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Chinese drug developer Sichuan Biokin Pharmaceutical has postponed its Hong Kong share listing, which had been scheduled to begin on Monday, as enthusiasm for initial public offerings (IPOs) in the sector may be cooling, according to analysts. The company cited “prevailing market conditions” in a stock-exchange filing on Wednesday and said it was assessing an updated timetable, but did not provide further details. The decision “does not affect the company’s current business”, it added. Listed in...

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After months of delays resulting from a bureaucratic tangle and possible US opposition, a multimillion-dollar China-Argentina radio telescope project could be moving ahead. Scientists involved with the China-Argentina Radio Telescope (CART) said essential parts shipped from China that had been held up at Argentine customs since September 3 could soon be released. However, academics have suggested that more political leverage will be needed to overcome US opposition to the project. CART is...

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China’s central bank vowed to maintain an accommodative monetary policy stance and improve policy transmission to support the “steady” economy in its latest quarterly report, which analysts said signalled a reduced urgency for rate cuts. The People’s Bank of China will implement a “moderately loose” monetary policy and ensure “reasonable and ample” liquidity to serve the real economy, according to the report released on Tuesday. Despite facing domestic and external challenges, the Chinese...

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to increase imports from Spain and deepen trade collaboration with Madrid in Latin America, amid rising tensions with Europe. Xi made the pledge during a meeting with Spain’s King Felipe in Beijing on Wednesday. “China is willing to import more high-quality products from Spain, explore cooperation potential in emerging fields such as new energy, the digital economy and artificial intelligence, expand mutual investment, and create more landmark projects,” Xi...

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Most Chinese companies are faring well in the European Union despite rising challenges such as higher labour costs, trade barriers and the bloc’s efforts to reduce dependence on Beijing, the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) said in its annual report. Over 80 per cent of surveyed companies reported stable or improved performance in Europe in 2024, with more than half posting revenue growth and 40 per cent turning higher profits, according to the report published on Wednesday by the...

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China’s military is set to ban four prominent Chinese universities from bidding for certain projects, according to a statement by the People’s Liberation Army on Sunday, as Beijing continues a rectification and anti-corruption drive in its military procurement system. The PLA procurement website, China’s largest known military procurement platform open to the public, released four notices on Sunday accusing the universities of bid-rigging for the same project. The universities will be banned...

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The signing of the Asean-China free trade agreement upgrade last month looked procedural. It wasn’t. The protocol adds chapters on digital trade, the green economy, supply chain connectivity, and the nuts and bolts of trade facilitation. These elements matter more than tariff cuts. As US tariffs on Chinese goods remain high, including on electric vehicles (EVs), batteries and solar cells, agreements that reduce friction, harmonise standards and streamline certification are becoming strategic...

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Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer, posted a 17 per cent rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, beating market forecasts, on sustained strength in demand for artificial intelligence servers. Net profit for the July-September period for Nvidia’s biggest server maker and Apple’s top iPhone assembler was T$57.67 billion (US$1.89 billion), higher than the consensus estimate of T$50.4 billion compiled by London Stock Exchange Group. Taiwan-based...

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In the 1960s, the world-renowned mathematician Hillel Furstenberg proposed a conjecture: that a number cannot appear “simple and highly regular” under two “independent” rulers simultaneously. Put simply, if a number is written in a binary system – using only two digits or elements to represent a quantity – its sequence is relatively regular and simple. In contrast, when rewriting that number in ternary – using three elements as its base – its sequence will almost certainly become relatively more...

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A Chinese-led team of scientists says it has found a naturally formed mineral with rare earth elements in a fern, a world first that offers a “green circular model” for extracting high-value rare earths, according to an institution behind the study. The researchers said the discovery of nanoscale monazite in a living plant “opens new possibilities for the direct recovery of functional rare earth element materials”. “To our knowledge, this is the earliest reported occurrence of rare earth...

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China and the Cook Islands have wrapped up their first joint scientific expedition in the South Pacific, a region emerging as a focal point in the geopolitical race for rare earths. The 4,000-tonne Chinese marine research vessel Da Yang Hao, one of the most advanced in China, docked at the Avatiu port near the capital Avarua on Saturday, about one month after a US research ship conducted a three-week survey in the region. Welcoming the Da Yang Hao to port, Sun Shuxian, the Chinese vice-minister...

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Hong Kong’s luxury residential rents are likely to climb another 3 to 5 per cent next year as growing numbers of returning Western expatriates and home-grown professionals drive demand for high-end accommodation, according to Savills. Deals were expected to exceed the 660 last year, said Jack Tong, the property consultancy’s director of research. “The outlook remains cautiously positive,” he added. For next year, Savills expected “stable to gently rising luxury rents as the supply of prime units...

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Volcano Engine, the cloud unit of TikTok owner ByteDance, has launched a new coding agent priced at just 9.9 yuan (US$1.30) for the first month of subscription – underscoring the fierce competition in China’s booming AI developer tools market. The Doubao-Seed-Code model, released on Tuesday, carries a standard monthly fee of 40 yuan, according to a company statement. The company unveiled its discounted one-month promotion on November 11, China’s annual Singles’ Day shopping festival. ByteDance...

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In the aftermath of the recent meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, many interpretations have emerged. However, one crucial dimension has been overlooked: the way in which Xi’s domestic priorities influence his foreign policy agenda. The de-escalation of trade tensions between China and the United States goes beyond fentanyl, rare earth elements, the chip war and Beijing’s purchase of US soybeans. It constitutes one of the key elements of internal...

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In 2003, a decade after the humiliation of the Yinhe incident – when a Chinese container ship was left stranded for weeks after the United States jammed its Global Positioning System (GPS) – Beijing set its sights on bypassing the American satellite network. At first, it turned to the European Union, pledging €230 million (then US$260 million) to join the Galileo project, an independent satellite navigation system designed to reduce Europe’s reliance on GPS. But the partnership did not last....

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China has indicated plans are under way for a next-generation nuclear-powered aircraft carrier armed with futuristic energy weapons including a rail gun, an electromagnetic weapon that the United States tried to develop but abandoned. “China’s future nuclear-powered aircraft carrier can be equipped with more advanced defensive weapons, such as [a] high-energy laser weapon and electromagnetic rail gun,” said Liang Fang, a military commentator and professor at the Beijing-based National Defence...

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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. China preparing to bring home astronauts stranded on space station China is making plans to bring home three astronauts whose return from the Tiangong space station was delayed after their vessel was hit by debris last week.
2. As more of China becomes ‘moderately aged’, how will its economy change? Much of China has passed a key demographic threshold as...

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A surprise appearance at the European Parliament by Taiwan’s No 2 leader Hsiao Bi-khim has stirred debate at home over whether the move signals a substantial breakthrough in ties with Europe – or if it was just a risky publicity stunt. Supporters hailed the event as a success for Taiwan’s outreach to Europe, while critics called it little more than a rented hall performance. In a late-night statement on Friday, the office of William Lai Ching-te said the Taiwanese leader had personally...

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What a difference an administration change makes in Ottawa, even though both the current and preceding governments are from the Liberal Party. Three years ago, Canada under Justin Trudeau labelled China a “disruptive global power”. Last month, his successor Mark Carney reached agreement with Beijing to revive the strategic partnership the two nations signed in 2005, with Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand saying the framework would be “renewed and refocused”. “We must be nuanced in our...

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China may take additional steps to advance the yuan’s internationalisation and ease cross-border flows on the back of rising investment demand, according to a prominent economist. “Chinese companies are showing strong momentum in expanding their overseas investments, so I believe the Chinese government will take more enabling measures [to support transactions],” said Xiang Songzuo, former chief economist at the Agricultural Bank of China. He added that the internationalisation of the yuan is...

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Senior Democrat Party members of Congress have demanded to know whether US President Donald Trump cut a deal with Beijing on the future of Nexperia that left Washington’s European allies blindsided. Democrats are asking if Trump acted in concert with the Netherlands and the European Union on a US-China deal on the beleaguered semiconductor maker, secured at a leaders’ summit in Busan last month. A letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, seen by the South China Morning Post, says that senior...

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Huawei Technologies’ advanced data centre architecture powered by its Ascend chips topped the biennial ranking of the Shenzhen-based company’s latest inventions. Initially launched as the CloudMatrix 384, the Scale-Up Ultra-Large-Scale computing system was described by Huawei and Chinese artificial intelligence infrastructure start-up SiliconFlow in a paper as a specialised “AI supernode” that is purpose built for handling extensive AI workloads. Originally designed with 384 Ascend 910C neural...

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The Chinese air force has released video of its GJ-11 stealth attack drone flying alongside and being linked to the J-20 fighter jet in what is the first footage of China’s manned and unmanned aircraft working together. The footage appeared in a promotional video released by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force on Tuesday to mark the 76th anniversary of its founding. It shows the drone flying in formation with the J-20, China’s most advanced fighter jet, as well as the J-16D fighter, a...

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China may have started nurturing the technical knowledge needed to operate the electromagnetic launch catapult on its newly commissioned carrier the Fujian at least eight years ago, according to open records that offer a glimpse into the long-term planning involved in military universities. Footage of Wednesday’s commissioning ceremony from state broadcaster CCTV showed President Xi Jinping speaking to a landing signals officer. When he asked her what she studied, she replied “electromagnetic...

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Beijing is willing to work with Ottawa to deepen communication and accelerate cooperation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Canadian counterpart in another sign of improving ties between the two countries. According to a Chinese foreign ministry statement, Wang told Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand in a phone call on Tuesday that the two countries could strengthen coordination in areas including foreign affairs and commerce, and “properly address their legitimate concerns and...

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