South China Morning Post
Xi’s key interactions with US and Russian presidents
Day: May 20, 2026
China’s Xi Jinping expected to visit North Korea as early as next week
President Xi Jinping is expected to visit North Korea as early as next week, Yonhap news agency has reported, as Beijing and Pyongyang’s long-standing ties have grown warmer in recent months. “We have obtained intelligence indicating that President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea soon,” the South Korean agency said, citing a government source. Another government official told Yonhap that Xi might visit North Korea later this month or early next month. A separate source said the Chinese leader could seek to mediate relations between North Korea and the United…
Trump claims he will speak to Taiwan’s president, departing from decades-long diplomatic norms
Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would speak to Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, an unprecedented move for a US leader that could roil US relations with China. “I’ll speak to him,” the US president told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before boarding Air Force One when asked about Lai. “I speak to everybody … We’ll work on that, the Taiwan problem.” Responding to Trump’s comments on Thursday morning, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said Lai would be happy to speak to the US leader, according to Reuters. US and Taiwanese…
As war engulfs the Middle East, China’s Xinjiang is thriving with future tech
As the war in Iran disrupts global oil and chemical supplies, China’s coal-heavy energy sector is seizing an unprecedented opportunity. Dannie Peng visits the Changji Hui autonomous prefecture in Xinjiang – one of the country’s four major bases for large-scale, modern coal-chemical production – to see first-hand how a vast industrial ecosystem is rapidly taking shape on the ground. A four-hour drive northeast of Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, leads to a colossal open-pit mine. There, a fleet of electric, autonomous mining trucks moves with silent, clockwork precision, self-navigating…
Satellite imagery shows new North Korea-Russia bridge nearing completion
Satellite imagery has revealed that North Korea and Russia are scrambling to complete a new high-capacity road bridge across their Tumen River border, and experts told Radio Free Asia that the fervor for completing the project quickly is a sign of increased cooperation and warm relations between Pyongyang and Moscow. Until now, the only bridge connecting the two countries has been the Bridge of Friendship, a much smaller rail-only bridge that was built in 1959 and had been intended to be a temporary measure until a permanent bridge could be…
With China poised for record trade surplus, former Chongqing mayor calls for action
China needs a coordinated policy package of currency appreciation, tariff cuts and elevated labour benefits to rebalance its massive trade surplus, outspoken former Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan said on Tuesday. Speaking at this year’s Tsinghua PBCSF Global Finance Forum in Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, Huang described China’s 2025 record-breaking US$1.2 trillion merchandise trade surplus as “shocking”. Advertisement That momentum has shown no signs of slowing. China’s goods trade surplus stood at US$347.7 billion in the first four months of this year. “We could see another…
Chinese national charged in alleged scheme to smuggle drug shipments to US
In a sign of growing cooperation between the US and China in the wake of last week’s summit in Beijing, the US Justice Department announced on Wednesday the arrest in China of an alleged drug smuggler wanted by the US in connection with a sizeable shipment of illegal drugs into the US state of Georgia. As outlined in court records, Wei Gong, also known as David Gong, allegedly imported more than 10 kilograms of various potent stimulant drugs, which he allegedly sold to an undercover agent and another defendant. According…
Nvidia’s revenue blows past Wall Street expectations as AI boom accelerates
Nvidia continued its years-long streak of beating Wall Street’s expectations for growth on Wednesday, reassuring most investors that the AI boom, particularly the global explosion of datacenters, will continue apace. “The buildout of AI factories – the largest infrastructure expansion in human history – is accelerating at extraordinary speed,” said Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, in a statement. “Agentic AI has arrived, doing productive work, generating real value, and scaling rapidly across companies and industries.” Many analysts view Nvidia’s financial performance as a broader referendum on the AI buildout. The most…
Will US defence strategy architect Colby pave the way for Hegseth’s China visit?
The Pentagon is planning to send a high-level delegation to Beijing within weeks to lay the groundwork for a potential visit by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, the South China Morning Post has learned. Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, said the delegation was expected to be led by Elbridge Colby, defence undersecretary for policy and a key architect of the 2026 National Defence Strategy. According to the sources, the trip was aimed at, among other things, finalising arrangements for a Hegseth…
Trump says Iran talks are nearing an end but warns of more strikes
US President Donald Trump said his administration’s negotiations with Iran were “in the final stages” on Wednesday, while simultaneously warning of further attacks, as a fragile ceasefire concluded its sixth week with no sign of an end to the war. The US launched “Operation Epic Fury” close to three months ago, in a war that began with strikes inside Iran alongside key ally Israel, which has since spread across the wider Middle East region, killing thousands and disrupting global supply chains. “We’re in the final stages of Iran. We’ll see…