From 43m ago Albanese to raise concerns over Chinese steel dumping at roundtable Anthony Albanese will raise Australian concerns over Chinese steel dumping as he urges industry leaders from both nations to work together to develop low-carbon steel production methods, AAP reports. At a roundtable of Australian iron ore producers and Chinese steelmakers in Shanghai on Monday, Albanese will call on China to address an oversupply of steel in the global market. ‘It is in both countries’ interests to ensure a sustainable and market-driven global steel sector,’ the PM will…
Month: July 2025
Li Cheng and Andy Browne discuss what Donald Trump gets wrong about China
Welcome to Open Dialogue, a new series from the Post where we bring together leading voices to discuss the stories and subjects occupying international headlines. Advertisement In this edition, two leading China watchers discuss the consequential relationship between the world’s two largest economies and how ties might develop under the second Donald Trump administration amid growing trade frictions. Professor Li Cheng, a leading political scientist who has studied China for decades, is the founding director of the University of Hong Kong’s Centre on Contemporary China and the World. He previously…
FirstFT: North Korea ‘unconditionally’ backs Russia’s war in Ukraine
This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter: North Korea ‘unconditionally’ backs Putin’s war in Ukraine Inside Linda Yaccarino’s X departure China falls for American-style bulk buying We start with North Korea and Russia’s deepening ties, after Kim Jong Un told visiting Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov over the weekend that Pyongyang…
The Guardian view on Brics growing up: A new bloc seeks autonomy – and eyes a post-western order | Editorial
The Brics summit in Brazil last week revealed a loose alliance of emerging powers becoming more complex – and perhaps more consequential. For Brics, heft matters. It now counts 11 member states – including Indonesia, which joined this year – representing half the world’s population and 40% of the global economy, outpacing the G7 by $20tn. Yet its size hides its contradictions. The grouping’s call for more inclusive global institutions sounds welcome, but there is a preponderance of autocracies within its own ranks. Brics is right that international law should…
North Korea ‘unconditionally’ backs Russia’s war in Ukraine during Lavrov visit
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. North Korea will “unconditionally support” Russia’s goals in Ukraine, the country’s leader Kim Jong Un told visiting Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov this week, according to North Korea’s state news agency, as the two countries reaffirmed their deepening military and economic ties. Lavrov met with Kim on Saturday on the leader’s yacht near the coastal resort of Wonsan after arriving in North Korea to a red-carpet welcome on Friday. Lavrov…
North Korea unconditionally backs Putin’s war in Ukraine during Lavrov visit
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. North Korea will “unconditionally support” Russia’s goals in Ukraine, the country’s leader Kim Jong Un told visiting Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov this week, according to North Korea’s state news agency, as the two countries reaffirmed their deepening military and economic ties. Lavrov met with Kim on Saturday on the leader’s yacht near the coastal resort of Wonsan after arriving in North Korea to a red-carpet welcome on Friday. Lavrov…
China think tanks must be ‘self-centred’ to project nation’s soft power: expert
China’s think-tanks should pay more attention to the nation’s actual conditions and rely less on Western knowledge, according to a leading Chinese scholar, who said policy advisers could better reflect and project the country’s soft power by incorporating “Chinese characteristics”. Advertisement Professor Zheng Yongnian, a political economist with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, who is also a Beijing policy adviser, said that to better explain Chinese practices to the world and anticipate the country’s future, such organisations should be based on an “indigenous knowledge system”. The root and…
Chinese satellites appear to dock in orbit for historic refuelling mission
Two Chinese satellites may have docked in geostationary orbit for a historic refuelling mission, an autonomous satellite servicing feat the United States has yet to achieve. Advertisement China’s Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 “appeared visually merged in optical sensor data” between July 2 and July 6, US-based space situational awareness software provider COMSPOC said on Saturday in a social media post. “Given the prolonged RPO time, SJ-21 and SJ-25 may have docked,” it said, using the acronym for “rendezvous and proximity operations”. The two probes were observed carrying out such operations in…
Chinese team says carbon dioxide can be turned turned into sugar
Chinese scientists have developed a method to turn the alcohol methanol into white sugar, which they say could allow captured carbon dioxide to be converted into food. Advertisement The team’s biotransformation system produces sucrose without the need to grow sugar cane or sugar beets – crops that require large amounts of land and water resources. Their method to convert methanol – which can be derived from industrial waste or made by hydrogenating carbon dioxide – into sucrose using enzymes was also adapted to make other complex carbohydrates, including fructose and…
‘No tunnel, no waste’: China’s Inner Mongolia uranium mine signals nuclear leap
China has made a breakthrough in uranium mining and processing by unlocking complex sandstone deposits once seen as too challenging to develop, as Beijing ramps up efforts towards a green transition and energy security. Advertisement The country’s largest natural uranium project had yielded its first barrel, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced on Saturday. The “National No 1 Uranium” demonstration project was launched a year ago in the Ordos basin of northern Inner Mongolia, home to China’s largest natural uranium deposits. State news agency Xinhua said the successful mining marked…