Day: June 20, 2025

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will visit China next week, on a trip that is expected to give Beijing a chance to promote itself as a reliable partner for Southeast Asian countries and defender of multilateralism. Advertisement China will also be keen to reassure Singapore that the Chinese economy is “back on track” as it gears up for a trade war with the United States, analysts said. On Friday the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed the visit would start on Sunday and run until Thursday. It added that Wong was visiting…

A robotics laboratory at the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT) in central China’s Hunan province has developed a mosquito-sized drone for covert military operations. Advertisement NUDT researchers showed their work on different types of robots – from humanoid machines to tiny drones barely visible to the eye – in a report aired on CCTV 7, China Central Television’s military channel, on June 14. “Here in my hand is a mosquito-like type of robot. Miniature bionic robots like this one are especially suited to information reconnaissance and special missions on…

The world’s most valuable toymaker is losing some of its appeal after the mouthpiece newspaper of the Communist Party of China poured cold water on its business model and warned against the addictiveness of its wildly popular collectibles. Advertisement Pop Mart International Group’s shares plunged as much as 6.6 per cent on Friday in Hong Kong after the People’s Daily newspaper ran a commentary that railed against the “wilful consumerism” of so-called blind boxes. The stock has fallen 11 per cent in two days, wiping out HK$36 billion (US$4.58 billion)…

Leading publications of China’s ruling Communist Party have urged local governments to implement strictures on lavish banquets carefully, an attempt to temper overzealousness amid concerns from the country’s beleaguered food and beverage industry. Advertisement Qiushi, the party’s theoretical journal, said in a commentary piece on Friday that recent affirmations of the need for frugality in official meals are intended to limit extravagant practices, not ordinary dining. “Some local governments scrutinise every meal gathering and intervene in every banquet. Some agencies, to ‘avoid trouble’, simply cancel all official receptions. Some cadres…

China has been urged to use the resumption of visits to Tibet by Indian pilgrims to improve relations between the two countries after years of tensions. Advertisement Earlier this year, China said it would allow pilgrims to return to the Tibet autonomous region this summer to follow two pilgrimage routes after a five-year suspension caused by Covid controls and ongoing cross-border tensions. It is open to Indian citizens with valid passports who wish to travel to Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar for religious reasons. The sites are sacred to followers…