Day: September 16, 2025

China says Philippine ship deliberately hit coastguard boat near disputed shoal

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China’s coastguard says a Philippine ship deliberately collided with one of its vessels in a confrontation near the disputed Scarborough Shoal on Tuesday, as tensions escalate in the South China Sea. Advertisement The coastguard used water cannons and other “control measures” against the Philippine vessels it said were conducting “illegal activities” in the area. It is the latest flare-up between the rival claimants to the atoll – known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines – and comes days after Beijing announced a plan to create…

Tencent starts bond sale as China tech groups race to fund AI growth

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China’s Tencent is to sell its first bonds in four years, joining other tech groups raising renminbi debt as they race to fund aggressive AI expansion plans. Tencent, which runs Chinese superapp WeChat and operates the world’s biggest video game business, said on Tuesday it planned to issue three tranches of so-called dim sum bonds. It did not specify the size. JPMorgan, BofA Securities and Morgan Stanley will be arrangers…

China’s Tencent to make first bond sale in four years as AI race intensifies

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China’s Tencent has started marketing its first bond sale in four years, joining other tech groups raising renminbi debt as they race to fund aggressive AI expansion plans. Tencent, which runs Chinese superapp WeChat and operates the world’s biggest video game business, said on Tuesday it was planning to issue three tranches of so-called dim sum bonds. It did not specify the size. JPMorgan, BofA Securities and Morgan Stanley will…

China’s Xi calls for building unified market to ‘secure an edge’ in global race

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President Xi Jinping has called for more efforts to develop a unified domestic market, arguing that it will be crucial to helping China secure an edge in international competition and meet its development goals. Advertisement In an article published on Monday in Qiushi, the ruling Communist Party’s leading theoretical journal, the Chinese leader listed six key tasks, with measures to deal with excessive cutthroat competition at the forefront. Vicious price wars have broken out in several industries in recent months as companies struggle to deal with persistent overcapacity and sluggish…

Australia-PNG defence treaty: countries to agree to defend each other from military attack as China’s Pacific influence grows

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Australia and Papua New Guinea will agree to defend each other in the event of a military attack, part of a landmark defence agreement due to be signed on the sidelines of celebrations to commemorate the country’s independence this week. Anthony Albanese and PNG’s defence minister, Billy Joseph, both downplayed a delay to the deal being formalised, insisting the plan known as a Pukpuk treaty won’t affect sovereignty in the former Australian colony. Designed to push back against China’s expansionist attitude to Pacific countries, the deal is the latest negotiated…

‘I have to do it’: Why one of the world’s most brilliant AI scientists left the US for China

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Song-chun Zhu at Peking University, July 2025. Photograph: Sean Gallagher/The Guardian By the time Song-Chun Zhu was six years old, he had encountered death more times than he could count. Or so it felt. This was the early 1970s, the waning years of the Cultural Revolution, and his father ran a village supply store in rural China. There was little to do beyond till the fields and study Mao Zedong at home, and so the shop became a refuge where people could rest, recharge and share tales. Zhu grew up…

Can Ireland’s ‘Sláintecare’ be a model for community care in the UK?

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When, after almost six weeks of confinement in hospital, Linda Mangan was told she could continue her recovery from a debilitating stroke at home, it felt “like winning the lottery”. Thanks to a team of physiotherapists and occupational therapists employed by Ireland’s Health Service Executive who visited her over the course of two months, the 61-year-old retired factory supervisor from Cork has turned a corner. “[I can] make sandwiches, wash my hair, I can shower myself”, despite initially having lost all movement in one arm, she said. Mangan’s return to…

Red flags, eagles and the east wind: how Mao inspired Chinese missile names

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As the West speculated about the capabilities of Chinese missiles seen at its huge military parade in Beijing this month, it was their names – inspired by the words of Mao Zedong – that drew attention in China. Advertisement The People’s Liberation Army revealed some of its newest weaponry during the September 3 parade that marked 80 years since the end of World War II. Among the most talked about were the latest additions to the Dongfeng series of strategic missiles, with the land-based DF-61, DF-31BJ and DF-5C intercontinental ballistic…

Will the US and China make a trade deal?

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Lisa Cook can remain a Federal Reserve governor for now, the US and China seem to be making progress in their trade talks, and the US and UK promised to boost financial ties ahead of a state visit by President Donald Trump. Plus, Gen Z is toppling governments across Asia. Mentioned in this podcast: Lisa Cook can stay at Fed ahead of rates decision, appeals court rules UK and US pledge to boost financial ties ahead of Trump state visit Donald Trump signals US and China have struck TikTok deal…