A stronger China waits to see which Trump adviser will come out on top on tariffs: sources

China will hold off on entering serious trade talks with the US while it waits to see which of Donald Trump’s advisers will have his ear and how other countries will respond to the 90-day pause on tariffs, according to sources. Advertisement The Trump administration was “too divided” and China was in no rush to negotiate an end to the tariff deadlock that Washington initiated, according to a source familiar with the situation. “There is no clear sign which clique will win,” the source said, referring to the various camps…

The SMC: what to see at the Shanghai AI incubator visited by Xi Jinping

Advertisement “China boasts abundant data resources, a comprehensive industrial system, and vast market potential, providing a promising outlook for the development of AI,” Xi was quoted as saying by state news agency Xinhua during his visit on Tuesday. Launched in September 2023 after just 38 days of construction, the SMC – located in Shanghai’s Xuhui district, near the Huangpu River – is focused on enterprises involved in the development of foundational AI models. More than 100 companies have joined since the centre commenced operations, according to the SMC, showing the…

Japan’s share buybacks nearly triple as governance push gains pace

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Japanese business & finance myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Share buybacks announced by Japanese companies in April nearly tripled on the previous year as boards opted for placating investors over holding dry powder for tariff uncertainties. Listed groups in the Topix benchmark collectively unveiled ¥3.8tn ($27bn) of buybacks in April, up from ¥1.3tn in the same month last year, according to figures compiled by Goldman Sachs. That puts the total so far this year at ¥6.9tn, more…

Alibaba’s Qwen3 AI model family helps narrow tech gap between China and US: analysts

Advertisement Hangzhou-based Alibaba’s cloud computing unit on Tuesday unveiled its much-anticipated Qwen3 family, consisting of eight enhanced models that range from 600 million to 235 billion parameters. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. In machine learning, parameters are the variables present in an AI system during training, which helps establish how data prompts yield the desired output. Alibaba’s latest AI models showed that Chinese companies have significantly closed the gap with US firms, while the pace of innovation is expected to continue in spite of US export restrictions on…

China detains small investors who spoke out about a major financial scam

Dozens of ordinary Chinese investors who lost their money after the collapse of a state-backed financial services group in eastern China’s Shandong province have been detained by authorities for drawing attention to the issue through foreign media and for “being used by overseas anti-China forces,” two sources told Radio Free Asia. Last month, several investors among the nearly 100,000 impacted by a purported 20 billion yuan (or US$2.74 billion) financial scam linked to Shandong province-based Jianghaihui Group spoke with international media outlets, including RFA, hoping to create global awareness about…

FirstFT: Shein considers US restructuring as trade war threatens London IPO plans

This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter: Shein explores a US restructuring Vietnam marks 50th anniversary of war with the US ending Trade upheaval looms over Singapore’s election Shein is exploring ways to restructure its US business in the event the Trump administration sticks with punitive tariffs on Chinese imports, which…

The first daughter has grown tall and North Koreans are watching

South Korean nutritional supplements are becoming a desired luxury among the North Korean elite with parents wondering how they can get their kids to grow as fast as the young teen daughter of the supreme leader, sources told RFA. Kim Ju Ae made her latest appearance in state media on April 25, when she attended the launch ceremony for a North Korean warship at Nampo shipyard. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and daughter Kim Ju Ae at an event launching a “new multipurpose destroyer,” in this North Korean government…

US urges India and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world US secretary of state Marco Rubio urged India and Pakistan to “de-escalate tensions” after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last week, highlighting Washington’s growing alarm about the frictions between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Rubio’s appeal came in separate phone conversations with senior officials in India and Pakistan on Wednesday as the rising tension in South Asia threatens to reignite one of the region’s longest-running conflicts after New Delhi…

Philippine-Taiwan interaction would be seen in Beijing as independence support, analyst says

Potential Philippine interactions with Taiwan would be a “dangerous step” that would be seen as support for Taiwanese independence and could trigger economic retaliation from Beijing, according to a Chinese academic. Advertisement China’s foreign ministry summoned Jaime FlorCruz, Manila’s envoy to Beijing, on Tuesday to lodge “solemn representations over a series of negative moves recently made by the Philippines concerning Taiwan and security-related issues”, the ministry said. The ministry did not elaborate but on the same day the Chinese embassy in Manila warned against remarks by Philippine Navy Rear Admiral…

Most mainland Chinese citizens oppose use of force to unify with Taiwan: survey

More than half of mainland Chinese citizens oppose the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, according to a survey released on Wednesday. Advertisement The study, designed jointly by the Atlanta-based Carter Center and Emory University, found that 55.1 per cent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances”, while 24.5 per cent disagreed or somewhat disagreed. A fifth of respondents were neutral. Yet on Russia respondents expressed more hawkish views: 66.1 per…