China News

Northern regions across China are introducing “snow breaks” this winter as part of broader efforts to stimulate domestic tourism and spending amid deflationary pressures. Northeastern Jilin province is the latest to announce the initiative, with plans to give primary and secondary school pupils a short holiday from Wednesday to Sunday. The additional days off will not shorten the traditional winter and summer holidays, the local government said. Government agencies, enterprises and public...

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The United States may have played a “critical” role in shaping the situation that led to the brief but bloody border war between China and India in 1962, an academic study has argued. The Asian neighbours have been working to improve relations in recent months, following a deadly clash in 2020. But the sensitivity of the border issue – one of the most intractable disputes between the two countries – can be traced back to the 1962 conflict, which left a profound fault line. However, a...

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Some of China’s affluent middle class is unwinding bets on Japan, cashing out in real estate and shelving migration plans as a diplomatic stand-off invites a wait-and-see mood on the once-hot destination for capital and talent. The reversal follows escalating tensions sparked by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan last month. Intermediaries report a surge in profit-taking on property and rising pessimism over immigration, with the chill extending to business visits and...

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Brazil’s central bank president, Gabriel Galipolo, said on Monday that China is exporting “disinflation or even deflation” to Brazil through a surge in low-cost imports, easing inflation. Speaking at an economics forum in São Paulo, Galipolo said Brazilian imports from China have grown while their prices have fallen, easing inflation in the short term but reflecting deeper imbalances in global trade. “It is, in a sense, offsetting an impact that would otherwise be even greater, both for the...

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The European Union has formally terminated a long-running dispute with China at the World Trade Organization, centred on Beijing’s alleged coercion of Lithuania in 2021. In a statement circulated to WTO members, the bloc said it was abandoning the case “considering the key objectives behind this dispute have been met and relevant trade has resumed”. The case arose after Lithuania permitted the opening of a controversially named “Taiwanese Representative Office” in its capital, Vilnius. Soon...

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Tokyo is considering exporting a missile system to the Philippines as it seeks to ease its weapons-export restrictions, Japanese media reported – a move likely to draw criticism from Beijing. The missile system, dubbed Type 03 Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile, is of the same type that Tokyo plans to deploy on Yonaguni, an island only 110 kilometres (68 miles) away from Taiwan. Beijing has blasted the deployment on Yonaguni as “extremely dangerous”. Kyodo News reported on Sunday that Japan has...

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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. Bankruptcies, suicides: US farmers detail cost of trade tensions High fuel costs, rising interest rates, falling crop prices and depressed Chinese demand amid geopolitical tensions had already eroded farm profits during the previous Joe Biden administration. Then came a seismic shift in US...

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Much research on cancer prevalence has focused on genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. But a new study by Argentine researchers offers a novel evolutionary perspective: the social structure of mammals may play a critical role in cancer risk. The new angle has been proposed by researchers from the cancer philosophy and biology systems group at the University of Buenos Aires, led by Professor Matías Blaustein. Their study, published on November 12 in the journal Science Advances, suggests...

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Abiding by international law is the only path to peace and sustainable development at sea, China’s foreign vice-minister Hua Chunying said on Monday in a veiled swipe at the US over its unilateral exploitation of seabed minerals. “The oceans are not calm. Certain countries have resorted to the unlawful use of force at sea under various pretexts, posing a serious threat to regional peace and security,” Hua said on Monday. She was delivering opening remarks at a forum in Beijing focused on...

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China’s most effective tool to revive consumption may be the simplest: a one-off distribution of 3,000 yuan (US$424) per person – funded by special sovereign bonds and valid for one year – could immediately lift demand, boost gross domestic product growth and help break the deflationary cycle that has taken hold since 2022. This proposal comes as China prepares to announce its 15th five-year plan, with policymakers expected to target around 5 per cent growth amid a sluggish post-pandemic...

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Taiwan has played down concerns that St Vincent and the Grenadines might switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing, insisting ties with its Caribbean ally remain stable despite a change of government in Kingstown. The reassurance follows last week’s victory by the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), with its leader Godwin Friday succeeding long-time Taipei supporter Ralph Gonsalves as prime minister. Friday did not publicly commit during the campaign to changing recognition from Taipei to...

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Roughly one-third of European companies in China affected by Beijing’s expanding export control regime intend to diversify their supply chains, with firms concerned about supply chain disruptions, long delivery delays and rising costs, a new survey has found. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China found in a flash survey of 131 member companies that more than half expected to be hit by Chinese export controls, with the group calling for policymakers to find a long-term solution to...

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China has put another senior official in Xinjiang under investigation, as Beijing vows to resolutely “eradicate the soil for corruption”. Chen Weijun, executive vice-chairman of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, was “under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation” for suspected “serious violations of discipline and law” – a euphemism for corruption – the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), China’s top anti-graft agency, said on Sunday. The probe announcement came two...

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A 7.5 billion yuan (US$1.06 billion) hydroelectric construction project in southeast China is under investigation for alleged corner-cutting and legal violations, with experts raising concerns that there may be serious safety problems. The scandal-stricken Yongan power station in Fujian province is a priority project under the national pumped-storage development goals of the 14th five-year plan covering 2021 to 2025, aimed at safeguarding regional power stability and enhancing the green...

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A Japanese singer was forced to stop performing on stage in Shanghai over the weekend, triggering accusations of excessive restriction amid the downward spiral in tensions between Beijing and Tokyo over a Taiwan contingency. On Saturday, Japanese singer Maki Otsuki was abruptly silenced while singing at an anime event in Shanghai and told by staff to halt her performance. Otsuki, known for singing the theme song of the popular anime One Piece, has “returned home safely”, according to a statement...

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Russia is inching closer to its first yuan-denominated sovereign bond sale, aiding China’s push to raise the global standing of its currency. Russia’s Finance Ministry will start taking orders on December 2 for the two-part, domestically traded notes. The borrower was expected to market the new debt with a targeted coupon of 6.25 to 6.5 per cent for a 3.2-year tranche, the Interfax news agency reported, adding that the coupon for a 7.5-year portion would be capped at 7.5 per cent. Running a...

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China’s state-asset watchdog has urged the country’s state-owned enterprises to act as an anchor for strategic industries, while also calling for a predictable, level playing field for private firms – a combination it said was essential for building world-class businesses. Zhang Yuzhuo, chairman of China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), outlined Beijing’s latest push to strengthen both the state and private sectors in an article published in Community Party...

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In an escalation of Beijing’s campaign against perceived pro-independence agitators, mainland Chinese authorities have issued arrest warrants and offered hefty rewards for two Taiwanese social media influencers accused of “inciting secession”. The public security bureau in Quanzhou, Fujian province announced on November 13 a bounty of 50,000 to 250,000 yuan (US$7,040 to US$35,200) for tips leading to the capture of 25-year-old Chen Po-yuan, known online as “Minnan Wolf”, and his collaborator,...

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After a turbulent year marked by the trade war and domestic headwinds, China will head into 2026 cautiously as it grapples with structural challenges to growth. Global investors are watching closely to see how Beijing works to shore up confidence, double down on strategic industries and mitigate overcapacity, all while navigating a fast-evolving geopolitical environment. In this explainer, the Post distils forecasts from major investment banks and economists on what to expect in 2026, also the...

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Despite a sharp and record-breaking rise in overall global arms sales last year, the combined revenue of the eight Chinese firms listed in the weapons industry’s Top 100 fell drastically, a Swedish think tank has found. The 10 per cent fall to US$88.3 billion was also the biggest aggregated percentage drop among the countries with companies in the list, released on Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The performance of the Chinese weapons giants was in stark...

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Zhou Bo is a retired senior colonel in the People’s Liberation Army and a senior fellow at Tsinghua University’s Centre for International Security and Strategy. His military career included roles in the Ministry of National Defence’s Foreign Affairs Office and as a defence attaché. Zhou is the author of the recent book Should the World Fear China? This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here. With the independence-leaning Democratic...

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China is launching a second satellite constellation to monitor objects in orbit to help commercial operators lower collision risks and ease the country’s long reliance on foreign tracking data. When complete, the Xingyan – or Star Eye – space situational awareness constellation will have 156 satellites up and running to identify the orbits of other satellites and debris, detect unusual movements, and provide collision warnings and maneuver advice every two hours. Its developer, Xingtu Cekong, an...

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Hidden in the frozen highlands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau – often called the “Third Pole” – lies an unexpected trove of biological innovation: animal poop. Chinese scientists have discovered that the faeces of yaks, Tibetan sheep, antelope and other native herbivores harbour thousands of previously unknown microbial species, some of which could be game changers for biotechnology. They include novel strains that have the potential to degrade cellulose – used for paper, cardboard and clothing –...

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Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, a growing chorus of Chinese officials and analysts have talked of an unprecedented window of opportunity for Beijing to recalibrate its domestic and international strategies. At its heart lies the Taiwan question, a perennial flashpoint in relations between Washington and Beijing. As the Trump administration ramps up its “America first” policies abroad, the US – the self-appointed world’s policeman for seven decades – has embarked on an...

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A district in China’s northern city of Tianjin, the site of one of the country’s worst industrial disasters a decade ago, has launched a comprehensive fire hazard inspection campaign. The drive by the Binhai New Area district comes days after a catastrophic high-rise blaze in Hong Kong claimed more than 120 lives. District officials attending a fire safety meeting on Saturday were shown footage and a preliminary report from the blaze in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, which took firefighters more...

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