Day: July 19, 2025

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last month highlighted Beijing’s “leapfrog development” in ties with African countries in the 25 years since the setting up of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Advertisement Addressing a FOCAC ministerial event on June 11, Wang noted that trade had surged nearly 30-fold while Chinese investment had grown almost 100-fold since the strategic dialogue mechanism was set up in 2000. In parallel to closer economic ties, there has also been increased cooperation on the security front. Before FOCAC, which includes all but one of the…

Advertisement The competition, titled “AI for All”, will run through September and features 17 tracks, including automobile, tourism, cross-border e-commerce, smart agriculture, and market regulation. Hosted by the Guangxi regional government, the kick-off took place simultaneously in eight cities: Guangxi’s capital Nanning, Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. “Hong Kong’s AI ecosystem is thriving, supported by strong research capabilities and over 1,000 AI enterprises across Cyberport and Science Park,” said Sun Dong, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, during his speech at the ceremony…

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te’s approval rating has fallen below 45 per cent for the second time since he took office amid a backlash over his handling of Typhoon Danas and his support for a recall campaign targeting opposition lawmakers. Advertisement A new survey released by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation on Tuesday found that only 42.9 per cent of respondents were satisfied with Lai’s performance – down 5.8 percentage points from June. The disapproval rating was 44.5 per cent. It marks the second time dissatisfaction with Lai has surpassed…

Chinese researchers have come up with a cheaper and easier way of delivering a highly specialised, personalised cell therapy to treat blood cancers and other serious diseases. Advertisement This new method is much easier to programme than the conventional approach and is available at a fraction of the cost, according to experts in the field. The treatment, known as CAR-T, is a type of immunotherapy that has taken off in recent years and has also shown promise in treating other conditions such as asthma and autoimmune diseases. However, these cell…

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on Friday summoned major online food delivery platforms – Alibaba Group Holding’s Ele.me, Meituan, and JD.com – urging them to engage in “rational” competition amid a prolonged price war. Advertisement The meeting aimed to “further regulate promotion behaviours, encourage rational competition, and foster a healthy ecosystem and win-win situation for consumers, merchants, delivery riders, and platform operators”, the regulator said in an announcement. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. The SAMR said those companies must adhere to e-commerce, anti-unfair competition, and food…