Day: March 7, 2026

Foreign Minister Wang Yi faced global media on Sunday morning to outline Beijing’s positions on key issues, ranging from the expanding crisis in Iran to China’s deepening dispute with Japan. The annual briefing, held as part of the annual “two sessions”, came as China sought to project its leadership and influence amid mounting global instability and manage its strategic rivalry with the US. This year, the top Chinese diplomat fielded 21 questions in a briefing that lasted nearly 90 minutes. Advertisement Here are some key takeaways. ‘Big year’ for US-China…

The mobile industry buzzed with excitement over the artificial intelligence revolution showcased at MWC Barcelona 2026, but the optimism was overshadowed by the Middle East crisis and a memory crunch that could reshape the global smartphone supply chain. The AI showcase drew a large crowd, including King Felipe VI of Spain, to the booth of Chinese smartphone maker Honor, which displayed its “Robot Phone” with a built-in camera gimbal designed to become a companion to users. “This brings a certain level of excitement amid memory shocks,” said Ivan Lam, senior…

This live blog is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is facing the media this morning to outline Beijing’s foreign policy direction in one of the most-watched events during the annual “two sessions”. The press conference is held as China carefully manages its strategic rivalry with the United States, a dynamic that has evolved from a period of intense friction into one tempered by recent high-level exchanges and dialogue. Meanwhile, Beijing has sought to deepen economic ties…

For Steven Zhou, a 40-year-old Beijing office worker, suburban outlet stores offer a better shopping experience than urban malls, allowing him to escape the city, park his car without frustration and, most importantly, find good deals. “Outlets offer a wide selection of brands, with attractive discounts, especially on sportswear,” Zhou said. Across the mainland, outlets are expanding while traditional and luxury malls face high vacancy rates. Offering well-known brands at discounted prices, outlets aligned with changing consumer preferences and the current trend of rational spending amid the sluggish economy, according…

Nearly five decades ago, in 1978, a dozen or so professors from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) were on a mission to visit their American counterparts as well as research institutes and factories across the United States. The visit, said to be personally approved by then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, was designed to forge academic ties and led to sister-school agreements with four prestigious US universities, including the University of Michigan (UM). It was a pivotal moment in academic collaboration between China and the US, laying the foundation for decades…

Washington’s decapitation operation in Iran would push Pyongyang to feel “vindicated” in developing nuclear weapons for its own security and move closer to China and Russia to bolster its deterrence capabilities, according to analysts. On Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected the test firing of what the country’s state media called a “strategic cruise missile” from the new 5,000-tonne naval destroyer Choe Hyon before the vessel’s official commissioning. Kim hailed the warship as a “new symbol of sea-defence capability” after it completed a shakedown cruise as part of the…

Chinese President Xi Jinping has again sought to shore up the military’s ideological defences, demanding absolute loyalty to the Communist Party from all ranks, just weeks after the country’s top general came under investigation for corruption. “There must be no room within the military for those harbouring disloyalty towards the party, nor any shelter for corrupt individuals,” Xi told a meeting of military and armed police lawmakers on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress (NPC) on Saturday. “The fight against corruption must be resolutely advanced” and the party’s leadership…

Chinese scientists have used AI to determine the chemical make-up of the moon’s far side, offering new insights into one of lunar science’s enduring mysteries. Nearly half the moon’s surface – the far side which permanently faces away from the Earth – had long remained chemically unmapped. But samples from China’s Chang’e-6 mission, combined with advanced technologies, have enabled a team led by the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics (SITP) to crack the lunar chemical code. Advertisement Researchers from SITP, an affiliate of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, teamed up…

The Iran war has declared the death of the old global order. Europe wasn’t even consulted before Washington struck Iran alongside Israel – proof the continent is trapped between moral outrage and geopolitical irrelevance. If Europe wants to matter, it must shift its gaze eastwards, redefining China not as a binary adversary but as a balancing power. This is the path from Atlantic dependence to Eurasian relevance. For China, too, this moment is pivotal. US President Donald Trump has launched wars in Venezuela and Iran, turning these into leverage to…

China’s top envoy to Russia has urged more transport infrastructure along the countries’ shared border to cut logistics costs and address challenges. Zhang Hanhui, Beijing’s ambassador to Moscow, said on Thursday that the two countries could explore cross-border transport corridors as major maritime logistics had been affected by sanctions. “I have suggested to the Russian side that more convenient crossings should be built along the China-Russia border, such as cross-river bridges,” Zhang said on the sidelines of the “two sessions”, the annual meetings of China’s top legislature and top political…