• Australia should not sabotage its own efforts to boost ties with China
• China lead poisoning: disease control agency, hospital faked results, probe finds
• As US and Europe cut aid budgets, China’s star is on the rise in Southeast Asia, report says
• China could counter US tech curbs by engaging Global South on AI, analysts say
• China woman suffers brain haemorrhage, in coma after sunbathing to improve health
• Dino-era diet debate: Chinese pterosaur fossil rewrites menu of ancient flying reptile
• China, Vietnam set for first joint army drills as US trade war draws neighbours closer
• Chinese family of girl resembling Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung sparks gender debate
• South Africa pushes to increase trade exports to China amid US’ 30% tariff hike
• No India, no go? Why a new China-led South Asian bloc may falter
• Chinese cashier steals US$2.4 million from firm to fund cosmetic surgery, lavish lifestyle
• Typhoon Wipha forces evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people in southern China
• Chinese hospital opens ‘Dislike Going to Work Clinic’ to address anxiety, depression
• From TikTok to Huawei, Chinese tech giants flock to Arab tech hub Dubai

Australia should not sabotage its own efforts to boost ties with China

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3318707/australia-should-not-sabotage-its-own-efforts-boost-ties-china?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese media outlets were keen to accentuate the positives of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to China. However, sections of the Australian media played up the idea that China was attempting to drive a wedge between Australia and the United States and members of the Australian opposition criticised the visit, calling some of Albanese’s stops “indulgent”.

The visit achieved much in some areas, but otherwise made little progress.

Despite reported efforts by Elbridge Colby, US undersecretary of defence for policy, to seemingly sabotage the visit, Albanese deftly refused to allow questions about Taiwan to divert him from his mission of reaffirming the improvement of Australia-China relations.

But if Albanese was trying to convince Chinese investors that Australia is a reliable place to invest in, he sabotaged himself. This is best summed up by the Australian Financial Review headline “PM stares down China retaliation threat over Darwin Port sale”.

The Albanese government is moving to overturn the China-based company Landbridge Group’s 99-year lease on the port of Darwin just a decade into the lease period. It would be difficult to find a better and more pertinent example of Australia’s limited reliability when it comes to long-term investment from China.

China remains an attractive market for Australian goods, so much of the visit focused on economic opportunities for Australian business relationships with China. Albanese’s efforts were a bare nod to the hard work that has been undertaken in difficult conditions by Australian businesses committed to the Chinese market.

The cap on foreign students continued lecturing of China in international forums and the lack of pushback against a vicious anti-China campaign by the Australian media have not made it any easier for those doing business in China. The visit luckily didn’t make matters worse, especially since direct discussion of the port of Darwin was avoided in the meetings between the leaders. Still, it is unlikely to significantly improve bilateral trade.

In 2024, at a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Canberra, Albanese admirably asserted that that “dialogue advances cooperation and addressing our differences without allowing them to define what our relationship is … so important.” Before his visit to China, Albanese indicated that he would raise various issues of concern and disagreement.

Canberra has expressed concern over the People’s Liberation Army navy conducting a live-fire exercise in international waters near Australia at short notice The issue was raised again during Albanese’s visit, despite knowing that China would raise similar issues in response to Australia’s role in freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea.

Overall, Albanese’s meetings in China suggest the bilateral relationship is stabilising but that there is little desire for significant policy advances.

Before Albanese’s visit, Xiao Qian, China’s ambassador to Australia, suggested that, in the 10th anniversary year of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, it may be time to expand cooperation in growth areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), healthcare, green energy and the digital economy. That some of these suggestions were immediately rebuffed by Australian politicians doesn’t offer much hope for improved bilateral ties.

China has reached out to countries affected by the chaos of US President Donald Trump’s trade disruption in the hope of developing a common response to his administration’s global bully behaviour. Ambassador Xiao’s proposal of cooperation on the issue was also rejected. This makes it unlikely that Albanese’s China visit will result in any diplomatic or policy breakthroughs.

The mechanisms of improved trade can be achieved by tinkering around the edges. Chinese Premier Li Qiang complained directly to Albanese that Chinese businesses are being treated unfairly because of foreign investment restrictions. Albanese listened, but later told reporters that his government’s screening of foreign investment was not country-specific. It remains to be seen if anything will change.

Australia’s engagement with the region reflects a stagnant policy. During a recent Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong urged members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to stand up for global rules and against coercion, while casting Australia as a “reliable partner”.

However, Wong failed to deliver the same message about compliance with global rules in relation to Trump’s disregard for international law in attacking Iran and his refusal to act against the genocide Israel has been accused at the International Court of Justice of committing in Gaza. These omissions, alongside framing China as a regional threat, set the policy parameters for Albanese’s visit to China.

Wong’s comments are a clear statement of Australia’s policy approach to regional trade platforms and indicate Australia’s likely response to China’s ambition to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Albanese’s visit to China was not about policy. It seemed to be more about boosting trade opportunities for Australian businesses than creating opportunities for Chinese commerce in Australia.

The apparent commitment to the annual leadership meetings might signal the continued stabilisation of Australia-China ties, but it is unlikely to result in much-needed changes, including more cooperation in areas of global interest such as AI or World Trade Organization reform.

Going into Albanese’s visit to China, there was little hope of any grand achievements so it’s not surprising that there have been no major policy announcements. Its lasting legacy may well be the disconnect between the idea that Australia is a reliable investment partner and the politically driven termination of Chinese investment in the port of Darwin.

China lead poisoning: disease control agency, hospital faked results, probe finds

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3318922/china-lead-poisoning-disease-control-agency-hospital-faked-results-probe-finds?utm_source=rss_feed

Ten officials in China’s northwestern Gansu province are under investigation for oversight failures, after the provincial disease control agency and a hospital were discovered to have falsified test results during a major kindergarten lead poisoning scandal.

This comes nearly two weeks after police in Gansu’s Tianshui city detained eight people over their involvement in the poisoning that left more than 200 kindergarteners with high lead levels in their blood, in a case that shocked the nation.

According to an investigation report released by the provincial government on Sunday, the Gansu Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Tianshui Second People’s Hospital manipulated testing procedures and results for children from Heshi Peixin Kindergarten.

The officials placed under “accountability discipline investigation” include the Communist Party chief for the Gansu health commission, Zhang Hao, and director Liu Borong, provincial disease control bureau director Gan Xiaozhou, Tianshui municipal party committee secretary Feng Wenge and Tianshui mayor Liu Lijiang, the report said.

It also said senior provincial officials were “deeply saddened” by the poisoning that had shocked the country, and conveyed their sincere apologies to the affected children and their parents

The local government will treat the children free of charge and reimburse any medical costs incurred outside the city, the report added.

Tianshui Second People’s Hospital detected abnormal lead levels in the blood of seven children between May 1 last year and June 30 this year, but modified the reports for two of them, according to the report released on the Gansu provincial government website.

The blood lead levels in the report were changed from 292.37 micrograms per litre (mcg/L) to 42.37 mcg/L, and from 440.14 mcg/L to 103 mcg/L, respectively.

Blood lead levels above 250mcg/L are typically regarded as indicative of moderate poisoning, while 450mcg/L or more indicates severe poisoning.

The investigators found that the hospital failed to raise the alarm despite discovering that the same child had abnormal blood lead levels in six consecutive tests over a six-month period from last November. It also failed to probe the matter or notify the kindergarten.

It was also found that the hospital “had previously tampered with [other] blood lead test data”, the report said, adding that disciplinary authorities were carrying out a thorough investigation.

Personnel at the Gansu CDC, who were tasked with testing after the provincial government launched an investigation, also severely violated operational procedures, resulting in distorted test results. They subsequently used various tactics to evade responsibility and hinder the investigation, according to the report.

State broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday night that the Gansu Provincial People’s Hospital had “taken over” the Tianshui Second People’s Hospital, which was under investigation.

Chinese media reports earlier said that many parents took their children to other cities for treatment, only to discover that their blood lead levels were much higher than those provided by local hospitals.

The latest official report confirms the previous investigation by local police, which found that canteen staff bought decorative paint online, diluted it, and added it to school meals. All of this was done with the approval of the principal, who was among the eight suspects arrested earlier this month.

Also detained was a local investor named Li and six canteen staff on suspicion of “producing toxic and harmful food”.

The kindergarten was found to have chosen the paint – despite its being clearly labelled as not for consumption – because it was “brighter”, even though it was more expensive than other food colouring.

The investigators confirmed that 247 of the 251 enrolled students and 28 of the 34 staff members at the kindergarten had high blood lead levels.

Further, 70 out of the 72 children who graduated in 2023 and 2024 were tested, of whom five had abnormal levels of lead in their blood.

No lead pollution had been detected in the kindergarten’s surrounding environment, the report said.

Three other kindergartens also backed by the investor named Li were found to be unaffected.

As US and Europe cut aid budgets, China’s star is on the rise in Southeast Asia, report says

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3318693/us-and-europe-cut-aid-budgets-chinas-star-rise-southeast-asia-report-says?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s role as Southeast Asia’s largest infrastructure financier is increasing its regional influence at a time when the United States and the European Union are slashing their foreign aid budgets, a new report by an Australian think tank said.

With the Trump administration in the United States scrapping about US$60 billion in aid and European countries pulling back more than US$25 billion, “the centre of gravity” in Southeast Asia’s development finance landscape “looks set to drift East, notably to Beijing, but also Tokyo and Seoul”, the Lowy Institute report, which was released today, said.

“China is the single largest partner on infrastructure financing in Southeast Asia, but traditional donors combined still outspend it,” the report’s lead authors, Alexandre Dayant, Grace Stanhope and Roland Rajah, wrote. “As Western aid declines and China recalibrates its strategy, Beijing is well positioned to regain dominance.”

Southeast Asia’s traditional partners include countries such as the US and Australia, and international organisations such as the United Nations, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

With the US expected to cut its foreign assistance by 83 per cent this year, the retrenchment of funds from Europe and tariff uncertainties undermining trade ties between the US and other countries, China is enhancing its influence in the region through infrastructure connections. Recent examples include work on high-speed railway links with Vietnam and Thailand.

China International Development Cooperation Agency spokesman Li Ming told a news conference in March that China’s “principles related to foreign aid, including non-interference in internal affairs, no political strings attached and no empty promises made, will not change”.

“A major country should act like a major country by shouldering its due international obligations and fulfilling its responsibilities, rather than renege on its promises, be mercenary or bullying,” he said.

The Lowy Institute report said that in 2023, China had “ramped up” non-concessional loan disbursements by almost 50 per cent compared to 2022, accelerating major infrastructure projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia and the East Coast Rail Link in Malaysia.

“Even as the infrastructure race slows, China’s relative importance as a development actor in the region will rise as Western development support recedes,” the report said. “Beijing retains a substantial pipeline of infrastructure projects and has shown continued appetite to take on major projects.”

Lower-middle-income economies such as the Philippines and Vietnam would engage with China when doing so aligned with their domestic priorities, the report said, while poorer economies such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar – which had limited access to alternative financing – remained “heavily reliant” on China and had “much less room to negotiate”.

There was a fourfold increase in Chinese infrastructure project commitments from a low of US$2.5 billion in 2022 to almost US$10 billion in 2023 due to the revival of the Kyaukphyu Deep Sea Port project in Myanmar, the report said.

It said the European Union and the governments of seven European countries – France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Austria and Italy – had announced plans last year to implement US$17.2 billion in foreign aid cuts between this year and 2029, while the United Kingdom was cutting around US$7.6 billion a year.

Total development finance to Southeast Asia could decline by 8 per cent, or more than US$2 billion, to US$26.5 billion next year, according to Lowy Institute estimates based on budget documents, public announcements and calculations by other researchers.

“Western alternative infrastructure offerings have effectively failed to materialise in recent years,” the report said, also noting that promises from Western countries to support the region’s clean energy transition “have yet to translate into more projects on the ground”.

China could counter US tech curbs by engaging Global South on AI, analysts say

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318837/china-could-counter-us-tech-curbs-engaging-global-south-ai-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed

China needs to engage and cooperate more effectively with the Global South on AI governance to counter US moves to hobble its technological progress, according to analysts.

They also said that as the US retreated from its leadership role it could be “sidelined during a critical period” as the global norms and rules around artificial intelligence were shaped, while China continued to push forward conversations on governance.

Jiang Yuhao, a researcher with the Institute of Public Policy, an independent think tank under the South China University of Technology, said China could move beyond its great power rivalry with the US by pushing for innovation in cooperation with the Global South.

“By promoting collaborative creation and equitable sharing of advanced technologies, this approach would offer a more effective response to the US strategy of ‘small yard, high fence’ and supply chain decoupling,” he said.

Jiang said China should partner with the Global South to deliver inclusive AI infrastructure, promote tech sharing and fair data access, and co-develop ethical frameworks that addressed diverse regional concerns.

He said while American tech curbs on China might deepen problems in the semiconductor supply chain they could also spur more diverse global cooperation.

Jia Kai, an associate professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s School of International and Public Affairs, said the rise of open-source AI marked a fundamental shift in tech development – and the competition-first and zero-sum mindset no longer held.

He also said technological evolution in AI had entered a new phase of innovation and governance through application, and that the focus had shifted from frontier AI safety to practical application development.

“Real progress requires widespread adoption – especially involving the Global South – to build genuine consensus around real issues and truly make AI governance democratic and scientific,” he said.

As AI becomes a foundational technology that could reshape economies, societies and geopolitics, global efforts to establish shared rules and governance frameworks around it have intensified.

China has sought to position itself as a leader on AI governance, with an emphasis on making sure the global norms and frameworks align with the needs of small and emerging artificial intelligence powers. The World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2025 will be held in Shanghai from July 26 to 28.

Earlier this month, the leaders of the Brics group of emerging economies, including China, issued a joint statement on AI global governance, pledging to build a UN-centred system and stressing digital sovereignty and the right to development.

Jia said engaging the Global South on AI was not adversarial to either the Global North or large artificial intelligence companies like OpenAI. He said it would instead help to unlock the technology’s full potential by expanding its applications and through collaborative innovation.

According to Jiang, from the think tank, an excessive focus on competition caused governments to favour the dominant firms while neglecting the development needs of other innovative players – a dilemma he said the US was caught in.

He said China had embraced a “government-industry-academia” collaboration landscape but – driven by “intense competition” with the US and among domestic regions – it had also been concentrating resources on leading companies to achieve rapid breakthroughs.

“While this supporting-the-strong strategy may improve innovation efficiency in the short term, it suppresses the innovation needs of SMEs, social organisations and diverse actors, hindering China’s ability to pursue diverse pathways for international tech and industrial cooperation,” he said.

Cole McFaul, a senior research analyst at Georgetown’s Centre for Security and Emerging Technology, said China would “continue its concerted outward engagement in global AI governance conversations as the US retreats, and the US risks being sidelined during a critical period for shaping the global norms and rules around AI”.

He said that on AI governance, the Donald Trump administration held “a deep scepticism” of multilateral initiatives and Washington’s traditional alliance networks and partnerships.

“They are very reluctant to commit to binding agreements internationally and I think what we’re going to see is just pushing harder in promoting AI innovation,” he said.

Scott Singer, a visiting scholar in the Technology and International Affairs Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said there was a “growing global conversation around how to govern AI right now, and the US is undoubtedly stepping back from its leadership role”.

“That’s an inevitable consequence of both the US’ current domestic turn inward but also a complete gutting of the talent the US government had in its civil service that was building technically informed AI policy,” he said.

Singer said active Chinese efforts to support global capacity-building were in “stark contrast” to the withdrawal of US global development support following the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

According to McFaul, although the US was currently in a period of retreat or reassessment, it was likely to be short-lived. He said global conversations around AI governance were continuing, with strong US industry involvement, since companies were highly incentivised to remain influential in shaping the rules.

China woman suffers brain haemorrhage, in coma after sunbathing to improve health

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3318277/china-woman-suffers-brain-haemorrhage-coma-after-sunbathing-improve-health?utm_source=rss_feed

The case of a 67-year-old woman in China who suffered a brain haemorrhage and fell into a coma after sunbathing her back for two hours in scorching heat in a bid to “cure illnesses” has shocked the nation.

The incident recently unfolded in Zhejiang province, southeastern China, when the woman, surnamed Wang, tried a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) remedy she had heard about.

The remedy apparently said that “sunbathing your back can warm the yang energy, dispel dampness and cure illnesses”.

Around noon, Wang lay face-down in an open area outside her home for two hours.

However, shortly after returning indoors, she collapsed and lost consciousness.

She was rushed to hospital where doctors said she had suffered an aneurysmal cerebral haemorrhage and a life-threatening brain hernia.

An emergency operation was performed, but she was left in a coma.

Ye Xiangming, Director of the Rehabilitation Department at Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, said that Wang had suffered severe brain damage.

Her prolonged bedridden state also put her at risk of complications.

Wang underwent an extensive rehabilitation process, which included acupuncture and a series of surgeries.

She gradually regained the ability to sit up, stand, talk and eventually feed herself.

“The saying ‘sunbathing cures all diseases’ has no scientific basis,” Ye said.

“Long-term exposure to the sun in high temperatures is extremely dangerous for elderly individuals and those with pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure or cerebrovascular disease, potentially leading to serious issues such as heatstroke or stroke,” added Ye.

A 2023 report published in The Lancet medical journal estimated that heatwaves caused around 50,900 deaths in China in 2022.

Zhuangshi Lihe, a medical influencer with nearly 2.4 million followers on social media, said it was more important to focus on proper sun exposure and heatstroke protection in the summer.

“I have seen many people giving advice on how to properly sunbathe your back; that is just nonsense,” the influencer said.

“For healthy individuals, the focus should be on sun protection and heatstroke prevention. In this kind of summer heat, staying indoors with air conditioning is the most comfortable choice,” added Zhuangshi.

The incident has shocked mainland social media.

One person said: “Everything should be done in moderation. Sunbathing your back should be gradual. Others do 20 minutes; she did two hours. She literally sunbathed with her life.”

“This is basically a barbecue. Even without pre-existing health issues, you risk heatstroke. Do not blindly follow these trends!” said another.

Dino-era diet debate: Chinese pterosaur fossil rewrites menu of ancient flying reptile

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3318792/dino-era-diet-debate-chinese-pterosaur-fossil-rewrites-menu-ancient-flying-reptile?utm_source=rss_feed

Scientists in China and Brazil have found the first evidence of a plant-eating pterosaur, the ancient flying reptiles that coexisted with dinosaurs.

The rare find sheds light on the mysterious diets of the creatures that ruled the skies before birds and renews a contentious debate among palaeontologists.

“We report the first evidence of stomach contents of a pterodactyloid pterosaur,” the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Bulletin on July 1.

The fossil of the Sinopterus atavismus – a species of pterosaur – was found in northeastern China. Its stomach was found to contain phytoliths, a rigid, microscopic mineral deposit that forms in some plants, as well as small quartz crystals possibly swallowed to aid digestion, the team said.

Quartz is commonly present in gastroliths – or mineralised “stomach stones” that many living animals, including birds and lizards, keep in their gizzards or stomachs to help grind up tough foods like plants.

“The first occurrence of phytoliths, associated with gastroliths, in the stomach contents confirms the herbivory of Sinopterus. It is the first time that such structures have been discovered in pterosaurs.”

Pterosaurs are an extinct group of flying reptiles that lived from around 240 million years ago in the Late Triassic period to the end of the Cretaceous period around 66 million years ago.

Often mistaken for dinosaurs, pterosaurs like the pterodactyl and the pteranodon – which were featured in the Jurassic Park film franchise – were the earliest vertebrates to evolve powered flight.

“Among the several questions surrounding these flying reptiles is their dietary habits, which remain poorly understood,” said the team, led by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP).

There have been many hypotheses about what pterosaurs ate, including that they primarily fed on insects, fish, meat and plants, and even engaged in filter-feeding like whales.

The diet debate has persisted because of the limited amount of fossilised pterosaur food remains – either from within a body cavity or in the form of regurgitated food or excreted waste.

Direct stomach contents would be the strongest evidence, which was “exceedingly rare”, the team said. But it is difficult to know for certain, as there are only five confirmed cases of pterosaur stomach contents in the earlier, non-pterodactyloid species, which mostly contained fish remains.

The extremely rare, nearly complete Sinopterus specimen was found by IVPP researchers at a Lower Cretaceous geological formation in China’s northeastern Liaoning province. It is part of a family of toothless pterosaurs called Tapejaridae.

The Sinopterus fossil was preserved within a fine shale slab, a fine-grained rock formed from the compaction of mud that is known for preserving delicate fossils.

To determine whether the remains found in its body cavity were stomach contents, the team – which also included researchers from Shenyang Normal University and the National Museum of Brazil – used specialised 3D X-ray imaging.

They found a fine, claylike material that appeared to be undigested plant material. These remains contained rigid microscopic structures that appeared to be phytoliths, which form within the cells of some plants and can remain behind even after the rest of the plant has decayed.

Their insolubility, as well as their ability to be linked to specific plants, has allowed scientists to use phytoliths to help determine the diets of extinct species.

In the Sinopterus specimen, there were 320 phytoliths within the remains. The researchers compared them to a database of more than 4,000 modern phytoliths, but only 10 per cent could be classified based on today’s scientific naming system.

Some of these classified phytoliths resembled those found in modern woody plants, broad-leaved plants and ferns.

“Phytolith morphologies in the stomach contents, with this high diversity, are nearly impossible to attribute to one single taxon based on the recent knowledge, which suggests that Sinopterus might have consumed a diverse range of plants,” the team said. A taxon is a named group or unit in biological classification.

Imaging of the stomach contents also showed the presence of gastroliths, which is often interpreted as an indicator of herbivory – though some carnivores also retain them.

The gastroliths found within the stomach remains were small – grains the size of sand particles, which appeared to be quartz, a material that is “suitable for crushing and grinding foodstuff in the gizzard”, the team said.

China, Vietnam set for first joint army drills as US trade war draws neighbours closer

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3318904/china-vietnam-set-first-joint-army-drills-us-trade-war-draws-neighbours-closer?utm_source=rss_feed

China and Vietnam are set to conduct their first joint army training exercise, according to the Chinese defence ministry.

In a statement posted on its website on Sunday, the ministry announced that the joint exercise would be held this month in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, which borders Vietnam.

Military ties between the Communist Party-led neighbours have deepened in recent months despite territorial disputes, as the close economic partners seek ways to navigate the US tariff war. The two sides have long carried out joint naval and land border patrols, but the coming exercise would be the first such exchange between their armies.

“This is the first joint army drill between China and Vietnam, with the theme of ‘joint border patrol training’,” the Chinese Ministry of Defence statement said.

The exercise would “further deepen practical cooperation between the two militaries”, it added.

On the economic front, China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner and a critical supplier for its manufacturing sector. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Vietnam in April, days after the escalation of the US tariff war, where he called on the Asian neighbours to cooperate to “fight unilateral bullying”.

Closer defence cooperation this year – which marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties – has included the Chinese military’s first-ever appearance at Vietnam’s annual celebration of the fall of Saigon.

On April 30, People’s Liberation Army troops marched in what was the biggest parade to mark 50 years since the end of Vietnam’s civil war.

Also in April, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun visited northern Vietnam and met with his Vietnamese counterpart Phan Van Giang, with both sides pledging increased defence cooperation.

The PLA Navy’s 38th joint patrol with the Vietnamese Navy in the Gulf of Tonkin also concluded in April. According to China’s defence ministry, the operation involved two missile frigates from each country, and covered an area of over 200 nautical miles (370km).

Last July, China’s Armed Police Force and Vietnam’s Mobile Police Force conducted joint counterterrorism exercises in Guangxi.

Meanwhile, the two sides have also stepped up efforts to assert their overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.

Hanoi has been a vocal critic of Beijing’s activities in the South China Sea. Since 2021, Vietnam has quietly but steadily advanced its island-building activities in the Spratly Islands, whose rival claimants include the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

According to a social media post by a Chinese think tank last month, Vietnam has continued land reclamation and expansion on islands and reefs it occupies in disputed areas, and has built new ports and airstrips with military-related facilities.

But Beijing has largely refrained from public criticism of Hanoi, reflecting their warming ties and heightened Chinese concerns over the deepening defence partnership between treaty allies the Philippines and the United States.

In contrast, Beijing has reacted strongly to the Philippine claims in the resource-rich, strategically vital waters. Frequent stand-offs between Chinese and Philippine coastguard vessels have heightened tensions in the region, with confrontations involving water cannon use and collisions near contested features.

Chinese family of girl resembling Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung sparks gender debate

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3318293/chinese-family-girl-resembling-hong-kong-actress-cecilia-cheung-sparks-gender-debate?utm_source=rss_feed

A teenage girl in China went viral for looking like the famous Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi, but controversy followed her fame as her family was suspected of having a preference for boys.

The 15-year-old girl, nicknamed Qiqi, went viral after she was caught on camera by an online influencer in a town in central China’s Henan province.

Nearly six million people viewed her videos.

Many were attracted to her beautiful looks, saying she was like a blend of Hong Kong actress Cheung, model Angelababy and Chinese actress Song Zuer.

In the influencer’s video, Qiqi appears to be shy. But many said they were attracted by her unpretentious character.

They also said she had dwarfed the looks of many stars even without wearing make-up.

Some said Qiqi looks like the daughter that Cheung and her ex-husband, the Cantopop star, Nicholas Tse Ting-fung, never had.

She immediately became a local celebrity and was filmed when she went out.

Her mother posted a video on July 14, thanking people for liking her daughter.

In one of her previous videos, some viewers spotted a group photo of her family, composed of three daughters and a youngest son. Qiqi is the family’s oldest daughter.

The photo led many people to ask if the had a son preference.

China implemented a three-child policy in 2021 amid the country’s plummeting birth rate.

The number of births dropped consecutively from 17.86 million in 2016 to 9.02 million in 2023, and only bounced back to 9.54 million last year.

Many people expressed an unwillingness to have children despite the country’s efforts to boost births.

As a result of this, families with many daughters and a youngest son are often frowned upon.

It is also common for girls growing up in such families to make sacrifices for their youngest brother.

Qiqi’s mother said that their family does not have a boy preference.

She also showed videos of Qiqi and said they sent her to dance classes and supported her hobby.

Chinese screenwriter and producer Yu Zheng said on social media that he had reached out to Qiqi.

Yu has been recruiting people with no professional training to become actors with his company.

Last year, he signed former college teacher Zhang Wanying and said her classical beauty made her a perfect costume drama actress.

Qiqi’s mother said she did not plan to sign her daughter to any company because she is still a minor.

Her decision was supported by online observers.

“Her parents should not get lost in her overnight fame. They should let her continue studying and growing up in an innocent environment,” one person said.

South Africa pushes to increase trade exports to China amid US’ 30% tariff hike

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318751/south-africa-pushes-increase-trade-exports-china-amid-us-30-cent-tariff-hike?utm_source=rss_feed

Facing a US tariff of 30 per cent from August 1, South Africa is intensifying efforts to significantly grow its exports to China and address a persistent trade imbalance.

A high-level delegation, led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile, has been on a week-long visit to Beijing, seeking investments and pitching strategic opportunities to diversify the nation’s export basket beyond basic commodities towards higher-value products such as pharmaceuticals, automotive goods and green energy technologies.

In a speech at the South Africa China Investment Forum, held on the sidelines of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing earlier this week, Mashatile said South Africa’s trade deficit with China had risen from less than US$1 billion (7.2 billion yuan) annually between 1988 and 2000 to US$9.71 billion (69.7 billion yuan) by 2023.

“We need to address challenges such as access to the Chinese market due to factors like tariff and non-tariff barriers, distance and competition from other countries,” he said.

South Africa is seeing a growing trade deficit that heavily favours China, and Mashatile explained that tackling these challenges required expanding South Africa’s export portfolio, encouraging value-added exports and establishing a more balanced trade relationship.

Observers acknowledged China’s crucial role as an alternative market but cautioned against it being a simple one-to-one replacement for the US, citing trade complexities, potential “chilling effects” on US investment and the risk of over-dependence.

Carlos Lopes, a professor at the University of Cape Town’s Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, said that while the Chinese market was important for South Africa, it was “not a simple one-to-one replacement for the US”.

South Africa’s exports to the US were US$14.7 billion in 2024, a 4.9 per cent increase from 2023, contributing to a US goods trade deficit with South Africa of US$8.8 billion, according to the US Trade Representative.

However, South Africa’s exports to China totalled US$30.64 billion (220 billion yuan) last year, according to China’s customs.

Lopes said China was strategically relevant as an alternative for sectors such as agriculture, where products such as citrus fruits and wine could be redirected with relative ease.

But the issue, he stressed, extended beyond trade to investment flows.

“The real threat is the ‘chilling effect’ on US investments in South Africa, particularly in sectors like automotive manufacturing. For example, Ford’s US$1 billion investment may now be under review or at risk of delays,” Lopes cautioned.

Lopes said this situation created an opportunity for China to fill the investment gap as a capital partner, particularly in the fast-growing electric vehicle sector, given the increasing demand across Africa.

Mashatile noted that while traditional exports have penetrated the Chinese market, the next growth frontier lay in new, higher-value sectors, such as renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and the digital economy.

Mandira Bagwandeen, a lecturer in the political science department at Stellenbosch University, said the Chinese market was crucial for South Africa and likely to become even more significant in light of the new US tariffs.

But she that shifting exports to address the US tariff impact would require a significant rebalancing of this trade relationship.

“China, as an existing major partner, presents the most immediate and viable alternative for re-routing some of the trade affected by US tariffs, but South Africa must be careful of becoming too dependent on China,” Bagwandeen said.

On China’s move to scrap tariffs on all products from 53 African countries, excluding eSwatini, which recognises Taiwan, Bagwandeen said, “South African products will face competition from other global suppliers in the Chinese market.

“The duty-free access is a significant advantage but competitiveness in terms of price, quality and marketing will still be key.”

She said that while South Africa’s exports to China had historically been dominated by raw materials, redirecting manufactured goods such as automotive components or processed agricultural products would require enhancing its value-addition capabilities and focusing on exporting higher-value finished goods.

Bagwandeen suggested South Africa should boost processed agricultural exports to China by capitalising on duty-free access amid rising demand from China’s middle class.

However, Lopes warned against over-reliance on China, urging diversification due to risks like China’s economic slowdown and sectoral oversupply.

“A China pivot can help in some areas, but over-dependence creates new risks, especially given China’s own economic slowdown and the oversupply in some of its sectors,” he cautioned.

No India, no go? Why a new China-led South Asian bloc may falter

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3318803/no-india-no-go-why-new-china-led-south-asian-bloc-may-falter?utm_source=rss_feed

A fresh push by China and Pakistan to redraw the map of South Asian cooperation risks stumbling at the first hurdle, with analysts saying India remains key to future regional cooperation given its economic heft and crisis management credentials.

According to sources cited in Indian media, discussions between Islamabad and Beijing on a potential replacement for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) are at an advanced stage – a move observers interpret as a broader geopolitical play by China to sideline India in its own neighbourhood.

Bangladeshi officials reportedly attended a meeting on June 19 in Kunming, China, about the new bloc, but Dhaka played down any political implications. “We are not forming any alliance,” foreign affairs adviser M. Touhid Hossain was later quoted as saying.

Saarc, formed in 1985 by seven founders including India and later joined by Afghanistan in 2007, has been largely inactive since 2016. A planned summit that year collapsed after India withdrew, citing Pakistan’s alleged support for militants who attacked an army base in Kashmir.

Since then, the group has met only in a limited capacity, according to Swaran Singh, a professor of international relations at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University.

“The hiccups remain inherently driven largely by India-Pakistan geopolitics,” he said, adding that any regional grouping excluding Delhi would likely leave Islamabad as the de facto leader.

India’s position in South Asia is unassailable, according to Singh: its population is seven times that of Pakistan, its economy is 12 times larger and its foreign exchange reserves dwarf Pakistan’s by a factor of 45. Its defence budget is also five times the size.

“This should give us enough idea of the future of any South Asian regional cooperation initiatives that seek to keep India out of its formulation,” he said.

Smaller nations in the region like Nepal and Bhutan, meanwhile, depend on access to India to fulfil many of their export needs.

Shantesh Kumar Singh, an associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s School of International Studies, further highlighted India’s leadership in times of crisis, such as disaster response and vaccine diplomacy during the Covid-19 pandemic, as evidence of its indispensability.

India’s proactive participation was essential for a “balanced regional order” given China’s growing strategic footprint, he said. “India must continue to be a responsible and collaborative leader, fostering trust and inclusive collaboration to avoid external forces from dictating South Asia’s regional architecture and goals.”

“Without [India], Saarc’s structural integrity will be significantly undermined,” he added, warning that Delhi’s absence could leave the bloc fragmented and underfunded.

China’s drive to expand its influence in South Asia is rooted in strategic, economic and security interests. Through projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing not only seeks to promote regional connectivity but also to secure energy routes and counter India’s rise, analysts say.

But countries such as Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal may hesitate to join any new regional body that excludes India. “While some countries have issues with India, they may not want to be looked at by Delhi as explicitly anti-India,” said Pavan Chaurasia, a research fellow at the India Foundation think tank. He characterised the reported China-Pakistan initiative as “a geopolitical move by China to exert pressure on India” and institutionalise Beijing’s presence in the region.

“India’s neighbouring countries may, at best, use this invitation to join the new organisation as a bargaining chip against India to crack a better deal,” Chaurasia predicted, emphasising the need to accommodate Delhi’s sensitivities.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited all Saarc leaders to his first swearing-in ceremony in 2014 and attended that year’s Saarc summit in Kathmandu, where he called for a motor-vehicle agreement to boost connectivity. When Pakistan blocked the deal, India advanced a similar pact with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal the following year.

India also pressed ahead with the South Asia Satellite project in 2017, despite Pakistan’s earlier withdrawal, with the aim of benefiting all other Saarc nations.

In 2020, Modi convened a virtual Saarc summit to address the Covid-19 pandemic, proposing an emergency fund to which India contributed nearly half of the US$22 million total sum.

“These examples illustrate that India had been trying to turn Saarc into a robust regional organisation that could do good for the member nations,” Chaurasia said.

Ties between India and Pakistan have been strained mainly by their long-standing territorial dispute over Kashmir. The conflict has resulted in multiple wars and other clashes, including cross-border terrorism and military stand-offs.

In May, the two nuclear-armed states exchanged their most serious military blows in years, beginning with Indian missile strikes in response to a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan retaliated with strikes on Indian military bases.

In February, amid calls from Bangladesh’s interim government to revive Saarc, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told Dhaka that it should not “normalise terrorism”.

In recent years, India has increasingly prioritised cooperation within alternative groupings such as Bimstec, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, which notably excludes Pakistan.

Chinese cashier steals US$2.4 million from firm to fund cosmetic surgery, lavish lifestyle

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3317544/chinese-cashier-steals-us24-million-firm-fund-cosmetic-surgery-lavish-lifestyle?utm_source=rss_feed

A woman in China who earned a modest 8,000 yuan (US$1,100) a month embezzled nearly 17 million yuan (US$2.4 million) to pay for a lavish lifestyle and undergo a range of cosmetic surgeries.

The image-changing sessions took place four times a year over a six-year period and cost 300,000 yuan (US$42,000) each time.

She also cultivated a wealthy image on social media, spending about two million yuan (US$278,000) a year on luxury goods.

These included diamond bracelets worth more than 100,000 yuan and limited-edition crocodile skin handbags. She also gambled in Macau casinos.

The 41-year-old, who used the pseudonym Wang Jing, worked as a cashier for a flower and gardening services company in Shanghai that was founded by a person surnamed Xu in 2018.

To facilitate payments, Xu and Wang set up a secured online banking system that was controlled by Wang.

Xu had hired a professional accounting firm and could monitor the company’s finances via her phone, so she felt reassured and placed her trust in Wang.

However, Wang had secretly been treating the company’s account as her personal vault, using it to fund an extravagant lifestyle.

She confessed that her sole motivation at work was to transfer company funds into her own account for personal use.

Her largest single misappropriation was between 30,000 and 40,000 yuan (US$4,100 and US$5,600). Over six years, she embezzled a total of 17 million yuan.

This included gambling away almost three million yuan in Macau’s casinos and spending 300,000 yuan per session on anti-ageing treatments, undergoing four such sessions a year, totalling 1.2 million yuan annually.

“I am blinded by vanity, I have never spent money on any man. I just want to make myself look better,” Wang reportedly said, adding: “I enjoy being praised and looking young.”

The scheme unravelled in July 2024 when the tax authorities made an unannounced visit to the company and discovered discrepancies between its actual operations and its tax declarations.

At that time, the company’s accounts were empty, forcing Xu to use her personal savings to cover employee social security payments.

The Changning District People’s Procuratorate in Shanghai officially indicted Wang Jing on charges of embezzlement and fraud. The case is ongoing.

The shocking revelation, reported by Shanghai Media Group, has stunned mainland social media.

One person said: “Did the boss never check the books? Why did it take six years to find out? Were there no monthly, quarterly or annual audits?”

“Well, the cashier certainly enjoyed herself for six years. But now she is likely to spend the rest of her life in prison. It is like trading her future for a few years of luxury.”

Typhoon Wipha forces evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people in southern China

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3318893/typhoon-wipha-forces-evacuation-hundreds-thousands-people-southern-china?utm_source=rss_feed

Hundreds of thousands of people in southern China have been evacuated and flights and trains cancelled as a result of Typhoon Wipha.

The China Meteorological Administration issued an orange typhoon warning, the second highest level in the four-tier system, on Sunday, expecting Wipha to make landfall between Zhuhai and Zhanjiang in Guangdong province on Sunday afternoon or evening.

The storm, which had already battered Taiwan and the Philippines, also caused strong winds and heavy rain in the neighbouring provinces of Fujian and Hainan as well as Hong Kong, where a No 10 typhoon alert was raised.

At the time of landfall, Wipha was forecast to reach an intensity of Force 13 to 14, with wind speeds of over 150km/h (93mph).

Guangdong was braced for heavy rain, with some areas facing extreme downpours and several rivers at risk of flooding, the official newspaper Guangzhou Daily reported.

It said more than 12,000 people had been evacuated from the sea, while 266,000 residents had been evacuated on land.

All fishing vessels have returned to port and 52 coastal tourist attractions have been closed.

Wipha has also forced the suspension of multiple rail services, including the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-Speed Railway, while scores of ferry services were cancelled in Fujian.

Strong winds and rain were also expected to hit the popular tourist destination of Hainan Island, where dozens of flights were cancelled.

The typhoon, the sixth of the season in the western Pacific, battered Taiwan on Saturday with maximum sustained winds of 101 kp/h and gusts up to 126 kp/h, the island’s Central News Agency said.

China is one of the countries most severely affected by typhoons, with an average of eight each summer and autumn.

In early September last year, Super Typhoon Yagi was the strongest autumn typhoon to make landfall in China since meteorological records began and the most powerful typhoon to hit China in the past decade, causing direct economic losses of 72 billion yuan (US$10 billion).

Chinese hospital opens ‘Dislike Going to Work Clinic’ to address anxiety, depression

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3318256/chinese-hospital-opens-dislike-going-work-clinic-address-anxiety-depression?utm_source=rss_feed

A Chinese hospital has attracted nationwide attention by launching a “Dislike Going to Work Clinic” which aims to address work-related anxiety and depression.

The idea was proposed by parents who had previously taken their children to a “Dislike Going to School Clinic”.

Two months ago, the Qinhuangdao Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in Hebei province in northern China launched the special outpatient service.

The move has sparked a widespread discussion on social media.

The initiative is an extension of a previously established “Dislike Going to School” clinic, which aimed to help Chinese parents address their children’s disdain for school by treating underlying academic stress and emotional issues.

Yue Limin, director of the hospital’s Sleep and Psychology Department and head of the clinic, said.

“Previously, when children came to the ‘Dislike Going to School’ clinic, some parents would ask if there was a similar service for adults who do not want to go to work.”

The clinic aims to help people who struggle with fatigue, exhaustion, emotional instability, or have a general sense that their work is meaningless.

“But if we label it directly as anxiety or depression, some patients may feel stigma,” said Yue.

“We hope that by using such a name, patients can walk into the consultation room without feeling any pressure.

“These surface symptoms often stem from complex psychological or social factors. Our role as professionals is to identify the cause, conduct a systematic assessment and diagnosis, and then provide treatment and support,” added Yue.

The diagnosis process involves interviews to assess the overall emotional state of patients and physical examinations to rule out organic conditions such as hyperthyroidism.

The hospital then develops a personalised treatment plan for each patient.

Although the clinic has captured nationwide attention, Yue noted that the actual number of patients is relatively low.

However, it has sparked a humorous discussion on mainland social media.

One person said: “Whoever thought of setting up this clinic is a genius!”

“You walk in and find no doctors, because they do not want to go to work either,” joked another.

While a third quipped: “Why would you go to this clinic? Do you expect to suddenly fall in love with working after the visit?”

From TikTok to Huawei, Chinese tech giants flock to Arab tech hub Dubai

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3318819/tiktok-huawei-chinese-tech-giants-flock-arab-tech-hub-dubai?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese tech giants from ByteDance and Huawei Technologies to Alibaba Group Holding are playing an increasingly important role in Dubai’s burgeoning tech industry, as the emirate seeks to diversify its economy beyond its historical reliance on oil.

Central to that transformation is the Dubai Internet City (DIC) – a tech park near the upscale neighbourhood of Palm Jumeirah, a palm tree-shaped archipelago – which hosts global Big Tech companies including Microsoft, Google and Amazon.com, along with their Chinese rivals.

ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, occupies multiple floors in a DIC tower with stunning coastline views. A visit by TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi in 2024 underscored the firm’s commitment to expanding in Dubai.

Angela Ji, a Chinese national who has worked at TikTok’s Dubai office for two years, said the company offered generous packages for Chinese employees willing to relocate. The office houses hundreds of staff, according to Ji.

“Dubai makes me feel like I’m in an era of economic growth, where tech companies still spend big to expand and hire,” said Ji, who previously worked at ByteDance’s Beijing headquarters. “That makes it so different from China and elsewhere.”

Having reduced the share of oil production in its gross domestic product from 50 per cent last century to under 1 per cent today, Dubai is actively pursuing new growth engines in the tech sector.

The rise of its tech industry is largely driven by government initiatives, such as a “smart city” agenda that is actively promoted by the Digital Dubai Authority, among others. The government has also set up so-called free zones, including the Dubai Internet City and Dubai Silicon Oasis industrial estate, which allow fully foreign-owned companies.

Dubai’s tech-friendly policies are a boon to Chinese companies facing domestic challenges and accelerating their overseas expansion.

Chinese nationals make up an increasing proportion of expatriates in the city, with some able to afford high rents in sought-after areas like Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah, according to Wang Yu, a property agent who has lived in Dubai for a decade.

Huawei, which established its regional office in DIC in 2016, has made Dubai its Middle East hub for telecommunications, cloud services, and consumer electronics. The company has six consumer-facing stores in the United Arab Emirates, four of which are in Dubai.

A sales associate at a Huawei store in Dubai said the Chinese brand’s smartphones had gained popularity among both local and Chinese consumers in recent years, particularly the Mate X6 launched in December and the trifold Mate XT released in February.

The new flagship Pura 80 series, unveiled last week, had also been well-received, with several models selling out on the first day of sales, he added.

In the cloud services arena, Huawei competes with Alibaba, owner of the Post, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon for local clients. Last year at Gitex Global, one of the largest annual tech fairs in the region, Huawei introduced its hybrid Cloud Stack 8.5 for the Middle East and Central Asia. The company boasts 6,000 partners across the Middle East and Africa.

Alibaba’s cloud unit opened a data centre in Dubai in 2016 and launched a Middle East & Africa Training Centre in DIC last year to serve ecosystem partners and customers through training, workshops, and certifications.

Meanwhile, Alibaba’s international shopping platform, AliExpress, is bringing Chinese goods into the region, from electric vehicles to augmented-reality glasses.

During the midyear 618 shopping festival, AliExpress reported that 65 per cent of Chinese smart-glass maker Rokid’s global sales originated in the Middle East.

The car sector exemplifies this trend. Along Sheikh Zayed Road, one of Dubai’s main thoroughfares, showrooms for China’s BYD, Nio, and Zeekr stand alongside luxury carmakers like Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

The Middle East market holds “extremely high growth potential” for Chinese carmakers, with its current development stage reminiscent of China’s automotive boom in the early 2000s, according to a report from consulting firm Roland Berger.

Even autonomous driving is gaining momentum. Guangzhou-based Pony.ai has partnered with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority to conduct pilot tests of its robotaxis later this year, with the aim of launching fully driverless commercial services.