Day: April 5, 2026

Repeat short-haul visits by Chinese travellers to South Korea are expected to rise after Seoul eased multiple-entry visa rules, but analysts say the immediate impact may be limited because of growing competition from Southeast Asia and higher airfares linked to the US-Israeli war in Iran. The South Korean embassy in Beijing announced that Chinese nationals who had previously visited South Korea would now be eligible for a five-year multiple-entry visa. Those holding residency status in 14 major cities – including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou – could also apply for 10-year…

Andrew Tilton, chief Asia-Pacific economist at Goldman Sachs, speaks to the South China Morning Post about the long-term future of China’s economy after the “two sessions” in Beijing and ahead of an expected Xi-Trump summit – all during an oil crisis sparked by the US-Israel war against Iran. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here. What impact will the oil shock arising from the Iran war have on the growth of Asian economies this year? Advertisement Asia is greatly affected by the war as the vast majority…

The US-Israeli strikes on Iran and ensuing conflagration offer a window into how the US-led order works. For all its contributions, it functions like an air conditioner – cooling the American centre by pumping hot air into the periphery. Aggressive interest rate hikes export inflation to emerging markets. Proxy wars outsource geopolitical risk to distant theatres. The United States stays cool while the Global South absorbs the brunt of the heat. But the vents are closing: developing nations are consciously securing defence autonomy, fostering geoeconomic resilience and asserting resource sovereignty.…

Duan Baoyan, a leading architect of China’s “Zhuri” space solar power initiative, wrote in a paper published in Scientia Sinica Informationis last month, that his team had revamped the design of the giant orbital infrastructure. In addition to energy transmission, the new system was required to support a wide range of tasks “such as communication, navigation, reconnaissance, interference and remote control”, he said. Advertisement Duan, a professor of electromechanical engineering at Xidian University in Xian and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, also stressed the need for extremely…

The 7.5-tonne uncrewed aircraft is powered by the world’s most powerful hydrogen turboprop of its kind, capable of generating more than 1 megawatt. The engine operated normally and remained in good condition throughout the 16-minute test flight on Saturday, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC), its developer. Advertisement The aircraft covered 36km (22 miles) at a speed of 220km/h (137mph), flying at an altitude of 300 metres (985 feet). After completing all scheduled manoeuvres, it returned to an airport in Zhuzhou in central…

China has miniaturised the technology used to make electromagnetic cannons to develop a handheld coil gun, according to state media. The weapon was designed for stealth, non-lethal operations and law enforcement, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Saturday, adding that it could fire between 1,000 and 2,000 projectiles a minute and penetrate wooden boards from dozens of metres away. Its power levels can also be altered, meaning that on lower settings there is less chance it will kill someone and instead disable them. Advertisement The lightweight electromagnetic launcher has a barrel…

TV drama regulators in China have taken aim at beauty-obsessed and traffic-driven programming in the industry, with a call for more “quality” storytelling. The National Radio and Television Administration’s drama department sent out the call on Thursday as it brought major streaming platforms and production companies together for a conference on “healthy aesthetics”. “[Efforts should be made] to avoid the tendency to value physical beauty above everything else and reliance on traffic-driven popularity,” the department said in a briefing posted on social media. Advertisement “Greater emphasis should be placed on…

Traditional corporate culture and hierarchies are slowing down artificial intelligence adoption in Chinese enterprises, leaving them trailing their US peers, even as China’s savvy consumers embrace AI agents at a breakneck pace, says Zack Kass, former head of go-to-market at OpenAI. China has a very “techno-centric consumer”, while the US has a very “techno-centric enterprise”, Kass told the South China Morning Post in a recent interview. Highlighting this contrast, Kass said typical Chinese consumers were more tech-savvy than their American counterparts, showing enthusiasm for emerging innovations largely absent in the…