Day: August 17, 2025

Mainland Chinese stocks rose on Monday, driving a key gauge to a decade high amid increasing signs that investors have been rotating out of bonds and bank deposits into equities in search of better returns. Advertisement The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.2 per cent to 3,740.50 at the break, a level not seen since August 19, 2015. The CSI 300 Index climbed 1.2 per cent, approaching the highest close since September last year. The yield on China’s 10-year government bond increased 2.7 basis points to 1.775 per cent, a level…

China has accused the United States of using human rights as a “bargaining chip” in its latest annual report on the issue. Advertisement The report released on Sunday criticised what it called the hypocrisy of the US political system, its unequal social welfare, widespread racism, and the politicisation of immigration, where immigrants become “scapegoats for political parties”. The US had turned human rights into “props for political theatre” and “bargaining chips in power games”, it alleged. The year 2024 was meant to be a defining moment for American citizens to…

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals and Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group, two of China’s largest drug makers, are expected to report significantly improved profits, buoyed by novel drug roll-outs and revenue from technology licensing. Advertisement On August 21, Hengrui, China’s largest drug maker by market value, is expected to say its net profit for the first half rose 40 per cent from a year earlier to 4.1 billion yuan (US$570.8 million), with revenue up 9 per cent to 15.7 billion yuan, according to analysts’ consensus estimates from Bloomberg. For all of 2025, the company’s…

Jing Qian is vice-president of the Asia Society and managing director of its Centre for China Analysis (CCA), which he co-founded with Kevin Rudd, former prime minister of Australia. His research examines the interplay between domestic politics and foreign policy in the United States and China. Advertisement In his second Open Questions interview, he delves into the two countries’ all-important relationship, how its twists and turns play out in Europe and the numerous domestic economic challenges Beijing is attempting to tackle. This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other…

First came the investigation in January into Qizhala, the ethnic Tibetan former chairman of the Tibet autonomous region. Advertisement Then in May, it was the turn of Lan Tianli, the ethnic Zhuang chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. In July, just as Qizhala was being expelled from the Communist Party, Liu Hui, the ethnic Hui former chairwoman of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, came under investigation for alleged corruption. The three cadres are among just a handful of senior officials from ethnic community groups to have fallen from grace…

Swiss watchmaker Swatch has issued an apology for a “slant eye” promotional image that has triggered strong criticism on Chinese social media, with the gesture widely considered offensive to Asians. Advertisement In statements posted to Instagram and China’s Weibo on Saturday, the Swatch Group sought to “sincerely apologise for any distress or misunderstanding this may have caused”. The company said it had taken note of the “recent concerns” regarding the portrayal of a model in images for a men’s watch collection. “We treat this matter with the utmost importance and…

When it comes to entrepreneurship, China’s successful private entrepreneurs should rank among the world’s most resilient. Advertisement To thrive in an environment where they are treated as second-class citizens compared to state-owned enterprises, they must navigate significant challenges: limited access to markets and bank credit, unpredictable government policies, sudden and severe regulatory crackdowns, bureaucrats exploiting power for personal gain, frequent harassment from administrative agencies like health and fire safety departments, and societal and ideological pressures because of their wealth. However, even the most resilient have their limits. Since April, at…

Prominent Chinese artist Fan Zeng has been “taken away” by his new wife and most of his valuable possessions have also “gone missing”, his daughter has alleged. Advertisement “Rumours have circulated online recently claiming my father, Fan Zeng, was forcibly removed from his home and has since gone missing,” Fan Xiaohui said in a social media post on Saturday. “As his daughter, I want to first thank everyone for their concern, but I am deeply anxious about his health and safety.” Fan Zeng, 87, announced his marriage to Xu Meng,…

China has complained to Japan after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent a ritual offering to a controversial shrine that honours war criminals on the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender. Advertisement The Chinese foreign ministry expressed “strong dissatisfaction” about the “blatant provocation against historical justice and human conscience”, referring to the visit to the Yasukuni Shrine by several cabinet members. “To view and treat history correctly is an important prerequisite for Japan’s post-war return to the international community and the political foundation for its relations with neighbouring countries,” the statement said.…

Some Chinese universities appear to have distanced themselves from a US researcher invited to their events, after social media users in China took aim at his past remarks on Xinjiang and demanded an explanation from the institutes. Advertisement The latest in the line of fire is Central South University in Changsha, Hunan province. It has faced a barrage of online criticism since last Tuesday for having hosted Darius Longarino, who is a research scholar at Yale Law School and senior fellow at its Paul Tsai China Centre – a think…