Month: June 2025

A month out from a crunch summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the leaders of the European Union, senior EU officials have landed on an unsavoury term to describe their trade ties with China: “the stinking fish”. Advertisement The analogy, used when briefing member state diplomats on progress in trade talks with China, refers to the European Commission’s frustration that each of its top demands from Beijing is around the removal of measures that were introduced to punish Europe or the US. Brussels wants China to permanently remove requirements…

China said on Friday that it would review and approve export applications for controlled items while the US would also remove some limits – confirming a breakthrough in trade talks centred on export controls. Advertisement Beijing and Washington have been in close communication since a two-day round of trade talks in London earlier this month, with the two sides further confirming details of the framework, China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Friday afternoon. “China will review and approve export applications for controlled items in line with laws and regulations, while…

There is more risk of a global military conflict breaking out under Donald Trump’s leadership, with the US more likely to be drawn into wars involving smaller nations or allies, according to Chinese analysts. Advertisement The assessment came after the United States joined Israel’s war against Iran last weekend, carrying out military strikes on three nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic. US officials have signalled that the operation was a one-off intervention and – hours after Iran launched a missile attack on a US base in Qatar – Trump announced…

China’s fourth-largest smartphone maker Honor took an important step towards a domestic stock market debut on Thursday by filing documents with securities regulators. Advertisement The company completed initial public offering (IPO) counselling recordation, the formal filing of pre-IPO guidance with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The step is required for companies seeking to list mainland shares, known as A shares. The Shenzhen-based company, a spin-off from smartphone and telecommunications-equipment maker Huawei Technologies, was established in 2020 with a registered capital of 3.24 billion yuan (US$4.50 billion). Since its separation,…

Scientists in China have developed the world’s first 3D model of early mouse embryos, revealing how life forms in its initial stages at single-cell resolution. Advertisement The team said this was a first step towards a deeper understanding of how diseases such as congenital heart defects develop, while providing insights into organ regeneration and cancer treatment. “Early organogenesis is a crucial stage in embryonic development, characterised by extensive cell fate specification to initiate organ formation but also by a high susceptibility to developmental defects,” they wrote in an article published…

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. White House says US reaches ‘understanding’ with China on rare earth shipments The United States and China reached a “framework” agreement on how to facilitate rare earth shipments, implementing a deal based on bilateral trade talks that started last month in Geneva, Switzerland, the White House said. Confirmation of the agreement came…

A United Nations agency is rallying policymakers, non-government organisations and academics to support its ethics guidelines on artificial intelligence (AI) at a time when the technology is rapidly changing the world. Advertisement Unesco, the 194-member UN heritage agency that produced the world’s first – and so far only – global AI ethics standards four years ago, hosted a forum in Bangkok this week to drive the adoption of its recommendations. However, there is a long way to go before the recommendations could be turned into a universal, actionable framework amid…

While eye-catching technological breakthroughs – led by the DeepSeek artificial intelligence (AI) model – have boosted confidence in China amid intensifying rivalry with the United States, economists at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin have called for structural reforms to make China a consumption-driven economy. Advertisement “We can talk about technological supremacy, like AI and all these, but China is never going to be a rich country unless it becomes a big consumer country,” Jin Keyu, a professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s school…