Day: October 11, 2025

Patriotic films in mainland China have long celebrated undercover agents of the Communist Party, their operations portrayed as pivotal to securing victory in the 1940s civil war against the Kuomintang and the founding of the People’s Republic. Advertisement Less known are the clandestine activities carried out by these agents in Taiwan, where their efforts met with a harsh fate. Covert operations there were systematically crushed by the KMT, resulting in the capture and execution of many operatives. But Beijing appears to be shifting on this position with state broadcaster CCTV’s…

Global energy investment is projected to reach US$3.3 trillion this year, with some US$2.2 trillion directed towards clean technologies, double the amount flowing into fossil fuels. Yet beneath these impressive figures, a crisis of confidence is unfolding. Advertisement During the first half of this year alone, companies cancelled or scaled back more than US$22 billion in clean energy projects in the United States. These included high-profile battery facilities, storage systems and electric vehicle factories, resulting in about 16,500 job losses. Major investors are retreating from net-zero alliances, and energy companies…

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 infrastructure spending and investment could evolve to meet the demands of a new era. Advertisement For more stories in this ongoing series, click here. To view SCMP Plus Factsheets on the 15th five-year-plan and more premium content, click…

In a global first, China has launched a cutting-edge commercial underwater data centre in Hainan. The facility has the potential to upgrade digital service offerings, increase Beijing’s share of global internet traffic and serve as a magnet for foreign direct investment from global technology giants. Advertisement To make progress, China must find a competitive edge, given the fast-expanding infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates and the United States, where rivals in the artificial intelligence (AI) race are directing billions to build five new data centres across the country. This is…

Chinese airlines could face ticket sale disruptions and higher costs if Washington follows through on a Trump administration proposal to bar them from using Russian airspace on US routes, analysts said – though they were divided over the plan’s feasibility. Advertisement “If the proposal is really implemented, Chinese airlines might have to bear the losses from already-sold flights being cancelled – such as passenger compensation and wasted capacity,” said Yang Bo, a Chinese aviation analyst, noting that capacity planning and ticket sales for trans-Pacific routes are usually arranged about six…

China’s electronic warfare (EW) force successfully tricked a foreign spy plane during a South China Sea operation, a Chinese military magazine recently revealed. Advertisement In the incident, a false radar signature generated by a Chinese military vehicle-mounted jamming system deceived a surveillance aircraft from an unspecified country over the South China Sea, Ordnance Industry Science Technology reported in its September issue. It was a rare public mention of a combat operation situation and outcome involving China’s EW force. Ordnance Industry Science Technology is regarded as an influential magazine focused on…