Month: October 2025

US’ National Day message to China; a ‘super golden week’: 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. Marco Rubio marks China’s National Day with message of peace, prosperity from US US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has sent a congratulatory message for China’s National Day, reinstating a tradition to mark the occasion before October 1 arrives in the United States. 2. China’s military sees threat in expanded US drills with Japan and South Korea The US military’s expanded joint cyber and…

China replaces high-level diplomat after reported detention

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China’s ruling Communist party (CCP) has replaced the head of its powerful international department two months after he disappeared from public life. Liu Jianchao, an influential official who had been widely tipped to be the next foreign minister, was reportedly detained while returning from an overseas trip in late July. He has not been seen publicly since. Liu’s profile on the CCP’s international department website has been replaced by one of Liu Haixing, a former director of the foreign ministry’s European department. The change was apparent on Tuesday but was…

International students left in limbo by UCL after university exceeds visa allocations

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Hundreds of international students accepted on courses by University College London have been left in limbo and facing thousands of pounds in costs, after the university admitted it had run out of places just days before many were due to start. About 200 students from China alone have been affected after UCL exceeded its visa allocations for the coming academic year, with the university initially telling the students that they would have to defer their studies until 2026. UCL has blamed “an extraordinary surge in demand” for the over-recruitment of…

Chinese coastguards ‘committed to sacred mission’ in Scarborough Shoal dispute

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China’s coastguards said they were ready to uphold the country’s sovereignty in the disputed Scarborough Shoal, in a message broadcast by state broadcaster CCTV on National Day. Advertisement The country has a long-running dispute with the Philippines over the reef and other areas of the South China Sea, and Wednesday’s report said the coastguards had resumed “regular patrols” in the area for the next 50 days. Coastguard officer Chen Zhijie told CCTV that protecting the disputed island was his “sacred duty and glorious mission”, pledging to “perform our duties conscientiously…

Is this a new look for China’s sixth-gen J-50 stealth fighter?

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New images of what appear to be one of China’s sixth-generation fighters point to rapid progress in the stealth programme and hint at multiple variants in parallel development, according to analysts. Advertisement Clear side-view photos, which emerged on Chinese social media on September 25, show a tailless fighter on a runway. The aircraft’s appearance is consistent with the design of a sixth-generation fighter developed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and sometimes referred to as the J-50. Chinese authorities have not confirmed the authenticity of the images. One notable difference from earlier…

Europe, US continue to seek common ground on China, despite other policy differences

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European Union leaders still want to collaborate with the United States on China policy – even as Washington’s envoys continue to slam the bloc’s digital laws. Advertisement The dynamic played out at a forum in Brussels on Tuesday, where American diplomats bashed Europe’s green, digital and economic policies, insisting that the EU would need to change if it wanted to stay in US President Donald Trump’s good graces. “I’ve been told I can’t say deregulation because it makes everybody upset, but simplification. We’re going to need to do some simplification…

South Korea raises military spending by most in more than 15 years

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Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world South Korea’s leftwing president has announced a steep rise in military spending, following pressure from Washington to shoulder more responsibility for the country’s defence. Lee Jae Myung said in a speech on Wednesday marking South Korea’s Armed Forces Day that the annual defence budget would rise by 8.2 per cent next year, the largest increase since 2008, in response to “an era of increased conflict, where it’s every…

Beijing issues paper on Taiwan, rebukes West for ‘gross violation’ of global order

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Beijing marked the anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Republic by reasserting its position on Taiwan and describing attempts by the United States and other Western nations to expand Taiwan’s presence in international organisations as “a gross violation” of the global order. Advertisement In a position paper reaffirming support for United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 on Tuesday, Beijing’s foreign ministry criticised what it said was Washington’s history of obstructing Beijing’s admission when the Communist government assumed China’s representation in the UN. The paper was published a day before…

Taiwan becomes largest importer of Russian naphtha

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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. Taiwan has been buying millions of tonnes of oil product naphtha from Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, raising concerns that China could lean on Moscow to choke off supplies and threaten Taipei’s economic security. Monthly imports of the hydrocarbon liquid, which is used to make chemicals for technology and semiconductor manufacturing, have surged over the first half of 2025 to an average of six times higher than 2022…

Taiwan’s soaring Russian naphtha imports raise economic security fears

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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. Taiwan has been buying millions of tonnes of oil product naphtha from Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, raising concerns China could lean on Moscow to choke off supplies and threaten Taipei’s economic security. Monthly imports of the hydrocarbon liquid, which is used to make chemicals for technology and semiconductor manufacturing, have surged over the first half of 2025 to an average of six times higher than 2022 levels,…