Last year, 13 million new electric vehicles rolled out onto China’s roads as the country continued a rapid transition to new energy. But as eco-friendly rides begin to dominate transport, the new technology appears to be hauling old baggage – motion sickness. Advertisement After investigating growing numbers of reports of EV passengers feeling dizzy, nauseated or breaking into cold sweats, researchers in Japan may have come up with a low-tech solution for the hi-tech problem: a simple sound that can be downloaded and played before a passenger’s next journey. Studies…
Month: June 2025
History tells us US-China ties will survive current rupture: Neysun Mahboubi
Neysun Mahboubi is a US expert on Chinese law and director of the Penn Project on the Future of US-China Relations at the University of Pennsylvania. He spoke to the Post shortly after leading a group of Penn students on a 10-day tour of Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou in May. The visit included wide-ranging discussions with Chinese students, think tankers, government officials and foreigners living in China. This interview took place before the announcement that the US State Department would “aggressively review” Chinese student visas and subsequent developments. A question…
The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s China deal: rare earths pave the green road to militarisation | Editorial
It’s an irony that the minerals needed to save the planet may help destroy it. Rare earth elements, the mineral backbones of wind turbines and electric vehicles, are now the prize in a geopolitical arms race. The trade agreement between Washington and Beijing restores rare earth shipments from China to the US, which had been suspended in retaliation against Donald Trump’s tariffs. Behind the bluster, there has been a realisation in Washington that these are critical inputs for the US. They are needed not just by American icons such as Ford…
Chinese authority scams fleece international students in Australia of $5m in five months
Scammers pretending to be Chinese authorities are increasingly targeting international students in Australia, threatening “serious trouble” and 24-hour surveillance and fleecing them of more than $5m in just five months. The scammers claim to be Chinese law enforcement officers who demand that personal information or money be transferred to them. Some accuse students of criminal wrongdoing, such as receiving fake passports or credit cards. Victims may be told their identities are being used to commit financial crimes. In some cases, scammers say Australian authorities are planning to arrest and deport…
‘It’s not Chinese assistance’: Australia accuses China of taking undue credit for aid projects in the Pacific
China is bolstering its geo-political influence in the Pacific by “branding” Asian Development Bank projects – funded in significant part by Australian taxpayer dollars – as Chinese projects, the Australian government says. On the island of Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea to Australia’s north, the state-owned China Railway Construction Corporation has begun work to strengthen the runway at Kieta-Aropa, on the outskirts of the largest city. When the government of Bougainville announced the upgrade of the airport, there was no mention of the Asian Development Bank –…
Video teases new Chinese blackout bomb that can knock out enemy power stations
China’s state broadcaster posted a video on Thursday featuring what appeared to be a new type of graphite bomb that it said could knock out enemy power stations and cause a “complete loss of electricity” across a targeted area. Advertisement A social media channel run by CCTV shared an animated video showing the weapon being launched from a land-based vehicle before ejecting 90 cylinder-shaped submunitions. These canisters bounced upon impact before detonating mid-air, dispersing fine, chemically treated carbon filaments designed to short-circuit high-voltage power infrastructure. The weapon aims to disrupt…
Could Cambodia hit the Thai capital with its made-in-China weapons?
Cambodia could use Chinese-made weapons to strike Thailand but they would not put the Thai capital within reach, and Beijing is unlikely to stand by if border tensions erupt into military conflict, according to a Chinese analyst. Advertisement “China’s weapon exports are defensive in nature, and after purchase, ownership and usage rights belong entirely to the recipient country,” former People’s Liberation Army instructor Song Zhongping said. “China would not wish to see two of its traditional friends at war, even over territorial disputes,” he said, adding that Beijing would seek…
After Nato chaos, ‘irrelevant’ Europe shambles towards China summit
For months since the return of US President Donald Trump, there has been a roaring trade in papers and speeches about how to make Europe a truly independent geopolitical player. Advertisement The term “strategic autonomy”, championed by the French government during Trump’s first term, is back in vogue. But the independence movement was on the ropes this week, when a series of summits thrust Europe’s weakness on global affairs into the spotlight ahead of a bout of engagement with China. On Monday, a meeting of the European Union’s foreign ministers…
How Taipei-controlled island close to mainland coast shows limits of both sides
On Quemoy Island, off the coast of Fujian province in mainland China, people passing the statue of Chiang Kai-shek in the main residential area of Jincheng can see an inscription in Chinese characters: “Saviour of the Nation”. Advertisement In 2025, it is an oddity for both Taiwanese and mainland Chinese alike. Quemoy county has a population of 130,000 and consists of Quemoy Island, Little Quemoy Island and several islets. It is less than 10km (6.2 miles) from the mainland city of Xiamen but is administered by Taipei authorities based 200km…
‘Climate is our biggest war’, warns CEO of Cop30 ahead of UN summit in Brazil
“Climate is our biggest war. Climate is here for the next 100 years. We need to focus and … not allow those [other] wars to take our attention away from the bigger fight that we need to have.” Ana Toni, the chief executive of Cop30, the UN climate summit to be held in Brazil this November, is worried. With only four months before the crucial global summit, the world’s response to the climate crisis is in limbo. Fewer than 30 of the 200 countries that will gather in the Amazonian…