Day: August 28, 2025

Luo Weiwei: former Nasa scientist who became China’s semiconductor trump card

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At a time when the United States is decoupling from China on cutting-edge chip technology, Nvidia has unveiled its list of suppliers for the advanced 800 VDC power architecture powering next-generation AI data centres. Advertisement Among American and European giants was an unexpected name: Innoscience, a Chinese company specialising in gallium nitride (GaN) technology. Innoscience marks China’s growing clout in the high-stakes semiconductor race, and behind the company’s rapid rise is Luo Weiwei, a former Nasa scientist who spent 15 years advancing aerospace technologies in the US before returning to…

India’s Modi to meet Xi and Putin on first China trip in seven years as US tariffs bite

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Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will land in China this weekend for his first visit in seven years – a trip that puts him in the company of Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin just as India’s ties with Washington have soured. Modi’s visit to Tianjin for a regional security summit comes days after the US doubled tariffs on Indian exports to 50%, citing New Delhi’s refusal to stop buying Russian oil. The row has upended years of deepening cooperation between India and the US, built on…

McKinsey’s Vivek Pandit: India’s GDP growth at risk without Trump trade deal

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This online version of the India Business Briefing newsletter is free to read today. To receive it in your inbox regularly, sign up if you’re a premium subscriber, or upgrade your subscription here. Good morning. Many of you have written to us over the past eight months asking for longer interviews with India’s top decision makers. So here we are! Welcome to the inaugural edition of the India Business Briefing Q&A series, where we bring you an in-depth interview with a senior industry leader on the last Friday of every month. We…

Hong Kong can rival US, UAE as a crypto hub, Binance founder CZ says

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Hong Kong has the conditions to become a major hub for virtual assets, rivalling markets like the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but the city’s regulators must act swiftly to realise its potential, according to Zhao Changpeng, founder and largest shareholder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Advertisement In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post on Friday, Zhao, widely known as CZ, said the Hong Kong government had shown a “very clear attitude towards embracing Web3” and had the capability to move quickly. “We shouldn’t evaluate a…

US warns China-linked groups may be laundering billions for Mexican cartels

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Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world Networks linked to China may have laundered some $300bn through US banks in the past five years, according to the US Treasury, warning institutions to be vigilant to the schemes that often benefit Mexican drug cartels. The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said on Thursday that about $312bn of suspicious transactions associated with suspected Chinese money laundering networks had been reported between January 2020 and December 2024.…

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to attend military parade in China

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will attend an expansive military parade in China next week — the first event to bring him together with a clutch of world leaders since he assumed office in 2011. Video: Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin to meet in BeijingChinese President Xi Jinping extended Kim’s invitation to the event, which marks 80 years since Japan’s surrender in World War II, North Korean state media reported Thursday. Kim will be among 26 foreign leaders who are expected to attend, including Russian President…

Closing arguments conclude in Hong Kong mogul Jimmy Lai’s trial

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Closing arguments ended Thursday in the national security trial of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, although judges did not say when they would render a verdict. Judge Esther Toh, a member of the three-judge panel overseeing the case, said the court will release more details “in good time.” The 77-year-old founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper faces life in prison if convicted of illegal foreign collusion under Hong Kong’s restrictive National Security Law, which was imposed by Beijing in 2020 after the massive pro-democracy protests of 2019. hong-kong-jimmy-lai-china…

On parade in China: Putin, the PLA and purges

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Donald Trump’s military parade astounded Chinese viewers in June. The sloppy marching, the corporate sponsorship, the paltry crowds: how could the world’s greatest military power put on such a tawdry display? China’s parades are minutely choreographed extravaganzas designed to inspire awe and respect. Expect no less when China holds its first in six years on September 3rd. But China’s tattoo, like Mr Trump’s, will reflect the insecurities of its leadership. Impressive though the display will be, it will mask turbulence in the high command. The Economist

Something is amiss in China’s foreign-affairs leadership

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CHINA’S DIPLOMATS are working hard. On August 31st more than 20 world leaders will join President Xi Jinping in the northern city of Tianjin for a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, a security forum. Among them will be Russia’s Vladimir Putin (a frequent visitor), India’s Narendra Modi (a rare one) and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, who seldom goes abroad. In recent days Donald Trump said he would visit China “probably during this year or shortly thereafter”. It would be the first such trip by an American president…

Taipei City council in the dog house over Chinese-made patrol robot

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Taipei City council has come under fire after admitting that a robot dog it bought to help patrol city streets using surveillance cameras was made by a Chinese companylinked to the Chinese military. Hammer Lee, the deputy mayor of Taiwan’s capital, introduced a “new patrol partner” for the management and repair of pedestrian areas in a post on Facebook on Tuesday. “This robot, equipped with an optical panoramic survey system, can create 360-degree images, accurately locate facilities, and even automatically report missing items,” Lee said, noting its ability to “accumulate…