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	At Summer Davos in China, Mideast firms look to next generation to repair the Gulf China may be seen as a potential mediator in the Middle East but economic integration within the region is more likely to drive change there, according to observers at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian. The “Summer Davos” gathering in Liaoning province this week comes as Washington and Tehran try to reach agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The two countries have agreed to halt fighting “on all... Source: © SCMP News
	China targets face of international space cooperation in corruption crackdown Senior Chinese defence industry official Bian Zhigang is under investigation for corruption, the latest high-profile target in Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on its military sector. Bian, deputy head of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND), was suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law”, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said on Wednesday, using its usual term for corruption and bribery. The CCDI is China’s... Source: © SCMP News
	Drowning desert: how Xinjiang’s infrastructure could fail under record rain Rare but intense rainfall in China’s biggest desert that triggered flooding – and damage – across parts of Xinjiang has underscored the growing risks posed by extreme weather in the country’s arid northwest. According to China Weather Network, the public information platform of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), two major flood events have occurred along the margins of the Taklamakan Desert, a once-arid region, this month. While warmer, wetter conditions in recent decades made... Source: © SCMP News
	2 Japanese held in China over alleged rare earths smuggling China has detained two Japanese nationals over alleged attempts to take rare earth-related products out of the country. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on Wednesday that one of the two was detained by Chinese authorities on May 18 and the other a week later, accused of violating Chinese laws governing the import and export of restricted goods. Tokyo confirmed the detentions, without giving further details, citing privacy. One of the detainees is an employee of a Japanese... Source: © SCMP News
	New poll shows eroding global trust in Trump and America Global confidence in US President Donald Trump’s leadership remains low around the world, while views of his country as a reliable partner continue to decline, a new survey from the Washington-based Pew Research Centre showed on Tuesday. The survey of 42,151 adults across 36 countries was conducted between February and May 2026, a period marked by geopolitical competition with China and the US-Israeli military conflict with Iran that began in late February. On average, just 23 per cent of adults... Source: © SCMP News
	Chinese scientists love Blackpink’s Jennie so much they named a fish after her A popular K-pop star has found an unlikely place in the scientific record after researchers in China named a newly discovered fish species after her. Jennie Ruby Jane, from Blackpink, was “a constant source of inspiration” for the master’s student who discovered the tiny black-and-yellow fish – shorter than an average human fingernail – near southern China’s Pearl River estuary. The fish, named Brachygobius jennie, is the first bumblebee goby found in China and could provide a model for studying... Source: © SCMP News
	America’s ‘biggest risk’ on AI is China getting ahead, Bessent says US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said China surpassing the United States on artificial intelligence was the “biggest risk” of the technology – outweighing concerns over safety or job losses. “The biggest risk to AI is China getting ahead of us,” Bessent said at the Economic Club of New York, adding that China’s willingness to discuss AI underscored America’s technological lead. “I am one of the point people on our AI policy. I am the point person in terms of the economic... Source: © SCMP News
	Does Lithuania’s Taiwan pause signal a wider European shift towards pragmatism? Lithuania’s decision to suspend negotiations on an economic cooperation plan with Taiwan has cast fresh doubt over one of Taipei’s most celebrated foreign relations breakthroughs as the Baltic state’s incoming government seeks more pragmatic ties with Beijing. Lithuania’s foreign ministry said on Monday that negotiations on an economic cooperation action plan with Taiwan had been temporarily suspended by mutual agreement because of changes in the European country’s domestic political environment... Source: © SCMP News
	‘China Initiative 2.0’: US crackdown on Chinese scholars intensifies Leading immigration lawyers and activists say the US government has intensified its crackdown on Chinese scientists and researchers – a campaign they argue is even more aggressive than the controversial “China Initiative” launched during US President Donald Trump’s first term. “I think now we are clearly in an era of China Initiative 2.0,” said Robert Fisher, a former Assistant US Attorney and a partner at Nixon Peabody, a Boston-based international law firm. The initiative, launched by the... Source: © SCMP News
	US Anthropic ban is best advert for Chinese AI Bankers working for JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong must have been miffed when they were shut off from using artificial intelligence (AI) models from Anthropic, a pioneering American firm in the field. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase pulled the plug in April and last week respectively, based on a strict interpretation of Anthropic’s terms of use, which reflect Washington’s stringent restrictions on China’s access to frontier American AI models. The banks’ decisions are seen as a... Source: © SCMP News
	Alibaba sues Pentagon over China military blacklist Chinese technology and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding has sued the US Department of Defence, seeking to be removed from a blacklist of companies deemed to support China’s military. In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in a district court in San Jose, California, the Hangzhou-based company said the Pentagon had added Alibaba to a list of companies that allegedly aid the People’s Liberation Army without providing substantial evidence or explanation. The Pentagon’s move violated constitutional due... Source: © SCMP News
	US targets Cuba mining sector in move with implications for China-linked supply chains The Trump administration expanded its sanctions campaign against Cuba on Tuesday, targeting a state-owned mining company and other key economic entities in a move that comes as Washington seeks to build alternative supply chains for critical minerals and reduce reliance on geopolitical rivals. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against five entities and one individual, including state-owned mining company GeoMinera, which oversees foreign-backed mining ventures and manages... Source: © SCMP News
	Trump touts Iran inspection deal as Tehran disputes claim US President Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted that Iran has agreed to “highest level” nuclear inspections even as Iranian officials disputed his claim, exposing how much remains contested even with a tentative agreement in place. “Despite their protestations and false statements to the contrary … Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!),” Trump wrote on social media on Tuesday morning. “This will insure ‘Nuclear Honesty.’ If... Source: © SCMP News
	Return to the top: China’s LineShine beats US El Capitan in Top500 supercomputer rankings China has reclaimed the world’s fastest supercomputer crown for the first time since 2017, according to the latest TOP500 rankings released at the International Supercomputing Conference in Hamburg, Germany, on Tuesday. LineShine, built by the National Supercomputing Centre in Shenzhen, achieved 2.198 exaflops of performance – nearly 2.2 quintillion calculations per second – surpassing the previous champion, El Capitan, at California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which reached 1.809... Source: © SCMP News
	Will Andy Burnham shake up the UK’s China policy if he becomes prime minister? British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s likely replacement could continue the outgoing leader’s pragmatic approach towards China, though addressing economic challenges at home would remain the most immediate priority, observers say. Clearing the way for the selection of the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade, Starmer announced on Monday his intention to step down, succumbing to mounting pressure within his Labour Party as his popularity dwindled. Shortly after Starmer’s resignation, Andy... Source: © SCMP News
	China builds record-breaking 100-metre observation tower in South China Sea China has built the tallest environmental observation tower in the South China Sea, the country’s meteorological administration has said. Standing at 100 metres (330 feet) tall, the tower is almost three times higher than the previous tallest structure in the South China Sea and built to withstand super typhoons with wind speeds of over 200km/h (125mph), heavy waves, high humidity and high levels of salinity. It is equipped with sensors to collect round-the-clock, real-time data on wind speeds,... Source: © SCMP News
	What is China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning testing – and why does it matter? China’s first aircraft carrier tried new tactics in its latest drill – including working with land-based tanker aircraft and coordinating with an amphibious assault ship – amid a push to strengthen military combat capability. The Liaoning aircraft carrier strike group returned to its home port in Qingdao on Monday after completing more than 40 days of far-sea combat training, according to state broadcaster CCTV. During the extended deployment, the Liaoning conducted combat exercises at multiple... Source: © SCMP News
	China’s new ‘super fuel’ could help Long March rockets increase payload by 10% A Chinese Long March-12 rocket launched last week used a new super fuel that boosted the rocket’s payload capacity by 10 per cent, according to its developer. As China expands its role in space with a series of ambitious lunar missions and puts growing numbers of commercial satellites in orbit, demand for larger payloads is increasing. Instead of designing bigger, more expensive airframes, The Beijing Aerospace Test Technology Research Institute, a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and... Source: © SCMP News
	China and Philippines have a rare naval stand-off near disputed Scarborough Shoal Four Chinese warships reportedly confronted a Philippine Navy vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in a rare stand-off on Saturday, the same day Manila wrapped up a joint drill with the US and its allies. The confrontation coincided with the end of Salaknib 2026, a nearly three-month joint military exercise involving more than 7,000 troops from the Philippines, the United States, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. Beijing has not commented on the incident. According to a report by 24 Oras... Source: © SCMP News
	China targets US rare earth miners as Pentagon faces restocking rush China put two US rare earth miners on its export control list, along with eight technology companies, in response to the US Department of Defence blacklisting Chinese businesses for their alleged ties to the People’s Liberation Army. MP Materials and USA Rare Earth will both be banned from buying Chinese exports with dual civilian and military uses, the Ministry of Commerce said on Monday. Motor maker Aveox and drone companies Red Cat and Teal Drones were among the other companies included in... Source: © SCMP News
	China’s evolving political economy, as seen through gaokao scramble This week, the results of China’s National Higher Education Entrance Examination, or gaokao, will be released. Within days, candidates will submit their prioritised preferences for universities and majors. Families will have to make the most consequential choices with imperfect information amid uncertainty. It is a sorting mechanism. Candidates need to find the right match by choosing programmes their gaokao results can gain them entry to. Historical admission marks only serve as indicative... Source: © SCMP News
	Is China’s risk tolerance reaching its limit with pause of African mine deal? As China’s relationship with African countries has deepened, the country’s influence is spreading into more areas. In the latest of a series of articles, Dulue Mbachu investigates the extent of Chinese investments in the continent and Beijing’s growing wariness about their security. Chinese regulators balked at Zijin Mining’s planned US$4 billion acquisition of Canadian company Allied Gold, placing it on hold to scrutinise the potential risks. As a result, the agreement for the deal, already... Source: © SCMP News
	Chinese scientists create battery that works comfortably way above water’s boiling point Chinese scientists have developed a tiny, ceramic-based lithium-ion battery that can withstand extreme heat, offering a safer power source for smart sensors, aerospace gadgets and military applications. Unlike flammable traditional lithium-ion batteries, this rechargeable solid-state battery operates stably up to 150 degrees Celsius (302 degrees Fahrenheit) and can withstand brief thermal shocks of up to 300 degrees Celsius without compromising performance. The Tsinghua University-led team said... Source: © SCMP News
	China and Africa’s evolving partnership Source: © SCMP News
	Study shows 4,000-year battle of Eastern and Western genes in China’s heartland Ningxia is a perfect example of how the East meets the West. Located in the northwest inland region of China, it is the intersection of the Eurasian steppe and Chinese farmlands. Fudan University, in collaboration with the Ningxia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Northwest University, has recently conducted the largest ancient genomics research project in Ningxia. The researchers found that human genes from the East and the West have fused through wars and trade in this narrow... Source: © SCMP News
	Japan’s visa fee jump to hit Chinese tourists hardest, adding friction to tense ties Chinese tourists are expected to be among the hardest hit by Japan’s fivefold visa fee increase, a move analysts warned could further strain already tense relations between Beijing and Tokyo. For the first time since 1978, the Japanese government has decided to raise visa fees. The cost of a single-entry visa will increase from 3,000 yen (US$18.54) to 15,000 yen, while multiple-entry visas will jump from 6,000 yen to 30,000 yen. The new policy, which will come into effect on July 1, has been... Source: © SCMP News
	The I Ching, Leibniz and AI: how old China-West links shaped modern science The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) appears sudden and revolutionary, yet its origins stretch deep into history, revealing a profound and forgotten intellectual exchange between China and the West. Long before Alan Turing, Claude Shannon, or even Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace, there was Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz – the German polymath born exactly 380 years ago next week. Among his monumental contributions to science is the binary numeral system, which serves as the bedrock of modern... Source: © SCMP News
	Japan’s defence outreach to counter China’s military rise hits hidden roadblocks Japan seized the spotlight at last month’s Shangri-La Dialogue, stepping into a vacuum left by the Chinese defence chief – who skipped the forum for a second year – and using the stage to sharpen its warnings over Beijing’s military rise. Speaking in Singapore on May 31, the final day of the security forum, Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi pushed back against Beijing’s accusation that Japan is engaging in a “new militarism” and instead took aim at China’s growing military capabilities... Source: © SCMP News
	Can Quad break China’s mineral monopoly amid US-India rift? The US strike on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman earlier this month did more than kill three Indian sailors and severely undercut US-India relations. It has also cast further doubt on the unity of the Quad, an informal bloc made up of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, and the group’s ambitious agenda aimed at loosening China’s dominant grip on critical minerals. Despite the persistent US-India fissures that could slow down the Quad’s momentum, however, a counter-unifying force may... Source: © SCMP News
	China closing in but US leads in biotech quality and commercial reach, survey finds China, which now conducts more clinical drug trials than the US, still lags in the quality and commercial reach of its biomedical science, according to a recent survey of senior US leaders in industry and academia. The ‌poll, conducted by Cure Innovation Index, found that China is seen as the clear leader in two out of six sectors: clinical development and supply chain. It found that the US leads in moving experimental products through to large-scale production, capital, and commercialisation... Source: © SCMP News
	US-China rare earth clash 2.0? Fragile truce tested as tit-for-tat moves return Beijing’s latest restrictions on US rare earth companies, imposed in response to the Pentagon’s designation of leading Chinese firms, are testing the durability of the fragile US-China truce, analysts said. China’s export controls, targeting 10 US entities including national giants MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, mark one of the most significant escalations since Washington and Beijing reached a temporary truce last October in Busan – an understanding that was reaffirmed during the recent... Source: © SCMP News
	China signals openness to Colombia’s Trump-backed president-elect despite US tilt Beijing congratulated Colombia on its presidential run-off and said it would work with the incoming government of Abelardo de la Espriella, the far-right lawyer who has promised to pull the country back towards the United States. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun made the remarks on Monday, a day after a preliminary count put de la Espriella narrowly ahead of his leftist rival, Senator Ivan Cepeda. “China … congratulates Colombia on the smooth second round of presidential elections,” he... Source: © SCMP News
	European Central Bank’s President Lagarde urges talks on yuan undervaluation European Central ⁠Bank President Christine Lagarde ⁠on Monday urged global leaders to discuss undervaluation of the Chinese currency as a facet of the imbalances endangering the global economy. China has ‌consistently denied that it manipulates its currency for trade advantage but its surging trade surpluses are one of several macroeconomic mismatches worrying leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations who met last week in ⁠France, along with chronic US deficits and Europe’s... Source: © SCMP News
	As Europe rearms, can it decouple its military supply chains from China? Europe’s defence industry would gradually reduce its reliance on China during the continent’s ongoing rearmament drive, rather than decouple completely, analysts said. On Wednesday, during the Group of Seven summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, the leaders of France, Germany, the UK, Italy, the US, Canada and Japan signed a declaration on securing supply chains for critical minerals. Without naming China, the leaders agreed to “significantly reduce” their dependency on a “single supplier outside... Source: © SCMP News
	Could Iran replace China as US soybean market? Farmers aren’t buying Trump pitch Just hours after Vice-President J.D. Vance pitched a plan for Iran to spend unfrozen funds on US farm exports, Donald Trump insisted that American farmers were “very happy” with the proposal, saying he had received numerous calls of support. But some farmers dismissed the plan as unrealistic and accused the US president of misleading growers ahead of the midterm elections. Speaking ahead of his departure from the Swiss Burgenstock resort, where he led the US delegation for this weekend’s round... Source: © SCMP News
	China says it warned off multiple Japanese ‘provocations’ during aircraft carrier drills China has accused Japanese warplanes and ships of carrying out multiple “provocations” and surveillance operations during a carrier group’s deployment to the western Pacific for live-fire exercises. State broadcaster CCTV released a video on Monday showing at least four “close-range” encounters, and said the Liaoning carrier group had “warned off” the warships and surveillance planes. It included footage of Japanese warships as well as clips of aircraft, at least one of which appeared to have... Source: © SCMP News
	Australian public cooling on Trump’s US while thawing on China, survey finds Australian trust in the United States has hit a record low, while the public mood towards China has warmed for the fourth year in a row, according to a new opinion poll. In an unprecedented shift, 51 per cent of those surveyed said the country’s relationship with China was more important than that with the US, compared with 45 per cent who said America should take priority. Only 31 per cent of those questioned in the Lowy Institute’s annual poll said they trusted the US to act responsibly in the... Source: © SCMP News
	Amid PLA pressure, Taiwan starts drill to simulate rapid deployment in a crisis Taiwan began a combat readiness exercise on Monday that aims to boost the military’s ability to quickly move to a wartime footing, amid sustained pressure from the mainland. The Chinese mainland’s increasingly frequent air and naval operations in the region have blurred the line between peacetime and wartime and mean that the Taiwanese military will have less time to respond to a crisis, according to officials. The Immediate Combat Readiness Exercise, which runs through Friday, was designed to... Source: © SCMP News
	Japan’s latest live-fire drill is about offence, not defence: PLA Daily China’s military mouthpiece on Monday warned that the weapons and operational methods seen in Japan’s largest annual live-fire drill symbolised the Self-Defence Force’s acceleration towards offensive capabilities as part of its military expansion. “Japan’s military forces will become more offensive, more dangerous and more oriented towards actual combat. Japan will race forward on the road of ‘re-militarisation’,” according to the article in PLA Daily. The warning came as tensions between... Source: © SCMP News
	China rejects trade criticism after Merz backs global yuan action China pushed back against criticisms of its trade practices after the German chancellor became the latest world leader to voice complaints amid surging trade imbalances. “China never actively pursues a trade surplus,” Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang said on Monday at the opening of a supply-chain expo in Beijing. “The greatest obstacle to China increasing its imports does not lie within itself, but rather with certain countries that abuse export controls.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday... Source: © SCMP News
	In China, some researchers are attending academic conferences that do not exist Scammers in China have traditionally preyed on young people looking for quick cash or older individuals seeking health and longevity. However, they have found a new target: academics. Liu Xia, a lecturer in economics and management at a private university in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province in central China, is still indignant when she recalls the experience in 2024 of a paper submission-based scam. Needing to publish a conference paper for a professional title evaluation, she found an event... Source: © SCMP News
	A crisis ‘defused’ as blockade lifted, assets to be returned to Iran after Swiss talks Statements from the US and Iran following talks in Switzerland have cooled tensions that nearly derailed the peace process, signalling an intention to continue negotiations even as key issues remained unresolved, according to analysts. Tehran said the talks had led to the lifting of the blockade and the release of frozen assets for Iran, but that the real test remained deconfliction in Lebanon. “Tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end Lebanon War,” Iranian... Source: © SCMP News
	Nie Huihua on the non-Westernness of Chinese government and the challenge to innovation Nie Huihua, a professor of economics at Renmin University, discusses how an effective understanding of China’s development requires a shift from Western-centric frameworks to an integrated perspective that recognises how formal institutions, informal grass-roots mechanisms and cultural collectivism couple to create a self-consistent and adaptive governance system. SCMP Plus readers get early access to articles in the Open Questions series. You received economics training at Harvard, but your... Source: © SCMP News
	China-Asean relations are bigger than mere geopolitics China-Asean relations are usually described in two ways. One emphasises danger: the South China Sea, US-China rivalry, military pressure and risk of Southeast Asia being pulled into China’s orbit. The other emphasises opportunity: trade, infrastructure, investment, supply chains and shared growth. Both are true. Neither is enough. I recently joined a study tour by the University of Hong Kong’s Centre on Contemporary China and the World to Chengdu, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. During the trip, I was... Source: © SCMP News
	Red Hawk rising: how the Z-20 family is plugging China’s chronic defence gaps Telling a Harbin Z-20 and a Sikorsky UH-60 “Black Hawk” apart can be challenging – the two helicopters look almost identical and their dimensions are very similar. The striking resemblance underscores China’s decades-long effort to close the technological gap with the United States and Russia in the important aviation sector of helicopters. Yet, there are differences: the Z-20 has five main rotor blades compared with the UH-60’s four, and its cabin features two front windows instead of the... Source: © SCMP News
	Cancer-on-a-chip pioneer Chen Weiqiang returns to China from New York University Chen Weiqiang, formerly a tenured professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering at New York University (NYU), has joined the school of biomedical engineering at Nanjing University as a distinguished professor. “Professor Chen has long been deeply engaged in top overseas universities, achieving remarkable results in cutting-edge fields such as cellular biomechanics and organ chips,” Nanjing University assistant president Jiang Tian said, while introducing him. “He chose to join Nanjing... Source: © SCMP News
	China’s Iran strategy an exercise in power without projection The spectacle of US President Donald Trump thanking China for staying “neutral” with regard to the US-Israeli war against Iran would have been unthinkable a year ago. Yet at the Group of Seven summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 17, he credited Beijing – alongside Moscow – with preventing a full-blown catastrophe. His observation that China “could have sent in an oil ship with six destroyers alongside of it, on each side” but chose restraint, captured the essence of Beijing’s strategic... Source: © SCMP News
	KMT accuses DPP of targeting Taiwan’s farmers over trade ties with mainland Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) has hit out at the island’s government for launching investigations into five agricultural groups over participation in a mainland forum. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) referred the five groups to the Ministry of Agriculture for investigation after they were accused of signing cooperation deals at the Straits Forum in southeastern Fujian province earlier this month. The move triggered a backlash from opposition politicians and farming groups,... Source: © SCMP News
	What signal is China sending with footage of DF-17 hypersonic missile launches? China’s state broadcaster CCTV has aired footage showing the launch of a DF-17 hypersonic missile, a weapon that analysts believe could strengthen deterrence across the first island chain. On Saturday, a military news programme carried footage of two live-fire exercises, one of which showed a Dongfeng-17, or “east wind”, missile launcher by the side of a road, followed by a vertical launch. The other segment showed training exercises involving multiple branches of the People’s Liberation Army... Source: © SCMP News
	The US town, the Chinese company and the bankrupting battle over a battery plant Less than three years ago, residents of a small rural township in the US state of Michigan packed a community hall to celebrate what many saw as a victory for local democracy over a Chinese-headquartered battery manufacturer. The residents of Green Charter Township prayed, cheered and congratulated one another for overturning a town board that had supported Gotion’s proposed US$2.36 billion electric vehicle battery project. As the new board quickly rescinded the Gotion plan, the residents... Source: © SCMP News

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