Month: August 2025

Mexico considering higher Chinese import tariffs at US urging: report

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Mexico is preparing to raise tariffs on Chinese imports of automobiles, textiles and plastics, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, under a proposal expected to be part of the 2026 budget to be submitted to the nation’s Congress next month. Advertisement If confirmed, the increase would mark one of Mexico’s sharpest trade shifts in recent years. Officials in Washington have urged the move as part of US President Donald Trump’s push to build a “Fortress North America” and reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains. Trump has been a long-time critic of…

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…

Russian and Chinese submarines join forces in Pacific patrol first

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Russian and Chinese submarines have conducted their first joint patrol in the Pacific, the latest in a series of efforts to expand military cooperation between the two countries. Advertisement The Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet said on Wednesday that the patrol began in early August after five days of joint naval exercises in the Sea of Japan – also known as the East Sea – from August 1. “The diesel-electric submarine Volkhov of the Pacific Fleet and a submarine of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy took to patrolling along an…

US-China space rivalry, warning over stablecoin risks: SCMP daily highlights

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Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. What does SpaceX’s Starship test success mean for the US-China moon race? The first successful flight for Starship – the biggest and heaviest rocket ever built – has revived US hopes of beating China in the race back to the moon, but experts warned the breakthrough may not be enough to stop Beijing from building the first lunar base. 2. Why have stablecoins triggered…

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…

Tesla sales in Europe slump 40% as BYD new car registrations more than triple

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Tesla sales slumped 40% across Europe in July compared with a year earlier as Elon Musk’s electric car company faces increasingly tough competition from its Chinese rival BYD. There were 8,837 sales of Tesla cars last month across the EU, the European Free Trade Association and the UK, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). That compared with 14,769 at the same point last year. New car registrations for BYD across Europe rose to 13,503 last month, compared with 4,151 a year earlier. BYD now has 1.2%…

What does SpaceX’s Starship test success mean for the US-China moon race?

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The first successful flight for Starship – the biggest and heaviest rocket ever built – has revived US hopes of beating China in the race back to the moon, but experts warned the breakthrough may not be enough to stop Beijing from building the first lunar base. Advertisement After months of failed attempts, Tuesday’s test saw both stages of the SpaceX rocket splash down nearly intact – a milestone for the vehicle that Nasa is counting on for the first crewed American moon return mission since Apollo. Nasa acting administrator…