Category: Pl

A former Communist Party chief of the resource-rich Inner Mongolia autonomous region, who was also China’s first veterans affairs minister, is under investigation amid the country’s continuing anti-corruption campaign. Sun Shaocheng, 65, is being investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law”, a euphemism for corruption, the top disciplinary body said on Thursday. Sun serves as vice-chairman of the Social Development Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, a semi-retirement position he was appointed to in October 2025 on…

China suspended trading of five commodity funds on Friday to curb investment mania in gold, silver and oil and reduce underlying risks amid geopolitical tensions. The only public fund investing in silver futures in mainland China, UBS SDIC Silver Futures Fund, a listed open-ended fund (LOF), will be suspended for the whole day on Friday, the second such halt since January 22. The trading halt also spread to oil LOFs, four of which were halted for an hour up to 10.30am on Friday. Before the halts, fund-management firms had issued…

The UK and mainland China are considering a new cross-border asset-management link and upgrades to their existing stock connect scheme, as both sides seek closer capital-market cooperation, according to Ashley Alder, chairman of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). “We are looking at enhancing market connectivity between China and the UK, particularly by building on the stock connect with Shanghai and Shenzhen,” Alder said. “In addition, we are exploring other areas of cooperation, such as asset management.” He made the remarks in an exclusive interview with the SCMP in Hong…

Remote surgery conducted over thousands of kilometres can be just as reliable as robot-assisted operations done by a medical team in the same room as the patient, according to a new study led by Chinese military researchers and carried out in five cities. The researchers said telesurgery could be a “feasible” way to overcome the lack of medical services in parts of the country as well as the growing demand for operations to treat cancer. “As the first randomised controlled trial in the field of telesurgery, this study establishes that…

Subdued Chinese demand was a key contributor to a decline in Australia’s wine exports last year, according to the Australian government agency that promotes the industry. With consumer sentiment and evolving tastes reshaping the Chinese market, shipments to mainland China fell 17 per cent year on year to A$755 million (US$532.10 million) – the biggest single factor in an 8 per cent fall in Australia’s total wine exports last year – Wine Australia said in a report released on Wednesday. The weak performance in China, which came despite the removal…

Advanced chipmaking engineer Xu Zhenpeng has left the United States to take up a full-time position at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), one of China’s leaders in artificial intelligence hardware research. Before his return to China, Xu led a team at the California-based manufacturing start-up Atomic Semi, developing 3D printing techniques aimed at making chip production faster and cheaper than conventional methods that used bulky, multimillion-dollar machines. Investors in the company, founded in 2023, have included ChatGPT creator OpenAI’s start-up fund, former CEO of GitHub Nat Friedman and co-founder of…

South China Morning Post

The notion that China is flooding the world with excess industrial capacity is usually based on its massive surplus in goods trade, now standing at nearly US$1.2 trillion. That number is real, but treating it as proof of systemic overcapacity is not entirely correct. Goods trade is only one slice of China’s external balance, and it is increasingly offset by large outflows such as import of services and investment income payments. Moreover, China’s total current account surplus is US$657 billion or 3.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Having…

A key US congressional panel on Thursday advanced four Taiwan-related bills aimed at strengthening the island’s energy security, communications resilience and diplomatic influence as lawmakers ramp up efforts to counter Beijing ahead of President Donald Trump’s expected visit to China in April. The move by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee reflects a broader trend in Congress, in which support for Taiwan often exceeds the administration’s position. Thursday’s coordinated action signals to the White House that the US-Taiwan partnership remains a priority. The bills advancing on Thursday include the Taiwan…