Day: August 18, 2025

China is accelerating its pivot to the Global South to reduce reliance on the United States, potentially creating “a new order of global commerce”, according to a new report. Advertisement Chinese exports to the Global South – covering most of the developing world – have doubled since 2015, with growth seeing a notable uptick after the US-China trade war during US President Donald Trump’s first term, S&P analysts said on Tuesday. In the past five years, these exports have risen by 65 per cent – tripling the pace seen in…

In recent years, Hongkongers have developed a new habit: going north for their medical check-ups. A 2024 survey found nearly one in three residents had sought medical care in mainland China. The reasons are as predictable as they are troubling: shorter queues, cheaper drugs and upfront prices. Advertisement If this trend sounds like a temporary release valve for a stressed system, think again. What we’re seeing isn’t a convenient side option; it’s an unofficial outsourcing of healthcare. Left unchecked, it may well hollow out the very system we’ve spent decades…

China is preparing for a military parade next month to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II, with the People’s Liberation Army expected to showcase its latest line-up of land-based weapons systems. Advertisement One of the systems playing a crucial role in Chinese ground forces is the Type 99A main battle tank (MBT), which incorporates multiple advanced technologies to enhance survivability and firing capability. While China continues to focus on modernising its navy and air force, the appearance of the Type 99A in the September 3…

As US President Donald Trump prepared for the arrival of his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia’s Vladimir Putin turned to another partner to discuss a possible path out of the war: Brazil. Advertisement The South American country’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke by phone with Putin on Monday, the Planalto Palace said, as Moscow pressed its case for new diplomatic efforts over the conflict. According to the official readout, Putin used the 40-minute call to brief Lula on his meeting in Alaska with Trump, which he described as…

Alibaba Group Holding’s artificial intelligence coding model Qwen 3 Coder has been gaining popularity globally amid intensified competition in the AI-assisted coding sector, according to data from a third-party agency. Advertisement The model’s usage share on AI marketplace OpenRouter soared to more than 20 per cent as of mid-August, trailing only Amazon.com-backed Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4 with 31 per cent of usage. Alibaba’s Qwen team released the Qwen 3 Coder on July 23, claiming it delivers top-tier AI coding performance on par with Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4, citing various third-party…

In economic policy documents, Beijing’s leadership used the term “involution”, neijuan in Chinese, in efforts to combat excessive competition in market segments such as photovoltaics and lithium batteries. Advertisement The authorities, who criticised the domestic dumping of products, have directed local governments to behave and stop offering unreasonable incentives that would lure enterprises into highly competitive segments. The potential worst-case scenario for continued involution would be to drive many Chinese enterprises into a vicious cycle of low-price and low-quality competition. That would undermine China’s ambition to move up the value…

In a world increasingly defined by digital diplomacy and virtual communication, the persistent struggle over bricks and mortar might seem like an old-fashioned skirmish. Advertisement However, the ongoing saga of China’s proposed new embassy in London, England, proves that physical buildings remain potent symbols of power, prestige and national ambition. The dispute over the diplomatic compound is more than just a planning row; it is a microcosm of the complex, often fraught relationship between the UK and China, and a revealing test of Britain’s domestic capacity and international standing. For…