The towns that are the bulwark of China’s energy security can, at a moment of global crisis, appear deceptively quiet. Trucks carrying oil trundle along wide-open highways that have little traffic, while a few boarded-up shops in crumbling low-rise buildings hint at a long-forgotten local buzz. A ramshackle noodle shop serving hand-pulled ribbons of dough was empty at lunchtime, save for a few construction workers and a teacher watching videos on Douyin, the social media platform, with his meal. But its boss wasn’t worried about low footfall. Peak time was…
Month: March 2026
US to allow Russian oil tanker to reach Cuba in lifeline for Caribbean island
US President Donald Trump signalled he was reversing course on blocking oil shipments to Cuba on Sunday, saying he had “no problem” with any country sending in crude as a Russian tanker neared a Cuban port with a badly needed shipment. A sanctioned Russian vessel, part of the country’s “shadow fleet”, was just off the coast of eastern Cuba on Sunday, according to ship tracking data, and was expected to reach port on Monday, a lifeline for the country’s economy that has nearly ground to a halt under a de…
Why Chinese tech companies are racing to set up in Hong Kong
For Yunji, that means proving its robots can operate in real-world international settings. The company, which builds its service robots for hotels, hospitals and factories, listed in Hong Kong in October of last year, as it sought to widen its investor base beyond the mainland. BBC
Li Ka-shing’s CK Life unit eyes China fast track for cancer vaccine pipeline
CK Life Sciences, a unit of Li Ka-shing-backed CK Group, plans to bring its cancer vaccine candidates to mainland China through a “fast track” channel as Beijing moves to accelerate early-stage drug development. “We are planning to run investigator-initiated trials [IITs], hopefully, in the next year,” CK Life Sciences’ vice-president and chief scientific officer Dr Melvin Toh Kean-meng said in a recent interview. His comments came as CK Life Sciences set up Sequencio Therapeutics in Hong Kong as a subsidiary on March 10 to advance its cancer vaccine pipeline. Sequencio…
Why Kenneth Rogoff thinks China’s yuan will be a reserve currency ‘in the next 5 years’
Professor Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University has repeatedly warned that the US dollar is approaching a crisis of legitimacy. Having written extensively on the global recession in the late 2000s, Rogoff has turned his focus to the US currency’s increasingly unstable place at the top of the world’s financial hierarchy. A former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and a chess grandmaster, he published Our Dollar, Your Problem in May last year. In this interview, Rogoff elaborates further on the US dollar’s competition from the yuan and euro, the…
The Guardian view on Myanmar’s forgotten war: the military cosplay democracy but people demand the real thing | Editorial
China promoted elections in Myanmar, while those fighting for democracy boycotted them. That tells you everything about the shift to a supposedly civilian administration in the coming days, five years after the military seized power in a coup. It appears likely that Min Aung Hlaing will swap his leadership of the army for the presidency. Whatever the details, the junta will still be running the show, and bombing civilians – just while cosplaying as democrats. Myanmar’s suffering has been overshadowed by higher-profile wars. But the conflict-monitoring organisation Acled estimates that…
‘Doctrine of the Mean’: how the US lost a 2-decade race to China in brain implants
For decades, the United States led the charge in the pursuit of brain-computer interface technology, betting big on bold, high-risk breakthroughs that promised to revolutionise medicine and human-machine integration. In the end, it is China crossing the finish line first. Using a semi-invasive approach that may lend credence to the Confucian “doctrine of the mean” – or the philosophy of seeking a middle path between extremes – a team in China has now come up with a commercially approved product ahead of all other players, including challengers in the US.…
Quieter, stealthier, further: new hybrid unit to power China’s small battle drones
A hybrid propulsion system designed to make small battlefield drones stealthier and go further has passed its flight tests, according to Chinese state media. The system’s motor is driven by fuel-powered electricity, combining two systems to make the best of both, according to a report on Friday on CCTV-7, China’s military television channel. Drone propulsion has largely followed two distinct paths. Fuel-powered systems are typically used in bigger uncrewed aircraft, offering strong performance and long endurance but generating a lot of noise. Advertisement Smaller drones are usually powered by electric…
Europe’s response to Iran war risks becoming its ‘darkest hour’
The European Union (EU) is a bystander in the Iran war, but it might end up sustaining significant collateral damage. On one hand, public opinion across Europe is opposed to a conflict that circumvents the core principles of international law. On the other, the continent remains deeply reliant on the United States for its energy and security needs. A definitive anti-war stance risks alienating President Donald Trump, leaving Europe strategically exposed. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. Walking such a geopolitical tightrope must be excruciating.…
Japan upgrades destroyer with Tomahawk missiles. Why it might pose a threat to China
Japan has upgraded a naval vessel with capabilities to fire long-range Tomahawk missiles, with the first firing test expected this summer – a move experts said would pose a security threat to China. The Aegis destroyer Chokai “completed modifications and crew training” in the US that started in October, “confirming its acquisition of Tomahawk missile launch capabilities”, Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Friday. He said a ceremony marking the acquisition of these capabilities had been held on board the Chokai, with Japanese and American officials attending. Koizumi added…