• Tech war: China’s TikTok sellers eye Amazon and Shein as US ban looms
• China’s eagle-eyed Zhejiang sets industrial sights on breeding more movers and shakers
• Biden’s China message to Trump, Rednote tops Apple’s US app chart: SCMP daily highlights
• China ‘will not admit defeat’ on US rivalry and its rise is unstoppable: analysts
• Chinese tourist killed in jet ski crash in Thailand
• US bans Chinese tech in smart cars, citing national security risks amid global tech rivalry
• US targets China textile giant Huafu Fashion over Uygur forced labour concerns
• Xi Jinping, in first talk with new European Council president, seeks more EU-China cooperation
• [Sport] TikTok users flock to Chinese app RedNote as US ban looms
• Beyond US-China tussles, geopolitics will be shaped by India, Russia
• EU probe finds ‘unfair’ limits in China’s medical device market, adding to trade rift
• Can China top the US economically by 2030? Economist reaffirms bold 1994 prediction
• Tibet’s quake is a seismic warning to China and India over their mega dam ambitions
• Apple leads smartphone market in fourth quarter, overcoming China decline
• South China Sea: Philippines warns Beijing ‘all options on the table’ after coastguard patrol
• Why US-China quantum race is the most critical contest of our time
• Communist Party propaganda chief calls for boosting public opinion on China-Japan ties
• Turkish railway, with Chinese upgrades, could bypass Russia on route to Europe
• Massive icicles fall on tourists at popular waterfall in China, injuring 1
• China’s economic miracle not over: Singapore diplomat Tommy Koh
• 30% of young mainland Chinese in Hong Kong say more regulations impacting lives
• China domestic violence survivor donates live-stream profits to help others seek justice
• China welcomed 20 million visa-free visitors in 2024, more tourism incentives on the way
• China’s energy weapon fires thousands of nuclear-like blasts in tests and survives: study
• Chinese officials reportedly discuss sale of TikTok in US to Elon Musk
• Self-styled TikTok refugees find new Chinese app, sending it to No 1 in US
• Going big on 2025 GDP, major Chinese local-level economies unveil ambitious targets
• Pakistan to issue China’s panda bonds to transform economy, finance chief says
• Could Elon Musk really influence US China policy? Chinese academics have doubts
• In farewell, Biden urges Trump to tackle China’s overcapacity, clean energy dominance
• ‘Please save my son’: Chinese families’ desperate appeals over Thai job scams
• China woman, 124, shares longevity secrets, loves rice mixed with lard, walks after meals
• Trump eyes Washington trade lawyer for key China post at Commerce Department
• China unfairly dominates shipbuilding, US investigation finds, paving way for penalties
• China is not only winning the tech war. It’s also rewriting the rules

## 摘要 ### Tech war: China’s TikTok sellers eye Amazon and Shein as US ban looms 标题：科技战争：在美国禁令迫近之际，中国的TikTok卖家瞄准Amazon和Shein 摘要：随着美国即将对TikTok实施禁令，中国商家已做好准备。商家们开始转向其他平台，如Amazon和Shein，并关注其他海外市场。以谭柳为例，她在TikTok上经营12家面向美国消费者的店铺，现在正在打折处理库存并推迟进货，等待美国最高法院对该应用的最终裁决。由于对TikTok在美国的运营稳定性感到不安，她暂时放弃了在当地租赁办公室和聘请员工的计划。 TikTok的母公司字节跳动正在与美国政府抗争，若不按照法律出售其在美业务，TikTok将在1月19日被禁。部分商家已经开始在Amazon和Shein等平台上销售，以对冲潜在的禁令风险，同时也在考虑在西班牙和墨西哥等市场拓展业务。中国方面表示，若实施禁令，将采取报复措施，对美国企业施加影响。 ### China’s eagle-eyed Zhejiang sets industrial sights on breeding more movers and shakers 标题：中国“火眼金睛”的浙江省瞄准行业，致力于培养更多的领军者和变革者 摘要：浙江省作为中国的经济强省，计划在2025年前培养20家“鹰企”，以提升其全球影响力并推动经济增长。政府在年度会议中报告，期望今年经济增长约5.5%。这些“鹰企”是指在全球市场上具有强劲实力的大型企业，如阿里巴巴和农夫山泉。除了培养大型企业，浙江还计划支持中小企业的成长，目标是到2025年培养30家“单项冠军”和300家“小巨人”企业。 浙江政府自2019年启动“鹰行动”以来，共有118家企业被认定为“鹰企”，其中大部分为私营企业。政府将继续加大对先进制造业的支持，涵盖生物制药、高端设备和新能源等领域，并促进人工智能等创新产业的发展。该省还计划加快工业项目招募，以吸引国内外投资，力争在2025年实现6%以上的工业增长目标。 ### Biden’s China message to Trump, Rednote tops Apple’s US app chart: SCMP daily highlights 标题：拜登向特朗普传递中国信息，Rednote登顶苹果美国应用榜单：南华早报每日要闻精选 摘要：美国总统拜登在华盛顿演讲中呼吁前总统特朗普关注中国在清洁能源供应链的“过剩产能”和主导地位，并强调美国必须在这一竞争中获胜。同时，知名经济学家林毅夫预测，中国经济将在未来五到十年内超越美国。他指出，即便面临海外贸易壁垒和国内市场饱和，中国的经济潜力依然令人看好。与此同时，TikTok用户因对其未来的不确定性感到担忧，纷纷涌向中国社交应用“Xiaohongshu”，该平台在美国的Apple应用商店中跃居榜首。此外，中国科学家还在紧凑型高功率微波武器的研发上取得了重大突破，这可能对现代战争产生深远影响。 ### China ‘will not admit defeat’ on US rivalry and its rise is unstoppable: analysts 标题：中国“不会在与美国的竞争中承认失败”，其崛起势不可挡：分析人士 摘要：在拜登总统的告别演讲中，他声称美国在与中国的长期竞争中处于更有利的战略地位，并指出“中国永远不会超越美国”。尽管如此，中国专家认为，尽管美国在亚太地区加强了同盟关系，中国的影响力仍在不断上升。中国视与美国的竞争为长期战争，且在全球经济关键领域巩固了其地位。尽管拜登政府强调与中国的对抗取得了显著成果，但中国并不承认失败，并将继续深化与全球南方的合作，增强战略韧性以应对美国的压制。同时，中国外交部称与美国的关系总体稳定，并已建立了超过20个沟通机制。学者指出，拜登的演讲旨在突显其外交遗产，并警告称中国的全球影响力有望进一步增强。整体来看，尽管美国在短期内维持优势，但中国的崛起不可阻挡。 ### Chinese tourist killed in jet ski crash in Thailand 标题：中国游客在泰国水上摩托事故中遇害 摘要：在泰国普吉岛，周二发生了一起导致中国游客死亡的水上摩托车碰撞事故。受害者在帕通海滩附近驾驶水上摩托时，与另一名中国游客的水上摩托发生相撞，导致其不幸身亡，另一名游客则受了轻伤。此次事故发生的前一天，一艘载有33名中国游客的双体船在普吉岛翻覆，所幸所有乘客和船员都被安全救出。同时，之前还发生过一名俄罗斯男子在岛上被水上摩托撞击身亡的事件。这些事故引发了对中国游客在泰国安全问题的担忧，尤其是在农历新年即将到来之际。中国游客因享有免签政策，使得泰国成为热门旅游地。 ### US bans Chinese tech in smart cars, citing national security risks amid global tech rivalry 标题：美国因国家安全风险在全球科技竞争中禁止中国科技进入智能汽车领域 摘要：美国近日 finalized了一项新规，实际上禁止中国技术在美市场的汽车应用，称其涉及国家安全风险。这项措施同样适用于俄罗斯技术，反映出美国政府加强对中国科技限制的努力。美国商务部长吉娜·雷蒙多指出，现代汽车不仅是交通工具，而是智能计算机，内含摄像头、麦克风、GPS等网络连接技术，这使得涉及中国和俄罗斯的技术存在敏感数据滥用和干扰的风险。根据最新规章，到2027年，任何与中俄有“足够关联”的汽车制造商将无法在美国市场销售相关技术的乘用车。此外，相关硬件和软件的进口也将受到禁止，法规的实施时间分别为2027年和2030年。整体措施旨在保护美国的经济和技术安全，同时促进国内产业的发展。 ### US targets China textile giant Huafu Fashion over Uygur forced labour concerns 标题：美国因对新疆强迫劳动的担忧而针对中国纺织巨头华孚时尚。 摘要：美国于周二宣布禁止从一批中国公司进口商品，涉及37家纺织、矿业及太阳能公司，原因是涉嫌侵犯维吾尔族人权。这些公司中包括全球最大的纺织制造商之一华孚时尚及其25家子公司，均被指与中国棉花产业中的强迫劳动实践有关。它们被列入维吾尔强迫劳动防止法实施名单，该名单限制与美国所称中国在新疆维吾尔自治区的人权侵犯和种族灭绝事件相关的商品进口。 美国当局指出，中国政府在新疆建立了拘留营，关押维吾尔族及其他宗教和民族少数群体，而中国方面对此予以否认。此外，名单中的新公司还包括东海JA太阳能科技以及紫金矿业集团和其三家子公司，这些公司与新疆的多晶硅和金属采矿有关。此次新增公司使得该名单的总数自2021年12月维吾尔强迫劳动防止法签署以来达到144家。 ### Xi Jinping, in first talk with new European Council president, seeks more EU-China cooperation 标题：习近平与新任欧洲理事会主席首次会谈，寻求加强中欧合作 摘要：中国国家主席习近平在与新任欧洲理事会主席安东尼奥·科斯塔的首次电话会谈中，呼吁在动荡的国际形势下加强中欧合作。双方讨论了乌克兰战争、对俄罗斯的双用途商品供应及欧盟电动汽车关税等热点问题。习近平强调，中国支持欧洲一体化，并希望双方尊重彼此的核心利益和重大关切。他提到中欧是多边贸易体系的捍卫者，但没有提及近年来贸易关系中的诸多摩擦。 科斯塔强调需要确保公平竞争，并重申俄罗斯对乌克兰的侵略威胁全球和平。双方一致认为，面对气候变化等全球挑战，中欧需要更紧密的合作。此次通话打破了中欧最高领导层数月的沉默，而在特朗普即将重返美国总统岗位的背景下，这一互动显得尤为重要。习近平表达了对欧盟的信任，强调双方应加强战略沟通和互信。 ### Sport TikTok users flock to Chinese app RedNote as US ban looms 标题：体育类TikTok用户涌向中国应用RedNote，随着美国禁令逼近 摘要：我无法直接访问链接内容，但如果您能提供文章的主要内容或要点，我会很乐意帮助您总结。请您分享一些具体信息，谢谢！ ### Beyond US-China tussles, geopolitics will be shaped by India, Russia 标题：超越美中争斗，印度和俄罗斯将塑造地缘政治 摘要：文章讨论了美国与中国之间的战略紧张关系，以及这一关系对国际地缘政治的影响。自特朗普担任总统以来，美国对中国的安全关注持续升温，拜登政府也延续了这一政策。最新的五角大楼报告指出，中国是美国唯一具有重塑国际秩序能力的竞争对手，显示出其在军事、技术等领域的持续增强。与此同时，美国与印度的关系日益紧密，拜登政府希望通过加强双方在技术和安全领域的合作来应对中国的挑战。然而，印度在应对中国时的可靠性引发了华盛顿的担忧。文章认为，未来21世纪的地缘政治将受到美中关系及美国对印度和俄罗斯的外交互动的深刻影响。特朗普连任后，是否能保持与印度的良好关系仍存不确定性。 ### EU probe finds ‘unfair’ limits in China’s medical device market, adding to trade rift 标题：欧盟调查发现中国医疗器械市场存在“不公平”限制，进一步加剧贸易紧张关系 摘要：欧盟近日对中国医疗设备公共采购市场的调查发现，中国在政府合同中对欧盟公司存在不公平和歧视性限制，进一步加剧了双边贸易摩擦。报告指出，欧盟医疗设备生产商在中国市场面临明显的准入障碍，而中国医疗设备制造商在欧盟市场则能够较为轻松地参与公共采购招标。欧盟委员会正在考虑采取惩罚措施，初步将通过与中国进行咨询，最终可能对中国竞标者在欧盟的政府合同实施限制或排除。该调查是根据欧盟国际采购工具（IPI）进行的，自2022年6月出台以来，首次调查于2023年4月启动。欧盟贸易专员马罗斯·谢夫乔维奇表示，欧盟希望维持与中国的开放、公平和互利的贸易关系，但将采取果断行动以维护公平竞争。此举可能会进一步加剧美中欧之间的紧张关系。 ### Can China top the US economically by 2030? Economist reaffirms bold 1994 prediction 标题：中国能在2030年前经济超越美国吗？经济学家重申1994年大胆预测 摘要：著名中国经济学家林毅夫在香港亚洲金融论坛上表示，中国经济有望在未来五到十年内超越美国，这是他31年前的预测的重申。尽管中国的GDP年增长率已降至5%左右，但林强调美国的经济增长率也降低至约2.5%，因此中国的年增长依然显著高于美国。他认为，按照市场汇率，预计2030年或最晚到2035年，中国经济将超越美国是合理的。此外，林指出，中国在人工智能和大数据等新兴产业方面具备优势，包括丰富的人才储备和强大的制造业基础。他对中国能够实现年均8%的增长潜力和到2049年人均GDP达到美国一半的目标充满信心。林的观点与美国总统拜登对中国经济前景的悲观评价形成鲜明对比，拜登在发言中宣称中国在当前轨道上无法超越美国。 ### Tibet’s quake is a seismic warning to China and India over their mega dam ambitions 标题：“西藏地震是中国和印度在大型水坝野心上的一个 seismic 警告” 摘要：中国近期宣布在西藏雅鲁藏布江下游建设一座超大型水坝，项目规模超过三峡大坝，预计将加剧与印度的紧张关系。虽然早有传闻，但此消息发布的时机引发了关注，尤其是在中国与印度关系略有缓和之际。中印两国曾在去年10月签署协议以缓解边境紧张局势，外界对这一新开发项目的公布感到意外。 印度对这一水坝计划表示关切，认为可能影响下游水流，并增强战略劣势。尽管印度国防部长已表示“保持警惕”，但总体反应较为温和，部分原因是其在阿鲁纳恰尔邦加速建设水坝，以维护对水资源的优先使用权。而中国外交部则迅速否认印度的担忧，坚称该项目不会对下游造成负面影响。然而，近期发生的6.8级地震令这一地区的地质风险问题再度引发关注，引发关于建设大型水坝是否合适的讨论。 ### Apple leads smartphone market in fourth quarter, overcoming China decline 标题：苹果在第四季度领先智能手机市场，克服中国市场下滑 摘要：2024年第四季度，苹果公司在全球智能手机市场领先，市占率达到23%。这一增长得益于9月中旬推出的iPhone 16系列，吸引了大量消费者，尤其是在假日购物季节。尽管苹果在中国市场面临销售下滑和激烈竞争（如华为等本土品牌），但新款iPhone的热销帮助其弥补了损失。根据Canalys的数据，苹果在2024年前三季度的中国市场销售分别下降25%和6%。同时，三星电子以16%的市场份额位居第二，其他如小米、Transsion和Vivo等也表现强劲。全球智能手机市场整体在2024年增长7%，出货量达12.2亿部。尽管市场在整体上回暖，但第四季度的增长放缓至3%，分析师预计这种趋势可能在2025年继续。 ### South China Sea: Philippines warns Beijing ‘all options on the table’ after coastguard patrol 标题：南海：菲律宾警告北京“所有选项都在考虑中” 由于海岸警卫队巡逻 摘要：菲律宾国家安全官员近日发言，表示中国在南海的日益侵略性行为已将马尼拉“逼入墙角”，并警告称菲律宾将考虑所有可能的应对措施，包括提出新的国际诉讼。中国海警船近期在菲律宾专属经济区内巡逻，引发菲律宾强烈抗议。菲律宾海岸警卫队官员表示，已通过海上巡逻和飞机监视，持续挑战中国海警的“非法存在”，并呼吁中国撤回其舰船。 在新总统马科斯的领导下，菲律宾积极捍卫其在南海的领土权益，已与包括日本在内的多个国家寻求安全合作。虽然两国正通过双边机制讨论领土争端，但中国反对菲律宾在国际法庭上提出新的法律案件，并偏好双边谈判，以寻求有利于自身的解决方案。 ### Why US-China quantum race is the most critical contest of our time 标题：美国与中国的量子竞赛为何是我们这个时代最关键的竞争 摘要：中国和美国正处于激烈的量子技术竞赛中，这场竞争关系到国家安全、经济实力和全球影响力。两国在量子霸权争夺中投入巨额资金，各自采取不同的发展模式：美国依赖市场驱动的创新，中国则通过国家主导的策略进行投资。中国在量子通信和信息安全领域取得了一系列突破，表明其在技术竞争中的决心。然而，美国的科技公司和创新生态系统具有更强的韧性和创造力，能够将科学发现转化为商业应用。 尽管中国在量子专利方面占据强势地位，但单靠专利数量不足以证明技术领导地位。美国面临人才短缺和研发协同方面的挑战，需要加强政府、私营部门与学术机构之间的合作。科技竞争不仅是中美两国的较量，也是全球安全、经济和科学发展的关键。谁能在量子科技领域取得领先，谁就可能在未来几十年内塑造国际关系和全球竞争格局。 ### Communist Party propaganda chief calls for boosting public opinion on China-Japan ties 标题：共产党宣传部长呼吁加强对中国-日本关系的舆论支持 摘要：中国共产党宣传部部长李书磊在与日本自民党及公明党的访问议员会晤时表示，中方愿与日方合作，改善两国民众间的相互认知。他强调要通过加强政治对话和民间交流，营造健康合理的中日关系舆论环境。日本代表团在北京展开为期三天的访问，预计将与中方官员就安全关切与日本海产品进口限制等议题进行讨论。 近来的民调显示，日中民众的相互好感降至20年来的低点，负面看法达到90%。引发民情恶化的事件包括9月在深圳发生的日本男孩被杀案，以及几个月前的针对一名日本母子事件。此外，随着福岛核电站排放处理后放射水的事件，导致中方对日本海产品实施限制，但双方也在逐步恢复某些产品的进口。两国还在防务领域加深交流，进行相关的人员互访。 ### Turkish railway, with Chinese upgrades, could bypass Russia on route to Europe 标题：土耳其铁路经过中国升级后，有望绕过俄罗斯通往欧洲 摘要：土耳其投资官员透露，中国计划投资约600亿美元，升级土耳其铁路网络，以便建立一条更快捷的中欧货运路线，避开乌克兰冲突带来的风险。升级项目包括电气化、国内新线路、伊斯坦布尔的桥梁以及伊斯坦布尔至安卡拉的高铁等。中国中车已在土耳其设有工厂，去年推出了当地“最快的地铁列车”。随着俄乌冲突持续，欧洲货运公司倾向于选择土耳其、阿塞拜疆和格鲁吉亚等国家的铁路作为运输选择。尽管欧洲货运列车仍可通过俄罗斯，但物流公司因安全考虑不断转向土耳其的轨道。随着对中欧铁路运输需求上升及中国在土耳其的投资增多，两国的合作也在快速发展，尤其在科技和旅游领域。预计2024年，三十万中国游客将访问土耳其。 ### Massive icicles fall on tourists at popular waterfall in China, injuring 1 标题：中国热门瀑布巨型冰柱砸中游客，导致1人受伤 摘要：在中国西北部的一个旅游景点，巨大的冰柱坠落，导致一名游客受伤。事故发生在一个受欢迎的瀑布附近，游客们在现场观看时，被突然落下的冰块所击中。这一事件引发了人们对冬季旅游安全的关注，提醒游客在极端天气条件下要保持警觉，注意自身安全。相关部门正在调查并采取措施以避免类似事件的发生。 ### China’s economic miracle not over: Singapore diplomat Tommy Koh 标题：中国经济奇迹并未结束：新加坡外交官高唯诚 摘要：新加坡资深外交官汤米·高表示，中国的“经济奇迹”尚未结束，预计将通过电动车、清洁和可再生能源以及人工智能等领域实现复苏。在最近的经济论坛上，他指出，虽然中国经济因疫情受到影响，但政府已经采取刺激措施，未来还将推出更多政策，以促进消费、恢复房地产市场和增强商业信心。高预计2024年中国经济增长将达到约5%。他还提到，东南亚国家联盟（ASEAN）将在2030年前超越德国成为世界第四大经济体，并称ASEAN在亚太地区扮演着和平力量的角色。 同时，他对即将上任的特朗普政府可能实施的关税表示担忧，认为这些措施会对全球贸易体系造成负面影响。新加坡可能会寻求关税豁免，因为与美国的自由贸易协议和对美军的支持。高预测，中美之间不会发生战争，认为这是他的一大忧虑。 整体而言，高坚定地看好中国和东南亚的经济前景。 ### 30% of young mainland Chinese in Hong Kong say more regulations impacting lives 标题：30%的年轻大陆中国人在香港表示更多法规影响生活 摘要：一项针对在香港生活的大陆年轻人的调查显示，大约30%的受访者认为政府的更多法规影响了他们的日常生活。两位立法会议员表示，增加的监管可能削弱香港的竞争力，导致许多年轻人选择返回大陆。调查共访谈800名大陆学生和工人，发现52%的受访者希望改善生活条件，80%对香港未来持积极态度，但许多人抱怨夜生活不如媒体宣传。此外，53%的受访者认为香港的就业机会不够多样，32%担心经济周期对就业的影响。受访者对管控过严的担忧造成立法者呼吁应灵活制定政策，保护居民的自由选择，同时鼓励大陆年轻人才融入香港。调查还显示，许多新移民对学习粤语表示兴趣，说明他们对融入香港文化的渴望。 ### China domestic violence survivor donates live-stream profits to help others seek justice 标题：中国家庭暴力幸存者将直播收入捐赠用于帮助他人寻求正义 摘要：一名中国女性谢玉梅在经历两年严重家庭暴力后，决定通过直播来帮助其他类似受害者寻求正义。她的前夫对她进行了多次暴力攻击，甚至在她怀孕期间也没有放过她。最终，谢玉梅在经历了极其痛苦的最后一次袭击后，成功获得了离婚和女儿的监护权。她于去年12月获得了法院判决，前夫被判入狱11年，并需支付她的医疗及生活费用。 2023年1月3日，谢玉梅开始直播，销售产品以补贴自己的经济来源并支付医疗费用。在直播中，她表示自己并非有意利用悲惨经历获取同情，强调自己的经济困境。直播收益将部分用于帮助其他家庭暴力受害者寻求法律支持。谢玉梅的行动引发了网友的关注与讨论，有人赞扬她的善良，也有人对其行为提出批评。尽管面临争议，她决心继续帮助他人。 ### China welcomed 20 million visa-free visitors in 2024, more tourism incentives on the way 标题：中国2024年欢迎2000万名免签游客，更多旅游激励措施将推出 摘要：根据国家移民管理局的数据显示，2024年中国的免签入境游客达到了2010万人，同比增长112.3%。自2023年1月重新开放边界以来，中国逐步放宽了对外国游客的签证政策，包括短期免签过境和针对多个国家的单边免签措施。国家发展和改革委员会提出进一步优化入境旅行政策，旨在提升消费和促进经济复苏。 截至2024年，共有610亿次出入境旅行，其中约6500万人为外国游客，较2023年增长近83%。然而，这一数据仍未达到2019年疫情前的670亿次。中国已向38个国家延长了免签政策，并与26个国家达成全面互免签证协议。此外，54个国家的公民现在可以享受为期10天的免签过境政策，以吸引更多的外国游客和投资者，助力经济增长。 ### China’s energy weapon fires thousands of nuclear-like blasts in tests and survives: study 标题：中国的能源武器在测试中发射数千次类似核爆炸的冲击并幸存：研究 摘要：中国科学家克服了一项重大技术难题，成功研发出一种紧凑型、高功率的高能微波（HPM）武器，这一武器能够产生强烈的电磁脉冲，强度可比拟核爆炸，意在干扰或摧毁敌方的电子设备。尽管目前仍在实验室测试阶段，但该武器的发展可能对现代战争产生重要影响。 与美国军方计划在印太地区部署的传统微波武器不同，中国的HPM武器利用相控阵列传输技术，可以高精度集中能量，从而提高有效射程和破坏效果，能够同时攻击多个目标。研究团队从国防科技大学和西北核技术研究所组成，成功研发出能够承受超过5000次电磁脉冲测试的高性能功率分配器。 此外，测试结果显示，该武器能发射Ku波段电磁脉冲，这对通信卫星（如Starlink）具有特定的威胁。中国军方正积极推进针对卫星的定制反制武器的研发，以应对未来的战场需求。 ### Chinese officials reportedly discuss sale of TikTok in US to Elon Musk 标题：中国官员 reportedly 讨论将 TikTok 在美国出售给埃隆·马斯克 摘要：根据彭博社的报道，中国官员正在初步探讨将TikTok在美国的业务出售给亿万富翁埃隆·马斯克的可能性，以避免该短视频应用面临的禁令。尽管北京方面更倾向于TikTok继续由母公司字节跳动控制，但未来的发展已经不再完全由字节跳动掌控。有可能通过竞争性程序或政府安排来出售TikTok的美国业务。中国政府在字节跳动拥有“黄金股份”，这使得政府对TikTok有一定的权力。报道提到，马斯克的社交媒体平台X可能会接管TikTok美国业务，但尚未就具体方案达成一致。TikTok发言人回应称不对虚构的传闻发表评论，而字节跳动对讨论的知情程度和是否参与谈判尚不明确。美国最高法院的裁决倾向于在1月19日之前强制出售或禁止TikTok，主要因国家安全考虑。 ### Self-styled TikTok refugees find new Chinese app, sending it to No 1 in US 标题：自称为TikTok难民的人们发现了新的中国应用，使其在美国排名第一 摘要：由于对TikTok未来的担忧，许多美国用户转向了中国社交应用小红书（Xiaohongshu），使其在美国App Store的下载量飙升，成为首下载的社交平台。用户们对TikTok可能面临的禁令表示担忧，尤其是在美国最高法院听证会后，法院似乎倾向于国家安全而非言论自由。影响者们在社交媒体上积极宣传小红书，鼓励追随者们下载并进行消费，认为这是对抗COVID-19政策的一种方式。 小红书比较于TikTok更强调电商与用户生成内容，吸引了大量年轻用户。尽管部分用户对使用新平台感到紧张，但他们也在努力适应，逐渐建立起新的社交网络。一些中国用户在小红书上用中英文欢迎这批“TikTok难民”，促进了跨文化交流和学习。 ### Going big on 2025 GDP, major Chinese local-level economies unveil ambitious targets 标题：在2025年GDP目标上大展宏图，中国主要地方经济体揭示雄心勃勃的目标 摘要：中国一些重要省市近期发布了2025年的GDP增长目标，显示出北京希望维持全国至少5%的增长目标。福建省预计2025年GDP增长率为5-5.5%，并将根据实际情况争取更好的结果。江苏省南京市预计增长约5%，高于去年的4.5%。湖南省长沙市设定了5.5%的增长目标，而辽宁省沈阳市也力争实现5.5%以上的增长。 专家指出，这些目标旨在增强年初的信心，并与中国的长期发展目标相符。根据预测，中国需要在未来11年内每年保持至少4.7%的增长以实现2035年发展目标。尽管房地产市场疲软，消费乏力以及美国的政策不确定性，国际货币基金组织仍预测中国在2024年和2025年的增长率分别为5%和4.5%。地方政府需支持新兴产业，特别是科技领域，以实现增长潜力。同时，中央银行也在推动消费以促进经济增长。 ### Pakistan to issue China’s panda bonds to transform economy, finance chief says 标题：巴基斯坦将发行中国的熊猫债券以转变经济，财政部长表示 摘要：巴基斯坦财政部长穆罕默德·奥朗则布近日表示，巴基斯坦计划最早于六月发行以人民币计值的“熊猫债券”，以进一步融入中国资本市场，并助力中国扩大人民币使用。这项举措旨在为巴基斯坦的经济转型提供支持，筹集2亿至2.5亿美元的资金。奥朗则布强调，巴基斯坦需要多样化融资基础，并提到与中国在中巴经济走廊（CPEC）第二阶段的合作，特别关注出口导向的经济发展。 他还表示，巴基斯坦将借鉴埃及的经验，寻求亚洲基础设施投资银行的信用支持，以促进熊猫债券的发行。尽管巴基斯坦的信用评级较低，奥朗则布希望在2026财年发行欧元债券。他指出，经济的主要问题在于依赖进口，需向出口导向增长转变，以应对债务问题。中巴经济走廊的升级将助力巴基斯坦改善经济结构，促进外国投资和安全保障，以保护在巴基斯坦运营的中国企业。 ### Could Elon Musk really influence US China policy? Chinese academics have doubts 标题：埃隆·马斯克真的能影响美中政策吗？中国学者表示怀疑 摘要：近日在清华大学举行的一场活动中，关于埃隆·马斯克能否影响美国新任总统特朗普的对华政策展开讨论。尽管马斯克与中国的商业关系密切，部分学者认为他能成为美中之间的“桥梁”，但顶尖中国学者对此表示怀疑。北京大学王志纲提到，虽然马斯克多次来华并进行合作，但不能将一个人的态度与美国的整体政策等同。他指出，马斯克与中国新能源汽车制造商之间也存在竞争关系。此外，中国社会科学院的张宇燕指出，个体很难对国家的外交政策产生重大影响，即使是历史上具有影响力的人物。综上所述，与会者对此持谨慎态度，认为现实情况复杂，不应寄希望于马斯克一人能改变美中的关系。 ### In farewell, Biden urges Trump to tackle China’s overcapacity, clean energy dominance 标题：在告别中，拜登敦促特朗普应对中国的产能过剩和清洁能源主导地位 摘要：美国总统乔·拜登在离任前向继任者唐纳德·特朗普发出信息，强调需要解决中国的“产能过剩”及其在清洁能源供应链的主导地位。他表示，美国在与中国的长期竞争中处于更强的位置，指出由于他的努力，美国经济不会被压制。拜登强调，要持续投资，保护美国的技术与工人。他还提到，在他任期内，中国变得更为薄弱，美国与盟友联合应对中国的高科技及贸易挑战，取得了显著成效。 拜登呼吁特朗普继续应对中国在清洁能源领域的挑战，提醒他关注全球市场竞争，以及如何通过保持生产和创造就业机会来促进美国经济。特朗普在之前的选举中曾对气候变化表达质疑，但在推行“美国优先”政策的背景下，若要真正提升竞争力，仍需关注清洁能源和全球市场。不确定的是，特朗普是否愿意与盟国继续合作应对中国的挑战。 ### ‘Please save my son’: Chinese families’ desperate appeals over Thai job scams 标题：《请救救我的儿子》：中国家庭针对泰国就业骗局的绝望呼吁 摘要：一对中国山东省的老夫妇，孙毛兴与王维娟，前往泰国寻求帮助，寻找他们失踪的儿子孙宝超。孙宝超在2022年间向父母求助，称他在泰国，并请求汇款。自去年4月母亲去世以来，他们未曾进一步沟通。根据泰国警方的消息，孙宝超在1月1日从苏瓦纳布机场乘出租车后就失联，父母的努力未能获得任何新信息。此事反映了人贩活动的严重性，许多受害者被迫在缅甸的诈骗园区工作。面对越来越多类似案件，香港的倡导者鼓励本地家庭也前往泰国寻求协助。香港安全部长唐英杰表示，相关案件中的受害者大多是在寻找高薪工作时被诱骗前往的，强调没有人在泰国被绑架。 ### China woman, 124, shares longevity secrets, loves rice mixed with lard, walks after meals 标题：中国124岁女性分享长寿秘诀，爱吃混合猪油的米饭，饭后散步 摘要：124岁的中国女性邱财氏因其积极乐观的生活方式和对猪油拌饭的热爱而受到网友们的赞赏。她在1901年出生于清朝时代，1月1日庆祝124岁生日，成为四川南充市的长寿老人之一。邱财氏有六代同堂的家庭，其生活习惯简单规律，每天定时吃三餐，饭后散步，晚上8点左右就寝。 邱财氏在年轻时以出色的会计技能和体力获得村民尊敬，曾独自抚养四个孩子，克服了多次生活的艰难和悲伤。她坚韧不拔，善于享受生活。虽然在百岁后视力和听力有所下降，但她依然思维清晰，并能保持幽默感。她的乐观态度被认为是她长寿的关键，网友称她是一颗“福星”。中国当前的百岁老人已达119,000人，平均寿命不断上升。 ### Trump eyes Washington trade lawyer for key China post at Commerce Department 标题：特朗普瞄准华盛顿贸易律师担任商务部关键中国职位 摘要：美国总统当选人特朗普正在考虑任命华盛顿贸易律师杰弗里·凯斯勒（Jeffrey Kessler）为商务部工业与安全局局长，此职位在美中科技战争中至关重要。凯斯勒曾担任特朗普第一任期内商务部执法和合规助理秘书，是该部门的主要贸易执法官员。如果他被任命，他将负责对向中国等国出口技术的管控，这些国家被视为对美国国家安全的威胁。在过去十年中，出口管制已成为美国在与中国的科技竞争中的重要武器。 凯斯勒在威尔默·哈利律师事务所的工作重心是中国，曾帮助美国公司应对中国的贸易障碍。他在特朗普的第一任期内监督了贸易执法法规的改革，并负责监督对外贸易协议的合规性。凯斯勒拥有耶鲁大学哲学学位，并在斯坦福大学获得法学和经济学硕士，另在芝加哥大学获得哲学硕士。 ### China unfairly dominates shipbuilding, US investigation finds, paving way for penalties 标题：中国不公正主导船舶制造，美国调查发现，铺平了处罚的道路 摘要：美国总统拜登政府的调查显示，中国利用不公平政策和做法在全球航运和造船行业中占据主导地位。此次调查由美国贸易代表凯瑟琳·泰于2024年4月发起，旨在回应美国工会的请求。调查发现，中国通过财政支持、限制外企、强迫技术转让和知识产权盗窃等手段提升其船舶制造产业的竞争力。 报告指出，中国在全球1500亿美元的造船市场中的份额已从2000年的5%上升至2023年的超过50%。而美国造船企业的市场份额则降至1%以下。调查结果可能推动后续对中国船舶征收关税或港口费用的措施。 专家认为，重建美国沉寂的船舶产业需要数十年的时间和巨额投资，单靠关税无法解决问题。这项调查为新政府提供了应对中国竞争的有力证据。 ### China is not only winning the tech war. It’s also rewriting the rules 标题：中国不仅在科技战争中获胜，而且还在重写规则。 摘要：文章探讨了中国在全球科技竞争中的战略地位，尤其是在半导体和人工智能（AI）领域的优势。中国通过控制关键原材料，尤其是稀土元素，施加压力，影响美国及其他发达经济体的高科技产业，同时在AI技术上投入巨资，推动其在自然语言处理和自动化系统等方面的突破。尽管美国通过控制半导体技术试图限制中国的发展，但中国的原材料掌控与AI进步形成了强有力的反制，迫使美国重新审视其技术供应链。作者指出，中国的战略不仅是回应美国的政策，更是重新塑造全球技术和经济秩序，使其他国家与中国的利益紧密相连。未来，依赖中国材料的公司可能需要多元化供应链，而依赖美国技术但又与中国深度绑定的国家，这将面临政策和贸易关系上的复杂选择。

Tech war: China’s TikTok sellers eye Amazon and Shein as US ban looms

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3294719/tech-war-chinas-tiktok-sellers-eye-amazon-and-shein-us-ban-looms?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese merchants on TikTok are taking precautionary measures to prepare for a looming ban of the short-video app in the United States, including switching to competing platforms and focusing on other overseas markets.

Qian Liu, a seller who runs 12 stores on TikTok targeting US consumers, has been marking down inventories and delaying the purchase of new stock, as she awaits the US Supreme Court’s final ruling on the app’s future.

Profits from her US business had been so impressive that she had planned to rent an office and hire local staff there, said Qian, who is based in Zhuhai city in southern Guangdong province. “But I haven’t done that yet because I feel that TikTok’s operations in the US aren’t stable,” she said.

TikTok is fighting a law signed by US President Joe Biden last April, which requires its owner, Beijing-based social media giant ByteDance, to divest the app’s American operations to non-Chinese owners or be banned in US app stores.

Questions posed by Supreme Court justices during last week’s oral arguments indicated that they leaned towards upholding the law. Absent of a divestment of TikTok’s US business, the ban will take effect on January 19 – a day before the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump.

Having invested heavily in her US business through TikTok Shop, Qian said she would “definitely expand to other platforms” like Amazon.com and Shein. She is also mulling Spain and Mexico as potential markets.

TikTok launched its e-commerce business in Spain last month and planned to enable online transactions in Mexico next month, the Post previously reported.

A merchant surnamed Xia said his company started selling on Amazon, Shein and other platforms last year to hedge against a US ban on TikTok. “We have tens of millions of inventory items, so we won’t put all our eggs in one basket,” he said.

Another merchant surnamed Cai, who is based in Shenzhen, Guangdong, and operates stores on TikTok and Shopee targeting Southeast Asia, said he had wanted to expand to the US, but was taking a “wait and see” approach after the most recent Supreme Court hearing.

TikTok has repeatedly said it cannot be sold. In 2020, when it faced a similar ban, the Chinese government added to its export control list two technologies used by ByteDance. The move aimed to prevent the sale of TikTok’s valuable algorithms to foreign owners.

Beijing would take any US ban on TikTok “as a slap in the face and could then look to retaliate” against US companies in China, such as Apple and Tesla, according to a research note from Wedbush Securities.

“We continue to believe a true ban of TikTok is not likely as there are a range of options the Trump Administration could head down, along with ByteDance potentially pursuing a sale process without the algorithm,” Wedbush analysts wrote.

Beijing might agree to a sale if ByteDance could remain a passive owner and maintain some control over its algorithms, in return for some relief from the tariffs likely to be imposed by Trump, former US diplomat and think tank analyst James Lewis told National Public Radio last month.

Chinese officials are discussing an option to let X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk that was formerly known as Twitter, to take control of TikTok’s US operations, according to a Bloomberg News report on Tuesday.

China’s eagle-eyed Zhejiang sets industrial sights on breeding more movers and shakers

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3294741/chinas-eagle-eyed-zhejiang-sets-industrial-sights-breeding-more-movers-and-shakers?utm_source=rss_feed

A major economic powerhouse in China is looking to increase its global influence and move up the value chain, with intentions to nurture global giants and manufacturing leaders that local authorities have dubbed “eagle enterprises”, to help the provincial economy grow by around 5.5 per cent this year.

According to Zhejiang province’s government work report, which was presented at its annual provincial people’s congress meeting on Tuesday, the eastern manufacturing hub plans to cultivate 20 more “eagle enterprises” in 2025.

The term refers to big firms with a strong presence in the global market, including the likes of tech giants Alibaba and NetEase, as well as bottled-water maker Nongfu Spring. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

Beyond fostering these types of global market giants, the local government also announced plans to bolster support for small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing sector. The goal for 2025 is to cultivate 30 “single champions” and 300 “little giants” – companies that either hold or have the potential to secure leading positions in critical industrial niches.

Despite being one of China’s wealthiest provinces, Zhejiang has also reaffirmed its commitment to tightening its belt and improving the efficiency of fiscal spending this year.

Zhejiang is the home to many of China’s most prosperous private firms. In the first three quarters of 2024, private enterprises accounted for about 80 per cent of the province’s industrial growth.

In 2019, the Zhejiang government launched an “eagle action” initiative to cultivate industry-leading companies with strong influence and core technological capabilities. By the end of 2024, 118 enterprises based in Zhejiang had earned the “eagle enterprise” designation, primarily in the manufacturing and service sectors. Notable enterprises also include Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical, Bank of Ningbo and Geely Automobile Research Institute (Ningbo).

Companies identified as potential “eagle enterprises” receive a range of support, including preferential policies, access to innovation resources, and tailored guidance to enhance their competitiveness and market dominance.

Only 13 out of the 118 enterprises were state-owned, as the vast majority of such companies come from the private sector.

Advanced manufacturing is also a key focus this year, with the government pledging to support the growth of industries such as biopharmaceuticals, high-end equipment, new-energy vehicles, and new materials. The province also seeks to enhance the development of clusters related to artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, high-end software, and intelligent photovoltaics.

According to the government work report, Zhejiang will accelerate industrial project recruitment and enterprise cultivation in 2025, welcoming domestic and foreign investment, as well as both state-owned and private capital.

Zhejiang’s gross domestic product growth in 2024 was around 5.5 per cent, the same as its growth-rate goal for this year. The province’s industrial growth was around 7.5 per cent, and the target is set to exceed 6 per cent in 2025.

Biden’s China message to Trump, Rednote tops Apple’s US app chart: SCMP daily highlights

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3294710/bidens-china-message-trump-rednote-tops-apples-us-app-chart-scmp-daily-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China and economy stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider .

TikTok users fleeing the ByteDance-owned social platform ahead of a crucial Supreme Court decision on its future sent a rival Chinese app to the top of Apple’s charts in the US on Monday.

US President Joe Biden urged his successor Donald Trump to tackle China’s “overcapacity” and dominance in clean energy supply chain, calling it a competition the US “must win”.

China’s economy remains on track to surpass that of the United States within five to 10 years, prominent Chinese economist Justin Lin Yifu has said, reaffirming a bold prediction he made 31 years ago.

A saturated Chinese market and rising trade barriers overseas take the shine off solar panel makers’ prospects.

Elon Musk appears to have some sway over US president-elect Donald Trump, but top Chinese scholars are doubtful about how much influence the tech billionaire will have on the incoming administration’s China policy.

Some of China’s economically critical provinces and cities have unveiled ambitious gross domestic product goals for this year, signalling that Beijing’s policymakers will stick to at least a 5 per cent growth target for the nation at large, even in the face of renewed threats from US president-elect Donald Trump.

China has overcome a significant technical hurdle in the development of a compact yet extremely powerful directed energy weapon – and it could be a game changer for modern warfare.

China ‘will not admit defeat’ on US rivalry and its rise is unstoppable: analysts

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294748/china-will-not-admit-defeat-us-rivalry-and-its-rise-unstoppable-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed

The United States might indeed have consolidated its power and shored up Asia-Pacific alliances under the Biden administration, but Beijing’s influence will continue to grow, according to observers in China.

China viewed its strategic rivalry with the US as a long-term battle, and had been able to consolidate its status in key areas of the global economy, they noted.

Delivering his final foreign policy speech as US president on Tuesday, Joe Biden asserted that America was in a “better strategic position in the long-term competition with China” than when he took office in 2021.

“On China’s current course, they will never surpass us,” he said, citing the “latest predictions”.

His administration had stood up against Beijing’s “unfair practices”, Biden said, as he listed diplomatic gains ahead of his departure from the White House next week.

“We’ve made partnerships stronger and created new partnerships to challenge China’s aggressive behaviour and to rebalance power in the region,” he said.

“It’s clear my administration is leaving the next administration with a very strong hand to play, and we’re leaving an America with more friends and stronger alliances, whose adversaries are weaker and under pressure.”

According to Zhu Feng, executive dean of Nanjing University’s school of international studies, Biden chose to focus on successes over China as some of his other foreign policy decisions – including on the Russia-Ukraine war and Middle East conflict – had come under fire.

“The Biden administration believes that his most outstanding diplomatic achievement in his four years in office is the containment and suppression of China’s rise,” Zhu said.

He said the US was in a “clear leading position” in terms of strategic power compared to China, with stronger alliances in the Asia-Pacific region under multilateral frameworks such as Aukus and the Quad.

“Even as [Donald] Trump takes office, the US will still maintain its leading strategic capability over China. There’s no illusion that the strategic advantage over China will end in the short to medium term, no matter who is in power,” Zhu added.

He noted that under Biden’s leadership, the US had also launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity and stepped up trilateral cooperation with Japan and South Korea. This showed that the US had “further consolidated its predominance by winning over more countries in the region”.

But China “will not admit defeat”, given its long-term view of the rivalry, Zhu suggested. “The Biden administration can say they have achieved significant results but the strategic competition between the US and China will not be resolved overnight,” he said.

Rather, Zhu said, China was likely to continue to deepen cooperation with the Global South and “enhance strategic resilience” to “soften the US suppression … and be able to make an effective response”.

The Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday that ties with the US had “remained stable on the whole”, despite ups and downs.

Responding to a media question on Biden’s farewell address, ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun noted the two sides had resumed or set up more than 20 communication mechanisms, and “achieved outcomes in some areas”.

“At the same time, China stood firm by its principles … and responded to the US’ wrong actions with resolute countermeasures,” Guo added.

Dylan Loh, assistant professor of foreign policy at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said Biden’s speech aimed to highlight his legacy. It was a message to Biden’s allies and his domestic audience that his tenure as president should be remembered for standing up to China while bringing stability to the relationship, Loh said.

He said Biden had “clearly” strengthened US alliances and relations with partners but it was difficult to judge which side was in a stronger strategic position. This was because the problems facing China were not necessarily the direct result of Biden’s policies and could even be attributed to Beijing’s own foreign policy.

“[Similarly,] American moral standing and power have also taken a hit in some parts of the Global South owing to precisely its own foreign policy practices,” Loh added.

Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University in Beijing, was less in agreement with Biden’s claims.

The outgoing president’s focus on successes over China and strong ties with US partners stemmed from worries that Trump might undermine Washington’s relations with its allies, according to Wang.

China’s strategic position was not defined by the US, he said. Moreover, the US may be rallying its allies to “contain” Beijing, but that did not mean China had been weakened. China’s status in areas like the global value and supply chains had instead risen, Wang noted.

“These false narratives from the US establishment cannot stand up to criticism, so the Chinese people have long lost interest in Biden and haven’t paid much attention to him since he [became a lame-duck president].”

In his speech, Biden also urged his successor to tackle China’s “overcapacity” and dominance in the clean energy supply chain, saying it was a competition that the US “must win”.

Wang suggested that, with Trump taking office, “the world will not rely on the US” but instead place greater hope on China.

“China’s influence in the world will be further enhanced … so I think what Biden said is exactly the opposite [of reality].”

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Chinese tourist killed in jet ski crash in Thailand

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294755/chinese-tourist-killed-jet-ski-crash-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed

Authorities in Thailand are investigating the cause of a jet ski collision that killed a Chinese tourist in the holiday destination of Phuket on Tuesday.

The tourist was operating a jet ski near Patong Beach when it collided with another jet ski, also operated by a Chinese tourist, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The second tourist sustained minor injuries, the report said.

A day earlier, a catamaran with 33 Chinese tourists on board capsized in Phuket. All passengers and crew members were rescued.

And last month, a Russian man died on the island after he was hit by a jet ski.

The incidents involving Chinese tourists come less than a fortnight after Chinese actor Wang Xing went missing near the Thai border with Myanmar.

Wang went to Thailand for work and was later confirmed to have been trafficked by fraud groups. He was rescued and returned home last week.

But the incident has raised concerns about personal safety among some Chinese travellers planning to visit Thailand for the coming Lunar New Year holiday.

Chinese nationals can enter Thailand without a visa, contributing to the country’s popularity as a holiday destination.

US bans Chinese tech in smart cars, citing national security risks amid global tech rivalry

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3294762/us-bans-chinese-tech-smart-cars-citing-national-security-risks-amid-global-tech-rivalry?utm_source=rss_feed

The United States finalised a rule on Tuesday effectively barring Chinese technology from cars in the American market, taking aim at software and hardware from the world’s second-biggest economy over national security risks.

The announcement, which also pertains to Russian technology, comes as outgoing President Joe Biden wraps up efforts to step up curbs on China, and after a months-long regulatory process.

The rule follows an announcement this month that Washington is mulling new restrictions to address risks posed by drones with tech from adversaries like China and Russia.

“Cars today aren’t just steel on wheels – they’re computers,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

She noted that modern vehicles contain cameras, microphones, GPS tracking and other technologies connected to the internet.

“This is a targeted approach to ensure we keep [the] PRC and Russian-manufactured technologies off American roads,” she added, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

The final rule currently applies just to passenger vehicles under, 4536kg (10,001 pounds), said the Commerce Department.

It plans, however, to issue a separate rule aimed at tech in commercial vehicles like trucks and buses “in the near future.”

For now, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has a facility in California producing buses and other vehicles.

National Economic Adviser Lael Brainard added that “China is trying to dominate the future of the auto industry.”

But she said connected vehicles containing software and hardware systems linked to foreign rivals could result in misuse of sensitive data or interference.

Under the latest rule on Tuesday, even if a passenger car were US-made, manufacturers with “a sufficient nexus” to China or Russia are not allowed to sell such new vehicles incorporating hardware and software for external connectivity and autonomous driving.

This prohibition on sales takes effect for the 2027 model year.

The restriction also bans the import of the hardware and software if they are linked to Beijing or Moscow.

The software curbs take effect for model year 2027 while the hardware controls come into play for model year 2030.

US efforts to restrict Chinese tech come as officials work to boost domestic industries.

On Tuesday, Biden issued an executive order to accelerate the pace at which infrastructure for artificial intelligence development can be built in the country.

“We will not let America be out-built when it comes to the technology that will define the future,” said Biden in a statement.

But the roll-out of many plans will fall to incoming president-elect Donald Trump, whose return to the White House on Monday promises a raft of changes to government policies.

US targets China textile giant Huafu Fashion over Uygur forced labour concerns

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3294765/us-targets-china-textile-giant-huafu-fashion-over-uygur-forced-labour-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed

The United States has banned imports from another tranche of Chinese companies over alleged human-rights abuses involving the Uygurs, targeting 37 textile, mining and solar companies, the Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday.

The companies include Huafu Fashion, one of the world’s largest textile manufacturers, and 25 of its subsidiaries, which the US has linked to forced-labour practices in China’s cotton industry.

The companies were added to the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act Entity List, which restricts the import of goods tied to what the US describes as China’s human-rights abuses and ongoing genocide in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

US authorities say Chinese authorities have established internment camps for Uygurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups in China’s western Xinjiang region. Beijing has denied any abuses.

The newly listed companies also include Donghai JA Solar Technology, which develops solar-energy products with polysilicon made in Xinjiang, and Hongyuan Green Energy Co, which sources polysilicon from the region, according to the US.

Zijin Mining Group and three of its subsidiaries, which source and extract zinc, copper and other metals from the region, are among the mining companies.

The latest additions bring the total number of companies on the list to 144 since the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act was signed into law in December 2021.

The companies could not immediately be reached for comment.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Xi Jinping, in first talk with new European Council president, seeks more EU-China cooperation

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294766/xi-jinping-first-talk-new-european-council-president-seeks-more-eu-china-cooperation?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Europe to pursue closer cooperation in the face of a “turbulent international situation”, during his first discussion with Antonio Costa since the former Portuguese prime minister became president of the European Council.

During a telephone call on Tuesday, the sides discussed hot-button issues, according to their respective readouts, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s provision of dual-use goods to Moscow’s industrial-military complex to a dispute over EU electric vehicle tariffs.

According to Beijing’s account, Xi told Costa that “China has always believed that Europe is an important pole in a multipolar world and supports European integration and the strategic autonomy of the European Union”.

He called for Europe and China to “respect each other’s core interests and major concerns”. The statement said that the sides “exchanged views on issues such as Ukraine” where Xi “elaborated on China’s principled position of advocating peace and promoting talks”.

On trade, Xi said that China and the EU were “defenders of the multilateral trading system and have formed a strong economic symbiotic relationship”, but did not refer to the many grievances in the trading relationship, which have become a source of severe bilateral tension in recent years.

Costa took the reins of the European Council, a body made up of the leaders of the EU’s 27 member states that sets the direction for the bloc’s policies, in December, succeeding Charles Michel of Belgium.

During the call, he “stressed the need to ensure a level playing field and to rebalance the existing trade and economic imbalances”, according to a summarising statement provided by an EU official, who said that invitations were extended “in both directions and preparations for the EU-China Summit proceeding”.

There was no such summit last year, mainly due to EU elections. According to precedent, Xi should travel to Brussels for this year’s edition, since 2023’s event took place in Beijing.

“On Ukraine, President Costa underlined that Russian aggression against Ukraine is a threat to global peace and stability. He called on China to contribute to a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Ukraine and to ensure that no dual [use] goods are provided to Russia,” the EU statement said.

It said that “Xi recalled that China has long-standing ties with Russia. He nevertheless agreed on the need for a just and lasting peace”.

Beijing’s account quoted Costa as saying that “the two sides should cooperate rather than compete”.

“Today’s era is full of challenges. The world needs closer cooperation between Europe and China to jointly respond to global challenges such as climate change and make positive contributions to world peace, stability and development,” the readout quoted Costa as saying.

The call breaks months of silence between Beijing and the EU’s top leadership. It also comes less than a week before Donald Trump returns as US president, which is expected to add fresh wrinkles to already-fraught EU-China ties.

Through 2024, the relationship deteriorated over a series of trade disputes and serious geopolitical differences, the most significant of which is China’s close relationship with Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The EU’s investigation into China’s subsidies in its electric vehicle sector, and subsequent anti-subsidy duties slapped on the import of Chinese EVs, have threatened to bubble over into a broader trade war.

Brussels is also concerned about industrial spillovers in China, with officials eyeing with caution Chinese customs data, released on Monday, which showed a near-US$1 trillion trade surplus with the rest of the world in 2024.

The EU and its member states grew increasingly uncomfortable, meanwhile, with the nature of Beijing’s support for Moscow, contending, for example, that a drone factory in Xinjiang was producing military craft to be used by Russia forces in Ukraine.

Chinese firms were added to EU sanctions and export controls lists for their role in the war over the course of last year, while Scandinavian and Baltic countries have become anxious at Chinese-linked ships’ involvement in several instances of undersea cable sabotage in the region.

China maintains it has not provided arms to any side in the war in Ukraine and proclaims to be a neutral party. During the call with Costa, according to Beijing’s readout, Xi said that “China and Europe have no fundamental conflicts of interest or geopolitical contradictions, and are partners of mutual achievement”.

“The more severe and complex the international situation is, the more China and Europe should uphold the original intention of establishing diplomatic relations, strengthen strategic communication, enhance strategic mutual trust, and adhere to the positioning of partnership,” Xi said.

“China has confidence in the EU and hopes that the EU can also become a partner that China can trust,” he added.

[Sport] TikTok users flock to Chinese app RedNote as US ban looms

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2475l7zpqyo

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Beyond US-China tussles, geopolitics will be shaped by India, Russia

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3294324/beyond-us-china-tussles-geopolitics-will-be-shaped-india-russia?utm_source=rss_feed

China continues to be the target of US security and strategic concerns. An abiding policy focus since Donald Trump’s first presidential term in 2017-2021, the anxiety about Beijing has been reiterated in Joe Biden’s current tenure with all the early signals suggesting the policy will continue when Trump assumes office again on January 20.

With his many senior appointments announced being well-known China hawks, the concern about China is clearly recurring. This was more than evident when Trump recently attempted to re-stake America’s claim over the Panama Canal and urged Denmark to give up Greenland, invoking China as the trigger.

In the wide-ranging, rambling, headline-grabbing press conference at his private residence Mar-a-Lago in Florida on January 7, Trump accused China of controlling the Panama Canal and adversely affecting US national and economic security. In relation to Greenland, he cited Chinese and Russian activity in the region as degrading US national security.

Many of the assertions are counterfactual and have been refuted, but China’s threat to the US-led global order will be an abiding theme in Trump 2.0.

With mere weeks left in office, Biden’s team last month released the Pentagon’s annual report on China’s military and security developments. The comprehensive report is rich in detail about China’s growing military capabilities across the board – from nuclear weapons to conventional forces, across space, cyber and new technologies – and how this would affect US security interests.

Referring to the US 2022 national security strategy and 2022 national defence strategy, the Pentagon said that China “is the only competitor to the United States with the intent and, increasingly, the capacity to reshape the international order” and that it remains the “pacing challenge” for the defence department.

The report identifies China’s grand strategy as one that “determinedly pursues political, social, economic, technological, and military development to increase [China’s] national power and revise the international order in support of [its] system of governance and national interests”.

In a continuation of its policies to address the China challenge, and in one its last executive decisions, Biden’s administration last week added Chinese tech giant Tencent and top battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) to a list of companies the Pentagon says are working for the Chinese military. There are at least 134 firms on the list. Companies have challenged the charge and the issue is likely to be pursued through bureaucratic channels.

Beijing has denounced this latest US decision, with a foreign ministry spokesman urging the US to “immediately correct its wrong practices and lift illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction on Chinese companies”.

This is in contrast to the US relationship with India, which the Biden administration wants to showcase as enabling and beneficial to America. In the same week that Chinese companies were added to Pentagon’s list, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan visited New Delhi with a delegation of senior officials to discuss bilateral cooperation in technology, defence and security.

The US-India relationship moved from bitter estrangement to cautious engagement during George’s W. Bush’s presidency and the China factor was the unstated catalyst. But cooperation in the civilian nuclear power sector and hi-tech industries remained moribund. With the Biden administration, this was prioritised under the India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies, a major focus of Sullivan’s recent India visit.

Will the robust Washington-Delhi partnership – of which the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is a visible manifestation in the maritime domain – continue under Trump 2.0? There have been murmurs of disappointment in Washington about India not being as reliable a partner as it can be when it comes to China, and this has been more pronounced with the nascent rapprochement between the two Asian giants in recent months.

The first quarter of this century has seen the global strategic framework move from Cold War bipolarity to an uneasy period of US hegemony and the steady rise of China as a peer competitor. The US co-opted India to deal with the China challenge and this was noted in Beijing.

How global geopolitics unfolds in the second quarter of the 21st century will be shaped to a considerable extent by the US-China dyad and Washington’s and Beijing’s individual relationships with India and Russia, as well as by the bilateral geopolitical permutations within this critical quadrilateral.

The US-India relationship in Trump 2.0 may not follow the earlier template despite claims of a special personal chemistry between US president-elect Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While Chinese President Xi Jinping has been invited to Trump’s January 20 inauguration – an offer Beijing reportedly declined – the Indian leader is, it appears, not on the invitation list.

However wayward, mercurial and malice-laden Trump’s recent statements may be, the US will pursue its core national interests, which have been arrived at over the decades by the professionals within the system, and the president will have to stay within this grid. Yes, the inclusion of technology tsars like Tesla founder Elon Musk at the high table of US governance will undoubtedly add to the expected Trump turbulence.

Will reality television with menacing overtones become the new model for international relations, which are now moving into unscripted and uncharted waters? Fasten your seat belts.

EU probe finds ‘unfair’ limits in China’s medical device market, adding to trade rift

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294737/eu-probe-finds-unfair-limits-chinas-medical-device-market-adding-trade-rift?utm_source=rss_feed

An EU investigation has found discrimination against European companies in China’s public procurement market for medical devices, setting up a new front in the bilateral trade dispute.

A report published on Tuesday found “clear evidence of China limiting the access of EU medical devices producers to its government contracts in an unfair and discriminatory way”.

The report came after the conclusion of the first and so far only investigation under the European Union’s international procurement instrument (IPI).

The European Commission is now considering which punitive measures to take. It will first ask for consultations with China. But under the terms of the instrument, it could eventually enforce “restrictions on or exclusion of Chinese bidders of government contracts in the EU”.

The IPI was adopted in June 2022, but the first investigation was opened in April of last year after lengthy consultations with Beijing failed to lead to an opening in China’s public procurement markets in the lucrative medical devices sector.

Under the terms of the IPI, investigations must conclude within nine months. The instrument aims to open lucrative procurement markets that are closed to EU firms.

According to Brussels, Chinese medical device manufacturers have relatively free access to public procurement tenders in the EU market, compared to the restrictions faced by European competitors in China.

A report from the Mercator Institute for China Studies published in 2023 found that China’s global market share of medical technology products rose from less than 3 per cent by value in 2000 to 12.4 per cent in 2021.

EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said the commission “strongly wishes to maintain open, fair and mutually beneficial trade relations with China” but that it was “ready to take decisive action” to support fair competition.

“Openness needs to be reciprocal: government contracts in the EU are open to non-EU countries, and we expect other countries to treat our companies with similar fairness,” he said.

“We have found that China is discriminating against EU medical devices producers in bids for public contracts.”

The move will add tension to trade ties that, while fraught, have been in something of a holding pattern in recent weeks as both Brussels and Beijing await the impact of US president-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Last week, China’s Ministry of Commerce found the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation – a sweeping tool aimed at rooting out state handouts on the books of foreign operators in the bloc’s single market – was discriminatory. However it stopped short of taking retaliatory action.

Can China top the US economically by 2030? Economist reaffirms bold 1994 prediction

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3294732/can-china-top-us-economically-2030-economist-reaffirms-bold-1994-prediction?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s economy remains on track to surpass that of the United States within five to 10 years, prominent Chinese economist Justin Lin Yifu has said, reaffirming a bold prediction he made 31 years ago.

Speaking at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong on Monday, Lin, who served as the World Bank’s chief economist and senior vice-president from 2008-12, contended that while China’s annual gross domestic product growth has slowed, America’s economic growth rate has also decelerated.

“I believe, under normal circumstances, the forecast that China’s economy will surpass that of the US by 2030 – or by 2035 at the latest – based on market exchange rates, should remain unchanged,” said Lin, who is now an economics professor at Peking University.

Lin’s assessment came hours before US President Joe Biden derided China’s economic growth prospects.

“When I took office, you all recall, and the experts believed … it was inevitable that China’s economy would surpass ours. According to many predictions that would happen by the year 2030 or shortly thereafter,” Biden said in his farewell speech on Monday, adding: “Now, according to the latest predictions, on China’s current course, they will never surpass us.”

When Lin wrote The China Miracle in 1994, China’s economic growth was more than 13 per cent, and it reached 14.2 per cent in 2007 before gradually declining and remaining in the single-digit range since dipping to 9.6 per cent in 2011.

At Monday’s forum, Lin noted that though China’s economic growth rate has since slowed to 5 per cent, the US growth rate has also decelerated to about 2.5 per cent, meaning that China’s annual economic growth is still notably higher than that of the US.

His remarks also came as competition between the world’s two largest economies reshapes the global landscape, with US president-elect Donald Trump’s coming term adding uncertainty to bilateral ties. In 2023, China’s economy grew 5.2 per cent in real terms. That was compared with the US pace of 2.9 per cent, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics is set to release the country’s 2024 GDP data on Friday. President Xi Jinping closed out the year by saying China was on track to hit its goal of “around 5 per cent”.

Addressing the challenges posed by Trump’s second term, which begins next week, Lin referenced an old Chinese proverb: “Soldiers are met with generals, water with earth.” In other words, every challenge can be met with an appropriate countermeasure.

“We will stay calm, do our best to develop our economies, and endure challenges,” he said, adding that he is confident China has more ways to cope with challenges than there are actual challenges.

Lin added that he believed China’s economy still had the potential to grow by 8 per cent annually, though he conceded that actual growth will depend on domestic and international conditions.

“It should be entirely feasible for China’s economy to maintain a 5 per cent growth rate [this year],” he said, stressing that this would still be relatively high, globally speaking.

Lin also stressed his confidence in China’s ability to grow its per capita GDP to half of the US’ per capita GDP by 2049, which would raise China’s total GDP to twice that of the US and help realise the dream of becoming a stronger and more modernised nation.

He also pointed to China’s strengths in emerging industries such as artificial intelligence and big data, including its large talent pool, vast domestic market, and solid hardware owing to its manufacturing ecosystem.

Tibet’s quake is a seismic warning to China and India over their mega dam ambitions

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294740/tibets-quake-seismic-warning-china-and-india-over-their-mega-dam-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing’s announcement of a new mega dam project on the world’s highest river near the disputed border on the Tibetan Plateau with India did not come as a complete surprise.

The damming of the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River had been rumoured for years, but the timing of the news – in a state media release on Christmas Day – suggested that Beijing had anticipated controversy and was keen to avoid scrutiny, especially from New Delhi.

Such concerns were not unreasonable, given the sheer scale of the project – at more than three times the size of the Three Gorges Dam.

China’s damming of Tibetan rivers has long been a source of tension between the Asian giants, along with repeated disputes over their Himalayan border.

Those long-standing strains had started to ease late last year, with Beijing and New Delhi signing an agreement to de-escalate border tensions and the leaders of the two countries having a rare meeting – all within the same week in October.

Relations appeared to improve further on December 17, when Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced that one of Beijing’s diplomatic priorities for 2025 was to improve ties with New Delhi.

“We have properly handled differences and are working with India to find the right and bright path for big, neighbouring countries to live in harmony and develop side by side,” Wang said in his year-end speech at a government-linked think tank.

It was quite unusual for Beijing’s top diplomat to talk so amicably about ties with New Delhi and the comments obviously underlined Beijing’s high hopes for a quick turnaround in bilateral relations after a prolonged military stand-off along the disputed Himalayan frontier since 2020.

The following day Wang met Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval in Beijing for the first such high-level talks in five years.

According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the meeting “provided positive directions for cross-border cooperation and exchanges”, including data sharing on trans-border rivers.

It remains unclear if New Delhi was informed of Beijing’s dam construction plan before it was made public about a week later, but Beijing had clearly waited until after the “special representatives’ meeting on the boundary question” to drop the bombshell announcement.

Beijing took a similar approach over a decade ago when it moved to build the first hydropower plant on the Yarlung Tsangpo, which flows into India as the Brahmaputra.

It chose to drop the news about the Zangmu project on the river’s middle reaches in November 2010, about a month before a planned visit to New Delhi by China’s then premier Wen Jiabao.

Although Indian officials complained about Beijing’s lack of information sharing over its dam building and raised concerns about its possible impact on downstream areas, it did not appear to have a big affect on Wen’s trip.

Beijing had clearly hoped for a similarly mild response from New Delhi this time, betting that India would also want to turn a new page in bilateral ties, considering its deepening economic dependence on China.

New Delhi so far has not reacted strongly to the planned mega dam, which pundits said could affect the flow of water from Tibet to India and put India at a strategic disadvantage in the management of the waterway.

It is at least in part due to New Delhi’s counter-strategy to accelerate the construction of dams on the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh near the contested border with China, in a bid to assert India’s first-use rights over the waters.

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh did say that New Delhi was “on alert”, and the Indian foreign ministry said it conveyed its concerns to Beijing and urged China to ensure interests of downstream states were not harmed by activities upstream.

However, Beijing quickly dismissed New Delhi’s concerns, with foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun insisting that the dam project “will not have a negative impact on the ecological environment, geological conditions and the rights and interests related to water resources of downstream countries”.

“Rather, it will, to some extent, help with their disaster prevention and reduction and climate response [in the downstream areas],” he claimed on January 6.

But his assertion is hardly convincing, as the dam site, near the Grand Canyon, or the “Great Bend”, on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo, is known as a seismically active area prone to earthquakes, landslides and other geological disasters.

Those threats were heightened a day later when a magnitude-6.8 earthquake centred in Tibet’s Tingri county near the Indian border shook the region, killing at least 126 people.

The quake highlighted the region’s vulnerability to disasters and revived the debate over whether mega dams should be built there in the first place.

As Beijing and New Delhi step up their dam building competition over the Brahmaputra as part of their deepening strategic rivalry, it is high time for them to address concerns about the dams’ damage to the plateau’s fragile environment and the livelihoods of ethnic groups.

Apple leads smartphone market in fourth quarter, overcoming China decline

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3294727/apple-leads-smartphone-market-fourth-quarter-overcoming-china-decline?utm_source=rss_feed

Apple dominated the global smartphone market in the final quarter of 2024 despite facing challenges in China, according to recent research.

The Cupertino, California-based technology giant captured 23 per cent of the global market last quarter, driven by the launch of its iPhone 16 series in mid-September, which boosted sales during the holiday shopping season, according to a report on Tuesday from market consultancy Canalys.

The popularity of the new iPhone helped it offset a sales decline in China, where Apple is struggling to launch its artificial intelligence service owing to regulatory hurdles while also contending with increasing competition from a resurgent Huawei Technologies and other local players.

Apple’s China sales declined in the first three quarters of last year, falling 25 per cent and 6 per cent year on year in the first and third quarters, respectively, coming in fifth place among smartphone vendors those quarters, according to Canalys. In the second quarter, it fell out of the top five.

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics ranked second in the fourth quarter with 16 per cent market share globally, while China’s Xiaomi, Transsion Holdings, and Vivo rounded out the top five.

The global market as a whole grew 7 per cent last year, a strong rebound from the previous year that showed early signs of decelerating growth in the final quarter.

Total shipments stood at 1.22 billion units worldwide last year, according to Canalys, driven by an abundance of mass-market products amid a challenging economic environment.

“The prosperity of mass-market products was a key driver of global smartphone growth in 2024,” Canalys senior analyst Toby Zhu said. He noted that vendors such as Xiaomi, Transsion and Vivo achieved growth thanks to their extensive sales networks, competitive products and effective inventory management.

Counterpoint, another market consultancy, found in separate research released on Monday that global smartphone sales grew 4 per cent last year after a two-year decline.

Counterpoint research director Tarun Pathak said 2024 was “a year of recovery and monetisation after a difficult 2023”, which saw the lowest smartphone sales in a decade.

Global smartphone market growth slowed to 3 per cent in the fourth quarter, with shipments of 330 million units. That was down significantly from the 8 per cent growth seen in the period a year earlier. In the first three quarters of 2024, the market grew 10 per cent, 12 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.

Analysts said the slower growth last quarter could continue into 2025.

“It will be challenging to replicate the market performance of 2024 in 2025,” Canalys’ Zhu said, noting demand fluctuations and macroeconomic uncertainties.

South China Sea: Philippines warns Beijing ‘all options on the table’ after coastguard patrol

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3294733/south-china-sea-philippines-warns-beijing-all-options-table-after-coastguard-patrol?utm_source=rss_feed

A Philippine security official said on Tuesday that China is “pushing us to the wall” with growing aggression in the disputed South China Sea and warned that “all options are on the table” for Manila’s response, including new international lawsuits.

On Tuesday, a large Chinese coastguard ship patrolled the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal and then sailed toward the northwestern coast of the Philippines, coming as close as 143 kilometres (77 nautical miles), Philippine officials said in a news conference.

“The presence of the monster ship in Filipino waters … 77 nautical miles from our shoreline, is unacceptable and, therefore, it should be withdrawn immediately by the Chinese government,” Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general of the National Security Council, said at the news conference alongside senior military and coastguard officials.

“You’re pushing us to the wall,” Malaya said of China.

Two Philippine coastguard ships, backed by a small surveillance aircraft, repeatedly ordered the 165-metre (541-foot) Chinese coastguard ship to withdraw from the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, a 370-kilometre (200-nautical mile) stretch of water, Philippine coastguard Commodore Jay Tarriela said.

“What we’re doing there is, hour-by-hour and day-to-day, [we’re] challenging the illegal presence of the Chinese coastguard for the international community to know that we’re not going to allow China to normalise the illegal deployment,” Tarriela said.

There was no immediate comment from Chinese officials. In the past, they have repeatedly accused the Philippines and other rival claimant states including Vietnam and Malaysia of encroaching on what they say are “undisputed” Chinese territorial waters.

Under President Ferdinand Marcos, Jnr, who took office in mid-2022, the Philippines has aggressively defended its territorial interests in the South China Sea, a key global trading route. That has brought Philippine forces into frequent confrontations with China’s coastguard, navy and suspected militia boats and sparked fears that a larger armed conflict could draw in the United States, the Philippines’ long-time treaty ally and China’s regional rival.

The lopsided conflict has forced the Philippines to seek security arrangements with other Asian and Western countries, including Japan, with which it signed a key agreement last July which would allow their forces to hold joint combat training. The pact, which must be ratified by lawmakers of both countries before it takes effect, was the first such agreement to be forged by Japan in Asia.

China surrounded Scarborough Shoal with its coastguard and other ships after a tense territorial stand-off with the Philippines in 2012. The Philippines responded by bringing its disputes with China to international arbitration in 2013 and largely won three years later when an arbitration panel in The Hague invalidated China’s expansive claims in the busy sea passage under the 1982 United Convention on the Law of the Sea.

China has rejected the 2016 arbitration ruling and continues to openly defy it.

“Will this lead to another case?” Malaya said.

“All options are on the table because the closer the monster ship is in Philippine waters, the more it makes tensions high and the more that the Philippine government contemplates things it was not contemplating before.”

China has warned the Philippines from pursuing another legal case in an international forum after the arbitration, preferring bilateral negotiations, which give Beijing an advantage because of its size and clout, a senior Philippine official has said on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss such sensitive issues publicly.

The two countries have also been discussing their territorial conflicts under a bilateral consultation mechanism to avoid an escalation of the disputes. The next round of talks will be hosted by China, the official said.

Why US-China quantum race is the most critical contest of our time

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3294055/why-us-china-quantum-race-most-critical-contest-our-time?utm_source=rss_feed

Imagine a world where encrypted data is no longer secure, medical advancements are accelerating and governments compete for power in an unseen realm. The race for quantum supremacy is not science fiction but rather the most critical battleground of our time.

At the heart of this contest are China and the United States, which are investing billions to secure quantum supremacy. The stakes extend far beyond scientific innovation, dictating the future of national security, economic power and global influence.

The quantum technology race pits the market-driven innovation of the US against China’s state-directed strategy, with global dominance at stake. While China has invested US$15 billion in quantum research and development through direct state funding, the US relies on a more dispersed but possibly more dynamic ecosystem which combines public and private sector capabilities. These differing approaches will shape the race for quantum dominance and redefine the global balance of power.

China’s focus on quantum technology is consistent with its overall strategic objectives, notably in information security. Beijing’s US$10 billion investment in the National Laboratory for Quantum Information Sciences in Hefei, Anhui province, highlights its commitment to quantum leadership. Chinese researchers achieved a record-breaking 1,200km quantum communication link via the Micius satellite, the world’s first quantum communication satellite. These innovations directly contribute to China’s strategic goals in military communications and cybersecurity, potentially changing the balance of power in future conflicts.

However, the US innovation ecosystem has particular benefits that should not be overlooked. US technology giants such as IBM, Google and Microsoft have accomplished quantum breakthroughs, while a thriving start-up culture and world-class research institutions encourage varied approaches to quantum difficulties. This distributed innovation paradigm has historically demonstrated greater resilience and creativity than centrally operated alternatives.

Meanwhile, China’s strong reliance on state guidance has both advantages and disadvantages. While government support has quickened development and permitted long-term planning, it risks unintentionally limiting organic innovation, which often results from market rivalry and private sector initiatives. The US benefits from a more balanced strategy, which combines significant government support with strong private-sector investment and academic research.

In the global patent landscape, China has established a strong position in quantum-related patents, demonstrating its relentless pursuit of the protection of intellectual property. However, raw patent numbers do not provide a complete picture. The quality and commercial feasibility of patents, as well as their practical application potential, continue to be critical elements in determining true technological leadership.

Traditional US strengths in scientific research and commercial innovation provide significant advantages. The country’s network of top-tier institutions, national laboratories and technology companies fosters innovative discoveries and practical applications. This ecosystem has a long history of successfully turning scientific advancements into commercial products and services, which is crucial in the quantum domain.

Despite its strengths, however, the US faces significant challenges in maintaining its competitive edge. The shortage of quantum engineering talent, the demand for long-term financing and the complexities of coordinating efforts across various stakeholders all pose challenges to advancement. Moreover, the openness of US research institutes raises questions about intellectual property protection and technology transfer.

The stakes in the quantum race extend far beyond US-China rivalry, holding global implications for cybersecurity, economics and science. Quantum computing’s potential to break modern encryption could revolutionise data security and intelligence gathering, giving an unmatched edge to the first nation to achieve it. Additionally, applications in financial modelling, medical research and climate simulations promise transformative economic benefits.

The race also fuels intense competition in quantum software development. Chinese academics have made significant advances in quantum machine learning algorithms, whereas US corporations dominate quantum software development platforms and tools. This software struggle could be as important as hardware advancements in determining quantum supremacy.

To sustain its leadership, the US must address several significant challenges. Increasing collaboration among government agencies, private-sector groups and academic institutions is critical for improving research efficiency and quickening development. Expanding quantum education and training programmes is crucial for developing the required workforce. Building international connections with allies could help pool resources and skills, creating a more resilient innovation environment.

China’s developments in quantum technology provide both a threat and an opportunity for the US. While competition fosters innovation, the global structure of scientific research suggests that some form of partnership could benefit both countries. Finding the ideal equilibrium between competition and cooperation while protecting national interests will be critical for responsible quantum technology development.

As the technological race continues, the outcome will most likely be determined not just by financial resources and scientific capabilities but also by each country’s ability to build an atmosphere conducive to long-term innovation. This is more than just a scientific competition: it exemplifies a broader strategic rivalry between two different approaches to technological innovation and national growth. The winner could shape the future of global technological leadership and the security landscape for decades to come.

The quantum technology race could ultimately reshape the very nature of international relations and global power dynamics. The potential to deploy quantum capabilities could lead to new forms of diplomatic power, transform economic relationships and build new paradigms for international cooperation and competition.

Nations that fail to keep up with quantum progress risk losing technological relevance and influence in an increasingly quantum-enabled world. This raises the stakes of the US-China quantum race since the outcome is expected to have an impact on both bilateral ties and the entire framework of 21st-century global leadership.

Communist Party propaganda chief calls for boosting public opinion on China-Japan ties

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294700/communist-party-propaganda-chief-calls-boosting-public-opinion-china-japan-ties?utm_source=rss_feed

A senior Chinese official in charge of propaganda told a group of visiting Japanese lawmakers that China was willing to work with Japan to foster a more favourable public perception of the two nations among each other’s citizens.

Li Shulei, head of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, made the comments while meeting politicians from Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito in Beijing on Monday.

The Japanese delegation, led by LDP secretary general Hiroshi Moriyama and his Komeito counterpart Makoto Nishida, arrived in the Chinese capital earlier that day as they kicked off a three-day visit to the country.

The delegation is expected to join a bilateral dialogue between the governing parties of China and Japan on Tuesday. The last time the dialogue was held was in October 2018.

During the Monday meeting, Li said China’s ruling party was willing to work with the Japanese coalition to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries.

“The Chinese Communist Party is willing to work with the ruling coalition of Japan to … strengthen political dialogue, promote people-to-people exchanges and create a healthy and rational public opinion environment for China-Japan relations,” Li said, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

Kyodo news agency reported that Japanese lawmakers might hold talks with Wang Huning, the Communist Party’s No 4 official, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday.

The visit is the latest effort by the two neighbouring countries to stabilise their long-strained ties amid growing global uncertainty, including Donald Trump’s return to the White House next week.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya visited Beijing last month. During his visit, the two sides revived a cultural exchange dialogue, and Japan agreed to relax visa requirements for Chinese visitors. The two countries also agreed to step up exchanges between media outlets and think tanks to improve public opinion about each other.

Before the delegation of lawmakers left for China, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met Moriyama and Nishida and expressed his hope for “continuing exchanges between Japan and China at various levels”.

During the meeting, Ishiba reiterated his desire to visit China soon.

Wang, the Chinese foreign minister, is said to be planning a trip to Japan in February.

A poll released last month showed that Japanese and Chinese public sentiment towards each other had experienced the sharpest decline in two decades, with nearly 90 per cent of those surveyed expressing a negative view of their neighbouring country.

The fatal stabbing of a Japanese boy in Shenzhen in southern China in September contributed to the worsening public sentiment. The tragedy happened less than three months after a Chinese national was killed while defending a Japanese mother and child during a knife attack in the eastern city of Suzhou.

These incidents have heightened security fears among Japanese living in China and fuelled anti-Chinese sentiment within Japan.

During their visit, the Japanese lawmakers are expected to discuss safety concerns and import restrictions on Japanese seafood with Chinese officials. Beijing imposed the restrictions in 2023 after Japan began releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

In September, Japan agreed to an international monitoring framework allowing other parties, including China, to engage in independent sampling and monitoring activities, while Beijing said it would “gradually restore” imports of some Japanese aquatic products.

The two Asian powers are also deepening their defence exchanges.

A group of senior Japan Self-Defence Forces personnel made a nine-day visit to China late last year for exchanges with the People’s Liberation Army.

China’s defence ministry said on Monday that a delegation from the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command would visit Japan later this month and meet leaders of the Japanese Ministry of Defence and the Joint Staff of the Self-Defence Forces.

Turkish railway, with Chinese upgrades, could bypass Russia on route to Europe

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3294704/turkish-railway-chinese-upgrades-could-bypass-russia-route-europe?utm_source=rss_feed

A Turkish investment official said China is interested in helping to make about US$60 billion in upgrades to his country’s railway network, which European freight shippers may see as a way to bypass Russia as the war in Ukraine continues.

On the list of improvements is electrification, new domestic routes, a bridge in the continental connector city of Istanbul and a high-speed line from Istanbul to the national capital of Ankara, said A. Burak Daglioglu, president of the governmental promotion office Invest in Turkiye.

Chinese equipment maker CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive already has a factory in Turkey, Daglioglu told the Post on Monday, with the company debuting what it called the country’s “fastest metro train” on Istanbul’s transit system last year. Other contractors are expected to submit bids in an open tender process due to begin soon.

“They are interested in the projects,” Daglioglu said on the sidelines of the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong. “As long as they are offering a competitive bid on the tender, they are welcome to join. There is huge potential for railway investments.”

China is hoping the Turkish railway network can help ship cargo to and from Europe, said Jayant Menon, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, adding the nearly 3-year-old Russia-Ukraine conflict deters European shippers from using more direct routes that run through or near the two warring countries.

A path across Turkey is seen as a faster means for the China Railway Express system to connect to Europe.

But the Eurasian country represents a “weak link” in the railway network between China and Europe unless it is developed further, Menon said. “One break in the link means the network doesn’t work.”

European freight trains can still legally pass through Russia despite extensive sanctions on Moscow, but logistics companies are opting for railways in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia out of caution, the European Parliament said in a 2022 study.

Cargo shipped by the China-Europe Railway Express through multiple countries reached about 1.9 million 20-foot equivalent units in 2023, up from 1,400 in 2011, market research firm Statista has calculated.

Chinese investors have also started projects in Turkey’s growing tech field – notably electric vehicles – as well as in energy, Daglioglu said. Chinese investment had reached US$6 billion across 1,300 companies as of mid-2024, Invest in Turkiye said in a November statement.

Tourism represents another growth engine for the two countries, Daglioglu said.

He estimated that 300,000 Chinese tourists visited in 2024, up from 250,000 in 2023 but fewer than the half-million seen in pre-pandemic 2019. Turkey is now seeking more cooperation with individual Chinese provinces to raise awareness about the country among potential travellers.

“We would like to grow our collaboration in the tourism and cultural activities fields as well,” Daglioglu said.

Massive icicles fall on tourists at popular waterfall in China, injuring 1

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3294695/massive-icicles-fall-tourists-popular-waterfall-china-injuring-1?utm_source=rss_feed

One tourist was injured after large icicles broke off at a tourist site in northwestern China.

China’s economic miracle not over: Singapore diplomat Tommy Koh

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3294722/chinas-economic-miracle-not-over-singapore-diplomat-tommy-koh?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s lagging economy is expected to bounce back, “powered by electric vehicles, clean and renewable energy and artificial intelligence”, according to Singapore’s diplomatic doyen Tommy Koh.

“I don’t think the Chinese economic miracle is over,” he said in a speech on Tuesday delivered on his behalf by Chan Heng Chee, ambassador-at-large at Singapore’s foreign affairs ministry, as Koh was ill.

His views were aired at the UOB Global Markets Economic Forum 2025 in the city state.

Businesses in China have been struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting authorities to implement stimulus measures last year to bolster the world’s second-largest economy.

More measures are expected from Beijing to help lift domestic consumption, revive the property market, restore business confidence and counter demographic challenges.

China’s economic growth was expected to be about 5 per cent in 2024, President Xi Jinping said in December.

Koh said while it would take some time for China to restore its property sector, he believed the Chinese economy would rebound on the back of demand for electric vehicles, clean and renewable energy and AI, with growth in gross domestic product projected to be between 4 and 5 per cent this year.

On Asean’s growth outlook, Koh said the world’s fifth-largest economy would overtake Germany as the fourth-largest economy by 2030.

Calling the Association of Southeast Asian Nations a “force for peace in the Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific region”, Koh said: “Asean is a bright spot in a darkening world. It has kept the peace in the region for many years.”

His projections for China and the region came despite US president-elect Donald Trump threatening to impose a 60 per cent tariff on all imports from China and a universal tariff on imports from other countries of between 10 and 20 per cent. Trump will be inaugurated as the US’ 47th president next Monday.

These tariffs would have negative consequences for the world’s trading system, Koh said.

On Singapore, Koh predicted that it would ask for an exemption from US tariffs on three grounds: its free trade agreement with the US, with the Americans enjoying a trade surplus with Singapore; Singapore allowing the US Air Force and Navy to use its facilities for free; and the city state’s hosting of the first summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2018.

“One of the good things we can say about President Trump is that he is against wars,” Koh said, noting that he ended the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and negotiated for the safe withdrawal of US troops.

“I can therefore predict, with some confidence, that there will be no war between the US and China in 2025,” said Koh, adding that this was one of the questions that had kept him awake at night.

Chan, Singapore’s former ambassador to the US who secured the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries during her tenure, on Tuesday noted that FTAs were not foolproof as countries were allowed to push aside such pacts on the grounds of national security.

“Frankly, I think Singapore is collateral damage … The tariffs are not targeted at us. Many countries in the region will just be collateral damage,” Chan said.

With Asean benefiting from the diversification of global supply chains and factories moving out of China or Western countries, this would be seen in the US as tariff avoidance, Chan said.

“President Biden was going to fix this and tax countries in Southeast Asia, what more President Trump,” she added.

Asean countries, however, had been preparing for US tariffs and individually securing trade agreements with the global south, Chan said.

Referring to Asean’s consistent stance in supporting free and open trade, she added: “In this world of protectionism and so on, people will turn around and say, that’s a safe region, a stable region.”

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30% of young mainland Chinese in Hong Kong say more regulations impacting lives

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3294724/30-young-mainland-chinese-hong-kong-say-more-regulations-impacting-lives?utm_source=rss_feed

About 30 per cent of young mainland Chinese expats in Hong Kong have said that more government regulations are affecting their daily lives, with some lawmakers warning such controls might dampen the city’s appeal and drive out talent.

The figure came from a survey organised by lawmakers Gary Zhang Xinyu and Johnny Ng Kit-chong, who collaborated with the Youth Expats Association to poll 800 mainland students and workers from December 16 to 29.

The two legislators said on Tuesday that increased regulation of people’s lives could weaken the city’s competitive advantages and prompt many gang piao, or “Hong Kong drifters”, to return home to the mainland.

The term, which was coined in mainland internet chat rooms, refers to young, educated individuals from north of the border who now live and work in the city.

“We should be careful not to control more and more aspects of people’s livelihoods or microeconomic operations,” Zhang said, adding that ensuring residents’ freedoms and choices should be a top priority.

“Being proactive does not mean that everything, big or small, must be managed by the government.”

More than 80 per cent of those interviewed were under 35. About 52 per cent of all respondents were workers, while the rest were students.

According to the survey, about 26 per cent of respondents complained that the city’s nightlife scene was not as interesting as portrayed in popular films and TV shows.

On other fronts, about 80 per cent said they were positive about the city’s future. Another 39 per cent noted it was inconvenient to transfer money between Hong Kong and the mainland, while 32 per cent of all respondents were worried about the current economic cycle affecting their jobs.

About 30 per cent also complained about intensifying government regulations affecting their lives.

In particular, 16 per cent of interviewees agreed a potential ban on flavoured tobacco products could diminish the interests of young talent and tourists coming to Hong Kong.

Lawmaker Ng urged authorities to refrain from introducing policies that were too harsh, pointing to the city’s clampdown on tobacco products.

He argued that too many regulations could drive migrants to return to the mainland, calling on authorities to listen to public voices and introduce livelihood policies on a more flexible basis.

The survey also touched on other policy areas, with 52 per cent of interviewees calling for improvements in living conditions. Another 47 per cent expressed an interest in more language-support services for non-local students.

“It is interesting to note that the newcomers from the mainland have expressed interest in learning Cantonese, which is not only a language but also a cultural identity of the city,” Zhang said.

Zhang also said the government should promote a more vibrant and enriching social atmosphere, and encourage mainland migrants to integrate into Hong Kong.

The job market was also cited as an area of concern by interviewees, with about 53 per cent saying opportunities in the city were not diverse enough.

Youth Expats Association founder Cherrie Chong said both the government and business communities in Hong Kong “desperately needed” young talent from the mainland, especially in sectors such as e-commerce and technology.

“Mainland China is in the leading position from live broadcast sales to the production of short videos,” she said.

“So if we attract young people from the mainland to come to Hong Kong, it will actually be a good driving force for our overall transformation of the city.”

China domestic violence survivor donates live-stream profits to help others seek justice

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3293722/china-domestic-violence-survivor-donates-live-stream-profits-help-others-seek-justice?utm_source=rss_feed

A woman in China who endured a campaign of domestic violence during a two-year marriage which left her needing to use a colostomy bag for life has started live-streaming to help others who face a similar fate.

Xie Yumei, 30, from Sichuan province in southwestern China, also says her online work helps her peers to seek legal justice.

Xie shocked the nation in June 2023 when she shared her ordeal on social media.

She revealed that her husband, He Zhongyang, had physically assaulted her 16 times since their marriage in 2021, including attacks during her pregnancy.

The final assault in April 2023 was so severe that doctors said she could have died if she had arrived at the hospital just 20 minutes later than she did.

The last attack took place after Xie summoned the courage to file for divorce and request a protection order against her husband.

It caused extensive damage to her internal organs, requiring a two-month hospital stay, and left her relying on a colostomy bag.

Despite multiple attempts to seek help from the police and other authorities, Xie struggled to escape her marriage.

It was not until May 31, last year that the Wuhou District People’s Court in Chengdu granted her a divorce and custody of their daughter.

On December 27, last year, her ex-husband was jailed for 11 years for abuse and intentional harm. He was also ordered to pay more than 370,000 yuan (US$50,000) in compensation for Xie’s medical expenses and lost wages.

He has since appealed the verdict, while Xie has embarked on a new chapter in her life.

On January 3, she began her first live-streaming session, selling products alongside a professional live-streamer who led most of the session, with Xie speaking occasionally.

The four-hour live-stream reportedly amassed sales of more than 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million).

However, the event received mixed reactions online, with some viewers accusing her of exploiting her story for sympathy, even labelling her a “drama queen” and a “domestic violence marketing tool”.

Xie said: “I know many people are criticising me. Selling products was not my initial intention, but the court only granted me 2,000 yuan (US$280) per month in child support, which I have not received at all. I also have ongoing monthly medical expenses.”

She had previously apologised to her audience: “I cannot work like a normal person, and I need to care for my child. My future medical costs are uncertain. If I have disappointed anyone, I am truly sorry.”

Her live-streaming endeavours also aim to assist peers in similar situations by helping cover expenses for their legal actions.

On January 5, a viral video from Spot News moved countless netizens.

It showed her deciding to use her live stream earnings to support another woman who had experienced similar domestic violence.

In the video, the two women hugged and cried.

Xie reassured the woman: “Now we have the money. We can fight for justice. We can file lawsuits.”

After watching the heartfelt video, one netizen praised Xie: “A kind girl who shields others from the rain after experiencing it herself.”

Another said: “If buying your products helps heal your wounds, I am willing to support you. The road ahead is long, but you deserve a bright future. Keep going!”

Although there is no public data revealing the exact number of women in China who suffer from domestic violence, the state media People’s Daily reported that in 2023 alone, police issued 98,000 warning letters related to domestic violence cases.

China welcomed 20 million visa-free visitors in 2024, more tourism incentives on the way

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294698/china-welcomed-20-million-visa-free-visitors-2024-more-tourism-incentives-way?utm_source=rss_feed

Visa-free travel to China more than doubled last year from 2023, the latest data shows, with Beijing pledging to further ease its rules for foreign tourists.

This comes after more than a year of travel policy easing, including short-term visa-free transit and unilateral visa-free entry schemes for dozens of countries.

A total of 20.1 million foreign travellers gained visa-free entry in 2024, surging by 112.3 per cent from the previous year, according to National Immigration Administration (NIA) figures released on Tuesday.

“Over the past year … the number of foreigners coming to China has increased significantly,” NIA spokeswoman Lu Ning said.

The NIA data was released a day after the State Council, China’s cabinet, outlined further efforts to “optimise” inbound travel policies. The move is part of an 18-point package to boost consumption as the country struggles to grow its post-Covid economy.

“[We will] expand the scope of unilateral visa exemptions in an orderly manner and appropriately extend the duration of visa-free stays,” the State Council said in a checklist released on Monday.

Of 610 million inbound and outbound trips made during 2024, about 65 million involved overseas visitors, an increase of nearly 83 per cent, according to the NIA data.

However, the numbers have yet to reach the pre-pandemic levels in 2019, when the total was 670 million trips, with foreigners accounting for close to 98 million.

Lu said the NIA would continue to “release the dividends of the visa-free policy” and further facilitate foreign travel and exchanges.

China reopened its borders to international visitors in January 2023, after three years of pandemic restrictions. Later that year, it began relaxing entry procedures and granting visa waivers to a growing list of countries.

China is seeking to draw more foreign tourists and investors to help energise post-Covid economic growth, as well as mend a global image dented by harsh zero-Covid controls and anti-espionage efforts that have also targeted foreign nationals.

Visa-free entry has been extended to 38 countries so far, in addition to the full mutual visa exemption policies agreed with 26 nations, according to the NIA.

Observers have argued that unilateral opening measures, including visa-free incentives, could play a critical role in helping China to weather the potential challenges posed by the incoming US administration, with Donald Trump due to become president for the second time next week.

The principle of “who is more open than whom” would be key to gaining leverage in the US-China rivalry, leading political scientist and Beijing policy adviser Zheng Yongnian warned in November.

President Xi Jinping has called for the building of a strong tourism industry and an increase people-to-people exchanges, including with the United States.

Under China’s latest move to attract foreign visitors and investment, the nationals of 54 countries are eligible for 10-day visa-free transit as of December 17.

The new policy is an upgrade of the three- to six-day visa-free stays granted to the same set of nations since November 2023.

Passport holders from countries including the United States, Australia and Japan can now stay up to 240 hours in certain areas of mainland China when transiting via one of its 60 international ports.

The number of foreign visitors using visa-free transits has grown by 29.5 per cent month on month since the extension, according to the NIA.

Total visa-free transits for the whole of 2024 also more than doubled, growing by 113.5 per cent from the previous year.

China’s energy weapon fires thousands of nuclear-like blasts in tests and survives: study

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3294077/chinas-energy-weapon-fires-thousands-nuclear-blasts-tests-and-survives-study?utm_source=rss_feed

China has overcome a significant technical hurdle in the development of a compact yet extremely powerful directed energy weapon – and it could be a game changer for modern warfare.

This high-power microwave (HPM) weapon – which is still in laboratory testing and not ready for immediate deployment in the field – is capable of generating electromagnetic pulses with an intensity comparable to a nuclear explosion, which can disrupt or even destroy electronic components within enemy weapons systems.

The US military has announced plans to deploy HPM weapons in the Indo-Pacific region this year, targeting Chinese satellites. These weapons employ traditional dish-shaped antennas and require constant rotation to engage different targets.

The new Chinese weapon uses phased array transmission technology instead to “precisely focus energy, increasing its effective range and enhancing damage effects, enabling simultaneous attacks on multiple targets,” according to researchers involved in the project.

Such a weapon was once deemed impossible because the pulses it generates could potentially destroy itself.

The electromagnetic waves generated by this Chinese energy weapon can reach or even exceed a total power of one gigawatt.

The rotating electromagnetic waves it generates need to be converted precisely into a more stable state and evenly distributed to eight independent channels for phased array antennas.

Inside a power divider the size of a household pedestal fan, the electric field strength exceeds 80,000 volts per metre – comparable to the electromagnetic pulses generated by nuclear weapon explosions.

Such high-intensity electromagnetic radiation is extremely difficult to separate and is highly likely to cause device damage. There have been no public reports of phased array transmission at gigawatt power levels to date.

Now, a joint research team from the National University of Defence Technology in Changsha and the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology in Xian has cracked this long-standing engineering challenge.

The high-performance power divider they developed has endured the blasts of more than 5,000 full-power pulse emissions without any “tail erosion” or other breakdown traces, and the waveform remained unchanged throughout these tests, wrote the team led by microwave technology expert Hu Xianggang in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese academic journal High Power Laser and Particle Beams in December.

The operating efficiency of this eight-way power divider reached 96.6 per cent, and the cap to its power capacity threshold may far exceed 1GW, meeting the military’s requirements of HPM phased array antennas for high-power capacity and transmission efficiency, added Hu and his colleagues.

The weapon also demonstrated its ability to emit Ku-band electromagnetic pulses during testing, which is one of the main operating frequency bands for communication satellites such as Starlink.

Starlink satellites have large antennas to receive weak signals from the ground and use a large number of commercial-grade electronic components. To reduce costs, some components may not follow military standards for additional reinforcement against potential attacks, according to some Chinese space experts.

In light of Starlink’s prominent role in the Russia-Ukraine war, the Chinese military is actively pursuing the development of tailored anti-satellite weapons. According to calculations by Chinese scientists, gigawatt-level energy weapons have the potential to target not only drones but also satellites in low-Earth orbit.

Chinese officials reportedly discuss sale of TikTok in US to Elon Musk

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/13/china-tiktok-sale-elon-musk

Chinese officials are in preliminary talks about a potential option to sell TikTok’s operations in the United States to billionaire Elon Musk, should the short-video app be unable to avoid an impending ban, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

Beijing officials prefer that TikTok remains under the control of parent Bytedance, the report said, citing sources.

TikTok’s US operations could either be sold through a competitive process or an arrangement by the government, the report said, suggesting that the future of the app is no longer solely in ByteDance’s control.

China’s government has a “golden share” in ByteDance, which several members of Congress have said gives the government power over TikTok.

Under one scenario, Musk’s social media platform X would take control of TikTok US and run the business together, the report said. Officials have yet to reach a consensus about how to proceed, according to Bloomberg News.

“We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction,” a TikTok spokesperson said, responding to the report.

It remains unclear how much ByteDance is aware of the discussions, or of Musk and TikTok’s involvement, and there is no information on whether ByteDance, TikTok and Musk have engaged in any talks regarding a possible deal.

TikTok has previously said that the government’s stake “has no bearing on ByteDance’s global operations outside of China, including TikTok”.

Elon Musk, X, and China’s Cyberspace and ministry of commerce did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last week, the supreme court seemed inclined to uphold a law that would force a sale or ban TikTok in the US by 19 January, over national security concerns about China.

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Self-styled TikTok refugees find new Chinese app, sending it to No 1 in US

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294639/self-styled-tiktok-refugees-find-new-chinese-app-sending-it-no-1-us?utm_source=rss_feed

TikTok users fleeing the ByteDance-owned social platform ahead of a crucial Supreme Court decision on its future sent a rival Chinese app to the top of Apple’s charts in the US on Monday.

While the exact number of downloads is unknown, the Apple store put Xiaohongshu – which does not have an official English name but means “little red book” – as the No. 1 free-to-use social media platform across all free iPhone apps in the US.

The exodus of “TikTok refugees” has been spurred by mounting concerns over the app’s fate in the wake of last week’s Supreme Court oral arguments, in which the justices seemed to be inclining towards national security over free speech.

Many of TikTok’s American users began to anticipate a potential ban of the platform, fearing that the app’s Chinese ownership would become a critical point in the court’s decision.

US influencer Nuha – who has more than 1.5 million followers on TikTok and about 135,000 on Instagram – is among those signing up for Xiaohongshu’s blend of e-commerce and user-generated content.

“Hi guys, TikTok refugee here. I am so nervous to be on this app but I also find it to be really exciting and thrilling that we are all doing this,” said Nuha, in her first video posted to Xiaohongshu on Sunday.

Nuha, who posts primarily about pop culture and entertainment news, said that she was “sad that TikTok might actually go but if this is where we’re going to be hanging out, welcome to my page” and added the tag #TikTokRefugee.

The influencer also uploaded a tutorial on TikTok on how to create an account on Xiaohongshu, where she has so far gained about 17,500 followers.

Sarah Schauer urged her more than two million followers on TikTok to follow up their downloading of Xiaohongshu – which she called Rednote – with a small purchase from China.

“They want to ban TikTok because they make a lot of money … but if you download Rednote as a replacement for TikTok, when you get on that app buy something,” she said in a video posted on Sunday.

“We need not only [a] download spike, but also we need financial spikes, right. You have a week until this all gets banned. Just buy something small from China,” Schauer said.

Candacce, a Los Angeles-based TikTok user with more than 450,000 followers, has also signed up for Xiaohongshu, posting that she would “rather stare at a language I can’t understand than to ever use a social media that Mark Zuckerberg owns”.

Shanghai-based Xiaohongshu was launched in 2013 as China’s answer to Instagram, reaching nearly 300 million active users by December 2023, with 50 per cent aged 15 to 28.

Its investors include Alibaba, which also owns the South China Morning Post, along with Tencent, Temasek, GSR Ventures, ZhenFund, HongShan, and DST Global.

The app lets users discover, discuss, and shop for products – a feature that may be attractive for the small businesses that have thrived on TikTok.

Paul Tran – one of eight co-petitioners with TikTok and ByteDance – shared his experience as the owner of a small skincare brand based in Atlanta, Georgia at a press conference last week following the oral arguments in the Supreme Court.

“Our story embodies the American dream. My wife and I built Love & Pebble from the ground up using TikTok to share our passion and connect with people, with Americans all over the country – something no other platform has allowed us to do,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chinese users on Xiaohongshu are leaving welcoming messages in English and Mandarin on the videos posted by the US migrants from TikTok as they take their first steps on the platform.

“I have no idea what anyone on this app is saying, but y’all seem pretty chill. So I am gonna go download Duolingo and I’m gonna get back to you on that,” said another US user in a video posted to Xiaohongshu on Monday.

The user, who goes by the name “yonsidelucas”, tagged the post #TikTokRefugee – a platform where he has more than 250,000 followers – and picked up a following of more than 1,200 on Xiaohongshu in the first few hours after posting.

“Welcome, American friends to Xiaohongshu,” one Chinese user wrote in English on the platform, while another said that “[you] can learn real local Mandarin here instead of Duolingo”.

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Going big on 2025 GDP, major Chinese local-level economies unveil ambitious targets

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3294623/going-big-2025-gdp-major-chinese-local-level-economies-unveil-ambitious-targets?utm_source=rss_feed

Some of China’s economically critical provinces and cities have unveiled ambitious gross domestic product goals for this year, signalling that Beijing’s policymakers will stick to at least a 5 per cent growth target for the nation at large, even in the face of renewed threats from US president-elect Donald Trump.

Southeast China’s Fujian province, one of the “backbone” regions underpinning Beijing’s hope of driving up the national economy, anticipates GDP growth of 5-5.5 per cent in 2025, and said it would “strive for better results based on the actual situation”.

As China’s eighth-largest provincial economy, Fujian estimated its 2024 GDP growth at 5.5 per cent, higher than the national target of “around 5 per cent”, according to its government work report released over the weekend.

Nanjing, capital of the eastern province of Jiangsu and the country’s 10th-largest city-level economy, said at the weekend that it expects around 5 per cent economic growth in 2025, higher than last year’s presumptive expansion of 4.5 per cent.

Changsha, the capital of central China’s Hunan province and the nation’s 15th-largest city-level economy, set this year’s growth target at 5.5 per cent, an increase from last year’s more ambiguous goal of “over 5 per cent”.

Shenyang, the capital city of northeast China’s Liaoning province, aims to achieve more than 5.5 per cent GDP growth this year, higher than the rise of 5.2 per cent projected for 2024.

Xu Hongcai, deputy director of the China Association of Policy Science’s Economic Policy Committee, said these types of targets are set to shore up confidence early in the year while also being in line with China’s long-term development objectives.

To achieve its 2035 national-development goals outlined by President Xi Jinping, the world’s second-largest economy would have to expand by at least 4.7 per cent annually over the next 11 years.

The market has been expecting an “around 5 per cent” target for 2025. The goal is typically discussed during the central economic work conference in December, behind closed doors, then unveiled in March during China’s annual parliamentary meetings known as the “two sessions”.

Given the nation’s beleaguered property sector, weak consumption and uncertainties surrounding Trump’s pending policies, the International Monetary Fund predicted that the world’s second-largest economy would grow by 5 per cent in 2024 and by 4.5 per cent in 2025.

“The ambitious targets [for local-level economic growth in 2025] rely on a combination of efforts,” Xu said, emphasising that local governments must support emerging industries to realise their growth potential, especially in the realm of tech.

“The trade outlook for this year also looks very bleak,” Xu said, pointing to tensions with major trading partners, particularly the US and Europe.

Xu noted the potential of China’s ongoing urbanisation push to boost demand.

China’s urbanisation rate, which measures the ratio of permanent urban residents to the total population, increased by 55.52 percentage points from the end of 1949, reaching 66.16 per cent by the end of 2023.

The central bank has laid out a “moderately loose” monetary plan aimed at bolstering domestic demand to drive growth, alongside the adoption of more proactive fiscal policies.

Pakistan to issue China’s panda bonds to transform economy, finance chief says

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294539/pakistan-issue-chinas-panda-bonds-transform-economy-finance-chief-says?utm_source=rss_feed

Pakistan will issue yuan-denominated “panda bonds” as early as June to further integrate its capital markets with China’s, a move that will help Beijing in its push to expand the use of the currency, the South Asian country’s finance minister said.

In an exclusive interview with the Post on Sunday, Muhammad Aurangzeb also pledged more cooperation with Beijing on the next phase of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a key initiative for boosting bilateral trade and investment.

He also called for more participation from China’s private sector and export-led industries to transform Pakistan’s debt-laden economy.

Aurangzeb said Pakistan aimed to raise US$200 million to US$250 million from Chinese investors, adding that it was “absolutely critical” for the nation to diversify its funding base.

The minister is in Hong Kong for the two-day Asian Financial Forum, which began on Monday.

“Since I took over [in March 2024], I have been very vocal about this – that we want to go for panda bonds, an inaugural sovereign panda bond … I’m pushing everyone, including our own teams, to see if we can get this done before June,” Aurangzeb said.

Panda bonds – typically denominated in yuan and issued in China by non-Chinese organisations, have gained traction as traders and countries seek to diversify from an over-reliance on the US dollar, while tapping into the world’s second-largest economy at attractive rates.

The minister added that Pakistan had followed Egypt’s lead to issue the yuan bonds on the back of credit improvement from the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Last year, Egypt received guarantees from the AIIB and the African Development Bank, covering principal and interest, to issue panda bonds on the local mainland China market.

“I’ve met the president of the AIIB in Washington … with a very clear view that we will replicate what Egypt did in terms of the credit enhancement … which allows us to access the local capital markets for the panda bond,” he said.

Aurangzeb added that Pakistan would help to support the “internationalisation of the renminbi” and boost cooperation with the “second-largest and second-deepest capital market in the world”.

Despite its low credit rating, Pakistan is reportedly pursuing the issuance of eurobonds in the 2026 financial year. But Aurangzeb has said his administration will try to achieve a “single-B” category of at least one major rating agency.

Pakistan has endured years-long inflation and was pushed to the brink of default in 2023 as its economy withered amid political chaos and economic mismanagement.

But the country’s economy rebounded last year as the inflation rate dropped from nearly 38 per cent in May 2023 to 4.1 per cent last month.

The International Monetary Fund and Pakistan also reached an agreement on a 37-month extended bailout loan of about US$7 billion, with some of the country’s main debt holders, including China, agreeing to a one-year debt rollover last year.

Amid what he called the “balance of payment problem”, Aurangzeb said that enhancing CPEC 2.0 cooperation would be crucial, adding that the newest version of a flagship Belt and Road Initiative project would help the country digest its debt through an export-led model.

The CPEC is a key project under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, with more than US$65 billion pledged for development in Pakistan, including roads and railways.

The second phase of the project, according to Pakistan, aims to set up special economic zones in partnership with China to reform the country’s agricultural and information technology sectors while attracting Chinese companies to relocate their low-end industries to the country.

During their meeting last June, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted the upgrade to the CPEC project.

Aurangzeb said Pakistan was in trouble because the economy had been “primarily import-led”, which caused the country to “run out of foreign currency and get into a balance of payment problem”.

“Which means we have to fundamentally change the DNA of the economy towards export-led growth,” he added.

“CPEC phase two is all about primarily business-to-business, especially the economic zones. We want to make it work for some companies from the mainland to come in and use it as a real export hub.”

“CPEC phase one was all about the infrastructure, and that is where most of this debt came in … [If] we go into phase two, where we go into export industries … we can create enough dollars and … repay this debt,” he added.

Aurangzeb also pledged to step up security in his country to protect Chinese companies amid a series of deadly attacks in the region, with some targeting Chinese interests and personnel.

Additional reporting by Kandy Wong

Could Elon Musk really influence US China policy? Chinese academics have doubts

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294505/could-elon-musk-really-influence-us-china-policy-chinese-academics-have-doubts?utm_source=rss_feed

Elon Musk appears to have some sway over US president-elect Donald Trump, but top Chinese scholars are doubtful about how much influence the tech billionaire will have on the incoming administration’s China policy.

Musk’s business ties with China and his close relationship with some senior Chinese officials led to early suggestions that he could be a “bridge” between the rival powers when Trump returns to the White House on January 20.

Musk was among the first businessmen from the US to visit after the pandemic and invested heavily in China during its economic downturn. His company Tesla makes half of its electric vehicles in China, which also accounts for one-third of the company’s sales.

While some have suggested that Musk could have a positive impact on the US-China relationship, Wang Jisi, an influential academic and former adviser to the Chinese foreign ministry, said that his own American interactions indicated otherwise.

Speaking at the event on Sunday, Wang said Musk “has a lot of cooperation with China, knows the Chinese people, and has come to China many times”.

“Of course, I hope this is a good thing. After all, he is a businessman, a very skilled businessman, who has crossed over into politics. We cannot equate one person’s attitude towards China with the entire US policy,” he said at the event on US-China relations organised by Tsinghua University’s Institute of International Relations.

Wang, who is founding president of Peking University’s Institute of International and Strategic Studies, did not elaborate on his US interactions about Musk, who has been tapped by Trump to co-lead a drive to cut US government spending.

He also noted that Musk had a “competitive relationship” with China, giving the example that Tesla was competing in some ways with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers.

“Does he intend to invest in Tesla in China for a long time or will he leave after reaping some benefits? What I’ve heard is that the situation is still quite complicated. So I don’t think we can pin our hopes for Sino-US relations on one person,” Wang said.

At the same event, Zhang Yuyan, director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the China Academy of Social Sciences, was also unconvinced that any one individual could have a significant impact on Washington’s policies.

Zhang cited the case of Henry Stimson, the US official credited with dissuading then-president Harry Truman from dropping an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Kyoto in World War II.

Some historians have suggested that Stimson’s reasons were personal, as he had visited Kyoto several times, but in any case, it was Hiroshima and Nagasaki that the US eventually bombed.

“I think that is very interesting … Did [Stimson] have any influence on [American] policy?” Zhang said.

“He did have an influence, but it was only in deciding which city to bomb and which not to bomb. He could not decide whether to drop atomic bombs on Japan, so his influence was marginal.

“Once some major policies, strategies and guidelines are determined, it is very difficult for an individual to change a country’s foreign policy.”

In farewell, Biden urges Trump to tackle China’s overcapacity, clean energy dominance

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294621/farewell-biden-urges-trump-tackle-chinas-overcapacity-clean-energy-dominance?utm_source=rss_feed

US President Joe Biden urged his successor Donald Trump to tackle China’s “overcapacity” and dominance in clean energy supply chain, calling it a competition the US “must win”.

In a departing message delivered on Monday, a week before leaving office, Biden said the US is in a stronger position in a long-term competition with China, and claimed that the Chinese economy “will never suppress” that of the US owing to his efforts in making the country more competitive.

“When I took office, you all recall, and the experts believe … it was inevitable that China’s economy would surpass ours. But we in this room said, no, we make the investments in ourselves, we protect our workers and technology. That will not happen now,” Biden said at the US State Department.

He also claimed China has become “weaker” thanks to the US efforts with allies in countering Beijing in hi-tech, trade, and the Indo-Pacific during the four years of his tenure.

“It’s clear my administration is leaving the next administration with a very strong hand to play … We’re leaving them an America with more friends and strong reliance, whose adversaries are weaker and under pressure.”

Biden’s efforts to encourage US allies to jointly address the challenges that China poses economically and militarily, as its companies gain global market share and its naval presence grows emerged as a central part of the president’s foreign policy, has had broad support from Democrats and from some in Trump’s party.

Some countries have joined Washington in curbing semiconductor exports to China and imposing tariffs on the country’s leading clean-energy products, including electric vehicles, to counter what they called China’s manufacturing overcapacity.

Biden has also worked with Indo-Pacific nations and with the EU in creating a critical mineral security partnerships, aiming to reduce Beijing’s influence in the global technology supply chain, where China accounts for over 60 per cent of the world’s rare earth production and upwards of 90 per cent of refining.

On Monday, Biden urged his successor to continue American efforts in tackling challenges brought by China in this area.

“Some in the incoming administration are sceptical about the need for clean energy,” he said. “China is trying to dominate the clean energy manufacturing, critical material supply chains. They want to capture the market in the future and create new dependencies. The United States must win that contest.”

“Chinese used to control the supply chains and these materials, but not for long.”

Trump, who will be sworn in on January 20, is known for his scepticism over climate change and the need for a clean energy transition, calling efforts on this front a “green new scam”.

He vowed, for example, to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), legislation championed by Biden, which earmarked billions of US dollars in subsidies for companies manufacturing clean energy components in America, among other environmental initiatives launched by Biden.

However, Trump may find that gutting the law may run counter to his campaign trail pledges to boost employment and competitiveness against China.

Samantha Gross, a fellow specialising in climate and energy at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, said job creation would also be an advantage the Trump team would not overlook.

“If you care about American competitiveness in the world, if you care about job creation and keeping manufacturing going here in the United States, you care about this stuff, don’t kick the IRA out,” Gross said in a Brookings panel discussion on Monday.

“Don’t focus only on tariffs, focus on making the US globally competitive, not just in fossil but in clean [energy] as well.”

According to a report released in September by E2, a business group committed to “an economically sound approach to environmental issues”, clean energy and clean vehicle companies added nearly 150,000 new jobs in the US in 2023, the first full year that the IRA was in effect.

On Chinese manufacturing “overcapacity”, Trump has signalled that he will address the issue through tariffs, a tool that he has threatened to wield broadly as part of his “America first” agenda.

The incoming president has long accused Beijing of pursuing unfair trade practices that have led to wide surpluses with the US, a charge that his first presidential administration used to start a trade war in 2018.

Biden kept those tariffs in place throughout his term and some allies have also put up tariff barriers. But it remains to be seen how committed will Trump be in working with US allies to continue countering China, in the Indo-Pacific, which has increasingly become a flashpoint between the two superpowers amid heightening tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

Trump has long criticised many of Washington’s allies for what he calls a lack of burden sharing in defence partnerships. During his election campaign, the president-elect even asked Taiwan to pay the US for its defence.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governing island by force and is bound by the Taiwan Relations Act to support Taipei’s defence capability.

In his speech on Monday, Biden touted his legacy in the Indo-Pacific and called for continued alignment with allies on China.

“United States should take full advantage of our diplomatic and geopolitical opportunities we’ve created, keep bringing countries together to deal with challenges posed by China,” he said.

“We listed our allies and partners that join us, building more convergence among our allies on a shared approach to China than ever existed, and showing that it’s more effective to deal with China alongside of partners, rather than going alone.”

Additional reporting by Laura Zhou in Washington

‘Please save my son’: Chinese families’ desperate appeals over Thai job scams

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3294622/please-save-my-son-chinese-familys-desperate-appeals-over-thai-job-scams?utm_source=rss_feed

Sun Maoxing and wife Wang Weiju, both in their sixties, never expected their first trip outside China to involve a desperate search for their missing son.

The couple from mainland China’s Shandong province on Monday stood outside the Chinese embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, pleading for help from anyone they could see leaving the site.

Each of the parents told embassy staff to “please save my son”.

“The last time I saw my son was April last year, when my mother died … I did not have a chance to talk to him much then,” Sun, 64, said.

His 60-year-old wife, Wang, was equally distraught. “He is our only son. We cannot live without him,” she said outside the embassy.

The exact location of their 32-year-old son Sun Baochao is currently unknown, with WeChat messages asking his parents for money their only recent communication. In a message last week he revealed he was in Thailand.

The story is just one of the many behind human trafficking operations that force victims to work in notorious industrial-scale scam parks run by criminals in neighbouring Myanmar.

The efforts of mainlanders to track down their loved ones have prompted a Hong Kong advocate to ask families from the city who also have relatives trapped in Southeast Asian countries whether they want to take similar action and fly to Bangkok to make reports to Thai and Chinese authorities.

Former Yau Tsim Mong district council vice-chairman Andy Yu Tak-po has been helping some families of victims since 2022, twice providing assistance for them to submit petitions to Hong Kong authorities.

Outside the Chinese embassy in Bangkok on Monday, Wang told the Post that the couple’s son had worked for a delivery company in Shenzhen for three years after relocating from Tibet, where he had been in a similar role.

She said the only communication she had with her son since he asked for money last week were two further requests for funds.

Wang had also received three calls from her son’s WeChat account, but she said the person on the other end was a woman speaking in broken Mandarin.

Thai police told the elderly couple on Saturday last week that he had taken a taxi from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on January 1 but they could not trace his whereabouts after that point.

The couple were then asked to mail documents for their case to a designated postbox of the Chinese embassy. They have not had any updates since.

“[The embassy staff member] said he will contact me when there are updates, but currently they know nothing about what happened,” Sun said after a meeting at the Chinese embassy on Monday afternoon.

Wang Yaxin said at the embassy that he was looking for his 28-year-old cousin, who has been missing since he last reported where he was in the Thai province of Tak, bordering Myanmar.

The 40-year-old man from Harbin said he suspected his jobless cousin had fallen prey to a loan scam in Thailand.

Wang added that the young man told him he was travelling to take out a loan of around 1 million yuan (US$136,372) in Bangkok before he reported his location outside the Thai capital.

“I told him to share his location with me. I screen-grabbed his location, but once I left the chat window to make a phone call, he disappeared,” Wang said.

Human trafficking in Southeast Asia was again under the spotlight after mainland star Wang Xing was rescued from a scam centre along the border of Thailand and Myanmar on Friday last week.

The actor had gone missing for a week as he fell prey to a sham production invitation. His captors shaved his head and forced him to practise typing for days at a scam compound in Myanmar.

On Monday, Hong Kong security minister Chris Tang Ping-keung stressed that no victims involved in the recent scam park cases his bureau was working on had been abducted during their visit to Thailand, but all were lured there under the premise of securing high-paying jobs.

Sixteen of the 28 cases his bureau had been alerted to had ended with the victim returning to Hong Kong, Tang said. The rest were able to be contacted and said they were safe although they had “lost personal freedom”.

China woman, 124, shares longevity secrets, loves rice mixed with lard, walks after meals

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3293709/china-woman-124-shares-longevity-secrets-loves-rice-mixed-lard-walks-after-meals?utm_source=rss_feed

A woman in China who has lived for over a century and is known for her love of lard rice and her optimistic lifestyle, has inspired millions of people online.

Qiu Chaishi was born in 1901, at a time when China was under the semicolonial and semifeudal rule of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

On January 1, Qiu celebrated her 124th birthday, becoming one of the oldest centenarians in Nanchong city, southwestern China’s Sichuan province, with a family spanning six generations.

Her granddaughter is 60 years old, and the youngest member of the family is only eight months old.

Recently, Qiu shared her the secrets of her longevity with the mainland media, emphasising her simple and routine lifestyle.

She eats three meals a day on schedule, takes walks after meals, and goes to bed around 8pm.

Qiu manages chores like combing her hair, lighting fires, and feeding geese on her own, even climbing stairs with ease.

Her favourite dish is porridge made with pumpkin, winter melon, and crushed corn, topped with a spoonful of lard.

Her granddaughter said she has a soft spot for lard, but now eats it in moderation on doctors’ advice.

Qiu’s early years were marked by hardship.

She said that during the Qing dynasty, many people starved to death while searching for wild vegetables in the mountains.

“But I made it through,” she said.

Before marriage, Qiu earned respect in her village for her sharp accounting skills and impressive physical strength, often tackling the toughest farm tasks such as ploughing fields and stacking stones.

In her 40s, tragedy struck when her husband died suddenly, leaving her to raise four children alone.

Despite financial struggles, she worked tirelessly to ensure her children had new clothes and food.

Heartbreak returned in her 70s when her eldest son died of an illness, and her daughter-in-law remarried, leaving behind a granddaughter.

Qiu stepped up once more, raising her granddaughter alone. Years later, her granddaughter faced a troubled marriage, losing her husband due to illness.

Now, Qiu lives with her granddaughter in a three-story rural house in Nanchong.

After turning 100, she experienced some decline in vision and hearing but remained sharp-witted and articulate.

“My siblings, husband, and son passed away long ago. The King of Hell must have forgotten about me and will not take me!” she joked.

“Grandma never complains,” said her granddaughter, Qiu Taohua.

“After every misfortune, she stays quiet for a while, then bounces back with laughter and positivity.”

One netizen called Qiu a “blessed star”, and said: “A peaceful and optimistic attitude is her key secret to longevity.”

“She has witnessed China’s incredible history over a century. What a legendary life journey!” saifd another.

Qiu is one of 960 centenarians in Nanchong.

According to the 2020 National Census, China is home to 119,000 centenarians, the highest number in the world.

A 2023 report from the National Health Commission further highlighted China’s rising average life expectancy, at 78.6 years.

Hong Kong stood out globally in 2024, with the highest average life expectancy at 85.63 years, according to United Nations estimates cited by Worldometer.

Trump eyes Washington trade lawyer for key China post at Commerce Department

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3294620/trump-eyes-washington-trade-lawyer-key-china-post-commerce-department?utm_source=rss_feed

US president-elect Donald Trump is considering Washington trade lawyer Jeffrey Kessler to lead the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), according to people familiar with the matter, a key post in the US-China tech war.

Kessler, a partner at the law firm of WilmerHale, served as assistant secretary for enforcement and compliance during Trump’s first term, which made him the Commerce department’s top trade enforcement official.

If selected to head BIS, Kessler would oversee export controls on US technology exported to countries like China that pose a risk to national security.

Over the past decade, export controls became a potent weapon for the US in the tech battle between the world’s two biggest economies.

Spokespeople for the Trump transition team and Kessler did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Alan Estevez has been BIS undersecretary in the Biden administration. A former Pentagon official, Estevez has overseen sweeping restrictions on semiconductors and the equipment to make them, and restrictions on China’s telecommunications equipment firm Huawei Technologies.

On Monday, the department issued a framework to control the flow of US AI chips around the world, and later this week is set to publish a rule prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on American roads.

At WilmerHale, Kessler’s practice has emphasised China, his law firm biography says, noting he has helped US companies and trade associations “especially in innovative IP-intensive industries” navigate Chinese trade and investment barriers.

He also has advised clients on sanctions export controls, the challenges of doing business in the US and China, and compliance with forced labour legislation related to the Uygurs.

As assistant secretary during the first Trump administration, Kessler oversaw an overhaul of trade enforcement regulations, according to the biography. He also was responsible for enforcing US trade remedy laws, namely anti-dumping and countervailing duty law investigations.

In addition, he monitored foreign compliance with trade agreements, and supported negotiations for a June 2021 tariff ceasefire between the USTR, the European Union and Britain, the biography says.

A graduate of Yale University with a degree in philosophy, Kessler got both his law degree and a master’s in economics from Stanford University. He also holds a master’s in philosophy from the University of Chicago.

China unfairly dominates shipbuilding, US investigation finds, paving way for penalties

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3294611/china-unfairly-dominates-us-shipbuilding-investigation-finds-paving-way-penalties?utm_source=rss_feed

US President Joe Biden’s administration has concluded that China uses unfair policies and practices to dominate the global maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors, three sources familiar with the results of a months-long trade investigation told Reuters.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai launched the investigation in April 2024 at the request of the United Steelworkers and four other US unions under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the US to penalise foreign countries that engage in acts that are “unjustifiable” or “unreasonable”, or burden US commerce.

Investigators concluded that China targeted the shipbuilding and maritime industry for dominance, using financial support, barriers for foreign firms, forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft and procurement policies to give its shipbuilding and maritime industry an advantage, said one of the sources who was not authorised to speak publicly.

Beijing also “severely and artificially suppressed China’s labour costs in the maritime, shipbuilding and logistics sectors,” that person added, citing excerpts of the report.

No immediate comment was available from USTR, the White House or the transition team of US president-elect Donald Trump.

The Chinese embassy in Washington had no immediate comment.

The investigation cites data showing that China’s share of the US$150 billion global shipbuilding industry has expanded to over 50 per cent in 2023 from around 5 per cent in 2000, largely aided by government subsidies, while once dominant US shipbuilders have seen their share dwindle below 1 per cent. South Korea and Japan are the next biggest shipbuilders.

The report provides a fresh cudgel for the incoming administration to hammer China, and could pave the way for tariffs or port fees on Chinese-built vessels, as proposed by the unions. Such a move would likely come after a public comment period, they said.

Trump used the same Section 301 statute to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese imports during his first term after a USTR investigation found China was misappropriating US intellectual property and coercing the transfer of US technology to Chinese firms.

USTR will release its findings later this week, days before US President Joe Biden, a Democrat, leaves office on January 20, said the sources.

The US and other Western powers have sharply criticised China’s aggressive industrial policies and overproduction of commodities such as steel, reflecting a rare bipartisan agreement about the need to fix US shipbuilding. China denies any wrongdoing.

The report follows four years of efforts by the Biden administration to reduce China’s dominance by continuing Trump-era tariffs, adding new ones, including on electric vehicles, and imposing a range of export controls.

Tai’s office last month announced a last-minute trade investigation into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from autos to washing machines to telecoms gear.

Experts agree that rebuilding the once vibrant US maritime industry will take decades and investments of tens of billions of dollars. Tariffs alone will not suffice, they said.

“China’s targeting of the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors for dominance is the greatest barrier to the revitalisation of US industries in these sectors,” the report concludes, according to an excerpt shared with Reuters.

Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a non-profit labour-business partnership, said he understood that the findings were compelling.

“My understanding is that … a process will be laid out to try to stop the erosion of our shipbuilding industrial base and to start it growing again,” he said, cautioning, “This is not going to be a quick fix.”

Trump, who has said he will increase tariffs on Chinese goods to 60 per cent, last week blasted its moves to dominate commercial and military shipbuilding, telling radio host Hugh Hewitt that the US had “suffered tremendously” and needed to shift course.

He also suggested that the US might have to turn to allies to build needed naval vessels for the US military.

Trump’s incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz has also been deeply engaged on the issue, drafting a bipartisan bill with Democratic Senator Mark Kelly to revitalise the US shipbuilding industry before he resigned from Congress.

“We’re way too dependent on China in particular. We do not have surge capacity. We have very little shipbuilding capacity, and for a superpower that’s completely unacceptable,” Paul said.

The US has just 20 public and private shipyards, down from more than 300 American shipyards in the early 1980s. Experts say demand is strong and growing for civilian and military vessels.

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China is not only winning the tech war. It’s also rewriting the rules

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3294013/china-not-only-winning-tech-war-its-also-rewriting-rules?utm_source=rss_feed

The United States finds itself increasingly challenged by China’s strategic position. China’s proverbial traffic lights – control over raw materials and its fast-growing edge in artificial intelligence (AI) – are squeezing the US-led semiconductor and technology ecosystem. China is not only circumventing US efforts to restrict its access to advanced technology but also redefining the rules of global competition.

However, the US has built a traffic light of its own with some allies joining efforts to contain China’s technological development. The US can keep the red light on to stop the outflow of semiconductors and the inflow of Chinese products and services across various sectors from information technology to social media applications.

Since the US began curtailing China’s technology development, smaller Chinese firms have exited the industry. I wrote a chapter analysing the demise of these firms for a book that is due for release later this year.

China’s control over raw materials essential for semiconductors, military technology and pharmaceutical products is unparalleled. Rare earth elements, indispensable for advanced manufacturing, have long been dominated by China, accounting for over 70 per cent of the global supply. China has also strategically invested in refining and processing critical minerals like lithium, cobalt and graphite.

By curtailing the export of these materials, China exerts significant pressure on industries in the US and other advanced economies. These materials are the foundation for producing everything from smartphones to fighter jets. Without a steady supply, companies relying on hi-tech manufacturing in the US, Europe and Asia face disruptions, exposing their dependence on China.

Blocking the exports of rare earth elements mirrors the US policy of restricting semiconductor exports to China. The US seeks to curtail China’s access to advanced chips used in AI, military applications and supercomputing.

However, China’s targeting of raw materials is much more foundational, allowing it to potentially disrupt global supply chains. This positioning forces the US to reconsider how it secures critical inputs needed for hi-tech industries.

If controlling raw materials is China’s first red light, the push for AI dominance is the second. China has poured enormous resources into AI development, resulting in groundbreaking advancements in natural language processing, autonomous systems and algorithm-driven manufacturing. These advancements are reshaping industries worldwide, often with China at the helm.

AI now plays a critical role in the development of semiconductors, the very industry at the heart of US-China tensions. From chip design and testing to optimising supply chains, AI drives innovation and efficiency. As the US restricts China’s access, AI can help China develop its semiconductor capabilities, potentially bypassing the need for foreign expertise.

China’s AI strategy also extends beyond semiconductors. AI is becoming the backbone of military technology, surveillance systems and governance models. By dominating AI, China gains leverage in multiple arenas such as cybersecurity, healthcare and industrial automation. The ability to integrate AI across sectors ensures that China remains competitive, even as it faces external restrictions.

The US’ traffic light is represented through its control over advanced semiconductor technologies. Companies such as Nvidia, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices produce the world’s most sophisticated chips, essential for AI and supercomputing. Nonetheless, this dominance is increasingly squeezed by China’s control of the two other critical lights – raw materials and AI.

China’s control over raw materials challenges the US semiconductor industry at its core. Without access to critical inputs, the production of advanced chips becomes untenable. Meanwhile, China’s AI advancements threaten to leapfrog US efforts, eroding the technological edge that has long underpinned American dominance.

This dynamic creates a bottleneck for the US. While it seeks to curb China’s progress through export controls, it faces vulnerabilities in supply chains and AI development that could diminish its own influence. The traffic light analogy aptly captures this predicament: the US light, flashing yellow, faces two powerful red lights from China, dictating the pace and direction of global competition.

China’s strategy is not just about responding to US policies that rely on sprint victories; it’s about reshaping the global technological and economic order in a longer marathon race. By controlling critical resources and dominating AI, China creates dependencies that force other nations to align with its interests in the coming years. China’s strategy will have profound implications.

As far as semiconductors go, companies dependent on Chinese materials may need to diversify their supply chains – a costly and time-consuming process. Meanwhile, nations reliant on US technology but integrated into China’s AI and materials ecosystems will face difficult choices about aligning their policies and trade relationships.

China’s use of AI in its broader strategy highlights the transformative potential of this technology. AI is not just a tool for economic growth; it is a force multiplier across industries and domains. By becoming a leader in AI, China is creating the rules for the next stage of globalisation despite US attempts to erect traffic lights.

As AI becomes integral to military strategy, enabling autonomous systems, predictive analytics and decision-making processes, it does not matter who controls the machine if China controls the data sets behind those machines.

In financial systems, AI is supporting the cascades of blockchain technology. In aviation, AI is coordinating the skies to the point where it will not matter which cargo plane is carrying the chips for trade supplies. In the field of governance, AI-powered systems are optimising surveillance, data collection and even public services. Each of these applications reinforces China’s position as a global leader.

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