China News

During a visit to Guangdong, China’s largest provincial-level contributor to gross domestic product, Premier Li Qiang emphasised the need for the province to continue leading the national economy, while Guangdong’s senior officials vowed “extraordinary” measures to drive growth. Li urged Guangdong to “strengthen advantages in innovative development and take the lead in reform and opening up” during his three-day visit from Saturday to Monday, according to Xinhua. His appeal comes as the Chinese...

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

China risks losing access to satellite tracking stations and other sensitive technology infrastructure in Venezuela after the United States seized control of the country’s leadership and transferred its president Nicolas Maduro to New York for trial. Beijing’s embedded assets – from satellite ground stations to oilfield systems and telecommunications networks – could be compromised after US President Donald Trump said Washington would “run” Venezuela and “fix oil infrastructure” in the country...

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

Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek has updated the user interface of its flagship chatbot by adding an advanced “thinking” feature, as its app recorded a massive 90 per cent jump in monthly active users (MAU) in December. The upgrades, including a deep research mode similar to OpenAI’s namesake product, marked a rare improvement on the consumer side for the Hangzhou-based firm at a time when anticipation was building over its next-generation models, analysts said. DeepSeek’s...

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

As the new year unfolds, China finds itself grappling with strategic pressures fuelled by two US treaty allies at its doorstep – Japan and South Korea. In the first of a two-part series, Seong Hyeon Choi looks at how historically fraught China-Japan ties might fare as Tokyo bolsters its military posture with record budgets and advanced weaponry. China and Japan have never fully resolved the decades-old grudges of their wartime history and territorial disputes, but it was near the end of 2025 –...

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

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth delivered a stark warning to China and Russia on Monday, declaring that the United States is rebuilding military dominance to a level so absolute that its enemies would “not dare” test it. Addressing shipyard workers and naval personnel at Newport News Shipbuilding, the nation’s largest military shipyard, Hegseth pointed to the recent US military operation in Venezuela as evidence of renewed American military readiness and the limits of non-American defence...

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

Chinese social media and gaming giant Tencent Holdings apologised after its artificial intelligence chatbot Yuanbao was accused of “verbally insulting” a user, fuelling online debate about the risks posed by fast-evolving generative AI tools. Yuanbao is among China’s most popular AI chatbots. Embedded in Tencent’s WeChat and used by tens of millions of people each day, there have been no previous reports of the assistant generating insulting replies in user conversations. The complaint surfaced...

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

Ro Khanna, a California progressive who opposed the US congressional effort to force the Chinese divestment of TikTok, will replace Illinois Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi as the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Communist Party later this month. The announcement, made by House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on Monday, comes eight months after Krishnamoorthi said he would run for a Senate seat that will be vacated by Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin. Durbin announced last...

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

The US military operation that captured Venezuela’s president on Saturday is likely to force governments across Latin America to reassess how far China and Russia can protect their partners when Washington decides to act, according to analysts, as the United States signals a more assertive approach to the region. The operation, which removed President Nicolas Maduro and placed Venezuela under a US-managed “transition”, marked the most direct American military action in Latin America in...

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

China delivered a strongly worded message to the United States on Monday at an “emergency” meeting of the UN Security Council, calling on Washington to abide by international law, end its illusion that it is the world’s police force and court, and immediately release Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The remarks by Sun Lei, deputy permanent representative of China to the UN, came some 60 hours after the couple was seized in an audacious midnight raid on Saturday at their compound in Caracas and...

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

The US is in danger of falling increasingly behind China in 2026 as the Asian giant tightens its grip on drones, battery storage, robots and manufacturing, although the No 1 risk to global stability is the US under President Donald Trump, Eurasia Group said on Monday in its closely watched annual forecast of threats, challenges and hotspots. “It’s a time of great geopolitical uncertainty. Not because there’s imminent conflict between the two biggest powers, the United States and China – that...

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

Amid prolonged international sanctions imposed on Venezuela, Chinese enterprises stand out as some of the few willing to pour resources into the South American country’s turbulent economy. However, Saturday’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces – just hours after Maduro met with Chinese diplomats to reaffirm their strategic partnership – raises concerns about the future of such investments. In this explainer, we examine the portfolio of Chinese assets in Venezuela and how...

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

The American attack on Venezuela on Saturday could further undermine international institutions and accelerate a global arms race, analysts warned, with one likening Washington’s actions to issuing a “death certificate” for the United Nations. On Saturday, in a surprise precision operation, the US military struck Venezuela and captured its leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who were later placed in detention in New York. President Donald Trump later said the US would run the South American...

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

China and South Korea have a shared responsibility for regional stability and should make the “correct strategic choice”, President Xi Jinping told his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae Myung on Monday, as Seoul seeks to turn the page on recent tensions in their relationship. Xi said the international landscape was becoming increasingly turbulent and complex as changes on a scale “unseen in a century are rapidly unfolding across the world”, according to state broadcaster CCTV. As beneficiaries of...

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

After US air strikes hit Caracas on Saturday, Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife were detained and transferred to the United States. US President Donald Trump later said his country planned to “run” Venezuela for the time being and take control of its oil reserves. In the wake of the military operation, the Post examines the potential winners and losers in the global oil market. Who are the winners? The US stands to be the biggest beneficiary. One immediate implication could be...

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

‍Ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas ⁠Maduro arrived at ‍a federal ‍courthouse in ‌Manhattan on Monday for ‍a court ‌appearance. Maduro, 63, was flown by helicopter to New York, where he was placed in an armoured car. More to follow …

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

The US “decapitation-style” operation against Venezuela’s leadership has heightened concerns in Taiwan that Beijing could one day attempt a similar strike against the island, even though Taipei has played down such a possibility. The anxiety has been amplified by the People’s Liberation Army’s two-day drills around Taiwan last week, parts of which simulated joint operations aimed at paralysing political and military command structures – a scenario analysts say echoes elements of leadership...

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

More than 36 years after the United States invaded Panama to arrest Manuel Noriega, Washington has once again launched a military operation to seize the sitting president of a sovereign Latin American country. The move echoes the logic of the Monroe Doctrine revived for the Trump era: enforcing US dominance in the western hemisphere through the use of force rather than law. Beyond its immediate impact on Latin America, the operation has sent a wider signal. It underscores a willingness to bypass...

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

China remained committed to its energy partnership with Venezuela and stressed that the cooperation between the two countries was protected by international law, the foreign ministry in Beijing said on Monday. Following this weekend’s raid that saw President Nicolas Maduro captured and taken to the United States, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian was asked whether the country, the largest customer for Venezuelan oil, would continue the imports. He did not answer directly, but said:...

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

Tian Xuebin, a veteran of China’s State Council who worked under several former Chinese premiers, has been placed under a probe by the Communist Party’s top anti-graft agency. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), China’s top political disciplinary and anti-corruption agency, on Monday announced the detention of Tian, 62 – who last served as vice-minister of water resources before stepping down in December 2023 – for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law”, a...

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

Beijing is looking to expand China’s world-leading network of high-speed trains by 19 per cent within five years in an ongoing bid to boost connectivity across the country. The national railway operator unveiled the blueprint on Sunday to expand the country’s operational rail network to around 180,000km (112,000 miles) by 2030 – with high-speed routes totalling 60,000km and accounting for one-third of the full network – as part of the country’s infrastructure push under the nation’s 2026–2030...

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

An experimental Chinese treatment for Alzheimer’s disease focused on glucose levels has shown promise in a trial on mice, with researchers reporting significant improvement in late-stage symptoms. A team from the Kunming Institute of Zoology, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the mice showed a substantial reversal in memory loss and reduced brain plaque within weeks of being treated with the drug. The researchers reported the results of their study in peer-reviewed journal Advanced...

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

Beijing has warned that a proposal by Taiwanese lawmakers to amend legislation is a move aimed at “de jure independence” for the island, heightening the risk of war. “This proposal disregards the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan … publicly challenges the historical and legal fact that Taiwan is part of China, and blatantly promotes ‘de jure Taiwan independence’,” Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua said on Sunday. “Taiwan independence means war. We have full confidence and sufficient...

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

Chinese President Xi Jinping said major powers should take the lead in respecting the development path of other nations in a veiled swipe at the United States for raiding Venezuela and taking its president, Nicolas Maduro, to New York. Xi made the remarks which add to Beijing’s earlier criticism of Washington’s attacks on Venezuela when meeting visiting Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin on Monday. “The world today is undergoing changes and turbulence not seen in a century, with unilateral acts...

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

China’s top diplomat has accused the United States of acting like the world’s policeman and condemned US military strikes on Venezuela as a serious violation of international law and sovereignty. Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remarks on Sunday during high-level talks in Beijing with Ishaq Dar, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Pakistan. Wang said the international landscape was becoming increasingly volatile, marked by growing unilateralism and what he described as bullying...

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

Scientists in China have discovered fossils of a new mammal-like reptile species in Gansu province – the first of its genus to be found in both South Africa and China. The finding suggests that Late Permian (299 to 252 million years ago) tetrapods crossed the equator of the supercontinent Pangaea more often than expected, revealing an ecological corridor capable of supporting large animal migration. The new species of dicynodont, an extinct clade of non-mammalian therapsids – a group that...

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