China News

China has called for further talks on Iran’s nuclear programme to get the process “back on track” after European countries reimposed sanctions on Tehran a few weeks ago. “China appreciates Iran’s recent reaffirmation that it has no intention of developing nuclear weapons, and supports Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in a phone call on Wednesday. Wang warned there was currently a “deadlock” over the...

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Chongqing, a key economic hub in southwest China, has unveiled a plan to support the development of innovative drugs as the country steps up its push for scientific and technological self-reliance. Key goals include having one to three innovative drugs approved for market launch each year by 2027 and building three innovative drug industry clusters to encourage joint research and development (R&D) and technology transfers, with the authorities pledging support for innovative enterprises,...

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At a meeting in Brussels last month, foreign ministers from the European Union’s 27 member states sat down to discuss the bloc’s plans for the Indo-Pacific region. The conversation, according to several people familiar with it, lasted just seven minutes. It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that officials, diplomats and experts are groaning about the lack of coherence and foresight in the union’s China policy. At a time when European leaders are promising independence, credibility and resilience,...

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China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, entered into service on Wednesday at a grand ceremony held in Sanya, Hainan, according to state media reports. The Fujian is China’s most advanced warship and its first aircraft carrier to be equipped with electromagnetic catapults. Its inauguration makes China only the second country, after the United States, to operate a carrier with this aircraft launch technology. President Xi Jinping oversaw the ceremony and boarded the Fujian afterwards to hear...

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China’s exports fell in October amid a volatile trade war with the United States – though recent high-level talks between the world’s two largest economies have since eased tensions. Outbound shipments fell 1.1 per cent year on year to US$305.35 billion last month, customs data showed on Friday. The figure was lower than September’s 8.3 per cent increase and fell short of the 2.84 per cent growth forecast by Chinese financial data provider Wind. Imports in October stood at US$215.28 billion,...

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Talks between the Chinese and South Korean leaders have renewed diplomatic momentum, but what happens next could hinge on how Seoul balances its relations with Washington, according to analysts. Chinese President Xi Jinping – on his first visit to South Korea in 11 years – met his counterpart Lee Jae-myung in Gyeongju last Saturday, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. A lighthearted exchange before their state banquet drew media attention. After Xi presented Lee...

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Hong Kong and mainland China will continue to be the growth engine for asset-management companies as both local and international investors are starting to shift from holding cash to investing in equities and bonds in the region, according to the top boss of US fund house Invesco. “There is a trend of redistribution of people’s portfolios, as they are looking for value opportunities, which are showing up in emerging markets, equity, emerging-market debt and global equities,” said Andrew...

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The dream of hosting the 2036 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games is within reach for Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area development zone. But dreams alone do not win the games. They are realised through bold vision, strategic planning and timely action. We now stand at a pivotal moment. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced a temporary halt to the Olympic host bidding process to allow its new president, Kirsty Coventry, time to review and refine the selection framework. This...

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Huaqiangbei, home to the world’s biggest electronics wholesale market, is seeing a dramatic increase in the prices of memory chips and other storage products, which is expected to drive up the cost of consumer electronics goods such as smartphones, tablets and personal computers. The increase, especially for large-capacity models, has been “astounding”, as some memory chips had doubled in price, said Cai Zhaojie, a vendor who sells and builds personal computers for enterprises and professional...

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China’s real estate investment trust (C-Reit) is poised to grow by 30 times to become a US$1 trillion industry in the next 20 years – a transition borne out of several factors, including declining home sales – which is expected to benefit select mainland developers, according to Morgan Stanley. Following 25 years of property growth, primarily focused on the residential segment, mainland developers are increasingly weaning off from building projects that would yield one-time profits, the US...

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Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is scheduled to speak in a fireside chat on Friday during the third Family Business Summit in Hong Kong, as the city burnishes its role as the offshore fundraising hub and ‘superconnector’ between the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world. The speech is the highlight of the conference, curated by the South China Morning Post and Blue Pool Capital, with UBS as the presenting partner. The attendees – by invitation only – comprise about 150 private business...

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The National Games’ unprecedented tripartite hosting arrangement is a calculated strategy, showcasing the Greater Bay Area’s synergy while mitigating the substantial financial and logistical burdens on any single host city, according to experts. “It is more of a political move to showcase the Greater Bay Area integration and the practicality of utilising each city’s resources,” said Gary Ng Cheuk-yan, senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank, suggesting that splitting the...

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This year marks half a century of formal diplomatic relations between China and the European Union as well as the 25th anniversary of the founding of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. Here, Shi Jiangtao looks at how the relationship has been affected by Trump 2.0 and accompanying ups and downs of US-China ties, and global conflicts. In an era defined by intensifying US-China rivalry, the European Union often finds itself pulled in opposite directions by the competing giants,...

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Economist Paul Samuelson famously quipped that stock markets accurately predicted nine of the last five recessions. The same could be said of financial economists. So-called leading indicators like market sentiment swing with the daily news. Optimism is the default option but bull markets die hard. Still, most seasoned financial economists now recognise that stock markets are becoming more fragile. And so does the crowd. The frequency of online searches for “stock market bubble” has surged since...

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China has backed a landmark rainforest protection fund launched by Brazil at the Cop30 climate summit on Thursday but is not expected to announce any financial contribution during the event, Brazil’s finance minister said at a press conference. The launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility is one of the main outcomes of this year’s UN climate conference so far. It is a multilateral mechanism designed to reward tropical nations for keeping their forests standing rather than clearing...

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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva kicked off the Cop30 climate summit on Thursday, urging leaders to turn promises into action while highlighting his country’s work within the Brics group to reaffirm the importance of climate finance, capacity building and technology transfer in global cooperation. The meeting comes amid the notable absence by the United States. President Donald Trump, who ordered the country’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in January, declined an invitation...

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After China and the US reached an agreement on soybeans, Beijing has signalled its intent to seek favourable terms, with the scale of future imports dependent on the competitiveness of American crops, a commerce official said. “With the adjusted tariffs, China will encourage companies to import agricultural products from the US in line with market principles,” said Chen Chao, director general of the Department of American and Oceanian Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce, in a speech at the China...

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The United States must take urgent action if it is to avoid a “logistical catastrophe” in any possible conflict with China, military strategists have suggested, describing supply lines as its biggest weakness. Decades of neglect, cost cutting and personnel shortages – as well as poor maintenance and systemic decline – have directly undermined the US deterrence strategy in the Pacific, according to an analysis published on the military website Breaking Defence. While most public discussion...

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Chinese scientists and engineers have pushed far beyond a string of US military bases known as the second island chain, reaching a seamount in the western Pacific Ocean 2,000 metres (6,561 feet) below the surface to test a smart mining vehicle designed to harvest cobalt-rich deposits, gathering critical performance data. The robotic miner showed its ability to traverse rugged seabeds littered with cobalt crusts, autonomously adjusting its posture to avoid overturning or being...

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The ripple effects of the record-breaking US government shutdown have spread beyond Washington, denying US agricultural officials an opportunity to deepen cooperation with Chinese companies at a high-profile trade fair even as bilateral tensions show signs of easing. The Post learned on Thursday that, because of the shutdown, representatives from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) did not attend this year’s China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. This marks the first absence of...

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TikTok owner ByteDance has launched a recruitment drive for senior specialists in embodied intelligence, signalling its growing ambition in the development of humanoid robots. Volcano Engine, the Beijing-based tech unicorn’s cloud computing division, was offering a monthly salary of 95,000 yuan (US$13,328) to 120,000 yuan, according to a job posting. It marked the company’s clearest move into humanoid robotics as it specifically sought humanoid specialists rather than general robotics...

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1. Chinese student boom helps create more university spots for Americans: study China’s university boom has helped boost US postgraduate education and local economies in college towns, according to a new study.
2. Chinese trade negotiator urges US to boost agricultural cooperation China’s key trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, has called on the US to create “a...

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In recent months, the European Union has been more Trumpian on China, renouncing part of its free-trade DNA in favour of increasingly protectionist policies. Just like its role model in Washington, the EU has tried to exact geopolitical and economic concessions from Beijing by escalating to de-escalate – a brinkmanship approach that seems to come straight from US President Donald Trump’s playbook in his trade war against China. But the recent trade detente reached by Trump and Chinese President...

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Multinational corporations including French beauty giant L’Oréal and Canadian sportswear brand Lululemon have pledged continued investment in China at the world’s largest trade fair in Shanghai, signalling confidence in the world’s second-largest economy amid signs of a consumer recovery. Speaking on the sidelines of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), L’Oréal chief executive Nicolas Hieronimus said “investing in China is investing in the future”, citing the country’s recovering luxury...

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With nearly one month before Hainan, China’s southern island province, launches a separate customs regime, President Xi Jinping has urged officials to ensure the process goes smoothly so the region can spearhead the country’s opening up. “The strategic goal of building the Hainan Free Trade Port is to establish it as a significant gateway leading China’s opening up in the new era,” Xi said on Thursday in Sanya, a city in southern Hainan, during his tour of the tropical island. “This is an...

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