Day: October 17, 2025

Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held a video call on Saturday morning and stated that trade negotiators from their countries would meet next week. Advertisement “This evening, Vice-Premier He Lifeng and I engaged in frank and detailed discussions regarding trade between the United States and China,” Bessent wrote on social media on Friday evening in Washington. “We will meet in person next week to continue our discussions.” In a separate read-out, China described He’s discussions with Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer as “candid,…

Alibaba Group Holding has introduced a computing pooling solution that it said led to an 82 per cent cut in the number of Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) needed to serve its artificial intelligence models. Advertisement The system, called Aegaeon, was beta tested in Alibaba Cloud’s model marketplace for more than three months, where it reduced the number of Nvidia H20 GPUs required to serve dozens of models of up to 72 billion parameters from 1,192 to 213, according to a research paper presented this week at the 31st Symposium…

The Chinese public has come out in force to pay tribute to Communist Party undercover agents who perished during the 1940s civil war, inspired by a television drama that gained a passionate following and sparked an outpouring of praise. Advertisement The fervour centres on Silent Honour, the mainland’s first television series to chronicle the Communist Party’s espionage activities in Taiwan in the war’s final months when one of the party’s major intelligence operations was systematically crushed by the Kuomintang, which had fled to the island after losing the civil war.…

When Hong Kong businessman Sunny Yip Yuk-chik heard about a new scheme that would make it easier and cheaper to borrow Chinese yuan, he immediately called his staff on the Chinese mainland with the news. Advertisement Earlier this month, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) launched a 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion) Renminbi Business Facility (RBF) that would enable business owners like Yip to borrow yuan from Hong Kong banks for up to 12 months at the onshore yuan interest rate, easing trade settlements. “I would consider a yuan loan…

The commissioning of the Fujian, China’s third and most advanced aircraft carrier, will mark yet another milestone in the country’s naval ambition. Advertisement Behind this gigantic symbol of China’s maritime power lies the vision of one man: Admiral Liu Huaqing, who famously said that he would not die peacefully until his country had an aircraft carrier. The former commander of the Chinese navy was also a revered strategist and a visionary technocrat who directed the comprehensive modernisation of China’s naval forces to world-class standards. During Liu’s long and distinguished career,…

Blame games, tit-for-tat threats, off-again on-again meetings between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and wild tariff swings seem to be the recent order of the day. Advertisement According to former government officials and analysts, however, this should come as no surprise – it’s just the price you pay when diplomatic norms are brushed off. In the latest twist in the saga, Trump on Friday swung from tough to conciliatory, appearing to reverse threats made a week earlier to cancel a planned upcoming meeting with Xi in…

Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis is more than a mere zoning plan; it is a crucial part of China’s development strategy and a pivotal step towards elevating the Greater Bay Area’s (GBA) global profile. With development now under way, the conversation must shift to a new realm: soft power. Advertisement The Northern Metropolis should not be just another new town designed to address Hong Kong’s housing and industrial needs. Rather, it must emerge as a zone of cultural emancipation that takes the GBA’s development to the next level. Hong Kong’s developmental…

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed plans to speak with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng on Friday in a further sign of easing tensions ahead of a potential meeting between the two countries’ leaders. Advertisement “The vice-premier, who is my counterpart, and I will be speaking this evening at around 8:30, 9 o’clock,” Bessent said at the White House on Friday. The Treasury secretary added that He will also join him and a delegation in Malaysia “probably a week from tomorrow” to prepare for a meeting between US President Donald Trump…