Month: November 2025

In recent months, the European Union has been more Trumpian on China, renouncing part of its free-trade DNA in favour of increasingly protectionist policies. Just like its role model in Washington, the EU has tried to exact geopolitical and economic concessions from Beijing by escalating to de-escalate – a brinkmanship approach that seems to come straight from US President Donald Trump’s playbook in his trade war against China. Advertisement But the recent trade detente reached by Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea is likely to change the…

With nearly one month before Hainan, China’s southern island province, launches a separate customs regime, President Xi Jinping has urged officials to ensure the process goes smoothly so the region can spearhead the country’s opening up. Advertisement “The strategic goal of building the Hainan Free Trade Port is to establish it as a significant gateway leading China’s opening up in the new era,” Xi said on Thursday in Sanya, a city in southern Hainan, during his tour of the tropical island. “This is an exemplary move that demonstrates China’s unwavering…

China recorded a year-on-year uptick of 8.5 per cent in marriage registrations over the first three quarters of 2025, a rare piece of positive demographic news as the country’s population continues to shrink and rise in average age. Advertisement The increase suggests that a host of recently introduced pro-marriage policies are starting to pay off, but experts cautioned the number of marriages would still decline over the long term as the pool of younger adults dwindles. A total of 5.15 million couples registered for marriage in the first nine months…

China’s Mars orbiter Tianwen-1 has captured a rare snapshot of a mysterious interstellar visitor that has ignited debate among scientists about its origins. Advertisement The object – designated 3I/Atlas – is only the third ever detected entering our solar system, and new images, released on Thursday by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), offer a closer look at the presumed comet. Tianwen-1 snapped the pictures from about 30 million km (18.6 million miles) away on October 3. The object, which was first spotted on July 1 by the Nasa-funded Asteroid…

Advertisement “China is going to win the AI race,” the British newspaper cited him as saying on Wednesday at an event in London. “It’s vital that America wins by racing ahead and winning developers worldwide.” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has repeatedly petitioned US authorities to relax restrictions on the company’s AI chip exports, saying that the policy was helping China push forward its own technology. Photo: Shutterstock After becoming the world’s first US$5 trillion company last week, California-based Nvidia’s market cap has receded since then to around US$4.7 trillion. Advertisement…

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) will add the yuan to the settlement currencies available to airlines and aviation suppliers through the industry association’s clearing house, in another boost to China’s efforts to promote the internationalisation of its currency. Advertisement Yuan settlements will be available from next month following the completion of a trial period, the association said in a statement issued on Wednesday, with domestic carriers China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines the first to test the system this month. IATA’s clearing house platform already offers users seven currencies…