Day: July 20, 2026

Last month, 12.9 million students in China sat for the National Higher Education Entrance Examination, or gaokao, the number sliding for a second year, and down from 13.3 million last year. Given that births have fallen below 8 million annually to a record low, in 18 years, the country’s more than 3,100 universities will find themselves fighting over an even smaller cohort. This will coincide with a growing global competition for talent. In a knowledge-driven economy, the countries that prosper will increasingly be those capable of attracting researchers, entrepreneurs and…

The US Justice Department said on Monday it launched an investigation reviewing whether some Harvard University financial aid programmes were discriminatory, marking the latest fight against the university by Donald Trump’s administration. “The Justice ‌Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today it is opening a compliance review into Harvard University to determine whether its China-based financial aid programmes and practices exclude American-citizen students,” the department said in a statement. Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Ivy League university has previously said it ⁠does not…

China imported 12.08 million tonnes of Brazilian soybeans in June, up 13.7 per cent from a year earlier, while volumes from the United States fell 20.6 per cent to 1.27 million tonnes, far off the pace implied by the purchasing deal agreed by Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, according to figures released on Monday by China’s General Administration of Customs. Total arrivals of the oilseed reached 13.55 million tonnes, a record for the month, lifted by Brazilian supply and by the clearing of cargoes that had been delayed at…

US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order aimed at reducing dependence on China for defence-related critical minerals, directing military contractors to shift away from Beijing-linked supply chains beginning in January 2027. Without naming China, Trump’s executive order stresses the need to maintain US military dominance “in an era of renewed great power competition”. “The United States must secure its supply chains against physical, cyber, and economic subversion,” it said. The US Department of Defence relies heavily on critical minerals, including rare earths, for components used in its…

The United States has accused China of operating three intelligence-gathering facilities in Cuba and sharply expanding its personnel on the island, portraying Havana as a strategic platform for Beijing to monitor American military activity. A State Department report released on Monday said China maintained a “persistent intelligence-gathering presence” in Cuba, whose location gives Beijing potential access to electronic communications, military installations and maritime activity in the southeastern United States. The report, titled Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism, said China “actively runs” three of 18 known signals-intelligence facilities on…

When the US Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, his attention soon turned from the justices to China, prompting a sarcastic social media post. “I would like to congratulate President Xi, and the Great Country of China, on their massive Birthright Citizenship WIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” Trump wrote on social media. In the hours that followed, the Department of Justice instructed federal prosecutors to prioritise investigations of so-called “birth tourism” schemes. Days later, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said lawmakers were examining legislation addressing…

Chinese ⁠Premier ⁠Li Qiang on Monday extended congratulations to Andy Burnham on ‌becoming Britain’s new prime minister. Strengthening dialogue and cooperation between ⁠China and Britain will benefit ‌the two countries and “inject stability into global ‌peace”, Li said in ⁠his ⁠message, Reuters reported. “I am willing to ‌work with the prime minister ‌to strengthen exchanges, ‌enhance mutual ‌trust, promote communication and cooperation, ⁠and advance the long-term, ⁠stable comprehensive strategic partnership” between the two countries, ‌Li ‌added. In his first call to the US president, Burnham assured ⁠Donald Trump that London…

Hungary’s government announced an investigation on Monday into a large foreign investment by Chinese carmaker BYD negotiated by a former foreign minister who last week resigned from parliament to take an executive position at the company. Peter Szijjarto’s announcement last Wednesday that he would take the job at the world’s top electric carmaker prompted accusations of a conflict of interest and criticism over his role in organising substantial government subsidies to the company while in office. Prime Minister Peter Magyar told lawmakers on Monday that Szijjarto, a close ally of…