Month: August 2025

China’s state security chief Chen Yixin has met his Cuban counterpart in Beijing and pledged better intelligence sharing to help the US neighbour maintain social stability, against a backdrop of heightened pressure from the Donald Trump administration. Advertisement Chen and Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas, Cuba’s interior minister, opened the meeting by marking 65 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, according to a report posted to social media on Monday by China’s Ministry of State Security. Cuba was the first country in the western hemisphere to establish diplomatic relations…

China’s central bank has set the yuan’s daily reference rate against the US dollar at the strongest level in more than nine months, as bets on rate cuts by the Federal Reserve are growing following a dovish pivot by its chair, Jerome Powell. Advertisement On Monday, the People’s Bank of China set the yuan’s midpoint rate – also known as the daily fixing rate – at 7.1161 per US dollar, its strongest showing since early November. Compared with 7.1321 in the previous release, Monday’s fixing also marked the largest upwards…

Chinese scientists expect to soon make a breakthrough in airborne wind turbine technology, with the world’s first megawatt-level system set to take flight, according to the project team. Advertisement The floating wind power generation system resembles an airship and is being held up as a possible power solution for remote locations and disaster zones where conventional power supplies cannot be used or are inadequate. The researchers said their system’s output – more than 30 times more powerful than the best in other countries – could turn a scientific vision first…

The People’s Liberation Army is arguably the world’s most rapidly evolving military, yet it remains the least understood by outsiders. Advertisement The PLA has not engaged in a war in more than four decades and has left no footprint in actual combat in that time, but the intensity of its exercises and expansion of its arsenal have attracted global attention. As China prepares for a major military parade next month to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II, the PLA is expected to showcase its newest…

A booming market for miniature clothing has become the latest growth driver in China’s “doll economy” – fuelled by Gen Z’s passion for the toys and the emotional comfort they provide. Advertisement “Loving ball-jointed dolls is as natural as breathing,” said 21-year-old Clementine Cai from Zhejiang. Two years after falling in love with the toys, she had spent over 3,000 yuan (US$417) on outfits alone – a sizeable amount given her roughly 2,000 yuan in monthly expenses. Unlike the wildly popular Labubu vinyl plush toys, ball-jointed dolls are typically made…

Da Wei is director of Tsinghua University’s Centre for International Security and Strategy in Beijing. His research focuses on China-US relations and US security and foreign policy. In this interview, he discusses the prospects for a trade deal between Beijing and Washington and examines China’s role on the global stage in light of America’s current foreign policy. Advertisement This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here. China and the United States have held several rounds of high-level trade talks recently, and…