Day: March 20, 2026

As diplomatic friction between China and Japan drags on, no Japanese business executives will attend a key forum in Beijing of multinational companies this week, according to an internal list seen by the South China Morning Post. Nearly 80 top executives from major foreign corporations, with those from the US making up the largest group, will attend the China Development Forum (CDF) from Sunday to Monday, according to the list. Meanwhile, some foreign CEOs – including a few from the Middle East – who had been invited and scheduled to…

The House Select Committee on China released a report on Friday asserting that China is manipulating its position at the United Nations to “undermine America’s interests and advance its international ambitions”. The 34-page report makes the case that China uses budget contributions, appointments to key UN executive positions and strategically deployed troops to expand its reach. The committee did not detail how these activities differed from how most countries operate at the UN, or the influence of major donor countries, at a time when the US has slashed funding to…

The official line is straightforward: US President Donald Trump asked for a delay to his long-anticipated summit in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and it has been pushed back by “a month or so”. According to the White House, moving the meeting allows Trump to remain in the US and manage the escalating war with Iran, including urgent efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But beneath the surface, a more complex story emerges: months of growing frustrations, mismatched expectations, unanswered proposals and a distracted Trump administration, all compounded…

At a time when boosting domestic demand tops Beijing’s economic agenda, discussing an amateur sports tournament at the national podium goes beyond mere cultural commentary. It hints at something broader about how policymakers are approaching the consumption challenge: increasingly relying on experimentation. China has spent more than a decade trying to rebalance its economy towards consumption, yet progress has been slow. Exports now face mounting geopolitical pressure, while the property sector, once a powerful driver of household spending, remains stuck in a prolonged downturn. The urgency of cultivating a stronger…

The administration of US President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled an artificial intelligence (AI) policy framework aimed at curbing state-level restrictions on innovation, as it urged Congress to address AI risks and reinforce the US edge in an intensifying technology race with China. Congress should pre-empt state AI laws that “impose undue burdens”, to ensure a national standard instead of “fifty discordant ones”, Trump said in a new legislative recommendation named the National AI Legislative Framework. State law should not govern areas better suited to the Federal Government, or act…

In 2012, American Jesse Appell stepped off a plane in China on a Fulbright scholarship to study an unusual subject: the art of Chinese comedy. Over the next few years, Appell, then in his 20s, found himself telling jokes in clubs across China, studying traditional comedy under a master, and even appearing on television. The country’s comedy scene and cultural footprint expanded in ways he could not have predicted – and Appell was along for the ride. “There were so many opportunities to be a part of building that country,”…

China is set to include 12 more commercial banks under the umbrella of its central bank-backed digital currency, the latest move by Beijing to scale up adoption of the digital yuan, also known as the e-CNY, as it transitions from a cash alternative to an interest-bearing deposit instrument. The expansion comes after Beijing pledged to “steadily develop the digital yuan” in its latest five-year plan, the country’s blueprint document for socio-economic development. A draft Finance Law published on Friday recognised the digital currency as fiat currency equivalent to cash, while…