Month: July 2025

The US House is poised to advance a key spending bill that could revive the controversial “China Initiative” – a programme that unfairly targeted Chinese-American researchers, derailed careers and devastated lives long after it was ended in 2022. Advertisement The Fiscal Year 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill does not name the programme directly, but language in the accompanying report calls for its re-establishment to “maintain America’s competitive edge” and “counter China’s malign ambitions to steal American research”. A scheduled committee meeting to debate the bill…

Advertisement The annual professional competition, also known as the Worlds, will kick off in Beijing from October 14 and then move to Shanghai for the quarter-final and semi-final rounds from October 28 to November 2, according to US video game developer and tournament organiser Riot Games, a subsidiary of Tencent Holdings. The 2025 Worlds final will take place on November 9 in Chengdu, capital of southwestern Sichuan province. This year’s competition will see 17 teams vie for prize money and the Summoner’s Cup, the trophy awarded to the Worlds final…

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. EU-China cooperation ‘only right choice’, Premier Li says at business symposium China and Europe should foster a “healthy” economic relationship characterised by both competition and cooperation, the Chinese premier told European Union leaders and businesses on Thursday. 2. Thai-Cambodian conflict: China blames Western colonial legacy for dispute China will continue to play a “constructive role” in helping to ease regional tensions, Foreign Minister Wang…

As US President Donald Trump reiterates his desire to acquire Greenland – part of a broader push to assert influence in the Arctic – Chinese scholars are debating whether the world’s second-largest economy should become more involved in the region, particularly by developing shipping routes. Advertisement The Northern Sea Route (NSR) – the shortest passage between the Asia-Pacific region and western Eurasia – has drawn growing attention as global warming makes its icy waters navigable for longer periods each year. Trump, who has pledged to buy or annex Greenland, views…

China’s new Information Support Force (ISF) has stepped up joint training with other military branches, showcasing an integrated combat system and increased mobile and decentralised deployment capabilities, according to the official paper of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Advertisement This includes a new training approach featuring the “embedding” of small ISF teams into the PLA’s air, naval and ground forces to offer real-time information support. Established in April 2024 as part of the PLA’s modernisation push, the force is tasked with coordinating the application of network information systems within the…

Shanghai will host its eighth annual flagship artificial intelligence (AI) conference this weekend as China ramps up competition against the US for supremacy in the fast-developing technology. Advertisement The three-day World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), with the theme of “Global Solidarity in the AI Era”, will kick off on Saturday with an opening keynote from Premier Li Qiang, who also headlined last year’s event. A high-level meeting on global AI governance will be held in tandem with the conference. The main forum, taking place at the Shanghai World Expo Centre,…

Advertisement First announced in May, the deal will see 3SBio – based in Shenyang, capital of northeastern Liaoning province – receive a US$1.25 billion upfront payment from Pfizer for the exclusive right to sell its cancer drug, SSGJ-707, outside China. Under the terms of their agreement, Pfizer will also pay 3SBio up to US$150 million to solely develop and commercialise SSGJ-707 within the mainland, the two companies said on Thursday. Pfizer also agreed to buy 31.1 million new shares in S3Bio, or a 1.3 per cent equity stake, for HK$785…