Month: September 2025

Iran has recalled its ambassadors to Britain, France and Germany, according to its state media. Advertisement The move came hours after the UN Security Council voted down a resolution backed by China and Russia seeking to prevent the reimposition of global sanctions against the Islamic republic. China and Russia tabled a draft resolution on Friday aimed at halting the snapback mechanism under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) of 2015. This mechanism, initiated by the United Kingdom, France and Germany, seeks to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran that were…

As Beijing gears up to host a global summit on gender equality and women’s empowerment, Chinese authorities and non-governmental organisations have been engaging in discussions on issues ranging from traditional family values to the rights of women in the digital age. Advertisement The summit is understood to be planned for some time in October, although details have yet to be announced. The foreign ministry said on Monday that the event would take place “soon”, but did not elaborate. Stressing that women’s rights in China had advanced greatly in the past…

Obtaining a visa to enter mainland China often requires filling out pages of paperwork, paying more than US$100, and waiting days for the documents to be processed. Advertisement But for a growing number of visitors, some hurdles have been lowered or removed entirely as Beijing continues to relax visa-free entry rules to attract more foreign visitors and boost the nation’s tourism sector. Immigration officials now allow travellers from certain countries who are transiting through China to stay without a visa for up to 10 days, and a growing list of…

At least seven people have been injured and more than 110 dwellings damaged after a 5.6 magnitude earthquake rattled the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu on Saturday morning. Advertisement No fatalities have been identified in the first round of inspection by local rescue teams, who said eight houses had collapsed, according to the state broadcaster CCTV, adding that all of those injured had been hospitalised. Chinese central authorities activated the level-four national earthquake contingency response – the lowest in its four-tier system – and deployed a working group to the…

After more than two decades in the United States, internationally recognised mathematician Yuan Yuan has returned to China as a full-time professor at Westlake University in Hangzhou. Advertisement He joined Westlake’s Institute for Theoretical Sciences in May, just months after being promoted to full professor at Syracuse University in New York, according to the university’s website. Yuan is one of four mathematicians recruited by Westlake this summer after long careers in the US. The others are mathematical analysis expert Zhongwei Shen from the University of Kentucky, machine-learning statistician Yiyuan She…

When Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek unveiled an updated foundational model late in August, investors in Nvidia were stunned. Shares of the US chip giant slid, as market watchers grappled with news that the two-year-old start-up, which has developed models rivalling the world’s best, was shifting towards supporting domestically produced chips. Advertisement Adding to their concerns, DeepSeek was not alone in its endeavour to empower China’s AI ambitions without relying on US technology. Last week, Huawei Technologies – the Chinese firm at the forefront of the nation’s tech self-sufficiency drive…

As China drafts its 15th five-year plan – the next entry in a line of expansive blueprints that have set the tone for the country’s development over more than seven decades – we examine how these documents inform and reflect high-level policy priorities, what to expect in the coming iteration and how Hong Kong could strengthen its position as a “superconnector” linking the mainland with global markets. Advertisement For more stories in this ongoing series, click here. In a LinkedIn post earlier this month, Phil McManus, innovation and technology chair…