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Despite warming sentiment towards the US, nearly 90 per cent of those polled back Beijing taking trade countermeasures against Washington. Photo: AFP

Chinese public warms to US while strongly backing Beijing’s trade stance: survey

‘Substantial’ uptick in favourability towards America compared with previous year, but still lower than scores for Britain, the EU and Asean.

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How the ‘world’s supermarket’ rode out Trump’s tariffs – and grew even stronger

US-China relations
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Diplomacy

South Korea’s Lee heading to China to ‘push denuclearisation, end culture ban’

Four-day trip starting on Sunday will make Lee Jae-myung the first sitting South Korean president to visit since 2019.

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Science

SpaceX will move 4,400 satellites to a lower orbit after China cited safety risk

Starlink’s Michael Nicolls declares ‘significant reconfiguration’ to be coordinated with regulators, other operators and US Space Command.

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Hong Kong Economy

Back to the Past, starring Louis Koo and Raymond Lam, smashes Hong Kong record

Historical sci-fi action film earns HK$10.91 million in debut, the most for a Chinese film opening in city.

Military
A J-20 fighter appears in a video released by the People’s Liberation Army on Tuesday, the second day of the “Justice Mission 2025” joint military drill near Taiwan. Photo: PLA Eastern Theatre Command

Did a PLA stealth fighter approach a key Taiwan airbase? New video sparks debate

China Economy

No ‘piecemeal’ steps: Chinese journal urges more support for property sector

Top Communist Party journal calls on officials to roll out a stronger policy package in one go, rather than following ‘piecemeal-style’ approach.

People pass by half-finished buildings in Beijing. China’s property market has been mired in a downturn since 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE
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Tech Trends

China’s top contract chipmakers pursue acquisitions amid self-sufficiency drive

Hua Hong Semiconductor set to close a US$1.2 billion deal, days after SMIC says it will take full control of a subsidiary for US$5.8 billion.

Middle East

Trump and Iran official exchange threats after protests turn deadly

Trump says US ‘will come to their rescue’ if ‘peaceful protesters killed’, while Iran’s former parliament speaker blames US and Israel for unrest.

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People & Culture

How this year’s Yidan Prize laureates reshape modern literacy and skills worldwide

Mamadou Amadou Ly and Uri Wilensky help transform teaching and learning through multilingual education and computational thinking.

In partnership with:
Yidan Prize Foundation
The 2025 Yidan Prize laureates Professor Uri Wilensky (left) and Mamadou Amadou Ly help remove barriers to education by transforming how learners access and engage with knowledge.

Europe

Swiss investigators rush to identify victims of New Year’s fire

Swiss officials say it may take days to identify victims of the Le Constellation fire, as many young revellers suffered severe burns.

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People comfort each other outside Le Constellation bar on Friday, a day, after a fire and explosion killed dozens of people in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Photo: Reuters

Economics

Netflix-Warner deal sparks concern in India’s entertainment sector

Films in Indian cinemas could be screened for a shorter period before they move to Netflix’s streaming platform, an association warns.

Global Economy

China’s diplomatic divide: red carpet for Seoul, cold shoulder for Tokyo firms

While Tokyo’s corporate leaders stay home amid fallout from prime minister’s remarks on Taiwan, Beijing prepares to welcome South Korean president and top executives.

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Politics

Beijing’s peaceful Taiwan reunification push to continue ‘with utmost sincerity’

Mainland China’s top Taiwan affairs official issued vow in new year’s message that came days after a large-scale PLA drill around the island.

PLA ground forces take part in long-range live-fire drills targeting waters south of Taiwan as part of the Justice Mission 2025 exercise in December. Photo: via Reuters

Military

Just how close did a PLA drone come to the heart of Taipei during drill?

Footage shared by a mainland military social media account shows Taipei 101 but it’s not clear when it was taken.

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A PLA social media account posted imagery showing Taipei 101, purportedly taken from a PLA military drone during military exercises around Taiwan this week. Photo: Handout

China EVs

China’s EV sector doubles down on discounts and cheap financing as growth cools

Carmakers are shifting from straight price cuts to subsidised loans and feature-packed models, as China’s EV price war drags on.

Military

US Navy aircraft crashes offer lessons for PLA carrier operations, analysts say

Chinese military could learn from rival’s strengths in search and rescue response, but also its weaknesses in maintenance and training.

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Politics

Veteran Hong Kong lawmakers Starry Lee, Ronick Chan to vie for Legco presidency

Lee and Chan are running to succeed Andrew Leung as Legco president, with a vote on January 8.

Starry Lee (left) and Ronick Chan at the Legco oath-taking this week. Photo: Elson Li

Tech Trends

DeepSeek proposes fundamental AI shift with ‘mHC’ architecture to upgrade ResNet

The paper comes at a time when most AI start-ups have been focusing on turning AI capabilities in LLMs into agents and other products.

The DeepSeek paper triggered interest and debate among developers despite its dense technical details. Photo: Reuters

China Economy

China must take action to avoid Japan-style deflation spiral, scholars warn

Unless Beijing introduces more forceful policies, consumers could get locked into a mindset that is ‘nearly impossible to break’, scholars say.

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Politics

Why the Philippines’ military is betting on South Korean defence systems

The US$27.7 million contract covers combat management systems for two next-generation Philippine Navy frigates.

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SCMP Series
Beijing’s recalibration of its Taiwan policy
Revisiting US-China relations
Year of the Horse 2026
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Illustration: Henry Wong
SCMP SeriesBeijing’s recalibration of its Taiwan policy

Why has Beijing turned down the heat in the Taiwan Strait in the second half of 2025?

PLA warplanes and ships have been less active around the island in the second half of the year, Taiwanese data shows.

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Beijing is pinning hopes for Taiwan reunification on KMT – but not all of them

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‘Urgent’: has mainland China changed tone for Taiwan peaceful reunification?

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Open Questions series

Diplomacy

Open Questions | How new C100 chief plans to foster ties between Chinese-Americans and China

The Committee of 100’s president Paul Cheung has high hopes for Chinese-Americans’ relationship with China in these uncertain times.

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Paul Cheung, the new president of the Committee of 100, is hoping his organisation can provide context and nuance to the fractious US-China relationship for Chinese-Americans. Photo: Handout

Diplomacy

Open Questions | Political scientist Ivan Krastev on European vertigo in a post-American world

While melancholy Europe frets that the US and China will shape the future, middle powers are jostling for a place at the big table.

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Diplomacy

Open Questions | George Yeo on superpower ‘headaches’ and why the US dollar could crack

Singapore’s former foreign minister also discusses Trump, the latest China-Japan dust-up, and rivalry between Hong Kong and the city state.

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Science

Open Questions | Sci-fi writer Liu Cixin on why he’ll be happy if AI surpasses humans

Acclaimed author of the Three-Body trilogy also discusses his ‘dark forest’ theory, and the struggle to come up with original ideas.

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Illustration: Davies Christian
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Tech

China’s Qwen and DeepSeek edge out US AI models in Christian values benchmark

US start-up Gloo’s Flourishing AI Christian benchmark tested how the output of AI models ‘help people flourish’, CEO Pat Gelsinger said.

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The questions in FAI-C were reviewed by a panel of Biblical experts, including theologians, pastors, psychologists and scholars of ethics. Photo: SCMP

Tech Trends

China’s top contract chipmakers pursue acquisitions amid self-sufficiency drive

Hua Hong Semiconductor set to close a US$1.2 billion deal, days after SMIC says it will take full control of a subsidiary for US$5.8 billion.

Tech Trends

DeepSeek proposes fundamental AI shift with ‘mHC’ architecture to upgrade ResNet

The paper comes at a time when most AI start-ups have been focusing on turning AI capabilities in LLMs into agents and other products.

Semiconductors

Baidu spin-off Kunlunxin joins wave of Chinese semiconductor IPOs in Hong Kong

Last year, 20 Chinese semiconductor IPOs raised over 45 billion yuan (US$6.4 billion), with six of them listing in December.

The Baidu logo is pictured at the company’s headquarters in Beijing, March 16, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Law and Crime

Hong Kong’s sex offence laws are to be overhauled. What needs to be updated?

Consent and gender issues are key areas the government will look at when it starts the review process.

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

China Economy

How the ‘world’s supermarket’ rode out Trump’s tariffs – and grew even stronger

Yiwu, one of China’s biggest export hubs, was expected to take a hit from US tariffs. Instead, it has seen trade surge.

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Military

Is China’s truck-mounted catapult system enabling merchant aircraft carriers?

Scalable truck-based launch track pictured on modified cargo ship raises questions about drone war potential.

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Politics

‘No fixed identity’: new Chinese-American writers are telling their own stories

They’re not shaped by history like the previous generation, and observer says US-China tensions can give them ‘more space’ to explore issues.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
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