Day: November 12, 2025

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. From reusable rockets to deep-sea dives: how China closes tech gap on the West China sees outer space and the polar regions as “strategic new frontiers” vital to its future security – and is investing accordingly. 2. Chinese firms in EU report solid performance despite mounting uncertainties Most Chinese companies are faring well in the European Union despite rising challenges such as higher labour…

US President Donald Trump’s recent call for the military to immediately restart nuclear weapons testing, apparently ending a 33-year moratorium that began under president George H.W. Bush in 1992, has sent shock waves across the globe. Advertisement The announcement was made via social media moments before the much-anticipated meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries since Trump returned to the Oval Office in January. Trump…

After months of delays resulting from a bureaucratic tangle and possible US opposition, a multimillion-dollar China-Argentina radio telescope project could be moving ahead. Advertisement Scientists involved with the China-Argentina Radio Telescope (CART) said essential parts shipped from China that had been held up at Argentine customs since September 3 could soon be released. However, academics have suggested that more political leverage will be needed to overcome US opposition to the project. CART is expected to play a key role in an international instrument network, working in coordination with the Five-hundred-metre…

China’s central bank vowed to maintain an accommodative monetary policy stance and improve policy transmission to support the “steady” economy in its latest quarterly report, which analysts said signalled a reduced urgency for rate cuts. Advertisement The People’s Bank of China will implement a “moderately loose” monetary policy and ensure “reasonable and ample” liquidity to serve the real economy, according to the report released on Tuesday. Despite facing domestic and external challenges, the Chinese economy was making “steady progress” and remained on track to achieve this year’s growth target of…

Most Chinese companies are faring well in the European Union despite rising challenges such as higher labour costs, trade barriers and the bloc’s efforts to reduce dependence on Beijing, the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) said in its annual report. Advertisement Over 80 per cent of surveyed companies reported stable or improved performance in Europe in 2024, with more than half posting revenue growth and 40 per cent turning higher profits, according to the report published on Wednesday by the CCCEU, in collaboration with consulting firm Roland…

The signing of the Asean-China free trade agreement upgrade last month looked procedural. It wasn’t. The protocol adds chapters on digital trade, the green economy, supply chain connectivity, and the nuts and bolts of trade facilitation. These elements matter more than tariff cuts. Advertisement As US tariffs on Chinese goods remain high, including on electric vehicles (EVs), batteries and solar cells, agreements that reduce friction, harmonise standards and streamline certification are becoming strategic tools. They don’t evade tariffs; they divert production and value-add steps across Southeast Asia, legally and at…

Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer, posted a 17 per cent rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, beating market forecasts, on sustained strength in demand for artificial intelligence servers. Net profit for the July-September period for Nvidia’s biggest server maker and Apple’s top iPhone assembler was T$57.67 billion (US$1.89 billion), higher than the consensus estimate of T$50.4 billion compiled by London Stock Exchange Group. Taiwan-based… South China Morning Post

In the 1960s, the world-renowned mathematician Hillel Furstenberg proposed a conjecture: that a number cannot appear “simple and highly regular” under two “independent” rulers simultaneously. Advertisement Put simply, if a number is written in a binary system – using only two digits or elements to represent a quantity – its sequence is relatively regular and simple. In contrast, when rewriting that number in ternary – using three elements as its base – its sequence will almost certainly become relatively more complex and different in structure. The conjecture seems intuitively obvious,…