Bridges to China, Russia preparing to open as North Korea deepens ties with both

Satellite imagery analyzed by Radio Free Asia shows rapid progress on a new road bridge connecting North Korea and Russia across the Tumen River, while construction is also accelerating on a long-delayed bridge linking North Korea and China. Experts told RFA the bridges will help expand Pyongyang’s economic and strategic options as it draws closer to Beijing and Moscow. The two bridges could also symbolize Pyongyang’s growing strategic leverage as cooperation among North Korea, China and Russia deepens, analysts said. “Now, through these two bridges, North Korea is gaining access…

Why the EU is giving Arctic shipping the cold shoulder as China and Russia push ahead

As Beijing and Moscow double down on the Arctic shipping route, Europe is hitting the brakes. Despite being the main destination for goods along the route and accounting for most of the world’s shipping giants, Europe opposes the commercialisation of Arctic transits, wary of fragile polar ecosystems and navigational risks amid rising anxiety over Russia and China’s closer polar collaboration. “In Europe, cooperation between China and Russia on container shipping is often viewed as another… South China Morning Post

Humanoid Robots and China’s Vision of the Future

The robots lined up on the track. For a moment, it looked almost like an ordinary athletics meet. Then the race started. The machines lurched forward, their metal legs struggling to keep their balance as they sprinted toward the finish line. One of them, a Chinese humanoid robot called Tiangong Ultra, finished the 100 meters in 8.64 seconds – faster than Usain Bolt’s human world record. The scene took place this August at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, where more than 2,000 robots competed in 51 events. Some ran…

Chinese team extracts uranium from seawater at 8 times the US target rate

Chinese researchers have found a way to extract uranium from seawater at several times the target rate set by the US Department of Energy, putting China at the forefront of a global quest to tap into a vast source of nuclear fuel. The team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Qingdao did this using a material they developed called PhosCage – a sponge-like molecular structure filled with phosphate groups that act as chemical traps. In a statement, the researchers said they had recovered up to… South China Morning Post

How the Chinese Government Has Controlled the Narrative on the Tibet Floods

As rescue efforts have continued on both sides of the border following the devastating floods in Nepal and Tibet, a fight over how the disaster is being reported has been growing in intensity on social media. The dispute centers on the claims and counterclaims following a story by the BBC’s China correspondent, Laura Bicker, about how China is censoring videos of the floods. Bicker said videos of the landslide and flood surge sweeping through Gyirong Port on the border was scrubbed from the internet, in part, because Beijing fears instability…

In Burkina Faso, Sky Dragon 30 missiles point to China’s military export inroads

The West African country of Burkina Faso has tested what observers say is a Chinese Sky Dragon 30 surface-to-air missile, in the latest sign that Chinese military equipment manufacturers are making inroads into the central Sahel state. In footage released by the Burkinabe president’s office on Tuesday, multiple missiles were fired from a mobile launch vehicle. A matching search radar vehicle also appeared in the video. The footage is part of a documentary series marking the fourth anniversary in… South China Morning Post

China, US military commanders snap 2-year break with talks in Canada

China and the US have ended a two-year break in command-level contact with a meeting in Canada between the top PLA officer overseeing the Taiwan Strait and his US Pacific counterpart. Chinese General Yang Zhibin, commander of the Eastern Theatre Command, and US Admiral Samuel Paparo met for the first time at the Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defence Conference in Victoria, British Columbia, on Monday. The US command said on Friday that Yang and Paparo discussed the importance of maintaining open lines… South China Morning Post

China and South Korea accuse each other of undermining key principles

China and South Korea have exchanged formal protests over the highly sensitive Taiwan question and Korean unity. The two countries have been trying to improve relations in recent months, but South Korea’s national security adviser Wi Sung-lac said he had issued “a serious objection” after an official Chinese statement welcomed moves “towards the peaceful coexistence of the two states of South and North Korea”. Meanwhile, Beijing “lodged serious representations” with Seoul over an art event that… South China Morning Post

Chinese armed trainer jets drive away Philippine aircraft over Scarborough Shoal

China sent armed trainer jets to drive away Philippine light aircraft over the disputed Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday, in a potentially more cost-effective tactic for its increasingly frequent air confrontations over the South China Sea. At least three JL-10 trainers carrying PL-5 air-to-air missiles were involved in the incident over the shoal, according to a video clip posted to social media by the People’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command. The footage showed the Chinese jet’s… South China Morning Post