China vs Taiwan
1209 articles
China’s diplomacy succeeds even if it doesn’t bring Middle East peace
China’s recent diplomatic efforts in the Middle East have led to speculation over whether its global strategy has shifted. There is consensus that China is stepping into a leadership role and trying to play peacemaker. Meanwhile, a few sceptics point out that the US-Israel war on Iran is not about C
Japan loosens arms export rules in break from post-WW2 pacifism
This clears the way for Japan to sell weapons to more than a dozen countries.
China’s vast nuclear power sector now able to build 50 reactors at a time
China has announced that it now has the capacity to build up to 50 nuclear reactors simultaneously, as it doubles down on a push to rapidly expand its nuclear power generation and become a global leader in the sector. The figure came from a report released by the China Nuclear Energy Association (CN
Chinese scientists replicate eel’s 6,000km breeding journey inside research pool
Researchers in China have replicated the epic journey of one of the world’s most fascinating migratory fish within the confines of an artificial pool, potentially saving it from extinction. From hatching to maturity and spawning, eels undergo six stages of physical transformation over at least five
Outlook for China stocks brightens on capital flows, rebounding home prices
Chinese stocks are likely to continue the resilience they have shown since the war in the Middle East began, thanks to haven demand for yuan-linked assets, the green shoots of the property market and the inclusion of tech start-ups in key equity gauges, according to fund managers and investment bank
China achieves a world first, updating stabilisers for renewable energy grids
China has developed a world-first high-voltage synchronous condenser, reviving a century-old grid stabiliser technology to support the country’s rapid transition to renewable energy, according to a state media report. The state-run China Electric Power News said on April 10 that a 35-kilovolt direct
China’s youth unemployment crunch deepens as record graduation season looms
Despite China’s stronger-than-expected first-quarter economic growth, young jobseekers found little respite as March brought a rise in youth unemployment across urban areas, snapping six straight months of decline. The jobless rate for the 16-to-24 age group, excluding students, edged up to 16.9 per
Why leading Chinese scientists are rising to the top in the Communist Party
The number of members from China’s leading scientific and engineering institutes in the top ranks of the Communist Party has doubled over the course of a decade, according to a new report. It said the number of academicians in the party’s 18th Central Committee, selected in 2012, stood at 15, accoun
China bets on RISC-V in global AI race
Say “open source” and “China” and most people will think of its world-conquering artificial intelligence (AI) large language models. Its open-source computer chips are just as significant. These chips are based on the RISC-V architecture (pronounced risk-five). At last month’s Zhongguancun Forum sci
Chinese circuit-board supplier Victory Giant jumps 57% in Hong Kong share debut
Victory Giant, a Chinese manufacturer of printed circuit boards (PCBs) for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, rose by 57.23 per cent in its trading debut in Hong Kong on Tuesday, as investors rushed to tap into surging global demand for the hardware powering the AI infrastructur
Japan on high alert for 'huge' second quake after lifting tsunami warning
Japan's meteorological agency warns another, stronger earthquake may hit in the next week.
Maker of China’s C919 jet weighs supply chain weaknesses amid delivery delays
China’s top civilian aircraft manufacturer is reassessing geopolitical risks to its supply chains – particularly for jet engines sourced from foreign firms – according to a source at the planemaker, as deliveries of its flagship C919 passenger jet appear to be late or delayed this year. The Shanghai
Indian politicians are campaigning while holding fish. What is going on?
In West Bengal polls, fish moves from plate to politics, symbolising identity and cultural pride.
The Dalai Lama’s Succession Battle: The Stakes for Tibetans and Beijing
The battle over the next Dalai Lama, between religious tradition and state power, is set to become one of the defining geopolitical stories of the coming decade.
Torture by Design? Why India’s Laws Are Not Enough
Custodial violence is not episodic but rather structural, woven into the daily architecture of incarceration.
Australia-Japan Frigate Deal Faces 3 Critical Challenges
Australia’s frigate purchase will likely end up being more complicated than the “zero-change” framing suggests.
North Korea Fires 5 Tactical Ballistic Missiles
Pyongyang fired “surface-to-surface” missile launches roughly one month before U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing.
China Needs to Exercise Caution With Economic Penalties
China should avoid treating long-established external economic ties as instruments that can be readily deployed or withdrawn.
Setting Realistic Expectations for Kazakhstan’s Regional Ecological Summit
The Regional Ecological Summit could kickstart a wider climate activism campaign in the greater Central Asian region, or it could just be a short-term, pro-green mirage.
Australia-Japan Ink Deal for Mogami-class Frigates
Canberra and Tokyo continue to build closer links with each other, with a shared understanding of the strategic environment, and a high degree of trust
Rebel Wilson's claims against actress are 'malicious concoctions', Australian court hears
Wilson has been accused of defaming the star of her film The Deb over an incident involving a bath in Bondi.
Lakshadweep’s Fishermen Are India’s First Line of Maritime Intelligence
Fishing communities notice everything. But alienation from Delhi means India is losing intelligence input it can’t afford to lose.
The 500th Anniversary of the First Battle of Panipat
Contrary to popular belief, the Mughals did not bring Islamic rule to India — but their rule did shape India’s military, administrative, and geopolitical landscape in ways that endure to this day.
China’s trade with Iran, Gulf states plunges as Strait of Hormuz crisis hits energy flows
China’s trade with Iran and Gulf countries fell sharply in March as restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz tightened amid the US-Israeli war on Iran. Newly released data by Chinese customs showed imports from Iran plunged 48 per cent year on year last month, while exports to the country dropped 90 per
Is Malacca Strait at risk from Hormuz ‘chain reaction’ after warning from Iranian adviser?
An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has warned of “a chain-reaction response” in more critical shipping lanes, including in the Malacca Strait in Southeast Asia, after Iran declared another full closure of the Hormuz Strait before a fragile ceasefire is due. “The era of imposing sec
Video shows trapped schoolboy dragged by bus in Australia
The boy, who was uninjured, was dragged for 350 metres after the back doors trapped his arm and school bag.
At least 25 killed in firecracker factory blast in India
Mostly female workers have been killed in the blast, which occurred in Tamil Nadu state.
China’s armed police mull riot control with zero human contact
A new study from mainland China’s internal security forces offers a glimpse into a future where urban unrest is managed by autonomous machines instead of police in riot gear. In a scenario laid out by engineering experts from the People’s Armed Police Force (PAP), a crowd – incited by rumours follow
New Zealand declares state of emergency in Wellington as floods hit
Footage online shows vehicles submerged, trees uprooted and houses hit by landslides.
Low-cost ‘paper antenna’ paves way for large-scale 5G upgrade on Chinese warships: study
Chinese researchers have developed a flexible 5G millimetre-wave antenna made from photo paper which they say slashes material costs by more than 95 per cent, potentially removing a key barrier to large-scale naval 5G adoption. They described a paper-based flexible multiple input multiple output (MI
China’s C919 sees delivery delays in 2026, with 3 units shipped in 3 months
Deliveries of China’s home-grown C919 narrowbody airliner, billed to challenge mainstream models from Boeing and Airbus, appear to be delayed, with only three units shipped to Chinese carriers in the first quarter of 2026. Observers point to several factors holding back the Commercial Aircraft Corpo
China warns strong El Nino this year may worsen global fossil fuel crisis
This year’s El Nino could increase the global demand for fossil fuels and worsen the price rises caused by the Iran crisis, Chinese government scientists have said. The climate phenomenon happens every two to seven years and causes an increase in average global temperatures. A strong El Nino can bri
India has splurged billions on metro trains. But where are the commuters?
Without better last-mile connectivity and affordable fares, metro use is unlikely to improve quickly, say experts.
Art on trial - a sculptor's arrest highlights new extremes for censorship in China
Gao Zhen is being retroactively punished for 15 year-old-works, in a case that has alarmed rights groups.
‘Saying you’re a geopolitical actor doesn’t make it so’: Sven Biscop on Europe
Sven Biscop is a Belgian political scientist and strategist specialising in the foreign affairs and security of the EU and its relations with great powers. He is a director at the Egmont Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels and a professor at Ghent University. He is also a senior
From Malaysia to the World: The Asian Legacy of Pope Francis
The canonization process for Sybil Kathigasu underscores how Pope Francis’s legacy continues to shift the lines of Catholicism, in subtle and surprising ways.
Drone footage shows huge Malaysian coastal village fire
Thousands of people have been displaced after a fire destroyed around 1,000 homes in Malaysia's Sabah state.
Is Japan’s treaty-day Taiwan Strait warship transit a new flashpoint with China?
Tensions in East Asia reached a fresh peak with a Japanese warship’s transit of the Taiwan Strait on a historically freighted date for China. According to the PLA Eastern Theatre Command, the Japanese destroyer JS Ikazuchi spent 14 hours navigating the sensitive waterway on Friday, the anniversary o
Canada Research Chair chemist Janusz Pawliszyn joins Chinese university
Janusz Pawliszyn, the 71-year-old recipient of the Chemical Institute of Canada’s highest honour and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, has joined Guangzhou’s Sun Yat-sen University, the institution announced on April 9. Pawliszyn has supervised more than 110 master’s and doctoral students as
How hydrogen could help China cut natural gas use and carbon emissions
China has started work on a project to reduce natural gas consumption by blending it with hydrogen that will provide energy to 100,000 households. The project in Weifang in the eastern province of Shandong is first to be carried out on such a scale and forms part of the country’s green energy push,
More jobs for the elderly: Shanghai eyes senior labour force amid China demographic crisis
Qiu has been scouring Shanghai’s labour agencies for a job for her 58-year-old father – a former mechanic from neighbouring Jiangsu province caught in a frustrating limbo. While he is still years away from the official retirement age for rural migrants, his struggle to find work underscores a parado
Australia's most-decorated soldier vows to fight war crime charges
Ben Roberts-Smith has given his first statement since he was charged with five counts of the war crime of murder last week.
China steps up aid to Africa but huge funding gap left by Trump’s cuts remains
During Vice-President Han Zheng’s visit to Nairobi in March, China signed a cash grant for drought relief and recently delivered food aid to Somalia, Togo, Zimbabwe and Zambia – helping 217,057 people in Zambia and providing Zimbabwe with 5,000 tonnes of rice. Du Xiaohui, director general of the for
Taiwan warned of widening ‘resilience gap’ in civil defences
Taiwan must urgently overhaul its civil defence and rethink its energy strategy to withstand a potential blockade, experts warned at a tabletop exercise, describing existing preparedness as “too romantic” for a real-world crisis. The two-day 2026 Political, Economic, Military and Societal Tabletop E
How markets will test Hong Kong’s new economic model
For the first time in its history – and in a striking departure from its long-standing doctrine of minimal economic intervention – Hong Kong is preparing to draw up a five-year plan. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has asked all policy bureaus to help draft proposals by the end of the year. To lead
China begins building US$1 billion hydropower station in Cambodia amid energy crisis
Construction of a US$1 billion Chinese-invested hydropower station has begun in Cambodia to facilitate the Southeast Asian country’s use of renewable energy as the fallout from the Iran war constricts developing countries’ access to traditional fuel supplies. Work on the Upper Tatay pumped-storage h
The South Korean authors rising above a tide of hate to become bestsellers
A quiet revolution is unfolding as women writers carve out space in the wake of an anti-feminist backlash.
The rupture: how Europe fell out of love with America
In June 2021, from a podium in the Cornish countryside, former US president Joe Biden told a relieved Europe that “America is back at the table”. The comment – made after a summit of the Group of Seven rich nations – became a galvanising force for reinvigorated transatlanticism after the first term
Closed? Open? Closed? Why is Iran changing course on the Strait of Hormuz?
The shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz only hours after its reopening is a tactic by Iran to gain leverage over the United States before possible negotiations, according to Chinese analysts. With the clock counting down to the end of a two-week ceasefire with the US on Wednesday, a deal with Washingto
Lesson for China? Iran’s low-cost 358 missile takes out million-dollar US assets
The “drone-killing” success of Iran’s 358 loitering munition, especially against expensive US-made platforms, is attracting attention well beyond the battlefield in the Middle East. In China, state media has taken a look at the Iranian-designed counter-drone loitering interceptor’s reported role in