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INTRODUCTION This live blog has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. This year’s annual meetings of the top legislature and the top advisory body – together known as the “two sessions” – are being held ahead of US President Donald Trump’s expected visit to China from March 31. Facing a complex, volatile international landscape marked by strategic competition with the US and opportunities for diversified cooperation with…

A bipartisan resolution that would block US President Donald Trump from launching further strikes on Iran failed to pass the Senate floor on Wednesday, as the Pentagon pledged to “accelerate” its actions in a war that’s “just getting started”. In a 52-47 procedural vote on Wednesday, the Republican-controlled Senate blocked a war powers resolution aimed at curbing Trump’s ability to escalate military action against Iran, preventing the measure from reaching the floor for debate. The resolution was introduced by more than 20 Democrats and Republican Senator Rand Paul on January…

A Hong Kong operator has lost control of the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most pivotal waterways for merchant ships, but university researchers said this week that Chinese state institutions have funded hundreds of other seaports around the world. Specifically, they have invested a total of US$23.9 billion over the past quarter century in 363 ports and related activities abroad, according to AidData, a research lab at William & Mary University in the United States. AidData called the investments a safeguard against East-West supply chain decoupling. The research team’s…

In the run-up to this year’s ‘two sessions’ – the annual meetings of China’s top legislature and political advisory body – high-level policymakers have stressed the need to defuse financial risks and root out political corruption, two of President Xi Jinping’s long-term priorities. As part of a series, Dannie Peng looks at the fight against corruption in academia. As science and technology become national priorities in China, Beijing has turned its sweeping corruption crackdown on academia, vowing to dismantle entrenched power at mainland universities amid questions over whether it can…

As China and the United States compete to shape the future of artificial intelligence, Africa’s rapidly expanding digital landscape is emerging as a new arena for their rivalry, far from the technology hubs of Silicon Valley or Shenzhen. With a growing population, expanding internet access and linguistic diversity, Africa is increasingly seen as a critical region for AI development, according to analysts. Early infrastructure and platform decisions can shape the future of emerging technology markets, making Africa key to the next phase of global AI adoption. “The African continent is…

Artificial intelligence will be a focal point of the scientific agenda at Beijing’s annual legislative meeting and coming five-year plan, as China and the US pursue divergent AI paths putting their tech ecosystems at odds. Just over a year ago, Chinese start-up DeepSeek released an open-source AI model that changed how the world viewed the country’s AI capabilities and ambitions. Chinese companies have embraced an open-source approach to AI development, which has rapidly scaled usage of their… South China Morning Post