Why brokers believe China’s AI-driven stock run will find fresh legs
Monday, June 29,2026,00:00

Chinese stocks may extend their gains in the second half of the year as resilient exports and recovering producer prices support economic growth while disruption from high oil prices fades, according to brokerages at home and abroad. Average full-year earnings growth for mainland-listed companies could accelerate to 10 per cent on the strength of the economy, while households could channel 2 trillion yuan (US$294 billion) into equities, according to Guosen Securities. Founder Securities made a... .. read more..

Sovereign investors with US$29 trillion pivot to energy assets, flag dollar f...
Sunday, June 28,2026,23:29

Sovereign wealth funds and central banks managing US$29 trillion in assets are turning to energy assets, and raising concerns about the dollar, in a portfolio reassessment driven by unprecedented geopolitical shifts, according to a survey ‌published on Monday by independent global investment management firm Invesco. The survey of 90 sovereign wealth funds and 54 central banks showed an increasing focus on diversification, and investment portfolios that can “take a hit and still hold it together”... .. read more..

Will China’s new northern tech bases in Hebei and Tianjin spark local housing...
Sunday, June 28,2026,23:00

Chinese technology companies establishing new headquarters and offices in northern cities around Beijing are expected to boost local rental demand, but analysts say home sales growth will be far milder than the surges delivered by traditional tech firms in previous years. Local governments hoping that red-hot artificial intelligence or chip companies setting up headquarters or research and development centres would lift slumping property markets as in the previous cycle were likely to be... .. read more..

Chinese farmer’s forest of cameras fails to bear fruit in compensation bid
Sunday, June 28,2026,22:30

A Chinese farmer has generated a buzz online by planting a forest of more than 170 surveillance cameras on his land in the hope of boosting his compensation under a land purchase scheme. Footage circulating on social media – which showed the poles standing almost shoulder to shoulder on a hillside in Badong county, Hubei province – prompted rampant speculation about what could possibly warrant such heavy security for an ordinary orchard. On Friday, the local village committee explained the man... .. read more..

Economist Richard Koo on China and Japan’s shared ‘battle against time’
Sunday, June 28,2026,22:00

Nomura Research Institute chief economist Richard Koo is well-known for his “balance sheet recession” interpretation of Japan’s economic downfall in the 1990s. In his second Open Questions interview, Koo assesses the risks the Chinese economy is facing this year and beyond, the many parallels between Beijing and Tokyo, and why market size and technology alone may not be enough to help avert a fate similar to Japan’s. Koo also explains why giving China’s consumers money will not help and why... .. read more..

China’s newest IP office to cut hi-tech patent approval times ‘by 70%’
Sunday, June 28,2026,15:55

China has given the green light for a national intellectual property protection centre in a new megacity outside Beijing, a facility that is expected to cut approval times for hi-tech patents by about 70 per cent. Once up and running, the centre in Xiongan New Area would provide expedited patent examination and one-stop intellectual property services for next-generation information technology and new materials, Xiongan authorities said in a statement on Saturday. “[The centre] will help... .. read more..

How is China shaping up in the global competition to sell air defence weapons?
Sunday, June 28,2026,14:00

Chinese firms joined their global competitors at Eurosatory, the recently concluded arms fair, where the latest air defences were the centre of attention in a market made more important by the drone warfare seen in Ukraine and the Middle East. Experts said China could anticipate sales from the Global South thanks to its cost efficiency, but geopolitical constraints would continue to bar it from US-allied countries that were looking for combat-proven and interoperable systems. China’s largest... .. read more..

China leads in GPS-style, reconnaissance and anti-satellite abilities, US rep...
Sunday, June 28,2026,12:00

China has leapfrogged the United States in a few mighty important sectors of space technologies: GPS-style navigation, spy-in-the-sky reconnaissance and even the ability to knock satellites out of orbit, according to a report from a US think tank. The report from the Washington-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said China had rapidly built a powerful commercial space sector under strong state backing and was narrowing the innovation gap with the US. “If the United States... .. read more..

Faster AI, lower costs: DSpark eases inference bottlenecks and chip strain, s...
Sunday, June 28,2026,11:00

Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek has rolled out a major upgrade to its flagship V4 model aimed at sharply accelerating AI response generation, as competition among Chinese developers increasingly shifts to reducing serving costs and enhancing user experience. DeepSeek, by adopting what it called a speculative decoding framework, DSpark, said it increased per-user response speeds by up to 85 per cent, an efficiency gain that could reduce AI systems’ reliance on larger, more... .. read more..

China fires up world’s biggest superconducting magnet for nuclear fusion project
Sunday, June 28,2026,10:00

The world’s biggest superconducting magnet for a nuclear fusion reactor has passed final tests as part of China’s CRAFT “artificial sun” project, eclipsing international performance benchmarks. The assembly comprises two coils: a toroidal-field magnet that acts as a magnetic cage, and a central solenoid that serves as the igniter. The results, achieved by researchers with the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, clear a major engineering hurdle on the path to confining a... .. read more..

Extreme heatwave across Europe raises energy and inflation concerns
Sunday, June 28,2026,09:56

An unprecedented heatwave sweeping across Europe is putting pressure on energy infrastructure, disrupting nuclear power generation and reinforcing concerns that climate-driven supply shocks could become a renewed source of inflation. .. read more..

How the AI boom exposes investors to risk, while a downturn could see a sharp...
Sunday, June 28,2026,09:00

As the global financial system struggles to keep pace with the artificial intelligence investment boom and capital flows surge through loosely regulated, non-bank channels, a key international organisation has warned that an AI downturn could develop into a sharper, faster crash than a traditional banking crisis. In its annual economic report released on Sunday, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said funding for AI was increasingly channelled through hedge funds, private credit... .. read more..

For an Africa seeking growth, China is proving a reliable partner
Sunday, June 28,2026,08:30

On June 4, at a packing facility in Limuru near Nairobi, Kenya, avocados were being prepared for the Chinese market. The scene may seem mundane, but the politics behind it is significant. China has removed tariffs on imports from 53 African countries. African exporters are beginning to think about Beijing less as a distant buyer than as a market that could reshape their margins. When the UN projected 4 per cent gross domestic product growth for Africa for 2026, the figure landed quietly. No... .. read more..

Chinese experts: EU misreads trade ties by focusing on trade deficits
Sunday, June 28,2026,08:18

Chinese experts and officials are urging the European Union to take a broader view of economic ties with China, arguing that its focus on bilateral goods deficits reflects concerns about Europe's competitiveness and risks encouraging protectionist policy responses. .. read more..

Japan and South Korea scramble fighters in response to Chinese-Russian bomber...
Sunday, June 28,2026,07:00

Japan and South Korea scrambled fighter jets in response to a joint Russian-Chinese bomber patrol on Saturday. The People’s Liberation Army Air Force said the patrols passed over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the western Pacific, adding that they showed the two countries’ resolve and ability to safeguard regional peace and stability. It was the 11th patrol of this kind since 2019, but the first this year. Japan’s defence ministry said it had tracked two separate flights involving... .. read more..

As AI pushes data centres to breaking point, some Chinese chipmakers bet on SiC
Sunday, June 28,2026,05:00

As the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom puts intense pressure on data centre energy grids, some Chinese chipmakers are betting on highly efficient silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductors to help solve the technology sector’s power problem. Shenzhen-based Basic Semiconductor is the latest contender looking to bankroll its expansion after it passed a listing hearing earlier this week in its path to an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong. Founded in 2016 by graduates from Tsinghua... .. read more..

Why are Chinese audiences going for Korean musicals rather than Western shows?
Sunday, June 28,2026,04:00

As the lights dimmed in the Shanghai theatre, the string quartet struck up once more for the encore. Tina Zhang was fully drawn into the psychological thriller, but it was not until after the show that she found out that the musical was originally from South Korea. Zhang, 39, saw the official Chinese adaptation of Interview for the first time last year. “The logic was tight, the plot was well-structured and interwoven, and it was genuinely engaging,” she said. Over the past few years, a number... .. read more..

China’s big trucks go electric and abroad as subsidies help pave road to net-...
Sunday, June 28,2026,03:00

Domestic makers of heavy-duty trucks are emerging as the latest beneficiaries of accelerating electrification on China’s roads, as technological gains and lower ownership costs are bolstering overseas sales amid a global energy crisis. Southeast Asia and Africa, where Chinese makers have already established overseas assembly hubs, were expected to serve as new growth engines for companies ranging from FAW Jiefang to Foton Commercial Vehicles, according to analysts at S&P Global Ratings. The two... .. read more..

What Beijing hopes to achieve with new ethnic unity law that targets people o...
Sunday, June 28,2026,02:00

A new Chinese law that pledges to hold overseas individuals and organisations responsible for undermining ethnic unity is mainly intended to have a “deterrent effect”, according to analysts. The Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress was passed in March and is set to take effect next month, with Article 63 at the heart of the controversy about targeting people outside China. The law provides a new framework which analysts said was designed to counter Western ideological influence and provide... .. read more..

Will Japan’s tourist visa fees, interest rate policy impact its booming prope...
Sunday, June 28,2026,01:00

With Japan imposing higher visa fees for tourists from July while moving away from an ultra-loose monetary policy, foreign investors must prepare themselves for both direct and indirect impacts on their real estate assets, according to agents and analysts. There is a dearth of data on the total number of homes bought by non-residents in Japan, but agents said the two main reasons for purchasing were to either use them as a primary base while they explored the country’s tourist destinations, or... .. read more..

Beijing is building Shanghai into a major offshore yuan centre. Should Hong K...
Saturday, June 27,2026,22:00

For the better part of two decades, Hong Kong has served as the undisputed poster child for Beijing’s ambitions to internationalise the yuan. But in a world increasingly defined by sanctions, frozen assets and fears of US dollar weaponisation, policymakers are beginning to confront a strategic question: can a single offshore centre shoulder the burden of the yuan’s global ambitions? That question lies at the heart of Beijing’s latest efforts to expand Shanghai’s offshore finance role, reviving a... .. read more..

Why China’s tech firms could be in for a rude IPO surprise
Saturday, June 27,2026,21:30

A listing path is not a valuation endorsement. China’s artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics companies are about to find out which parts of their private market premiums can survive public market pricing. The Shanghai Stock Exchange has clarified how unprofitable AI large-model companies can apply under the Star Market’s fifth listing standard. The route is meant for companies with strategic technology that might not yet be reaping profits or substantial revenue. A parallel test is taking... .. read more..

How coffee is brewing change in Pu'er, SW China
Saturday, June 27,2026,13:00

How coffee is brewing change in Pu'er, SW China .. read more..

China’s AI-powered laser mosquito zapper goes viral after crowdfunding success
Saturday, June 27,2026,13:00

A Chinese start-up that is developing an AI-powered laser mosquito zapper has raised US$2.7 million on the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform as it navigates the challenges of complex sensor calibrations and Western safety regulations. Photon Matrix Lab, based in Changzhou, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, has gone viral around the world with its portable laser mosquito defence system, which compresses industrial-grade lasers into a consumer device. Promising to rapidly detect and eliminate... .. read more..

China is the anchor of stability in a turbulent world
Saturday, June 27,2026,12:58

China is the anchor of stability in a turbulent world .. read more..

‘This is an unhealthy environment’: Arctic researcher Li Xueke leaves the US ...
Saturday, June 27,2026,12:00

For climate scientist Li Xueke, the decision to leave the University of Pennsylvania for Hong Kong was a pivot to the front lines of the global green economy. As climate change turns the Arctic into a seasonally navigable ocean, Li’s research on critical new shipping routes could shed light on the economic impacts of a warming planet. Li joined City University of Hong Kong (CityU) last month as an assistant professor in the school of energy and environment, following a decade of study and work... .. read more..

MWC26: AI meets telecoms as China pushes digital economy
Saturday, June 27,2026,11:51

MWC26: AI meets telecoms as China pushes digital economy .. read more..

China's consumer market: Strong resilience and promising upgrading
Saturday, June 27,2026,11:33

This article unveils China's holistic economic picture behind official statistics as criticism evolves around China's slowing retail sales growth and rising household savings, with an assumed bitter conclusion: Consumers are reluctant to spend and domestic demand is weakening. It traces China's economy, from structural transition, new drivers of consumption upgrading and targeted policies, for a more balanced picture to read into China's market. .. read more..

Novo Holdings: China has become the world's innovation engine
Saturday, June 27,2026,10:35

Novo Holdings: China has become the world's innovation engine .. read more..

China is creating huge global opportunities in AI
Saturday, June 27,2026,10:10

The open-source nature of China's AI models has become a global technological foundation, supporting regions including Europe and Southeast Asia, said Zhang Yaqin, founding dean of the Institute for AI Industry Research, Tsinghua University. .. read more..

Discovery of fish-eating raptor in Argentina points to prehistoric links with...
Saturday, June 27,2026,10:00

Scientists have uncovered a new species of raptor in Argentina that sports the same telltale curved claw as the velociraptors found in China, some 19,000km (11,800 miles) away. Though they were found on opposite ends of the world, these two dinosaurs were close kin – tracing back to a common ancestor from an era when the continents were knitted together to form one big land mass. This discovery, published late last month in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, has prompted scientists to... .. read more..

Global hydropower outlook report puts China at the head of the pack
Saturday, June 27,2026,09:00

China is cementing its dominance in global hydropower, highlighted by the Yarlung Tsangpo hydropower project – expected to be the world’s largest – and a massive pipeline of “pumped storage” facilities serving as Beijing’s strategic push to transform its fossil-fuel-reliant electricity grid into a stable, renewables-based network. In its annual outlook report, the International Hydropower Association (IHA) said that with an estimated annual output capability of 300,000 gigawatt-hours, the... .. read more..

China confirms death of pilot in Citic Tower plane crash
Saturday, June 27,2026,08:48

Authorities in China have confirmed the death of the pilot of a light sport aircraft that hit Beijing’s tallest skyscraper on Friday. In a statement on Saturday, the Chaoyang district government said the pilot was alone in the two-seater plane when it hit Citic Tower. In addition, 13 people were injured in the incident. The statement, issued after hours of silence, said the crash took place at 5.55pm on Friday and the circumstances surrounding the incident were still under investigation. It did... .. read more..

China's opening-up story: Moving forward steadily
Saturday, June 27,2026,06:25

Over the past two decades, China's commitment to integrating with the global economy has yielded significant and tangible results in foreign trade, foreign investment, and tariff adjustments. .. read more..

China removes 6 generals from legislature as military anti-corruption drive c...
Saturday, June 27,2026,05:47

China has removed six senior PLA officers from the country’s top legislative body, a sign that President Xi Jinping’s military anti-corruption campaign is not slowing down. According to a late-night notice issued by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee on Friday, 13 members of the legislature had been removed and one had resigned. Away from the military, those removed included a former top financial regulator and the ex-Xinjiang party chief. There had already been indications that... .. read more..

As China’s tech firms adapt to AI era, workers worry they’ll be ‘optimised’ o...
Saturday, June 27,2026,03:00

When a friend checked in on a Meituan employee late last month to see if he had survived the latest round of corporate culling at the food delivery giant, he responded drily: “I don’t know whether it will be me next.” Anxieties were running high at the company then, after chat screenshots circulated on Chinese social media claiming Meituan planned to slash up to half of its product roles by the end of June, coupled with deep cuts to other departments. While Meituan quickly denied the rumours,... .. read more..

CU in China: Why South Korean retail giant is adopting ‘online first’ strategy
Saturday, June 27,2026,02:00

South Korean convenience store giant CU has been testing the waters in China with a limited online trial operation, marking a different approach from other multinational brands that bet big on physical outlets. The brand, operated by BGF Retail which has around 18,600 stores in South Korea, is being cautious to start with. Together with its Chinese partner Ningshing Ubay, it is only selling 11 products on e-commerce platform Tmall under Alibaba Group, which also owns the South China Morning... .. read more..

Coffee, chillies and cashews: a new recipe to spice up China-Africa trade rel...
Saturday, June 27,2026,01:00

As China’s relationship with African countries deepens, the country’s influence is spreading into more areas. In our series Jevans Nyabiage looks at how Beijing’s blanket import clearance for three African food products will affect ties between them, and the potential effects for other governments around the world. Beijing is rewriting its trade playbook by bypassing years of protracted bilateral negotiations to grant continent-wide market access for African coffee, chillies and cashews. The... .. read more..

Growth agenda: Hong Kong vows stronger exchange with reforms, bond futures an...
Saturday, June 27,2026,00:00

Hong Kong is pressing ahead with an overhaul of listing rules and the launch of new product initiatives, the city’s deputy finance chief said on Friday as the bourse operator marked 26 years as a publicly traded company. Speaking at the anniversary ceremony of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun outlined reforms under review, including optimising weighted voting rights, easing secondary listings by overseas issuers, and expanding flexibility... .. read more..

Young Americans feel more threatened by AI than young Chinese. Why?
Friday, June 26,2026,22:08

My four-year-old son has become fascinated with his new friend, who has endless patience and an answer for everything. She is an artificial intelligence assistant on Doubao, one of China’s most popular AI applications. My son, obsessed with space, black holes and galaxies, keeps asking Doubao for related videos. When the video is of low quality or inaccurate, I would stop it and explain it may not be reliable. Despite my concerns about AI-generated information, I let him interact with AI within... .. read more..

Is the US trying to sway Taiwan’s KMT by receiving its legislative speaker?
Friday, June 26,2026,22:00

A high-profile visit to Washington by Taiwanese Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu reflects a broader US effort to strengthen ties with the island’s main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), according to analysts. Han’s trip follows visits to the United States by Taichung mayor and KMT member Lu Shiow-yen in March and KMT chairwoman Cheng Li-wun earlier this month. The succession of arrivals suggested Washington was preparing for political uncertainty after Taiwan’s 2028 leadership election by cultivating... .. read more..

Why the Trump-Xi relationship may be the weakest link in US-China ties
Friday, June 26,2026,16:36

As the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump fades in the rear-view mirror, marked by anaemic deliverables, poor transparency and missed opportunities, analysts and former US officials point to another disappointment: the world’s most consequential relationship has become inordinately dependent on the two nations’ top leaders. Trump’s May China trip, the first by a US president in nearly a decade, produced vague and contradictory readouts, puffed up promises,... .. read more..

Why is no one chartering China’s first privately owned research vessel?
Friday, June 26,2026,14:00

The first scientific ship built by private interests in China is still waiting for its first assignment after it launched last month near Wenling, in Zhejiang province, on the east coast, according to Chinese media reports. The 82 metre-long (269-foot), 3,500-tonne Haiying Jiake research vessel was built with 150 million yuan (US$22 million) raised by 37 Zhejiang fishermen. It is designed to operate anywhere in the world’s oceans, including in thin sea ice, and support research ranging from... .. read more..

‘Digital ID cards’: China moves to regulate AI agents with unified identity s...
Friday, June 26,2026,13:45

China is establishing an identity system for artificial intelligence agents, as part of new national standards released on Friday to regulate the next frontier of autonomous technology. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) unveiled the standard for “Artificial Intelligence Agent Interconnection”, aiming to establish a “closed-loop system” with a unified identity management framework for all AI agents, according to a report from state broadcaster China Central Television... .. read more..

Small aircraft hits Beijing’s tallest skyscraper, prompting evacuations
Friday, June 26,2026,13:19

A light sport aircraft hit Beijing’s tallest skyscraper, Citic Tower, on Friday, triggering evacuations and scattering debris across the Chinese capital’s central business district. It was not immediately clear whether the crash caused any casualties or how many people had been on board the aircraft. The origin of the aerial vehicle and the circumstances leading to the crash were also unknown. Videos posted to social media showed the aircraft striking the upper floors of the 528-metre... .. read more..

In Venezuela, China’s oil-for-loan deals run into debt restructuring, US ‘gat...
Friday, June 26,2026,13:00

The United States represents the primary obstacle to continuing oil-for-loan arrangements between China and Venezuela, analysts say, creating a significant wild card in what ranks among the largest debt restructurings in history. Following Washington’s abduction in January of Venezuela’s then president, Nicolas Maduro, Caracas is set to reveal a US$240 billion debt pile, according to a Financial Times report on Wednesday. The disclosure, expected in the coming weeks, rivals the €200 billion... .. read more..

Europe wants a new Plaza Accord for China – seriously?
Friday, June 26,2026,12:30

Leaders of the G7 rich nations might have gone into this month’s summit in France hoping for a united front against China. But, overshadowed by the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine and alienated by a mercurial US President Donald Trump, the lacklustre gathering came up short. There was no public agreement on how to address the so-called China shock 2.0, the supposed overcapacity issues and currency manipulation that is considered to be the cause of Chinese exports flooding into Europe. Instead of... .. read more..

Supply chain resilience: It's not about going it alone
Friday, June 26,2026,12:25

Supply chain resilience: It's not about going it alone .. read more..

'China Opportunity 2.0': Driving global innovation at scale
Friday, June 26,2026,12:07

'China Opportunity 2.0': Driving global innovation at scale .. read more..

When geography is destiny, Gulf states must diversify their defence, expert s...
Friday, June 26,2026,12:00

The Gulf states should prioritise diverse defences and domestic capability-building to hedge against uncertain US commitments and volatility in the Middle East, according to an expert at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Dalian in northeastern China this week. Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, said on Wednesday that regional governments remained deeply reliant on the United States for security but were increasingly uneasy about... .. read more..