Day: August 9, 2026

China is using an artificial intelligence-driven fish identification system to conduct round-the-clock tracking of species passing along a fishway on a dam on Tibet’s largest river. Monitoring the route once relied on labour-intensive manual counts, but it now uses an AI-based “fish facial recognition” system to identify species unique to the Tibet autonomous region, according to a report published by Global Times on Tuesday. Since the 116-metre-tall (381 feet) Zangmu Hydropower Station began operating on the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in 2015, the fishway, also known as…

Professor Wang Gungwu is regarded internationally as an authority on Chinese history. The 95-year-old is best known for his explorations of Chinese history in the long view, and for his writings on the Chinese diaspora. He has been a professor at the National University of Singapore since 2007 and emeritus professor at the Australian National University since 1988. He was vice-chancellor of the University of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1995. This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other… South China Morning Post

As China seeks to reshape the global order, Malaysia’s political instability offers a cautionary tale about the challenges Beijing may face abroad. A recent Pew Research Centre survey found that global perceptions of China have improved relative to those of the US, driven partly by the view among some respondents that China under President Xi Jinping is more reliable than a US led by President Donald Trump. As Washington retreats from global leadership roles, Beijing has sought to present itself as the architect of an alternative vision that, it argues,…

The grand security bargain between the United States and Gulf countries is widely perceived to be fraying, creating what analysts see as an opening for Beijing to expand its presence in the region. For decades, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states relied on Washington’s defensive shield, while it in turn relied on them for access, energy and influence. Riyadh’s decision to sign a mutual defence agreement with Turkey and Pakistan is the clearest sign yet of that shift. Signed this week in Mecca,… South China Morning Post

The European Union’s traditional August break was supposed to provide officials with some respite ahead of a potentially bruising autumn when it will try to set its fiery trade relationship with China on a new course. Instead, a border crisis on its southern flank has created turmoil and division among its 27 members, raising questions over how prepared the bloc is for a dust-up with one of the world’s economic superpowers. “We had a real-time test of what happens when one member state was under… South China Morning Post

After years of strain, China-Australia ties have reached a “good enough” baseline for Canberra, though still short of Beijing’s broader ambitions, according to a former top Australian diplomat. The relationship had taken a significant downturn since 2017, but was now on “a more realistic footing”, Graham Fletcher, a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based think tank, wrote in a report released on Sunday. Fletcher served as Australia’s ambassador to China from 2019 to 2023. The countries are currently reviewing their decade-long free-trade agreement, and Australia served as the…