A ramshackle 10-storey home that had become an offbeat tourist attraction in south-western China has been torn down, ending a years-long battle between the structure’s owner and local authorities. Chen Tianming said local authorities took just hours to return the stone bungalow – which had been transformed into a pyramid-shaped structure of plywood rooms stacked upon one another – back down to its original single storey. “I don’t feel regret, because regret is useless,” Chen told the AFP news agency. “I also don’t blame myself for failing to protect it…
Day: May 21, 2026
China-US stability may not last, ex-Asia adviser to Obama says
South China Morning Post
China-Russia: energy ties
South China Morning Post
Boeing went to China to sell planes. Beijing is buying something else
When Air Force One touched down in Beijing, one of the most photographed passengers was Boeing’s chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, there to close a deal. Washington had come to sell aircraft. Beijing was buying something else. The last time this scene played out in 2017, China signed an agreement for 300 Boeing aircraft. Since then, it has pursued an industrial programme aimed at reducing dependence on precisely such orders. That effort has not failed, but neither has it advanced at the pace imagined. The gap between delay and abandonment is…
‘We really do not trust each other’: former US envoy foresees wary new phase in China ties
Former US ambassador to China Max Baucus has described the latest US-China summit as ushering in a new phase of wary “constructive stability”, with both sides focused more on preventing crises rather than building trust or meaningfully resetting their relationship. In an interview on Wednesday, Baucus said last week’s Beijing summit between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump served as a guard rail to prevent breakdown and escalation, while revealing the limits of the superpowers’ ties. But for a relationship long defined by fierce competition and deep…
Elon Musk and Other CEOs on Trump’s Trip to China Sought Relief
The chief executives who accompanied President Trump to a meeting and grand banquet in China last week were seeking to curry favor with both the Trump administration and the Chinese government, keenly aware that the support of either could make or break their businesses. But the delegation — which included executives from Boeing, Apple, Nvidia, Cargill and other firms — arrived in Beijing with a variety of commercial complaints about doing business in China, some of which are public, some of which have not been previously reported. In recent weeks,…
China is replacing Middle East oil with Xinjiang coal. What does it mean for the world?
As the war in Iran disrupts global oil and chemical supplies, China’s coal-heavy energy sector is seizing an unprecedented opportunity. Dannie Peng visited the Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture in northern Xinjiang – one of China’s four major bases for large-scale, modern coal-chemical production. In the second of a two-part series, she discovers how China is leveraging coal chemicals to offset oil shocks. It is late April, and northern Xinjiang is already gripped by scorching heat. Salt flats stretch to the horizon, barren and lifeless, until the monotony breaks at Wucaiwan…
US casts Cuba as China-linked security threat while still pushing for talks
The comments came amid renewed friction between Washington and Beijing over Cuba after China criticised the US charges against Castro and accused Washington of escalating pressure on Havana. “The US side should stop brandishing the sanctions stick and the judicial stick against Cuba and stop threatening force at every turn,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Thursday. Advertisement “China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and national dignity and opposes external interference.” On Thursday, Rubio repeatedly framed Cuba as a national security concern for the United…
US foreign affairs chairman warns of China role in Argentina contract bid
US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast has warned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of “Chinese malign influence” in a bid for a major contract in Argentina, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The April 23 letter concerns an auction for a 25-year contract to dredge and operate Argentina’s Parana River, a vital waterway for most of the country’s agricultural exports, that Argentina estimates will reach US$10 billion in investment. The terms of the tender, which is in its final phase with a decision expected in the…
Trump scraps signing AI executive order to keep ‘lead’ over China in industry
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he had postponed the signing of a planned executive order on regulating artificial intelligence (AI), out of concern that it might undermine America’s leading position over China in the field. “We’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that lead,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. The signing ceremony, which was originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon, was delayed “because I didn’t like certain aspects” of the new regulations,…