Year: 2025

The first physical store of Chinese-owned fast-fashion giant Shein – which opened in central Paris in November amid heated protests – has become a new retail destination for many denizens of the French capital as they rush to finish their Christmas shopping. Hundreds of customers wandered among the racks of clothing, rifling through items carrying tags with rock-bottom prices, including a €66.99 (US$79) leather jacket and a €78.99 puffer coat. Those wishing to use the fitting rooms at the Shein shop – which takes up almost half the top floor…

Four former defence company bosses have been sacked by China’s top political advisory body amid an ongoing anti-corruption campaign in the military and related sectors. Revocation of CPPCC membership – rather than resignation – typically signals suspicions of serious disciplinary violations, or worse, corruption charges. Advertisement Those removed from the advisory body include four former senior executives of military-related state-owned enterprises (SOEs). There has been no official statement about any corruption investigations into these individuals yet, though some of them have not been seen in public for months. They are…

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China military stories of the year. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, enters service China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, entered into service on Wednesday at a grand ceremony in Sanya, Hainan province, according to state media reports on Friday. 2. How did China’s J-10C match up to French Rafale in India-Pakistan aerial clash? Reports that France’s advanced Rafale fighter jet came off second best against the China-made…

Pottery vessels containing traces of alcohol from a Bronze Age cemetery in northwestern China indicate that people at the time consumed beverages made using a fermentation starter of rice and a red mould. Archaeologists said the drink, similar to red rice wine, played a key role in their mortuary rituals, and its presence at the Mogou cemetery suggested a tradition that probably served to strengthen the bond between the living and the dead. Researchers from Northwest University in Xian, the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and Stanford…

China’s offshore yuan strengthened further on Thursday, dipping below the benchmark rate of seven against the US dollar – another sign of the currency’s continued appreciation after a brief breach of the same threshold on Wednesday evening. The recent fluctuations mark the currency’s first appreciation past the major psychological marker in 15 months, suggesting a change in market sentiment and providing more support for the global investors and economists who have argued the currency has been undervalued. The offshore yuan’s exchange rate reached a high of 6.9960 on Thursday morning,…

Chinese researchers have proposed a simple yet powerful theory to explain one of physics’ oldest puzzles: why time only moves forward and why travelling to the past remains impossible. Physicist Cai Qingyu and his team at Hainan University in southern China have developed a fresh explanation at the quantum level for why we cannot unscramble an egg or grow younger, even though the laws of physics perfectly allow time to go backwards. Unlike earlier theories, their framework does not rely on observations, measurements or external disturbances, the scientists explained in…

All eyes are on how Beijing’s “Chinese dream” of eventual Taiwan reunification will unfold at a time when the leader of the United States – Taipei’s top international backer – appears less likely to intervene in case of a cross-strait conflict. In the third of a three-part series, Amber Wang looks at how PLA activity may reflect the wider political picture. In the past five years, People’s Liberation Army activity near Taiwan has been seen by many observers as a key indicator of when and whether a conflict that may…

Brazil is preparing to waive visa requirements for Chinese citizens travelling for tourism and business, local media reported on Wednesday citing government sources, in a move that would mark a significant shift in policy and deepen ties with its largest trading partner. According to local newspaper Valor Economico, the decision reflects a growing view within President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government that easing entry rules would boost tourism, trade and investment, outweighing long-standing concerns about migration risks. China is Brazil’s largest commercial partner and one of the fastest-growing sources…

00:00 00:00 1.25x South China Morning Post