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• India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar criticises Pakistan, China at UN, cites ‘karma’
• China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi calls for Mideast ceasefire, hits trade sanctions
• Ukraine war briefing: China and Brazil push peace plan at UN despite Zelenskyy opposition
• China’s PLA launches Scarborough Shoal drills as US, Philippine forces train together
• Thousands of gold, bronze relics uncovered as China’s Sanxingdui ruins reveal more secrets
• China is ready with lunar spacesuit in latest step towards 2030 moon landing
• China sends ‘deterrent message’ with missile intercept test near Indian border
• China is a year behind US in AI models but the gap is ‘significant’, says expert
• China’s top planner vows to help private firms ‘conquer difficulties’ to boost economy
• China, Brazil finding the right blend for soaring coffee trade as demand brews
• Mainland Chinese early birds flock to Hong Kong ahead of National Day ‘golden week’
• US-India chips deal opens up new front in tech war vs China
• China launches first reusable satellite, with payloads from Thailand and Pakistan
• The US bill that could turn up the heat in the anti-China propaganda war
• China pet lover buries herself in law books in bid to send dog-poisoning culprit to jail
• Who is Shigeru Ishiba, Japan’s leader in waiting, and what will he bring to China ties?
• Teary-eyed fans throng Tokyo zoo to bid farewell to China-bound pandas
• In global game of influence, China turns to a cheap and effective tool: fake news
• Why SpaceX’s Chinese rivals can turn around faster if rocket launches fail
• 1 in a million: China woman with 2 uteruses gives birth to 1 child from each womb
• China-Mongolia e-commerce, tourism creates buzz in tiny Gobi Desert town
• Singapore university prepares for tourist surge during China’s Golden Week
• Kamala Harris vows to cut fentanyl flow to US, urges China to boost crackdown on precursor chemicals

India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar criticises Pakistan, China at UN, cites ‘karma’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3280391/indias-subrahmanyam-jaishankar-criticises-pakistan-china-un-cites-karma?utm_source=rss_feed

In an address at the United Nations General Assembly, New Delhi’s top diplomat on Saturday took the opportunity to criticise Pakistan and China for undermining the territorial integrity of their neighbours and made an urgent call for a “more representative” UN to solve the world’s myriad problems.

“Unviable projects raise debt levels. Any connectivity that clouds sovereignty and territorial integrity acquires strategic connotations, especially when it is not a shared endeavour,” Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in his UNGA address, referencing the contentious US$62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project that passes through the disputed Kashmir region.

CPEC was launched in 2015 as part of China’s signature Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at bolstering regional connectivity through significant infrastructure development. India maintains that the project violates its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

In his speech Saturday, Jaishankar attributed Pakistan’s dismal economic situation to its “conscious choices” and neighbourhood “misdeeds”.

“Countries get left behind due to circumstances beyond their control, but some make conscious choices with disastrous consequences,” he said. “A premier example is our neighbour, Pakistan. Unfortunately, the misdeeds affect others as well, especially the neighbourhood”.

The foreign minister taunted Islamabad saying “its GDP can only be measured in terms of radicalisation and its exports in the form of terrorism”.

Jaishankar added that “dysfunctional” Pakistan’s problems were “only karma”, warning that “actions will certainly have consequences”.

New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of perpetrating terrorism in Kashmir, a region claimed in its entirety by both nuclear powers.

Since Narendra Modi became India’s prime minister in 2014, the country has sought to position itself as a leading global power and an alternative to China in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

In recent years, New Delhi has also intensified efforts to secure a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Founded in 1946, the council is responsible for maintaining international peace and security among the UN’s 193 member states.

“We see that vividly in every challenge and every crisis, reforming multilateralism is therefore an imperative,” Jaishankar told the UNGA on Saturday.

He empahsized that “large parts of the world cannot be left behind when it comes to deciding the key issues of our times, an effective and efficient UN, a more representative UN, and a UN fit for purpose in the contemporary era, is essential”.

Jaishankar claimed that reforming the UN was essential not as “a competition for influence or a squabble for positions, but because if we carry on like this, the state of the world is only going to get worse”.

The council’s five members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the US -- each have veto power to single-handedly block any measure.

Earlier this week, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron publicly endorsed India’s bid to join the powerful UN body.

“We want to see permanent African representation on the council, Brazil, India, Japan and Germany as permanent members, and more seats for elected members as well,” Starmer said in his address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday.

Earlier Macron called for making the UN “more efficient” and said France sought to have the Security Council expanded.

“Germany, Japan, India and Brazil should be permanent members as well as two countries that Africa will decide to represent it,” the French leader added.

When Modi visited the US last week to attend the US -led summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue alongside the leaders of Australia and Japan, US President Joe Biden said Washington recognised a need to reform global institutions to “reflect India’s important voice”.

However, Beijing has consistently voiced opposition to New Delhi’s bid for permanent membership. The two countries have a long-running territorial dispute involving their Himalayan border.

China’s rising global clout has pushed India towards Washington, evident in the two countries’ deepening defence and diplomatic ties in recent years.

As a strategic partnership, the Quad seeks to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. And last week’s summit yielded a plan for India to lead maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean.

New Delhi of late has not shied away from crises around the world.

Modi visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv in August, offering to help bring peace to the war-torn country.

The two met again last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly despite Modi maintaining close economic ties with Moscow in defiance of the West.

Along with Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa, India is a founding member of Brics, an association of five major emerging national economies unaligned with the West.

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China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi calls for Mideast ceasefire, hits trade sanctions

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3280386/chinas-foreign-minister-wang-yi-calls-mideast-ceasefire-hits-trade-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s top diplomat called for “joint resistance” to decoupling in the face of US-led restrictions while also urging “extraterritorial nations” not to “incite confrontation” in the Asia region.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, the Chinese foreign minister issued a strong rebuke of hegemony and trade protectionism as he championed an equal and just global order.

Wang also called for a ceasefire in the Middle East after Hezbollah commander Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an overnight Israeli air strike -- a major escalation of their conflict.

“Today, the sovereignty of all countries in the world is equal, a large number of countries in the Global South are thriving, and the era when one or two major powers had the final say is gone forever,” Wang said.

“In the face of unilateral bullying of sanctions and blockades, China firmly supports all countries in defending their legitimate rights,” Wang said. “We jointly oppose technological blockades and resist decoupling and breaking of [supply] chains.”

He added that sanctions and pressure will not bring monopoly advantages. “Suppression and containment cannot solve our own difficulties. The Chinese people’s right to pursue a better life is inalienable,” he said, adding that China would further expand its reform and opening-up economic policies.

Wang, who is attending the annual gathering of world leaders on behalf of Chinese President Xi Jinping, took an apparent swipe at the US, which has ramped up trade and technology restrictions, ranging from EV tariffs to semiconductor bans against China, which it sees as posing a rising challenge to its global dominance.

China has often denounced US restrictions as attempts to suppress its development, even as it faces serious economic challenges at home. This week, mainland authorities rolled out aimed at reviving the nation’s economy.

The rival powers are at loggerheads on a range of issues including , as the US and its allies strengthen coordination to counter China’s military activities in the region.

In his speech, Wang urged “extraterritorial nations” not to “extend their black hands” to Asia.

“China is well aware that what Asia needs is stable development,” the 70-year old senior envoy said. “Asia has the wisdom and ability to stabilise the situation through regional cooperation and to handle differences through dialogue and consultation…[We] resolutely resist any forces that stir up trouble and provoke confrontation in the region.”

Wang also reiterated China’s determination to reunite with Taiwan, an issue he described as “a matter of principle” for China that allowed “no grey area or ambiguity”.

Beijing regards self-governing as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. It has increased military actions in the Taiwan Strait as the Biden administration has ramped up arms sales to the island.

Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any move to take the self-governed island by force and is committed by law to supplying weapons for its defence.

Wang also called for de-escalations of conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. On Gaza, he said China supports a “two-state” solution and Palestine’s membership at the UN.

“Power cannot represent justice,” he said. “The Palestinian issue is the greatest wound to human conscience…the historical injustice suffered by the Palestinian people can no longer be ignored and a comprehensive ceasefire is urgent.”

The Chinese foreign minister has taken part in multiple UN discussions on Ukraine and the Middle East this week. This comes as China has made greater effort to position itself as a global peacemaker, including co-hosting a discussion Friday with Brazil of their peace plan.

That meeting was joined by representatives from nearly 20 Global South countries. It did not include the US and the .

The West has viewed China’s peace efforts involving Ukraine with scepticism. Beijing has maintained a stance it has doubled down on since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Meanwhile, the US and EU have intensified their criticisms of China’s support for Russia, sanctioning dozens of mainland companies they accuse of sending dual-use goods to the Kremlin.

In a meeting with Wang on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated the Washington’s “strong concern” over the issue. Wang, in response, urged the US not to “indiscriminately” impose sanctions on China.

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Ukraine war briefing: China and Brazil push peace plan at UN despite Zelenskyy opposition

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/28/ukraine-war-briefing-china-and-brazil-push-peace-plan-at-un-despite-zelenskyy-opposition

• China and Brazil on Friday pressed ahead with an effort to gather developing countries behind a plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dismissal of the initiative as serving Moscow’s interests. Seventeen countries attended a meeting on the sidelines of the UN general assembly chaired by China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, and Brazilian foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim. Wang told reporters they discussed the need to prevent escalation in the war, avoid the use of weapons of mass destruction and prevent attacks on nuclear power plants. Zelenskyy, in a speech to the assembly earlier this week, questioned why China and Brazil were proposing an alternative to his own peace formula. Proposing “alternatives, half-hearted settlement plans, so-called sets of principles” would only give Moscow the political space to continue the war, he said.

• US secretary of state Antony Blinken, speaking later, after a meeting with Wang, underscored strong US concerns about China’s support for Russia’s defence industrial base. Addressing reporters, he said that China, while saying it seeks an end to the Ukraine conflict, “is allowing its companies to take actions that are actually helping Putin continue the aggression. That doesn’t add up.”

• South Korea’s foreign minister said Russia was engaging in illegal arms trade with North Korea, reiterating statements by the US, Ukraine and independent analysts that Pyongyang is supplying rockets and missiles in return for economic and other military assistance from Moscow. Misuse of Russia’s right to veto as a permanent member of the UN security council is hindering the UN’s efforts to end war, foreign minister Cho Tae-yul said during the UN general assembly on Saturday.

• Donald Trump met Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York in a high-stakes meeting at which the Ukrainian leader hoped to repair ties with the former US president. The two men met at Trump Tower on Friday amid a growing feud between Zelenskyy and Republicans that Ukraine fears could sabotage further US military aid if Trump wins in November.

• Trump told Zelesnkyy that if he won November’s presidential election he would get the Ukraine war “resolved very quickly”. “We have a very good relationship, and I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin,” Trump said as he stood next to Zelenskyy before the meeting. “And I think if we win, I think we’re going to get it resolved very quickly … I really think we’re going to get it … but, you know, it takes two to tango.”

• The sit-down – which lasted less than an hour – could be Zelenskyy’s last chance to head off a growing conflict with Trump, who has frequently made complimentary remarks about Vladimir Putin and has also at times said he would cut off aid to Ukraine in order to force Kyiv to negotiate a truce – under any terms – with Moscow.

• Zelenskyy later described the meeting as “very productive”. He wrote on X: “I presented our Victory Plan, and we thoroughly reviewed the situation in Ukraine and the consequences of the war for our people. Many details were discussed. We share the common view that the war in Ukraine must be stopped. Putin cannot win. Ukrainians must prevail.”

• Finland will place a key Nato base less than 200 kilometers (125 miles) from its border with Russia, “sending a message” to its eastern neighbour, the defence ministry said Friday. Finland became a Nato member last year, dropping decades of military non-alignment after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

• Russia said on Friday it had captured the village of Marynivka in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where its forces have been pushing towards the important logistics hub of Pokrovsk. Ukraine’s General Staff said nothing about Marynivka changing hands in an evening report, noting that the village was among nearly a dozen localities where Russian forces had “received a fierce rebuff”.

• Russia’s FSB security service is investigating three foreign journalists for reporting in parts of Russia’s Kursk region occupied by Ukrainian forces, bringing the total of such investigations to 12. The three, Kathryn Diss and Fletcher Yeung from Australia’s ABC News and Romanian journalist Mircea Barbu, are being investigated for illegally crossing the Russian border, state news agency Ria Novosti reported.

• Nine children deported to Russia since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine returned home on Friday with the help of Qatar acting as an intermediary, Ukraine’s ombudsman said. Dmytro Lubinets, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the children ranged in age from 13 to 17, with a 20-year-old man also included in the operation. Several suffered from disabilities and a number of them had been taken from an orphanage in southern Kherson region, first to the Russian-held town of Skadovsk and then to Russia itself, Lubinets said.

• A Moscow court on Friday began the trial of a 72-year-old American man accused of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported. Moscow City Court is hearing a criminal case against the American “over participating as a mercenary in the armed conflict on the side of Ukraine,” Ria Novosti news agency said.

• A Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih struck a five-storey building housing the regional police department on Friday, killing at least three people and injuring six others, officials said. Three bodies – of a man and two women – were found under the rubble, the regional governor Serhiy Lysak said on the Telegram messaging app.

• A Russian drone may have breached the national airspace of Nato member Romania for “a very brief period of under three minutes” overnight during an attack on neighbouring Ukraine, the Romanian defence ministry said on Friday. Three people were killed in the attack, according to Ukrainan officials.

China’s PLA launches Scarborough Shoal drills as US, Philippine forces train together

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3280367/chinas-pla-launches-scarborough-shoal-drills-us-philippine-forces-train-together?utm_source=rss_feed

China carried out joint naval and air exercises around the Scarborough Shoal on Saturday, as US and Philippine forces took part in five-way military manoeuvres in the South China Sea within Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

It was China’s second such exercise near the contested shoal in two months, both held at the same time as multilateral Philippine exercises.

Hours earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the United States not to “stir up trouble” in the South China Sea, as he met his US counterpart Antony Blinken in New York. According to the US Department of State, Blinken blamed Beijing for “dangerous and destabilising actions” in the disputed waters.

The Southern Theatre of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which is responsible for military operations in the South China Sea, said that it had organised routine exercises and training activities around Huangyan Island, the Chinese name for the Beijing-controlled Scarborough Shoal.

The exercises included reconnaissance and early warning drills, as well as sea and air patrols, the theatre said on its official WeChat social media page on Saturday.

“Some external countries are meddling in the South China Sea and creating regional instability … The theatre forces remain highly vigilant, and resolutely defend national sovereignty, security, and maritime rights and interests,” the post said, without explicitly referring to the Philippines or other regional US allies.

It did not clarify how long the PLA drills would last, or which units were taking part.

The Chinese patrols appeared to be a response to drills being carried out the same day by the Philippines and the US alongside forces from Australia, Japan and New Zealand in what is one of the most sensitive maritime regions in Asia.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines announced the “Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity” in a statement issued on Saturday.

The joint maritime activities by the five militaries would demonstrate their “collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific [and enhance] … cooperation and interoperability”, the statement said.

US allies in the region, such as Japan and Australia, have frequently raised the alarm about China’s maritime moves amid confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed waters.

During his meeting with Blinken, top Chinese diplomat Wang said that Beijing was committed to resolving disputes with the relevant parties through dialogue and consultation.

“The US should not always stir up trouble in the South China Sea or undermine the efforts of regional countries to maintain peace and stability,” Wang told Blinken on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Scarborough Shoal, called Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, is claimed by both Beijing and Manila. The shoal sits within the Philippine EEZ, a UN-mandated area granting exclusive use of underwater resources up to 200 nautical miles (370km) from a country’s territorial sea.

China has maintained effective control over the shoal following a tense stand-off with the Philippines in 2012. Manila took its case to an international tribunal, which ruled in its favour in 2016. But Beijing, which refused to participate in the arbitration case, rejected the decision.

Beijing lays claim to most of the vast South China Sea, claims that overlap with neighbours including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Saturday’s Southern Theatre exercise near Scarborough Shoal was the second such PLA drill since August 7. The exercises tested reconnaissance, early warning, rapid mobility and joint strike capabilities, according to the PLA, and coincided with the Philippine military’s first joint exercise with the US, Canada and Australia the same day.

China and the Philippines have been involved in a series of sea and air confrontations in disputed South China Sea areas in the past year, including at Scarborough Shoal. The intensity of the stand-offs have sparked fears of drawing in the US, a Philippine treaty ally.

Last month, Manila accused a Chinese fighter jet of firing flares several times at a Philippine fisheries bureau aircraft patrolling the Scarborough Shoal. The flares were deployed “at a dangerously close distance” of about 15 metres (49 feet), it said, labelling the move as “hazardous”.

China has been closely watching Philippine attempts to boost its defence capabilities by ramping up related agreements and training with international partners, including the first joint exercises in the South China Sea with Japanese forces nearly two months ago.

In late July, Washington and Manila signed an agreement that included US$500 million in new defence aid aimed at modernising the Philippine military and coastguard. Earlier that month, the Philippines and Japan agreed to allow troop access between the two nations.

Manila is also strengthening ties with other South China Sea claimants, and carried out joint coastguard exercises with Vietnam in early August.

Frequent cooperation between the Philippines and other US allies has enraged Beijing, which views Washington as the main backer of Manila’s South China Sea actions.

At the meeting with Blinken, Wang urged Washington to build a “rational perception of China”, highlighting that the US had repeatedly stated its intention to avoid conflict with China.

“This involves building a correct approach to bilateral interactions, and engaging in dialogue with respect … and handling disagreements with utmost caution, rather than acting unilaterally and behaving capriciously,” Wang said.

“The United States should not always approach China with two faces: on the one hand encircling and suppressing China brazenly, and on the other hand, having dialogue and cooperation with China as if nothing is wrong.”

Thousands of gold, bronze relics uncovered as China’s Sanxingdui ruins reveal more secrets

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3280352/thousands-gold-bronze-relics-uncovered-chinas-sanxingdui-ruins-reveal-more-secrets?utm_source=rss_feed

Archaeologists continuing their hunt in the remarkable Sanxingdui ruins in southwest China have written about unearthing more than 10,000 relics and artefacts from two new pits in recent years.

The latest discoveries were found buried under hundreds of elephant tusks, according to details published in the journal Sichuan Cultural Relics last month.

The dazzling finds ranged from gold masks, jade and sea shells, to bronze heads, vessels and statues.

One of the excavation sites was the largest burial pit among eight in what is called the Sanxingdui “ritual area”. Measuring 19 square metres (205 sq ft) and dating to between 1117BC and 1015BC, the pit contained bronze vessels featuring characteristics peculiar to the late Shang dynasty. The Bronze Age dynasty was also the first Chinese royal line backed by historical evidence.

As many as 7,400 ceremonial objects were recovered here, remnants of a little-known culture that flourished more than 3,000 years ago.

The Sanxingdui or “three star mound” site was first discovered in the 1920s. The ancient city is believed to have been at the heart of the mysterious Shu kingdom from 4,500 years ago, one of the many smaller kingdoms surrounding central China’s Shang dynasty.

No written records have been found to explain where these ancient Shu people came from or the significance of the relics they left behind.

In 1986, Sanxingdui gained wide attention after advanced bronze, gold and jadeware in previously unknown styles were discovered in the pits, suggesting a high degree of economic prosperity and technological skills.

The site in Guanghan, Sichuan province, was excavated between 2020 and 2022 by researchers from the Sichuan Province Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Peking University.

The second pit was on a riverbank, where scientists from the Sichuan institute and Shanghai University unearthed around 2,700 artefacts in 2021.

Their finds included “precious cultural relics” made of bronze, including a kneeling figure holding a ritual vessel on the head, a large mask, an altar, a sacred tree and a round-mouthed square vessel.

Of at least four gold masks discovered, one was 20cm (8 inches) wide and attached to a bronze head. The other masks were stand-alone but thought to have originally also been attached to bronze heads.

Around 420 items crafted from gold foil were unearthed. While most were crumpled, the researchers were able to identify some as ornaments – shaped as fish, feathers or birds – as well as a long belt.

Many of the large gold artefacts, including the gold masks, showed signs of damage, the scientists said, while some gold foil items had been subjected to high temperatures, resulting in melting and deformation.

Almost 5,000 bronze items were among the relics recovered from the largest pit, including ritual vessels, containers, sacred tree branches, sculptures of heads, masks, human and animal figurines, altars and eye-shaped ornaments.

One large, detailed altar was found set up on a square base, on which sat a platform adorned with 13 bronze figures. Four of them were kneeling figures with double-horned crowns, four were seated and had fangs and pointed ears, while four larger figures held a frame on their shoulders. The last figure was a single crowned person at the centre, kneeling on a hill-like raised platform.

In the smaller pit, a kneeling figure was found with a well-decorated vessel on his head.

The researchers said that in the large pit, they also found a doglike divine beast artefact with a small figure standing on its head, which could be assembled into a single artefact with the figure from the smaller pit.

Measuring 1.15 metres, the kneeling figure had thick eyebrows, large eyes and a high-bridged nose with broad nostrils. The iconic facial features also included a wide mouth, square jaw and large ears.

The figure had a straight torso with arms raised in front, the hands clasped as if holding an object, which remains undiscovered.

In the large pit, the archaeologists found nearly 400 pieces of elephant tusk, with the longest measuring 1.4 metres. Nearly half of them were longer than 50cm.

Most of the tusks were found to have been placed intact into the pit – only a small number were cut into shorter segments. Some of the pieces showed blackish-brown, apparent burn marks.

The 100 pieces of ivory found in the other pit were also found to have been placed whole, while some were burned. The scientists said the burial showed a general pattern of keeping larger bronze items and ivory higher up, while smaller artefacts were positioned lower.

“The ancient community placed ivory pieces on top of bronze artefacts, with an intention to fully conceal the bronze items below. Although they are positioned without a strict order, the tusks are generally organised at the same level so that none protrude,” the teams wrote in the paper published last month.

The discovery also included 660 jade pieces, including a rectangular base crafted from a single piece of jade about the size of a human hand and adorned with carvings.

The carvings included the face of a beast that closely resembled the bronze beast artefacts found in a Sanxingdui pit excavated in 1986, as well as sacred trees. Two sides had carvings of the phoenix accompanied by shells on the sides.

The team also found meticulously polished jade ceremonial blades, jade discs in colours such as green and white, as well as chisels with burn marks.

China is ready with lunar spacesuit in latest step towards 2030 moon landing

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3280375/china-ready-lunar-spacesuit-latest-step-towards-2030-moon-landing?utm_source=rss_feed

China has revealed the design of the country’s first lunar spacesuit, marking another step towards its planned crewed moon landing by 2030.

The lightweight suit, unveiled by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Saturday, is the result of four years of research and development.

According to state broadcaster CCTV, the spacesuit will help astronauts to carry out extravehicular tasks by protecting against the harsh lunar environment.

Unlike the Earth, there is no atmosphere on the moon, and temperature changes are rapid and extreme – from around 120 degrees Celsius (248 degrees Fahrenheit) to minus 130 degrees near the lunar equator.

Astronauts would also be exposed to almost vacuum-level atmospheric pressure and solar radiation levels much higher than that on Earth.

The suit would enable them to walk, climb, drive and carry out scientific research on the lunar surface, CCTV reported.

The CMSA released a video to showcase its creation at the third spacesuit technology forum in the southwestern city of Chongqing.

The suit is made of fabric designed to protect against heat and lunar dust. It comes with a pair of protective gloves that allow for motion and mobility joints at the knees for ease of movement in the moon’s low-gravity environment.

It is also equipped with a panoramic antiglare visor, a console that connects with systems including communication and a video camera.

“We aim to convey the message of fortitude [through its design],” spacesuit engineering office director Zhang Wanxin from the Astronaut Centre of China told CCTV.

The Beijing-based centre, which leads astronaut training and crewed space travel research in the country, hosted the forum in Chongqing.

The artistic design of the lunar suit drew inspiration from Chinese cultural elements, CCTV said.

The upper body of the white suit features red decorative straps. Blended with the sturdy, robust vibe of an armour, the design symbolises the idea in Chinese philosophy of balancing strength and grace, the broadcaster said, while describing the red straps on the sides of the legs as a reminder of the fiery tails of a rocket during lift-off.

CMSA has also launched a public naming campaign for the suit, one that would capture concepts from both traditional Chinese culture and modern technology.

In April, the CMSA said the building of systems and the timeline were on target to put Chinese astronauts on the moon before the end of the decade.

China’s moon landing plan involves two separate launches of Long March 10 rockets to send three astronauts and the lunar lander into lunar orbit. There, the Mengzhou spacecraft and Lanyue lunar lander will dock and touch down on the lunar surface.

Two astronauts will spend a few hours on the moon, and then lift off to join their colleague in lunar orbit before returning to Earth.

The United States is also working to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since the Apollo Programme between 1969 and 1972. This might take place in 2026 or later.

Nasa said earlier this year that it aimed to land the first astronauts near the lunar South Pole in late 2026. But the US Government Accountability Office in a report released last November said the mission was likely to take place in early 2027, considering the average time taken for the development of major Nasa projects.

China sends ‘deterrent message’ with missile intercept test near Indian border

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3280348/china-sends-deterrent-message-missile-intercept-test-near-indian-border?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s missile intercept test near the Indian border is a clear message of deterrence for its neighbour, observers say, as the two sides step up diplomatic talks over their long-running territorial dispute.

The test was part of a live-fire exercise involving surface-to-air missile operations on the Karakoram Plateau, state news agency Xinhua reported on August 29.

It was conducted by the People’s Liberation Army Xinjiang Military District, which is responsible for the Chinese side of the border in the western region.

A subsonic cruise missile was successfully intercepted at an altitude of 5,300 metres (17,390 feet) for the first time during the exercise, showing that the interceptor missile was stable and effective in harsh conditions, according to the report.

The specific location of the test was not disclosed, nor is it known when the test took place, but analysts say its proximity to the border suggested it was part of a deterrence strategy.

China and India share an ill-defined, contested border – known as the Line of Actual Control – that spans some 3,488km (2,167 miles).

Their border dispute has been the most contentious aspect of relations for decades. Tensions worsened after a clash in 2020 in a disputed Himalayan border area in which at least 20 Indian and four Chinese troops were killed – the first deadly skirmish between the two sides in at least 45 years.

Lin Minwang, deputy director of Fudan University’s Centre for South Asian Studies in Shanghai, said the PLA had been testing weapons and equipment in China’s border plateau region since 2020 amid tensions along the frontier with India, and the latest test was in line with that practice.

“It carries a certain deterrent message. To avoid war, we must first possess the capability to fight,” Lin said.

He said strains in the relationship had shown signs of easing this year.

“Both sides are intensifying efforts to reach an agreement on border issues as soon as possible,” he said. “[But] it is impossible for China to meet India’s demands … in this context, the test signifies to India that China possesses military capabilities – and the choice now lies with India.”

State media reported the missile intercept test on the same day that China and India held their 31st meeting on border affairs in Beijing, during which they agreed to strengthen dialogue and maintain peace along their border.

During talks in St Petersburg two weeks later, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval agreed to work together to create the conditions needed to improve bilateral relations.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military commentator, said the PLA test could be seen as a “guarantee of strength” to support those talks.

“The goal was to intercept all incoming targets, whether they’re subsonic or hypersonic [missiles],” Song said. “Negotiations without that guarantee of strength are unlikely to produce results.”

The test is likely to heighten concerns in New Delhi, according to Rajeev Ranjan Chaturvedy, an associate professor with Nalanda University’s School of Historical Studies in India.

He said the test had “significant implications for regional security dynamics” and suggested that China was “actively enhancing its military capabilities, focusing on creating a more sophisticated arsenal that improves its overall lethality and effectiveness”.

“The strategic objective behind such advancements appears to be a shift towards damage limitation, particularly through the deployment of missile defence systems,” Chaturvedy said.

He said the timing of the test amid ongoing dialogues between the two sides could prompt India to reassess its defence priorities. “The emphasis on building a more robust deterrent force is imperative, as it could catalyse an arms race in the region,” he added.

India could be compelled to accelerate its own military capabilities, including developing hypersonic missiles, long-range air-launched cruise missiles and nuclear ballistic missile submarines, according to Chaturvedy.

China is a year behind US in AI models but the gap is ‘significant’, says expert

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3280351/china-year-behind-us-ai-models-gap-significant-says-expert?utm_source=rss_feed

China remains about a year behind the US in large language models (LLMs), and may have more catching up to do after the release of OpenAI’s latest o1 model, according to experts.

When it comes to LLMs with text generation, China is about half a year to a year behind, Roey Tzezana, a fellow at Yuval Ne’eman Workshop for Science, Technology & Security at the Tel Aviv University, said in an interview with the Post on Wednesday.

While seemingly narrow, the gap is not easy to bridge with the speed that artificial intelligence (AI) is progressing, according to the researcher.

“Every year in the last two and a half years or so, there’s been a major change in AI capabilities,” he said. “So one year doesn’t sound like a lot and it’s not that bad, but it is a significant gap.”

A Chinese AI entrepreneur recently gave a similar evaluation. The gap between China and the US in online LLMs is still about one to two years, Li Dahai, co-founder and chief executive at Chinese AI start-up ModelBest, said in an interview with Tencent News that was published earlier this week.

While the exact number of years “isn’t very meaningful” as it is merely based on people’s perception, “the gap still clearly exists”, according to Li, who was previously the chief technology officer at Zhihu, a Quora-like Q&A platform in China. No online LLMs in China have reached or surpassed OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, Li added.

And the country will “have more catching up to do” following the release of OpenAI o1, Li said.

San Francisco-based OpenAI, which launched OpenAI o1 on September 12, said in a blog post that its latest o1 model outperforms its other LLMs in reasoning-heavy tasks in fields that include science, coding and maths. It knows “how to think productively using its chain of thought” thanks to a technique known as reinforcement learning, the company said.

OpenAI o1 has been hailed by another Chinese AI founder as an “important improvement”. Yang Zhilin, founder and chief executive of Chinese unicorn Moonshot AI, said earlier this month that it represents a paradigm shift, as reinforcement learning can help models recreate thought processes and in turn generate more data, instead of relying on organic data, which is running out.

Such chain of thought techniques, when done right, can generate good results without having to significantly increase computing power, according to Tzezana. That could prove helpful for Chinese firms who lack access to advanced chips amid US export restrictions.

“It will alleviate some of the difficulties that the lack of compute will have for China,” he said. “So it could be very interesting to see if the scarcity of compute in China will lead to better innovation in this area.”

While lagging behind in text models, China appears to be more developed in other areas of generative AI, according to the experts.

In terms of edge AI models, which perform generative tasks locally on a user’s device instead of on the cloud like major models such as ChatGPT, there is not a significant gap between China and US, according to Li.

Text to video generation also appears to be an area where Chinese companies are moving quickly forward and are currently leading, according to Tzezana.

Chinese Big Tech firms and start-ups have over the past few months raced to unveil their AI text to video generation tools to the public after OpenAI announced Sora in February. The US company still has not released Sora to the public.

“They’re putting OpenAI to shame just a little bit because OpenAI has promised us Sora a long time ago and it still hasn’t made good on its promise,” Tzezana said.

China’s top planner vows to help private firms ‘conquer difficulties’ to boost economy

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3280365/chinas-top-planner-vows-help-private-firms-conquer-difficulties-boost-economy?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s top economic planner reassured private entrepreneurs it would “spare no effort” to help companies “conquer difficulties” on Friday in Beijing’s latest move to revive the economy.

Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), hosted a meeting with representatives from several private companies to learn about business conditions, problems they are facing and their views and suggestions on the economy, state news agency Xinhua reported.

“Private entrepreneurs are people of our own,” Zheng was quoted as saying. “We’ll spare no effort to help your companies conquer the difficulties.”

Although defined as a supplement to the state economy by the Communist Party, the private sector accounts for more than 50 per cent of China’s tax revenue, 60 per cent of gross domestic product, 70 per cent of technological innovation, 80 per cent of urban employment, and 90 per cent of market entities, according to official data.

Several private sector industries, including internet, tutoring and real estate companies, have been targets of clampdowns in recent years as the party attempted to rein in the “blind expansion” of capital.

However, as the country’s economy has made a slow recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic, Beijing has taken a friendlier stance on the private sector.

At the party’s third plenum, a key economic conclave that concluded in July, the leadership pledged to “unswervingly support” the private economy while also supporting the state economy, as China focuses on boosting its economic, technological and defence capabilities to tackle growing tensions with the US-led West.

The symposium’s attendees included representatives from textile and clothing company Youngor, delivery and services giant Meituan, marine equipment and cable maker Zhongtian Technology, software company Neusoft and Ningxia Baofeng Energy Co.

Zheng reassured the business leaders that China’s economy was steadily expanding and urged them to have confidence in China’s development. He said the NDRC would improve communication with private sector entrepreneurs and give more support for business development.

In September of last year, the NDRC set up a private economy development bureau tasked with keeping tabs on the sector, which is vital to employment. Since then, the NDRC has convened several face-to-face meetings with entrepreneurs to address their problems and concerns.

China risks missing its official GDP growth target of around 5 per cent this year as household spending remains cautious and the property sector continues to drag.

For the first eight months of this year, private investment dropped by 0.2 per cent from the same period a year earlier, while its share of overall fixed-asset investment dipped to 50.98 per cent – down from 51.16 per cent in July, official data showed.

In a rare move, the Politburo, the party’s top decision-making body, called for a September meeting to discuss economic affairs, issuing a rallying call to support the private sector, stabilise the property sector and expand fiscal support to revive the economy.

“We must face difficulties, strengthen confidence, and effectively enhance the sense of responsibility and urgency to do a good job in economic work,” said a statement from the Tuesday meeting, which was chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

It follows a raft of policy changes unveiled recently, including cuts in interest rates and banks’ reserve requirement ratio, guidelines prioritising job creation, and measures to boost confidence in China’s stock market.

China, Brazil finding the right blend for soaring coffee trade as demand brews

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3280243/china-brazil-finding-right-blend-soaring-coffee-trade-demand-brews?utm_source=rss_feed

During the inauguration of the Brazilian embassy in Beijing in 1974, China’s then-deputy foreign trade minister Chen Jie was photographed with then-Brazilian foreign minister Azeredo da Silveira toasting with espresso cups of Brazilian Arabica.

This year, the iconic image resurfaced in June, to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil.

And earlier this month, with coffee still representing an important link between the two countries, the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council estimated that Brazilian coffee exports to China were projected to grow by 65 per cent in 2024 compared to last year to about US$525 million.

In 2022, China imported US$80 million of Brazilian coffee, with the figure rising to US$280 million last year, according to Jorge Viana, the president of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil).

“China imports a lot of agricultural products from Brazil. It’s a mutually beneficial agreement,” said Zhao Xijun, a professor of finance at Renmin University in Beijing.

The South American country is the biggest exporter of coffee to China, having shipped 44 per cent of China’s coffee imports by volume last year, according to Chinese financial data provider Wind.

Brazil is also the largest coffee producer in the world, turning out 39 per cent of the world’s coffee, according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

Brazil exported 66.3 million industry standard 60kg (132lbs) coffee bags in the 2023/24 marketing year, more than double the 29.1 million shipped by Vietnam, the department added.

And it has seen its exports to China rise significantly over the last 18 months amid soaring demands, according to the World Coffee Portal a London-based research institute.

Officials from the Brazilian embassy in Beijing told the Post that increasing consumption, the diversity of coffee flavours and the assurance of social and environmental sustainability in the origin of Brazilian coffee beans have been the main driving forces behind the rise.

“Today, coffee remains a key export for Brazil, with a share of just over 2 per cent last year,” said Adriano Giacomet Higa de Aguiar, head of the trade and investment promotional sector at the Brazilian embassy in Beijing.

“China’s share in Brazilian coffee exports was under 4 per cent, despite a year-on-year increase of over 250 per cent from 2022 to 2023. This indicates significant growth potential.”

By the end of 2024, the Chinese coffee market is expected to grow from 265.4 billion yuan (US$37 billion) last year to 313.3 billion yuan, following a yearly compound annual growth rate of 17.14 per cent over the last three years.

The Chinese coffee shop market has overtaken the United States, which is the largest consumer of coffee worldwide, with just under 50,000 coffee outlets, compared to 38,000 in the US.

“The mainland’s coffee needs are growing fast – the larger chains moved from the larger cities to the medium-sized ones,” Zhao added.

“Now it’s a question of taste and matching China on price point. People in big cities can afford to pay quite a bit more.”

Commercial hub Shanghai stands as the most concentrated city for foreign-funded coffee enterprises, taking the crown as the city with the most coffee shops in the world, according to Dao Insights.

At the end of 2023, the Shanghai International Coffee Culture Festival said there were 9,553 coffee shops across the city, compared to 3,755 in New York City.

Historically a tea-drinking country, China’s coffee sales began in international hotels, but with the expansion and diversification of US chain Starbucks, Chinese consumers have become accustomed to spending time in coffee shops.

Luckin Coffee is China’s largest coffee chain, and in June it signed an agreement worth around US$500 million with ApexBrasil to purchase 120,000 tonnes of coffee from Brazil over the next two years, according to Brazilian state news agency Agência Brasil.

Last year, Luckin opened 8,034 new stores to reach 16,248 outlets, compared to Starbucks’ 7,000.

China is seen as an ideal candidate for coffee exports due to its large population, and its consumers have long been viewed as preferring novel and vogue trends and being quick on the uptake for new fads.

By extension, Chinese consumers tend to prefer more creative coffee orders, opting for drinks mixed with coconut milk, juice and even hybridised tea bases.

China also has a unique and innovative delivery model for coffee buyers, with shops such as Luckin largely functioning as pick up points for delivery drivers.

The hallmark of the digital-first design process has resulted in an efficient and streamlined process of delivering low-cost coffee at a higher rate.

Both coffee and deliveries in China are also significantly cheaper than the rest of the world.

Mainland Chinese early birds flock to Hong Kong ahead of National Day ‘golden week’

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3280357/mainland-chinese-early-birds-flock-hong-kong-ahead-national-day-golden-week?utm_source=rss_feed

Mainland Chinese early birds have flocked to Hong Kong ahead of the National Day “golden week” holiday to avoid crowds expected during the break next week.

Many tourists were seen crossing the city’s land checkpoints on Saturday morning, while some descended to selfie hotspots, such as the University of Hong Kong (HKU).

The country celebrates National Day on October 1, which is a public holiday in Hong Kong. The golden week holiday, however, runs from October 1 to 7 on the mainland.

“Everywhere will be crowded during the National Day holiday so we decided to come earlier to avoid the peak,” Alin Lin said.

The 30-year-old beauty shop owner from Zhongshan city in Guangdong province headed to Hong Kong with her husband on a one-day trip.

At the Lo Wu border crossing, Lin said she planned her trip ahead of the mainland’s week-long holiday to avoid huge crowds and get a better experience in the city.

Lin, who has been to Hong Kong several times, said she would visit Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok and go shopping for luxury and skincare products without setting a budget.

HKU in Pok Fu Lam implemented a fresh round of measures to manage crowds ahead of the holiday, requiring tourists visiting the campus from Monday to Saturday between 8am and 8.30pm to register in advance on a limited basis.

The university has also extended the duration of its paid guided campus tours to 90 minutes, which it explained would give tourists ample time to learn more about the institution.

Among the tourists who headed to the campus on Saturday was Linda Wu from Guangdong. The 22-year-old was visiting her friend in the city before the National Day period.

“I plan to visit Disneyland during my visit, last night we visited The Peak, and we are planning to eat some good food in the afternoon,” she said.

Having visited the city before, Wu said she did not expect to spend more than HK$6,000 (US$772) during her three-night stay in the city.

Apart from mainlanders crossing the border into Hong Kong, city residents have begun their northbound tours before the National Day break.

Retired jewellery designer Cheuk Hing-chuen crossed the border into Shenzhen with three friends on Saturday morning via the Lo Wu checkpoint, embarking on a three-day journey to Dongguan city in Guangdong province.

Cheuk, 70, said he often visited the city during holidays as he could stay with a friend. He said he found most activities, such as the fireworks and drone displays, planned by Hong Kong authorities lacked novelty.

“I have already watched such shows and they could be watched on television as well,” he said.

Cheuk called for more local shopping and dining discounts, which he said could encourage him to stay and spend money locally.

On Friday, more than 3,600 food and catering outlets, convenience stores and supermarket chains joined forces to offer about 30 per cent discounts on certain items to celebrate National Day, but most will be on October 1.

Housewife Liah Yung also left Hong Kong on Saturday for a two-day trip to Shenzhen with her friends ahead of the break.

“I’m not planning to go to the mainland during the holiday because of the huge crowds,” she said, adding that she would stay home over the break.

Liah, in her 40s, said she liked spending time and money in Shenzhen for better services and lower prices across the border.

“So we planned to have a good time there before the National Day break,” she said.

While visitors opted for short trips ahead of the holiday, industry insiders also voiced concerns about the strong Hong Kong dollar and the lack of long-haul tourists.

Caspar Tsui Ying-wai, executive director of the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, told a radio programme that high-end and budget hotels still had vacant rooms.

But he said it was not yet final as tourists tended to book hotels just before they visited the city. He added that some hotels would charge 20 per cent more on the day customers booked and checked in.

He said the hotel sector already told the government that it had sufficient manpower to ensure service quality during the golden week.

He said he hoped tourists would stay in Hong Kong overnight to benefit his sector given the city’s numerous offers during the holiday.

The Travel Industry Council earlier said that it expected as many as 1.2 million mainland tourists would visit the city during the seven-day mainland holiday. The figure is similar to 1.1 million mainland visitors during the eight-day break last year.

The Immigration Department also said earlier that about 10 million people, including residents and tourists, would pass through the city’s sea, land and air crossings from Saturday to October 7.

Authorities said numbers were set to peak on National Day on October 1, with about 523,000 outbound and 632,000 inbound trips.

Additional reporting by William Yiu

US-India chips deal opens up new front in tech war vs China

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3280287/us-india-chips-deal-opens-new-front-tech-war-vs-china?utm_source=rss_feed

India and the United States have struck a pivotal semiconductor manufacturing deal, in a move that promises to enhance collaboration on sensitive military technology and redefine the South Asian nation’s position in the global chip supply chain.

During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington earlier this month, he and US President Joe Biden finalised the agreement to establish a semiconductor fabrication plant in Kolkata. The facility in the eastern Indian city will focus on defence equipment, telecommunications, and renewable energy, as detailed in an Indo-US joint fact sheet.

Analysts view this partnership as a significant leap onto the global semiconductor stage for India, a goal New Delhi has pursued since first signalling its chip ambitions in 2021.

“This deal can be compared with India’s civil nuclear agreement with the US, which in the geopolitical context brought India out of its outlier status,” said C. Uday Bhaskar, director of the Society for Policy Studies in Delhi.

Before that landmark 2005 pact India had only limited access to the most advanced civil nuclear technology.

Now, India is on the cusp of joining a select group of nations capable of manufacturing front-end semiconductors for critical applications, including radar systems and high-powered communication devices.

The semiconductor agreement was a key outcome of the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (ICET), established in 2022 to enhance cooperation across various sectors, from chips to artificial intelligence.

Bhaskar called the collaboration “significant” as the US military typically refrains from “sharing sensitive military technology, except with a few allies” such as Britain and, to a lesser extent, Japan.

In the past, India has “spoken with the US about fighter plane engines and surveillance radars,” he said. “But semiconductor fabrication is a totally different ballgame.”

Semiconductors play a crucial role in military applications, enabling rapid data processing for advanced radar, communications, navigation, and weapon systems.

While Taiwan currently dominates the global semiconductor market, US allies like Japan and South Korea also possess significant capabilities, and mainland China has developed substantial expertise in the sector.

Despite the potential of this US-India deal, Bhaskar cautions that its impact hinges on “how it is implemented and taken forward”.

This year, the Indian government approved three major proposals for semiconductor and display manufacturing facilities worth a combined US$15.2 billion, following an earlier agreement with US firm Micron for an assembly, testing and packaging plant in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

With India spending around US$25 billion annually on semiconductor imports, the government launched a US$10 billion incentive programme in 2021 aimed at attracting chip manufacturers, offering to cover up to 70 per cent of set-up costs.

Amid rising trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, global companies are diversifying their manufacturing bases beyond China. India aims to ascend the electronics value chain to capitalise on this shift, but progress has been slow, hampered by limited domestic expertise – even as many Indian professionals contribute to advancements abroad.

Experts estimate that semiconductor manufacturing can take seven to 10 years to yield front-end chips, but the potential applications are vast, spanning smartphones to sophisticated military systems.

Whether India succeeds in the semiconductor space will depend on its willingness to commit time, money and resources, Bhaskar says – pointing to the billions of US dollars that Taiwan has invested into precision technology over the decades.

“It is a mercurial market, and you need staying power, which Indian companies have not demonstrated so far,” Bhaskar said. However, he said the country’s large, qualified workforce could be a significant asset in this collaboration with the US.

There is optimism among analysts surrounding the US-India partnership and its potential to elevate chip manufacturing in India at a critical time for future security – and as a countermeasure against China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.

According to Vivek Mishra, a regional security researcher and fellow at the Observer Research Foundation think tank, the agreement signals a shift in the supply chain away from China, and may expand to include other regional partners in the Quad – namely, Australia and Japan – as well as trilateral collaborations involving the US and South Korea.

“It is one way of preparing for a Taiwan contingency,” he said, referencing the current concentration of semiconductor production on the island and the risk of global shortages in the event of conflict.

The manufacturing initiative is expected to involve a mix of private and state-run companies in India, with the US government encouraging private firms to collaborate with Indian partners, Mishra says.

According to security specialist Manoj Joshi, also of the Observer Research Foundation, the agreement can be seen as a logical evolution of the US-India partnership as Delhi has increasingly distanced itself from Russia – historically its main supplier of military technology.

“Critical and emerging technology is very important,” he said, adding that the “the larger realignment of US policy towards friendshoring” – or re-routing supply chains through friendly nations – “is clearly working to India’s benefit”.

China launches first reusable satellite, with payloads from Thailand and Pakistan

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3280356/china-launches-first-reusable-satellite-payloads-thailand-and-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed

China on Friday successfully launched its first reusable satellite in a mission that aims to make progress in seed science, microgravity research and international cooperation in space, according to state media.

The Shijian-19 was successfully delivered into orbit by a Long March 2D (CZ-2D) rocket from the northwestern Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The new satellite represents progress in improving efficiencies – including lower costs – as well as faster testing of new technologies and conversion of research results into practical applications, the report said.

The launch “achieved a number of technological breakthroughs in the areas of reusability, high microgravity protection, high load-bearing ratios and re-entry environmental test services,” it said.

Additionally, the Shijian-19 also carried payloads from five countries, including Thailand and Pakistan, as part of China’s efforts to promote international cooperation in space, it added.

The report did not say when the satellite will return to Earth.

China launched its first recoverable satellite Jianbing-1, a military reconnaissance satellite, in 1975 in a mission that returned the satellite back to earth three days later, albeit hundreds of kilometres from the prearranged landing position.

As the third country to launch and recover a spacecraft after the United States and the Soviet Union, China has carried out dozens of satellite missions and greatly improved satellite-related technologies.

Building on this success, China has also carried out crewed space missions and soil sampling from the moon.

If successful, the Shijian-19 will be the first Chinese satellite whose re-entry vehicle would be reusable.

In 2020, China also conducted a test flight of a “reusable experimental spacecraft”, which was launched by a Long March-2F rocket and landed after orbiting Earth for two days. No details of the spacecraft have been offered, but it was rumoured to be a vehicle similar to America’s X-37B space shuttle.

The Chinese scientists are also working on reusable rockets similar to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, or the company’s Starship, which is currently under development.

Shijian-19’s main mission is focused on conducting space mutagenesis experiments with seeds. By exposing seeds to cosmic radiation and microgravity, the experiments may lead to mutations that could be valuable in the development of new plant varieties.

The aim is to produce new varieties that would help in the “realisation of scientific and technological self-reliance of the seed industry and the independent control of seed sources”, according to the CCTV report.

Chinese researchers also plan to test the performance of China-developed components and materials using the new satellite, CCTV said.

The US bill that could turn up the heat in the anti-China propaganda war

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3280309/us-bill-could-turn-heat-anti-china-propaganda-war?utm_source=rss_feed

The US is upping the ante in its information war with China, with the House of Representatives backing a bill to spend US$1.6 billion within five years to promote anti-China propaganda, according to observers.

The “Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund Authorisation Act of 2023” was passed 351-36 earlier this month and will require Senate and presidential approval to become law.

It proposes spending US$325 million each year until 2027 to support media and civil society sources to counter China’s “malign influence” around the world.

The proposed legislation targets any acts by China’s Communist Party or the Chinese government or entities acting on their behalf that “undermine a free and open international order”, “advance an alternative, repressive international order”, or that undermine the national and economic security or sovereignty of the US and other countries.

The funds may also be used “to promote transparency and accountability, and reduce corruption, including in governance structures targeted by the malign influence”.

However, despite the bill’s stated goal of increasing transparency, it is unclear whether it requires disclosure of the specific foreign media outlets or organisations that receive funding, though it does require reporting of the countries or regions of funded activities and the type of “malign influence” the activities are meant to counteract.

This raises the possibility that the programme could be used to subsidise covert anti-Chinese messaging in a manner similar to how Russia is accused of covertly funding anti-Ukrainian messaging by American media influencers.

Jake Werner, acting director of the East Asia programme at the Quincy Institute, noted that while there was a requirement to report grants to certain US congressional committees, the bill failed to include “safeguards against disinformation or require transparency around US-funded propaganda”.

“The most likely outcomes of such efforts are to further embitter Chinese leaders against the United States and to call into question well-founded independent criticism of Chinese foreign policy by raising the suspicion that it’s actually an American influence operation manipulating public opinion,” he said.

In an unusual move, the bill also refers directly to the Belt and Road Initiative, saying the funds could be used “to raise awareness of and increase transparency” about the infrastructure drive’s negative impacts, or “other economic initiatives with strategic or political purposes, and coercive economic practices”.

Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the initiative in 2013 to build stronger transport, communications and political links between China and the rest of the world.

It is the latest salvo in an increasingly bitter rivalry between the two countries across a range of fronts, from national security to economic competition.

Lu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the legislation signalled that anti-China rhetoric would increase.

“Since the Cold War, China has been the target of systematic information warfare waged by the US,” Lu said.

“The new bill may demonstrate that it is looking to further escalate its efforts [on anti-China information warfare].

“From so-called forced-labour products to accusations of China [exporting its] overcapacity, the US is trying to create negative impacts on China.”

Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University, said one area of concern for the US was China’s growing influence in the Global South.

“China has never said it has taken part in any information warfare against the US,” Shi said. “For the US part, it has been taking efforts to counterbalance China’s influence for a long time.”

But Shi said Washington also has its own strategic priorities when waging information warfare.

Over the years, Beijing and Washington have repeatedly traded blame and accusations, including over the Ukraine war. The US has accused China of supporting Russia’s defence industry while China has accused the US of spreading misinformation about its position.

Reuters also reported in June that the US military launched a disinformation campaign and used phoney online accounts posing as Filipinos in an effort “to discredit China’s Sinovac inoculation, payback for Beijing’s efforts to blame Washington for the pandemic”.

Werner said the two countries were locked in an “unhealthy cycle” of each trying to discredit the other and warned there could be backlash from Beijing over the bill.

“We see this in public diplomatic messaging on both sides, so we could expect that clandestine propaganda efforts by both countries would be even more toxic,” Werner said.

Lu said he doubted whether the bill would gain Senate approval.

“I think the US, especially its intelligence agencies, have a mature network for propaganda, and I don’t think it’s necessary to have another bill, and US$1.6 billion is much less than its budget [for information warfare] now.”

Additional reporting by Meredith Chen

China pet lover buries herself in law books in bid to send dog-poisoning culprit to jail

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3279782/china-pet-lover-buries-herself-law-books-bid-send-dog-poisoning-culprit-jail?utm_source=rss_feed

A woman in China who studied law for 700 days after her pet dog was poisoned to death is hoping her hard work can help send the culprit to jail.

The case is the first time pet poisoning has become the subject of criminal proceedings in Beijing.

Previously, suspects faced financial sanctions or short detentions as China does not have a dedicated pet protection law.

Li Yihan’s pet dog Papi, a white West Highland Terrier, was like family to her.

On September 14, 2022, the animal was among a number of dogs and cats that were poisoned in the nation’s capital.

Li told the mainland media outlet Youth36kr that 13-year-old Papi suffered for more than seven hours before passing away.

Police revealed that a 65-year-old man, surnamed Zhang, had scattered rat poison-laced chicken in a children’s playground.

Zhang claimed he did so to retaliate against dogs that had urinated on his tricycle.

There have been many reports of pet poisoning in China.

On September 3, two men who poisoned a dog in Beijing were given 12 days of administrative detention. Also, a Border Collie was poisoned to death in July in the northern province of Hebei, the culprit paid its owner 3,000 yuan (US$430).

Li believes that the value of a pet cannot be measured in monetary terms and wants Zhang jailed.

In September 2022, Li quit her job, bought law books to study and worked with lawyers to collect evidence.

She also posted case updates on social media, attracting 55,000 followers on Douyin.

In February last year, she filed a lawsuit against Zhang and is seeking compensation for the medical expenses incurred and emotional damage.

In China, if a poisoning causes more than 200,000 yuan (US$28,000) in damage, the perpetrator can face life in prison.

Zhang’s trial has dragged on for nearly two years because of the difficulty in assesssing the value of the victimised pets.

At the time of writing, Li and the families of the other 10 affected dogs are still awaiting the verdict. The deadline for a verdict in the case has been pushed back to December 17.

Li said she is prepared for the possibility that the final verdict may not satisfy her, and will appeal.

She told Youth36kr: “The longest sentence I’ve seen in a pet poisoning case in China is three years and seven months. My friend told me that if Zhang could get at least four years, this would be my win.”

“I hope other pet owners can be brave enough to speak up for their pets.”

Li’s fight for justice has touched many people on mainland social media.

One online observer said: “Stay strong, Li. I support you. Pets are like family, and Zhang must be held accountable for the killings.”

While another said: “Even though I don’t have pets, I admire your courage and intelligence. I hope you get a just verdict.”

Who is Shigeru Ishiba, Japan’s leader in waiting, and what will he bring to China ties?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3280323/who-shigeru-ishiba-japans-leader-waiting-and-what-will-he-bring-china-ties?utm_source=rss_feed

Shigeru Ishiba, in line to become Japan’s next prime minister, is a seasoned politician who will pursue both continuity and nuance in his China policy, according to diplomatic observers.

Ishiba, a former defence chief, was elected leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Friday. The LDP’s parliamentary majority means he is expected to replace Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who announced plans to step down last month.

Analysts said Ishiba was likely to maintain Japan’s strategic alliances, but warned that his aims to set up an Asian equivalent of Nato to counter China and seek a more balanced partnership with the United States could ruffle feathers in both Beijing and Washington.

The 67-year-old won the party leadership on his fifth attempt – which he said was driven by changes in the security environment.

Ishiba has stressed the need to build a collective security framework in Asia, drawing parallels to the sense of urgency in Europe caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Following Ishiba’s victory, the Chinese foreign ministry said it would not comment on the internal affairs of other countries but called for a “long-term healthy and stable development of China-Japan relations”.

“We hope that Japan will foster an objective and correct understanding of China, pursue a positive and rational policy towards China … and work with China in the same direction to promote the continuous, healthy, and stable development of China-Japan relations,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

Zhang Yilun, a research associate at the Washington-based Institute for China-America Studies, said that while Ishiba was likely to follow the established policy approach, his distinctive focus on pursuing a more “equal” partnership with the US set him apart from many of his rivals.

“Instead of orienting Japan’s policies solely around its strongest ally, Ishiba envisions Japan taking a more active role in regional security through the creation of an Asian Nato,” Zhang said ahead of the LDP vote.

“This stance could complicate Japan’s position should Ishiba win the election … relations with China are likely to further deteriorate, as Beijing would vehemently oppose the idea of an Asian Nato, viewing it as a threat to its regional influence.”

Meanwhile, Washington has also rejected this idea, with a top official saying that it was “too early” to talk about building an Asian Nato.

China has been cautious about US efforts to build alliances within what Washington calls the “Indo-Pacific”, especially with Japan. It has labelled the US moves as attempts to create a new cold war in the Asia-Pacific through the formation of various “small cliques”.

China-Japan ties have been marked by a long list of contentious issues – from wartime grievances and territorial disputes to Japan’s export limits on semiconductors, its tilt towards US-led regional security groupings aimed at countering China, and the release of treated radioactive waste water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Walter Hatch, professor of government and Asian politics expert at Colby College, Maine, forecast a different approach to the US under Ishiba, who would push for greater freedom from US foreign policy mandates and seek to at least “loosen Washington’s grip on Tokyo”.

He said Washington had insisted on calling the shots in Japanese foreign policy for nearly eight decades, and Ishiba would aim to challenge this dynamic. However, this was likely to open him up to “massive resistance to change from bureaucrats on both sides of the Pacific”.

According to Ryo Sahashi, an associate professor of international politics at the University of Tokyo, while Japan-US ties might face challenges under Ishiba, the long-time allies would potentially be able to manage any tensions that arise.

“Relations with the US are likely to be strained for some time to come. [Ishiba’s] criticism of the Kishida administration’s security policy is probably also a concern for the US,” Sahashi said.

“Nevertheless, he understands the importance of the alliance with the US and is not a nationalist, so the friction may be controllable.”

As for China-Japan ties, while analysts believe this could suffer more setbacks, they do not expect matters to deteriorate to crisis levels.

Beijing’s expanding military activities near Japan have fuelled a strong sense of crisis in Tokyo about significant security challenges.

Bilateral tensions spiked again this week after China reprimanded Japan for sending a warship through the Taiwan Strait for the first time, becoming the latest US ally to do so citing “freedom of navigation” rights. Last month, Japan scrambled fighter jets after what it said was its first airspace incursion by Chinese military aircraft.

“Tokyo is most likely to enhance the US-Japan alliance and security partnerships with like-minded nations to deter China’s maritime expansion, while it would keep opening the channel of communication with Chinese counterparts,” said Ryosuke Hanada, a security expert at Sydney’s Macquarie University.

Hatch noted that Ishiba’s preference for engagement over confrontation with China had set him apart from other LDP leadership candidates and raised eyebrows among US policymakers and advocates of a stronger US-Japan security alliance.

However, this approach should not be mistaken as being soft on Beijing, he added.

Ishiba has visited Taiwan several times. During his last trip in August, he presented the idea of a coalition of democracies to Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te. Deterrence was crucial for regional peace, Ishiba told Lai, though he did not specifically mention Beijing.

“He is one of the strong supporters of preserving the status quo by security cooperation with Taiwan. At the same time, he cautiously delivered his idea that any new legislative measures governing relations with Taiwan are not immediately necessary,” Hanada said.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US and Japan, do not recognise Taiwan as independent. But Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

Zhang said emerging challenges made it necessary for Japan to adopt creative approaches to policymaking, particularly beyond the narrow scope of the US-China rivalry.

“For years, Japan has taken its economic cooperation with China for granted, treating it as a default without actively seeking ways to improve or diversify this relationship,” he noted.

Tokyo must adopt a more creative and nuanced foreign policy strategy, Zhang said, where it needed to “engage China economically in more strategic ways, while carefully managing its broader geopolitical stance”.

Teary-eyed fans throng Tokyo zoo to bid farewell to China-bound pandas

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3280349/teary-eyed-fans-throng-tokyo-zoo-bid-farewell-china-bound-pandas?utm_source=rss_feed

Thousands of thankful, sobbing fans flocked to a Tokyo zoo on Saturday to bid an emotional farewell to a pair of beloved pandas before their imminent return to China.

Sporting T-shirts, hats and sun umbrellas featuring the black and white bears, visitors shed tears, took selfies and eagerly waved at Ri Ri and Shin Shin on the panda couple’s penultimate day at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoological Gardens.

More than 2,000 panda lovers formed long queues outside the zoo on Saturday morning, some having spent the whole night there armed with picnic blankets and camping chairs.

Among the most committed was Mayuko Sumida, 44, who said she had arrived around 10pm the previous night, carrying with her panda-shaped key rings.

“I’m overwhelmed,” she said after admiring the two for the last time.

“They are the best duo that brings comfort and smiles to me.”

The mammals are immensely popular around the world, and China loans them out as part of a “panda diplomacy” programme to foster foreign ties.

The pandas Ri Ri and Shin Shin arrived at Ueno Zoo in 2011 and were due to stay until February 2026, but Japan and China agreed it would be better for the 19-year-olds to return to their home country in light of their declining health.

They will be transported back to China on Sunday.

On Saturday, strict crowd control measures were in place at the zoo to escort fans away after giving them just a few minutes to adore and photograph the pair through the glass.

Ri Ri and Shin Shin were “like the sun to me” and “always gave me emotional support”, Machiko Seki, who like other fans wore black to avoid window reflections ruining their pictures, said.

“When I look at their smiles, whatever worries me just goes away … I can’t be more grateful for them,” the woman in her 50s said, shedding tears.

The pair gave birth in 2017 to cub Xiang Xiang – the zoo’s first baby panda since 1988, who became a massive draw – as well as twins in 2021.

Many fans cried when Xiang Xiang was returned to China last year, and her departure was broadcast live on local television.

Michiyo Matoba, 61, has been coming to see Xiang Xiang’s parents almost every week.

“Ri Ri loves climbing trees so I hope he will enjoy those mountains of China as much as he likes, and the glutton Shin Shin will hopefully start eating to her heart’s content after regaining her health,” she said.

Despite the panda diplomacy, relations between the two countries have soured in recent years following Beijing’s growing maritime assertiveness.

Politics, Matoba said, doesn’t taint her love for the animals.

“Just like pandas, I hope Japan and China can be friends,” she said.

There are an estimated 1,860 giant pandas left in the wild, mainly in bamboo forests in the mountains of China, according to environmental group WWF.

There are about 600 in captivity in panda centres, zoos and wildlife parks around the world.

In global game of influence, China turns to a cheap and effective tool: fake news

https://apnews.com/article/china-disinformation-fake-news-russia-3085f10d6edca36f6415d6410e5ef874FILE - Visitors pass the Chinese Communist Party flag at the museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte, File)

2024-09-28T04:13:08Z

WASHINGTON (AP) — When veteran U.S. diplomat Kurt Campbell traveled to the Solomon Islands to counter Beijing’s influence in the South Pacific country, he quickly saw just how far China would go to spread its message.

The Biden administration’s Asia czar woke up one morning in 2022 to a long article in the local press about the U.S. running chemical and biological labs in Ukraine, a claim that Washington calls an outright lie. Started by Russia, the false and incendiary claim was vigorously amplified by China’s vast overseas propaganda apparatus.

It was another example of “clearly effective Russian and Chinese disinformation,” Campbell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in July.

Two years later, the claim still reverberates online, demonstrating China’s sprawling effort to reshape global perceptions. The campaign, costing many billions per year, is becoming ever more sophisticated thanks to artificial intelligence. China’s operations have caught the attention of intelligence analysts and policymakers in Washington, who vow to combat any actions that could influence the November election or undermine American interests.

The key tactic: networks of websites purporting to be legitimate news outlets, delivering pro-China coverage that often parallels official statements and positions from Beijing.

Shannon Van Sant, an adviser to the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, tracked a network of dozens of sites that posed as news organizations. One site mimicked The New York Times, using a similar font and design in what she called an attempt at legitimacy. The site carried strongly pro-Chinese messages.

When Van Sant researched the site’s reporters she found no information. Their names didn’t belong to any known journalists working in China, and their photos bore telltale signs of being created with AI.

“Manipulation of the media is ultimately a manipulation of readers and the audience, and this is damaging to democracy and society,” Van Sant said.

Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., said allegations that China uses news websites and social media to spread pro-Beijing information and influence public opinion in the U.S. “are full of malicious speculations against China, which China firmly opposes.”

In addition to its state media, Beijing has turned to foreign players — real or not — to relay messages and lend credibility to narratives favoring the Communist Party, said Xiao Qiang, a research scientist at the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley. Xiao also is editor-in-chief of China Digital Times, a bilingual news website that aggregates information from and about China.

Beijing’s methods are wide-ranging and links to the government are often difficult to prove, Xiao said. But whether it’s journalists with American-sounding names or an Indian influencer, the consistently pro-Beijing messages give them away.

“The implicit message is the same — that the Chinese Communist Party works for its people,” Xiao said.

Analysts at the cybersecurity firm Logically identified 1,200 websites that had carried Russian or Chinese state media stories. The sites often target specific audiences and have names that sound like traditional news organizations or defunct newspapers.

Unlike Russia or Iran, which have displayed clear preferences in the U.S. presidential campaign, Beijing is more cautious and focused on spreading positive content about China.

While the sites aren’t owned by China, they run Chinese content. When Logically looked at content specifically about the U.S. election, 20% could be traced back to Chinese or Russian state media.

“There’s a decent likelihood that these articles could influence U.S. audiences without them even knowing where it comes from,” said Alex Nelson, Logically’s senior manager for strategy and analysis.

According to the Gallup World Poll, more countries surveyed view the U.S. positively, but the share of countries where views of both the U.S. and China are negative overall is higher than 15 years ago, signaling the U.S. doesn’t appear to be making gains over China.

Some U.S. officials want to increase spending to even the playing field. The House of Representatives this month approved a bill that would authorize $325 million annually through 2027 to counter China’s global influence, including its disinformation campaigns. The measure still needs Senate approval.

“We are in a global competition for influence with China, and if you want to win it, then you cannot do it on a middle-power budget,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has demanded a systematic buildup of Chinese narratives that would give his country a global voice “commensurate with” its international stature.

Beijing has invested in state media such as the Xinhua news agency and China Central Television to convey its messages to global audiences in various languages and platforms. Media groups at the local level are creating “international communication centers” to build an overseas presence with websites, news channels and social media accounts.

Beijing also has struck media partnerships worldwide, and the article Campbell read in the Solomon Islands is likely a result of those.

China’s outreach is tied to the global race for economic dominance in electric vehicles, computer chips, AI and quantum computing, said Jaret Riddick, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

“The countries that lead on emerging technologies will be the countries that have a great advantage going forward,” Riddick said.

To tell its story, Beijing has not shied away from using fake personas. A 2023 State Department report detailed the case of a published writer named Yi Fan, originally described as a Chinese foreign ministry analyst. Yi morphed into a journalist, then became an independent analyst.

Yi’s details changed, but the message did not. Through published commentaries and writings, Yi trumpeted close ties between China and Africa, praised Beijing’s approach to environmental sustainability and argued that China must counter distorted Western narratives.

Then there was Wilson Edwards, a supposed Swiss virologist quoted in Chinese media as a COVID-19 expert who criticized the U.S. response. But Swiss officials found no evidence he existed.

“If you exist, we would like to meet you!” the Swiss Embassy in Beijing wrote on social media.

___

AP writer Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux contributed from Washington.

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Why SpaceX’s Chinese rivals can turn around faster if rocket launches fail

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3279783/why-spacexs-chinese-rivals-can-turn-around-faster-if-rocket-launches-fail?utm_source=rss_feed

A private Chinese aerospace company’s reusable rocket blew up during a flight test on Sunday, in China’s first publicly reported landing failure of its kind.

But unlike US giant SpaceX, which might have to wait for multiple federal approvals before making another attempt for its more complex missions, Deep Blue Aerospace is already preparing for its next launch.

A follow-up flight has been scheduled for November, the start-up company said, attributing the quick rebound to China’s flexible aerospace regulations and its own comprehensive safety protocols.

At 1.40pm on Sunday, Deep Blue launched a vertical recovery flight test of its “Nebula-1” reusable launch vehicle from a site in Inner Mongolia autonomous region in northern China. The vehicle ascended and descended smoothly, but its engine shut down before landing, causing the rocket to crash and explode.

“Another vertical recovery test will be carried out in November, and the rocket will be launched into orbit in the first quarter of 2025,” Deep Blue Aerospace’s chief engineer Du Pengfei said on Monday.

Explaining the quick recovery, he said: “The Chinese government is very tolerant and encouraging of commercial space flights. We have implemented comprehensive safety measures and getting approval after filing the required application was quick.”

According to another space industry expert who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter: “The registration and approval of flight tests below 30km [18.6 miles] is not that complicated according to regulations on the website of the [regulatory body] State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence.”

Across the Pacific, SpaceX says it has faced delays as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reviews launch approvals – though these mostly relate to more complex missions.

SpaceX rocket launches require multiple approvals from the FAA, including launch licences, safety and environmental requirements, financial responsibility issues, and policy compliance.

Permission for the fifth test flight of SpaceX’s Starship mega rocket was anticipated this month, but the FAA has said it must wait until late November – in a decision seen as based on technical, safety and even potential political factors as the US presidential election approaches.

SpaceX hit out at the delay in a blog post on September 10. “Unfortunately, we continue to be stuck in a reality where it takes longer to do the government paperwork to license a rocket launch than it does to design and build the actual hardware,” it said.

Explaining the difference in scope between the two missions, Du said: “The Starship test flight is actually of orbital level. Its flight altitude and speed are relatively high, while our recovery test is closer to the Earth’s surface.”

Deep Blue’s high degree of autonomy in rocket manufacturing and launch technology are also critical for its rapid response, according to Du, who highlighted several key technological advancements of the Nebula-1.

The first stage of the Nebula-1 is equipped with the fully domestically developed “Thunder-R” liquid oxygen-kerosene engine.

Also, more than 90 per cent of the engine’s main structure, excluding seals and some electrical components, was made using 3D printing technology, Du said. “It reduces production time from three months to just 10 days at one-tenth the cost, facilitating rapid product iterations.”

The design team also used “carbon fibre composite structures” to devise high-strength, lightweight landing legs that met soft-landing requirements while minimising weight, he added.

An added advantage is Deep Blue’s self-built launch site and an autonomous launch team, both crucial for the rapid re-execution of tests.

“This flight test on Sunday was conducted at a private launch centre built by Deep Blue in Ejin banner [in Inner Mongolia], with all ground equipment, fuelling systems, and control systems developed in-house,” Du said.

“The launch base is only 100km from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre and is situated in a remote desert area. The rocket is equipped with a self-destruct mechanism for out-of-range or high-altitude scenarios. Both are robust safety measures to secure the launch.”

China’s four major launch sites – Jiuquan, Taiyuan, Xichang and Hainan – are seen as inadequate to accommodate the anticipated increase in routine rocket launches.

Consequently, Deep Blue began exploring the construction of private launch sites, which could also provide valuable insights for future national innovations, Du said.

The main goal of Sunday’s flight test was to measure the rocket’s performance under variable thrust conditions and collect data for future improvements, he said. The Nebula-1 can carry nine engines when fully loaded, but this test used just three and less than one-fifth of the propellant.

According to Du, the experiment confirmed the rocket’s lateral guidance during the descent phase, with the flight control computer maintaining a trajectory deviation of less than 0.5 metre (1.6 feet) over an expected lateral movement of 200 metres.

Deep Blue, set up in 2016, expects the Nebula-1 to eventually carry satellites and astronauts into space.

The November test will aim to launch a multistage rocket – with each stage containing its own engines – ahead of the planned orbital launch early next year

Du said: “The design goal for this product is to achieve a payload capacity of 6-8 tonnes to low Earth orbit and 4-5 tonnes to geosynchronous orbit, with around 20 reuse cycles.”

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1 in a million: China woman with 2 uteruses gives birth to 1 child from each womb

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3280157/1-million-china-woman-2-uteruses-gives-birth-1-child-each-womb?utm_source=rss_feed

A woman in northwest China who was born with the rare medical condition of having two uteruses gave birth to twins in September from both wombs.

The woman, surnamed Li, has a condition that affects only 0.3 per cent of women worldwide. Both of her uteruses were fully formed and included ovaries and oviducts, according to China National Radio.

The double ovary condition is very rare, but it is even more uncommon for a woman to successfully give birth.

Li gave birth to a boy and a girl in early September at Xi’an No 4 Hospital in Shaanxi province when she was eight and a half months pregnant.

Cai Ying, a senior obstetrician at the hospital, was quoted as saying: “Being pregnant in each of the two uteruses through natural conception is very rare. We have only heard of a couple of such cases from both China and abroad.”

“It’s even rarer that a woman with this condition would successfully give birth after 37 weeks,” she said, adding that it was a “one in a million” phenomenon.

Typically, women with two uteruses do not experience symptoms until they become pregnant. During their pregnancies, they are at an increased risk of repeated miscarriages, premature birth, underdevelopment of the fetus, and post-partum haemorrhages.

Li, whose age has not been revealed, had been pregnant before but suffered a miscarriage at 27 weeks due to unidentified factors, the report said.

After Li became pregnant in January, doctors at the Xi’an hospital devised a meticulous plan to ensure her safety.

The babies were born healthy, with the boy weighing 3.3kg and the girl 2.4kg. The doctors performed a caesarean operation during the birth.

Li and her newborns were discharged from the hospital four days after the babies’ birth.

China state broadcaster CCTV reported that in December last year, a woman in the US state of Alabama gave birth to twin girls from both of her uteruses.

That mother already had three children, but those were single-baby pregnancies that utilised only one of her two uteruses.

The news of Li attracted widespread attention on mainland Chinese social media.

One online observer quipped: “The babies lived a luxurious life inside their mother’s belly. Instead of sharing the same house like other twin fetuses, they lived in separate villas.”

However, another person reminded the public that the pregnancy would have been extremely challenging.

“My colleague has two uteruses. She lost her baby three times before having a son. It was not easy for her!” the individual said.

China-Mongolia e-commerce, tourism creates buzz in tiny Gobi Desert town

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3280242/china-mongolia-e-commerce-tourism-creates-buzz-tiny-gobi-desert-town?utm_source=rss_feed

Driven by steady demand for cashmere, bags, shoes and even camel wool, trade between China and Mongolia is flourishing via a bustling border town against a strong backdrop of e-commerce orders.

Along with Mongolia’s strategy of diversifying its economy to boost growth after the coronavirus pandemic, the landlocked country is also enjoying a boost in tourism from its neighbour.

According to the information office of the regional committee in China’s northern Inner Mongolia autonomous region, trips in both directions along its Erenhot highway and via its railway ports had risen by 95 per cent year on year to 1.75 million this year until September 5.

The same entry ports saw 442,000 vehicles pass through during the same period, double the volume from the same period of 2023.

Erenhot is a county-level city located in the Gobi Desert along China’s vast border with Mongolia, and it has particularly thrived since April after a 24-hour border crossing for freight was opened on a trial basis amid efforts to ease truck congestion at its port, which is the largest land link on the China-Mongolia border.

“In terms of distance, Mongolia and China are very close. Regardless of the purpose, this is the greatest advantage,” said Sumiya Chuluunbaatar, a non-resident fellow at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of International Studies.

“China’s infrastructure is still relatively new and perfect, and the affordability of the service industry still attracts not only Mongolians, but also more foreigners.”

Mongolia’s exports to China rose by 10.6 per cent in the first seven months of the year compared to a year earlier to US$8.138 billion, according to Chinese customs data.

Shipments from China to Mongolia also rose by 48.5 per cent to US$2.647 billion during the same period.

“As far as I know, the scale of the border economy is modest, focused on border trade and services to truck drivers, merchants and tourists,” said Xu Tianchen, a senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit market research firm.

And Mongolian member of parliament Batshugar Enkhbayar urged for the 24-hour border crossing to be made permanent, with the trial set to conclude at the end of September, although he said that talks had yet to take place.

“The Mongolian side is getting bigger, due to mining projects in the Gobi region, and we’re making sure the crossing is more efficient,” Enkhbayar said.

Enkhbayar added that about 108,000 tourists had arrived from China this year through mid-September, eyeing Erenhot as a way to enter Mongolia by train to explore its “nomadic culture” and “remoteness”, making up 21 per cent of all foreign arrivals.

Xu added that Chinese tourist arrivals in Mongolia had grown by about 75 per cent in the first half of the year, with Erenhot the biggest crossing point.

Last year, Mongolia’s gross domestic product rose by 7 per cent compared to a year earlier, with the contribution of consumption standing at 6.1 per cent, down from 6.5 per cent in 2022.

And despite having ventured into the Mongolian market less than a year ago, Hangzhou Intelmind E-commerce CEO Wei Peiran has witnessed “remarkable” month-on-month growth due to a “diverse range of products, effective pricing strategy, and robust logistics system”.

Wei said he had used Alibaba’s 1688 business-to-business platform to tap the Mongolian market. Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post.

“Our approach focuses on directly sourcing from Chinese suppliers, streamlining logistics digitally, and delivering goods at the lowest possible cost,” he said.

“Mongolia presents a robust market with a young population and advanced technological infrastructure, including reliable internet access and payment systems.”

Chuluunbaatar at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences added that digital transformation would help entice foreign businesses because “registering a new company in Mongolia no longer requires paper documents”.

Wei is also eyeing an even bigger market through Mongolia by partnering with Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan, to broaden his footprint.

“With over 35 million residents and a yearly growth of around 1 million, Uzbekistan’s rapid economic development highlights significant potential for selling Chinese products,” he added.

The United Nations E-Government Survey issued in September showed that Mongolia had risen by 28 places to 46th out of 193 member states on the E-Government Index since 2022 and by 20 places to 50th on the E-Participation Index since 2020.

“The findings of the latest UN E-Government Survey show the significant progress Mongolia has made in the last two years in digitising our economy … and making it easier for citizens to engage with the government,” said chief cabinet secretary Uchral Nyam-Osor in an official statement.

Singapore university prepares for tourist surge during China’s Golden Week

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3280294/singapore-university-prepares-tourist-surge-during-chinas-golden-week?utm_source=rss_feed

A Singapore university is bracing itself for a rush of tourists during China’s Golden Week national holiday, amid complaints of an influx of visitors earlier this year.

In a statement from the National University of Singapore Students’ Union on Thursday, president Huang Ziwei told students that more tourist visitors were expected from next Monday to October 7, during China’s week-long National Day break.

Tourists will not be allowed to use the campus shuttle service and food courts at the university’s UTown residence after 2pm from September 30 to October 7, with some exceptions.

These measures were announced ahead of an expected surge in Chinese tourists during China’s coming Golden Week, which begins around October 1. Tens of millions of Chinese citizens would travel to family reunions or go on vacation during the holiday.

“We have been working closely with the management-appointed taskforce to ensure that proactive measures are in place to address any potential influx of tourist visitors,” said Huang in the statement seen by This Week in Asia.

Last month, the university announced it would introduce a registration system for tour buses and a visitor access system to control crowds in certain areas. Undergraduates were also being trained to lead guided tours. NUS said then it aimed to have these new measures ready by January 2025.

A spokesman for the university told This Week in Asia that NUS believed the measures would help achieve a balance between preserving the academic environment and keeping the campus open.

“Meanwhile, existing measures are already in place to manage tourist footfall on campus in anticipation of the coming China Golden Week,” said the spokesman, outlining the measures stated in the student union’s statement.

For Nanyang Technological University (NTU), a spokesman said it was not implementing new measures for this period.

Since February, NTU has required travel agencies planning tours to the campus to get approval. Visitors must keep to public areas and security personnel and student guides will continue to monitor tourist access to food courts and other campus services, according to the spokesman.

“These measures have kept the situation at the university largely under control and we do not see the need to introduce new measures for now,” said the spokesman, noting there had not been an uptick in tour group registrations for the coming weeks.

NUS students who spoke to This Week in Asia said this was the first time they heard of their campus taking such measures at this time of the year.

They also noted that fewer tourists had been spotted on campus since the university rolled out measures to clamp down on such visitors.

Philosophy undergraduate Nicholas Wong said: “I know many friends and students who welcomed the restriction of non-NUS persons in dining establishments during lunch hours, as most residences in UTown don’t provide lunch. That was the biggest point of contention for most people I know.”

Natalie Fong, 20, a second-year economics major and a UTown resident, noted that the tourist crowds had reduced and welcomed the pre-emptive measures.

“UTown already experiences plenty of traffic among students for the shuttle buses, as well as the food courts. Limiting tourists’ access to these does help us students get to class on time, as well as grab lunch during lunchtime,” she said.

Prior to the measures, Fong recalled being asked by tourists to let them into her dorm and finding it difficult to find a place to eat lunch on most days.

She said the university should have taken swifter action in placing stringent crowd management measures from the start, citing how shuttle buses continued to be used by tourists because rules were not strictly enforced.

“NUS should continue to grant access to Chinese tourists, as many universities around the world also have tourists visiting their campuses as well. However, the well-being of current students shouldn’t have been compromised,” Fong said.

Meanwhile in NTU, students hoped that similar measures could be implemented. Wyan Sia, 24, a second-year sports science management student, said travelling to and from classes had been “disruptive”, due to the throngs of tourists in the school.

“It’s understandable why they want to visit the campus, but I feel it’s maybe best to allow access to tourists only on weekends,” he said.

On Friday afternoon, while no Chinese tour groups were spotted around NUS’ UTown during lunchtime, Chinese alumnus Alvin Song, 24, was taking pictures of his mother on the Town Green.

Song, currently a postgraduate at a different school, said: “She just wanted to see what it looks like here because she hasn’t seen it before.”

He added that he graduated in 2021 and remained in China until pandemic restrictions were lifted.

Two men dressed in black, who claimed to be NUS alumni, were leading a group of about 25 Korean children and teachers about the campus. They declined to comment.

Last month, Chinese postgraduate students faced backlash for offering a two-hour tour of NUS to visitors for cash. The tour, which has since been removed, was found on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu for 273 yuan (US$38).

One of the postgraduate students, who declined to be named, said Chinese tourists wanted to visit the university owing to its prestige. NUS retained its eighth position in the latest Britain-based Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings 2025 and is the top-ranked among Asian universities, while NTU was ranked 15th.

Some 1.23 million tourists from mainland China visited Singapore between January and November last year, according to official statistics.

Kamala Harris vows to cut fentanyl flow to US, urges China to boost crackdown on precursor chemicals

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3280339/kamala-harris-vows-cut-fentanyl-flow-us-urges-china-boost-crackdown-precursor-chemicals?utm_source=rss_feed

Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris visited the US-Mexico border for the first time in her 2024 presidential campaign on Friday, calling for tighter asylum restrictions and vowing to make stopping fentanyl from entering the US a “top priority”.

Harris outlined her plans to fix “our broken immigration system” in Douglas, Arizona, a border town of fewer than 17,000 people, while accusing her Republican rival Donald Trump of “fanning the flames of fear and division” over the impact of immigrants on American life.

Harris called for more punitive measures for people crossing the border illegally, following an asylum ban for those entering the US illegally established by President Joe Biden this year.

“I will take further action to keep the border closed between ports of entry. Those who cross our borders unlawfully will be apprehended and removed and barred from re-entering for five years,” Harris said.

“We will pursue more severe criminal charges against repeat violators, and if someone does not make an asylum request at a legal point of entry and instead crosses our border unlawfully, they will be barred from receiving asylum,” she said.

But Harris also said that her policy would forge a path for a humane immigration programme.

“I reject the false choice that suggests we must either choose between securing our border or creating a system of immigration that is safe, orderly and humane,” Harris said. “We can and we must do both.”

Some 7 million migrants have been arrested illegally crossing the US-Mexico border during the Biden administration, according to government data, a record high number that has fuelled criticism from Trump.

But illegal border crossings have dropped sharply since Biden announced the asylum ban earlier this year.

In Douglas, Harris spoke to Customs and Border Protection officials and viewed part of a border barrier constructed between 2011 and 2012, during the Obama administration, the White House said.

Harris also received a briefing on the CBP’s drug enforcement operations and viewed inspection technology used to seize illegal drugs, including fentanyl, the campaign said, noting that border officials stopped more fentanyl at ports of entry in 2022 and 2023 than in the previous five financial years combined.

Harris was introduced by Theresa Guerrero, whose 31-year-old son Jacob Guerrero died from fentanyl poisoning. She accused Trump of blocking a comprehensive border security bill that would have stemmed the flow of fentanyl.

Harris said she would target the “entire global fentanyl supply chain” to materially and sustainably disrupt the flow of illicit fentanyl, calling on China to do more to crack down on fentanyl precursor chemicals.

Fentanyl overdoses have surged to become the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. More than 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2023.

Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance have increased their criticism of immigrants in recent weeks, repeating falsehoods about legal Haitian immigrants in Vance’s home state of Ohio and suggesting that immigrants were committing crimes and stealing jobs from US citizens.

Immigration is a top issue for voters. Arizona is a closely contested election state, with a high population of Latino voters sought by both parties. And the nation’s porous southern border remains a source of fentanyl, a leading cause of drug overdoses in the United States.

On Friday, Trump blamed Harris for the rising trend of irregular migration.

“The architect of this destruction is Kamala Harris,” Trump said at Trump Tower in Manhattan. “She keeps talking about how she supposedly wants to fix the border. We would merely ask, Why didn’t she do it four years ago? It’s a very simple question.”

He also accused Harris of turning small towns in the US into “blighted refugee camps”.

A wide-ranging border security bill that took months to negotiate was blocked by the US Senate in February, after Trump pressed Republicans to reject any compromise.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll last month found that 43 per cent of voters favoured Trump on the issue of immigration and 33 per cent favoured Harris, while 24 per cent either didn’t know, chose someone else or refused to answer.

Harris was California’s attorney general before being elected to the US Senate and then vice-president. Her California remit included targeting gangs that operate on both sides of the border and traffic in drugs, guns and people.

Biden also tasked Harris with dealing with the causes of migration from Central America, a diplomatic issue on which her record is mixed.

Emigration from Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia to the US has created unease among voters concerned about what the trend means for the US economy, crime rates and culture. The share of American residents born abroad rose by nearly a fifth to 47.8 million from 2010 to 2023, according to the US Census Bureau.