Month: April 2026

The State Council, China’s cabinet, has published guidelines on innovative drug pricing that a bank analyst has described as “the most significant” in a decade, as they aim to reward drug innovation and ease pricing tension for domestic and multinational pharmaceutical companies. The framework document published this month said patented innovative drugs would be supported through value-based pricing, while the prices of generic drugs would be driven down through market competition and volume-based procurement. Under volume-based procurement, the government buys drugs in bulk for public hospitals, putting multinational companies under…

The Iran conflict is pushing Saudi Arabia to reconsider its US-led security strategy, with China emerging to play a limited, but functional role, analysts say. However, deep US ties in defence would restrict Saudi Arabia’s broader cooperation with China, they added, as one expert predicted Riyadh was likely to deepen ties with regional powers such as Pakistan and Turkey. 01:28 US forces seize Iranian ship as Tehran says it has no plans to join peace talks US forces seize Iranian ship as Tehran says it has no plans to join…

Half of Taiwanese not only doubt the US would send troops to defend Taiwan in the event of a cross-strait conflict but also question whether American weapons would prove effective, a poll this week has revealed. The results highlighted mounting scepticism on the island over Washington’s security guarantees, according to the survey released on Monday by the Taipei-based Democracy Foundation. The poll found that 57 per cent of respondents did not believe the US would send troops to defend the island if war broke out in the Taiwan Strait –…

A year ago, after more than a decade in the United Kingdom and several years in the United States – including time working for the United Nations in New York City – I returned to Asia and arrived in Hong Kong expecting it to also be a leading hub for international relations. Hong Kong is often described as a “superconnector” between China and the world. Yet in one crucial domain – the study and practice of international relations – the city remains a paradox: globally connected, intellectually vibrant but structurally…

The world breathed a sigh of relief as US President Donald Trump announced he would extend the ceasefire with Iran, but uncertainty remains in the Middle East over how the US-Israeli war will end. These are the main takeaways from what happened overnight. Last-minute extension Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran hours before it was due to expire, at the request of Pakistan. But he said the US naval blockade would continue. Advertisement “Based on the fact that the government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so, and,…

China’s shipyards are emerging as beneficiaries from the US-Israeli war on Iran, securing new orders as crude transport bottlenecks worsen and global demand for large oil tankers rises. With the United States and Iran effectively blockading the Strait of Hormuz – a chokepoint that handles about a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil – shipping companies are racing to expand capacity, particularly in very large crude carriers (VLCCs) capable of transporting about 2 million barrels of oil per voyage. Advertisement The flurry of orders comes amid mounting pressure on global…

A Chinese university student has been charged with unauthorised photography of US military aircraft in Nebraska during a road trip through several states, which included a stop at an air force base in South Dakota. Tianrui Liang, who is studying in Glasgow, was arrested at New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport on April 7 as he attempted to return to Scotland, court documents filed in the Eastern District of New York revealed. The 21-year-old has been charged with photographing defence installations without authorisation, which is prohibited under US law.…

The Philippines is trying to gradually establish “stable foundations” for its relations with China before tackling tougher problems such as the long-running South China Sea dispute, according to the country’s ambassador to Beijing. “We need a new equilibrium in our relations with China. Both sides [have agreed] to take incremental or baby steps towards that,” Jaime FlorCruz told the South China Morning Post. “That means a relationship that is stable, that is predictable, that is not subject to jerks [and] ups and downs … We’re trying to manage our differences…