Month: August 2026

The South China Morning Post has launched a major data project diving into President Xi Jinping’s signature anti-graft campaign. In the first part of a series accompanying the data project, Phoebe Zhang looks at how the campaign became one of the Communist Party’s most important policies. In the early years of President Xi Jinping’s first term, when graft fighters were taking down senior officials in ways that raised eyebrows, Chinese authorities constantly had to remind the public that the anti-corruption campaign was not “just a gust of wind”. At that…

Reports of a female employee allegedly being assaulted at a drinking party in Hangzhou brought back a version of myself from more than a decade ago. Back then, I was one of those young women routinely invited to business dinners. Seating followed an unwritten rule, with the most powerful person taking the seat of honour, flanked by two young women. Everyone knew what we were there to do: keep the conversation lively, entertain the guests and, above all, keep raising our glasses. I’ve always been a terrible drinker. Yet under…

The United States is opening Venezuela’s telecommunications sector to new investment and technology while explicitly excluding Chinese companies, a move that could reshape a market where Huawei and ZTE have become deeply embedded and give Western suppliers an opening as the country expands its 5G networks. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday issued two general licences easing some sanctions restrictions on Venezuela’s telecommunications sector, including transactions involving state-owned provider CANTV and mobile operator Movilnet. But both licences specifically exclude transactions involving people or companies…

The United States on Monday announced fresh sanctions against 60 entities in multiple countries, including China and Hong Kong, and issued a fresh warning demanding “immediate action” from nations maintaining economic and commercial ties with Iran. The actions announced on Monday are part of the Trump administration’s latest efforts to choke off Tehran economically after military strikes and diplomatic negotiations failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the six-month-long conflict. Dubbed “Economic D-Day” by the Trump administration, the new actions aimed to expand Washington’s secondary sanctions, putting several…

US authorities are conducting a national security review of Shein Global Holdings’ purchase of American clothing retailer Everlane after Shein sought approval for the deal, people familiar with the matter said, adding to a growing list of regulatory hurdles for the China-founded fast-fashion giant in one of its most important markets. The review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (Cfius), an inter-agency panel led by the Treasury Department, began after the US$80 million transaction was completed in May, according to the people, who asked not to be…

Mainland Chinese government vessel sightings around Taiwan have reached record levels for a third straight month, as Beijing expands its law enforcement footprint east of the island following the announcement in late May of Tokyo-Manila maritime boundary talks over the area. Taiwan’s defence ministry said that in the first 24 days of August it detected mainland coastguard, survey and other official vessels a total of 118 times, surpassing the 117 reported in July and 111 in June. Those numbers were far higher than in any previous month on record since…

China and Jordan have called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping and for the ceasefire between the United States and Iran to be maintained, in a joint statement issued during King Abdullah’s visit to Beijing. They also said they wanted to see “a comprehensive solution addressing the root causes of tension … through dialogue and negotiation, ensuring full respect for the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of regional countries”. Peace talks between the US and Iran have stalled and the strait, which was described in the…