysts said. China’s global trade surplus hit an all-time high of US$1.076 trillion in the first 11 months of this year, despite a decline in exports to the United States following US President Donald Trump’s imposition of steep tariffs. A lot of China’s redirected exports...

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China’s southern Hainan province implemented a separate customs regime on Thursday, as Beijing seeks to develop the island into an offshore financing and duty-free hub and position it as a strategic hedge against rising external trade barriers. The new customs regime creates two distinct customs boundaries for Hainan: one separating the island from overseas markets, and another dividing it from the rest of mainland China. Most overseas goods entering the island – which is roughly the size of...

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China is emerging as a rising powerhouse for scientific innovation at a time when scientific research in the United States faces growing funding instability, according to Belgian neurologist Steven Laureys. Laureys, a pioneer in detecting hidden awareness in patients with severe brain injuries, is expanding his global research network to China, working with Hangzhou Normal University. “There’s a wonderful opportunity for me to work with China. And I’m very happy that China is investing in...

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China’s youth-unemployment rate ticked lower in November, though competition remains fierce for university graduates trying to find work that matches their qualifications. The jobless rate for those aged 16 to 24, excluding students, fell to 16.9 per cent in November from 17.3 per cent in October, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. The rate has eased since August, when the graduation of a record 12.2 million university students over the summer pushed it...

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US President Donald Trump addressed the nation on Wednesday, highlighting what he described as his administration’s achievements in 2025 and promising to build on his “Make America Great Again” agenda in the next year. In a defiant 18-minute address from the White House, Trump awarded his administration straight A’s for what he hailed as a year of unprecedented American greatness. “We are making America great again tonight, after 11 months, our border is secure. Inflation has stopped. Wages are...

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The People’s Liberation Army has made a rare public appeal for tip-offs about procurement problems in its air force, as Beijing presses ahead with its anti-corruption campaign in the military. The announcement was posted on Monday on the PLA’s official procurement website – the main bid information platform for suppliers – seeking information about “irregular” procurement activities organised by air force units. It is the first time such a request has been made about a specific branch of the...

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It has been a turbulent year for the fraught US-China relationship. In the third part of a series looking back at the events of 2025, we examine China’s growing military might and how it’s narrowing the tech gap with the US. US defence chief Pete Hegseth told a conference in Washington this month that America would maintain a “clear-eyed appreciation” of China’s “rapid, formidable and holistic” military build-up. That build-up is being watched globally, with defence experts in recent years...

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Last month, Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), the world’s largest battery company, started building a massive joint venture plant in Spain. It came weeks after Spain’s King Felipe visited Beijing, seeking a stronger EU-China relationship as US commitments wobble. Except Spain, electrified by the potential job creation, ran into a problem: CATL wants to bring 2,000 Chinese workers to build the plant. What’s happening in Spain is part of a complicated new showdown between the...

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Chinese carmaker BYD plans to build a new factory in Brazil within the next three years after rising demand for electric buses filled its existing production capacity and forced the company to redraw its manufacturing strategy in the country. The project would sharply expand output, create hundreds of jobs and support exports across South America, with Africa also being considered, as BYD strengthens a business segment that predates its move into passenger electric vehicles. BYD has assembled...

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The growth rate of Chinese tourists to Japan significantly slowed in November, according to official data released by Tokyo, as Beijing cut flights and issued travel warnings amid rising tensions with Japan over Taiwan. According to the latest report released by the Japan National Tourism Organization on Wednesday, although Chinese tourists continued to visit Japan in November and the numbers kept growing, it was at a much slower pace than before, both year on year and month on month. In...

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China, the world’s top soybean consumer, faces a complex balancing act when securing supplies. With 90 per cent of market demand met by imports, Brazil and the United States remain its top suppliers, but intensifying efforts to promote self-sufficiency are seeking to reduce reliance on imports. From price swings and quality traits to strategic roles in the market, soybeans from the three countries tell different stories about China’s quest for stability and security that can be broken down into...

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When US President Donald Trump first proposed his “gold card” programme earlier this year, offering permanent residency to the super rich, Beijing-based emigration consultant Jack Jing received unsolicited inquiries from seven high-net-worth families. But that initial enthusiasm quickly waned after the application details were released last week. None of his clients plan to apply in the near term, said Jing, general manager of the migration service provider WellTrend, who has decades of...

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The conviction of former media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying in a high-profile Hong Kong trial has drawn sharp reactions in London, casting uncertainty over thawing Sino-British ties before Keir Starmer visits China. Although the outcome of Lai’s 156-day national security trial was widely expected, observers say it poses a significant test for the Labour government’s balancing act on China, which could narrow the space for engagement even if its immediate impact on bilateral relations is...

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Tencent Holdings has initiated a major restructuring at its artificial intelligence group with the promotion of recent high-profile recruit Vinces Yao Shunyu, a former researcher at OpenAI. Without mentioning his Chinese name, Shenzhen-based Tencent’s announcement on Wednesday came with a photo of Yao. He was tasked to lead the company’s new AI infrastructure efforts, including the development of large language models (LLMs). Yao’s official position is chief AI scientist under the CEO’s office...

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