Month: July 2025

China’s GDP figures, robots riding Shenzhen subway: SCMP daily highlights

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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. China’s strong GDP figures stoke debate over stimulus as US tariff risks loom China’s economy beat market forecasts to grow 5.2 per cent in the second quarter, but analysts said headwinds would intensify in late 2025. 2. Taiwanese leader said to be planning US ‘stopover’ that’s set to anger Beijing Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te is planning a US “stopover” trip in August that…

A quick guide to the Afghan files

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. A historic UK government data security breach put tens of thousands of Afghans at heightened risk of murder and torture by the Taliban. The episode set in train an extraordinary set of events, including the creation of a secret immigration scheme at one point projected to cost as much as £7bn, and the imposition of an unprecedented super-injunction. What was the original breach?  An unnamed British soldier in February 2022…

Chinese stocks go down at night because no one trusts anyone: study

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Few subjects bring out the cranks like overnight trading. Theories as to why US stocks tend to rip when regular markets are closed, then drift when they’re open, range from narrowly conspiratorial to grandly conspiratorial. Anyone who says in print that iffy-looking night moves might be explained by benign stuff* can expect a few weeks of furious correspondence about how they’re part of a cover-up.** Meanwhile, in China, everything’s upside…

The British state’s battle to contain the fallout from a catastrophic data leak

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Rarely has an email created such danger — or carried so high a cost. When a British soldier pressed send three years ago, they unwittingly placed thousands of lives in danger and put the UK government on the hook for billions of pounds. The soldier had accidentally leaked a vast database containing details of Afghan nationals who worked with the UK before the Taliban retook power in 2021. Fearing reprisal, they had applied online to seek sanctuary in Britain. If the Taliban obtained the records, they would have confirmation that…

China’s dated urban-development model must change, Beijing says at rare meeting

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At a surprising meeting of China’s political elite, it was declared that a sea change is needed in the nation’s urban development – shifting from a phase of large-scale, incremental expansion to one focused on optimising and enhancing existing resources. Advertisement The message, coming amid a persistent real estate slump and slowing urbanisation, was delivered at the two-day Central Urban Work Conference that ended on Tuesday. In 2015, Beijing held its first such conference in decades, and it kicked off a campaign to boost homebuying and shore up investment. This…

Nissan to end production at one of Japan’s first large-scale car plants

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Nissan unveiled plans to end production after almost seven decades at the first car plant in Japan to use robots, just days before a crunch election in the world’s fourth-largest economy. The Japanese carmaker said on Tuesday that it would close the Oppama factory if it failed to find a buyer by the time production ceased in March 2028, marking the end of an era for one of Japan’s most…

Australia’s Albanese walks US-China tightrope in Xi meeting

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raised concerns about recent Chinese live fire exercises near his country in a meeting with Xi Jinping as China’s president urged the two sides to build on a “turnaround” in their relationship. Albanese said he asked Xi about the lack of notice from Beijing on the naval exercises, which were conducted in February in international waters, but marked the furthest the Chinese navy has sailed…

Australia-China relations ‘out of the trough’ but security tensions weigh on PM’s visit

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raised concerns about recent Chinese live fire exercises near his country in a meeting with Xi Jinping as China’s president urged the two sides to build on a “turnaround” in their relationship. Albanese said he asked Xi about the lack of notice from Beijing on the naval exercises, which were conducted in February in international waters, but marked the furthest the Chinese navy has sailed…

Xi hails ‘turnaround’ in China-Australia relations as PM Albanese visits

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China’s relations with Australia have “turned around” after overcoming “setbacks”, President Xi Jinping told visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Beijing on Tuesday. Advertisement “The most important thing we can learn from this is a commitment to equal treatment, to seeking common ground while sharing differences, pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation, serving the fundamental interests of our two countries and two peoples,” he told Albanese. “No matter how the international landscape may evolve, we should uphold this overall direction unswervingly.” Albanese, who is making his second visit to China as…

Move over, matcha: a hojicha latte is summer’s buzziest order

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Maxed out on matcha lattes? Change things up with hojicha, its toasty cousin. Made from charcoal-roasted green tea leaves, hojicha has nutty, earthy, caramelised notes that go well with milk. It also has all of matcha’s health benefits (antioxidants, soothing L-theanine) but with a fraction of the caffeine. A hojicha latte with a bowl and whisk at Matchado in north London It’s a comforting, nostalgic flavour for many in Japan Hiromi…