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China now has the largest naval fleet in the world, and its growing numbers of nuclear-powered submarines are an integral part of its efforts to project power beyond its coastal waters. But the view from Beijing is growing more complex as a handful of US allies in the Pacific also ramp up deployment of nuclear-powered subs. South Korea inched closer to attaining the technology on October 30 when US President Donald Trump said he had given the country approval to build a nuclear-powered...

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The fight against a Florida law restricting property purchases by Chinese citizens may hinge on finding new challengers – and on persuading a conservative judiciary unlikely to reverse course, legal experts say. In a 2-1 decision on Tuesday, the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta upheld two provisions of the 2023 law – requiring buyers to register their property and attest to their eligibility by affidavit, and ruled that the plaintiffs lacked the right to challenge the main purchasing...

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China will join a Brazil-led coalition to link carbon markets across major economies, one of the key environmental proposals set to be adopted at Cop30 in Belém on Friday. The so-called Open Coalition for the Integration of Carbon Markets was created to align standards and make it easier for countries to trade carbon credits. Developed by Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, it is part of the government’s Ecological Transformation Plan, a broad strategy to combine economic growth with social inclusion...

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Taiwan’s Vice-President Hsiao Bi-khim gave a speech at the European Parliament in Brussels on Friday, in what organisers claimed made her the most senior official from Taipei to have spoken in a foreign legislature in which it does not have diplomatic recognition. Hsiao spoke at a private conference of lawmakers from around the world who advocate for tougher China policies, hosted in the parliament and unannounced, which is sure to provoke a furious response from Beijing. The No 2 leader told...

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Alibaba Group Holding will keep investing in super-scale computing infrastructure to empower the artificial intelligence era, CEO Eddie Wu Yongming said at China’s annual internet industry summit on Friday. Meeting the AI industry’s demand “requires super-scale infrastructure and full-stack technology accumulation”, Wu told the audience at Friday’s opening of the 2025 World Internet Conference, an annual industry gathering in the town of Wuzhen in eastern Zhejiang province. The event will run...

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China has completed ground and altitude tests of an adaptive cycle engine prototype with unprecedented thrust, efficiency and speed range, according to presentations at the Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics annual conference in Beijing last week. During the opening day report, Xu Gang, deputy director of the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, presented his team’s research progress in adaptive cycle engine (ACE) technology. This advanced engine...

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1. China’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, enters service China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, entered into service on Wednesday at a grand ceremony held in Sanya, Hainan, according to state media reports.
2. China’s exports fall in October as firms wait out trade war reset China’s exports fell in October amid a volatile trade war with the...

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Fang Lei, a long-time professor with Texas A&M University’s chemistry department, has returned to China to join the cutting-edge Yongjiang Laboratory, a state-backed research centre that has drawn a cumulative investment of more than 26 billion yuan (US$3.65 billion) in less than four years. Fang built a distinguished career in the United States over nearly two decades, rising to be deputy head of the chemistry department at Texas A&M. He resigned from the university earlier this year to assume...

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The Netherlands’ Economy Minister Vincent Karremans said on Friday that China could resume supply of chips to Nexperia customers in Europe and the rest of the world “over the coming days”, signalling that the Dutch government has “softened its stance” and raising hopes of a breakthrough in a row that has threatened to throw global automotive production into disarray. “The Netherlands trusts that the supply of chips from China to Europe and the rest of the world will reach Nexperia’s customers...

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China has put another shipborne uncrewed helicopter through its paces at sea, but the ship used for the tests has drawn more attention than the new aircraft. A report on state broadcaster CCTV last week showed the drone helicopter – an AR-500CJ developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China – taking off, hovering over and landing on a ship’s flight deck at sea. An operator was shown controlling the aircraft in front of a short structure on the deck. But the ship was not identified or...

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Chinese artificial intelligence systems are nearing levels of “frontier risks” similar to their US counterparts, according to a study. Recent advances in the capabilities of AI models from DeepSeek and other Chinese firms heightened the possibility that these systems could be misused by bad actors or escape human control, according to Concordia AI, a Beijing-based consultancy focused on AI safety in China. As AI models grew more powerful, their frontier risks – or their potential to endanger...

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Developing China’s “new quality productive forces” – a growth model championed by Beijing that emphasises technological breakthroughs and industrial upgrades – does not mean abandoning traditional industries, but rather integration and transformation through innovation, according to the ruling Communist Party’s leading theoretical journal. The sustained driving force for economic growth comes from both fostering emerging industries and upgrading traditional ones – a dual-pronged push that must...

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On the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region in 2007, a celebratory special by state media included a brief history of the late Deng Xiaoping’s observations. “In June 1987, while analysing Inner Mongolia’s economic development, Deng Xiaoping, the chief architect of China’s reform and opening-up, predicted that Inner Mongolia was likely to ‘take the lead’,” it read. Under a black and white photo, the text continued: “This was in January 1992, when he...

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China has called for further talks on Iran’s nuclear programme to get the process “back on track” after European countries reimposed sanctions on Tehran a few weeks ago. “China appreciates Iran’s recent reaffirmation that it has no intention of developing nuclear weapons, and supports Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in a phone call on Wednesday. Wang warned there was currently a “deadlock” over the...

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Chongqing, a key economic hub in southwest China, has unveiled a plan to support the development of innovative drugs as the country steps up its push for scientific and technological self-reliance. Key goals include having one to three innovative drugs approved for market launch each year by 2027 and building three innovative drug industry clusters to encourage joint research and development (R&D) and technology transfers, with the authorities pledging support for innovative enterprises,...

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Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn will embark on the first trip to China by a Thai monarch since the two nations established diplomatic ties half a century ago. The state visit, at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping and scheduled to take place from November 13 to 17, will make China “the first major country” that the Thai king has officially visited since ascending the throne in 2016, according to Beijing’s foreign ministry. “In recent years…bilateral relations have maintained...

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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Friday that there were “no active discussions” about selling the company’s state-of-the-art Blackwell chips to China. Blackwell is Nvidia’s current flagship artificial intelligence chip that the Trump administration has so far prevented from being sold to the world’s second-largest economy, for fear it would aid the Chinese military and the domestic AI industry. While there was speculation last week that talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese...

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At a meeting in Brussels last month, foreign ministers from the European Union’s 27 member states sat down to discuss the bloc’s plans for the Indo-Pacific region. The conversation, according to several people familiar with it, lasted just seven minutes. It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that officials, diplomats and experts are groaning about the lack of coherence and foresight in the union’s China policy. At a time when European leaders are promising independence, credibility and resilience,...

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China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, entered into service on Wednesday at a grand ceremony held in Sanya, Hainan, according to state media reports. The Fujian is China’s most advanced warship and its first aircraft carrier to be equipped with electromagnetic catapults. Its inauguration makes China only the second country, after the United States, to operate a carrier with this aircraft launch technology. President Xi Jinping oversaw the ceremony and boarded the Fujian afterwards to hear...

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The dream of hosting the 2036 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games is within reach for Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area development zone. But dreams alone do not win the games. They are realised through bold vision, strategic planning and timely action. We now stand at a pivotal moment. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced a temporary halt to the Olympic host bidding process to allow its new president, Kirsty Coventry, time to review and refine the selection framework. This...

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China’s real estate investment trust (C-Reit) is poised to grow by 30 times to become a US$1 trillion industry in the next 20 years – a transition borne out of several factors, including declining home sales – which is expected to benefit select mainland developers, according to Morgan Stanley. Following 25 years of property growth, primarily focused on the residential segment, mainland developers are increasingly weaning off from building projects that would yield one-time profits, the US...

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China’s exports fell in October amid a volatile trade war with the United States – though recent high-level talks between the world’s two largest economies have since eased tensions. Outbound shipments fell 1.1 per cent year on year to US$305.35 billion last month, customs data showed on Friday. The figure was lower than September’s 8.3 per cent increase and fell short of the 2.84 per cent growth forecast by Chinese financial data provider Wind. Imports in October stood at US$215.28 billion,...

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Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is scheduled to speak in a fireside chat on Friday during the third Family Business Summit in Hong Kong, as the city burnishes its role as the offshore fundraising hub and ‘superconnector’ between the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world. The speech is the highlight of the conference, curated by the South China Morning Post and Blue Pool Capital, with UBS as the presenting partner. The attendees – by invitation only – comprise about 150 private business...

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Talks between the Chinese and South Korean leaders have renewed diplomatic momentum, but what happens next could hinge on how Seoul balances its relations with Washington, according to analysts. Chinese President Xi Jinping – on his first visit to South Korea in 11 years – met his counterpart Lee Jae-myung in Gyeongju last Saturday, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. A lighthearted exchange before their state banquet drew media attention. After Xi presented Lee...

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Hong Kong and mainland China will continue to be the growth engine for asset-management companies as both local and international investors are starting to shift from holding cash to investing in equities and bonds in the region, according to the top boss of US fund house Invesco. “There is a trend of redistribution of people’s portfolios, as they are looking for value opportunities, which are showing up in emerging markets, equity, emerging-market debt and global equities,” said Andrew...

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