• China, US to extend tariff pause at Sweden talks by another 90 days: sources
• Head of China’s world-famous Buddhist sanctuary Shaolin Temple under criminal investigation
• Landmark US Chinatown survived Covid, anti-Asian violence – but tariffs pose new threat
• Mainland China says Taiwan’s failed recall vote shows how ‘political manipulation’ failed
• Chinese dad, 82, harvests plums before sunrise for sending to son; story gets 4 million views
• No more Achilles’ heel in hypersonics race? China zirconium find boosts reserve five-fold
• China and the US wanted Sweden to host their next round of trade talks – why?
• China woman burns buttocks after sitting on garden stone for 10 seconds, needs skin grafts
• Why China-Russia ‘troika’ talks are back on India’s table
• Chinese widow, 23, vows not to remarry, triggers mixed reaction, loyalty discourse
• US business leaders to visit China as both sides meet for latest round of trade talks
• Ancient history call raises spectre of sensitivities in China-South Korea ties
• China’s booming low-altitude economy spurs demand for ‘drone flight planners’
• Labubu dolls boost Chinese toy doctors’ businesses, with 1 fixing 100 in a month
• Chinese scientists seek to recreate lost wonder of antiquity: Zhang Heng’s quake sensor

China, US to extend tariff pause at Sweden talks by another 90 days: sources

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3319604/china-us-extend-tariff-pause-sweden-talks-another-90-days-sources?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing and Washington are expected to extend their tariff truce by another three months at trade talks in Stockholm beginning on Monday, according to sources close to the matter on both sides.

China and the United States agreed in May to remove most of the heavy tariffs levied on each other’s goods for 90 days while continuing trade negotiations. That suspension is set to expire on August 12.

During the third round of trade negotiations between the world’s two biggest economies, both will expound their views on major sticking points – such as the US’ concerns over China’s industrial overcapacity – rather than achieve specific breakthroughs, the sources said.

One source said that, during the expected 90-day extension, the two nations will commit to not impose additional tariffs on each other, nor escalate the trade war by other means.

According to three people familiar with Beijing’s position, while the earlier discussions in Geneva and London focused on “de-escalation”, in the latest meeting the Chinese delegation will also press Trump’s trade team on fentanyl-related tariffs.

US President Donald Trump imposed a 20 per cent additional levy on Chinese imports in March, claiming that Beijing had not done enough to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US. Washington has offered no indication of what it considers sufficient progress on fentanyl to justify easing the tariffs. The Chinese side could seek greater clarity on that threshold during the Stockholm round.

One person familiar with the matter said that Beijing considered the 20 per cent fentanyl tariffs “unfair” but might still be able to digest a 10 per cent baseline tariff on all imports if the additional duties were lifted.

According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington-based think tank, the average US tariff on Chinese exports currently stands at 51.1 percent. Beijing considers this excessively high, especially since it already absorbed the 25 percent increase Trump imposed during his first term.

People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of China’s ruling Communist Party, said in an editorial on Sunday that Beijing was willing to work with Washington to make “substantive progress” in resolving issues during the coming trade talks in the Swedish capital.

“China has always maintained a constructive position and insisted on resolving issues through equal dialogue and consultation,” the newspaper said.

“It is willing to work with the US to take the economic and trade talks in Sweden as an opportunity to continuously enhance consensus, accumulate mutual trust, reduce misjudgments and strengthen cooperation.”

The editorial attributed to Zhong Sheng - a homonym in Chinese for “the voice of China” - also highlighted equal dialogue on the basis of mutual respect.

“China is fully aware of the long-term and complex nature of the negotiations,” the article said, adding that Beijing was firmly opposed to any attempt to undermine the multilateral trading system through unilateralism and protectionism.

While analysts have welcomed the continuation of discussions, most do not expect any sweeping changes to emerge from the negotiations in Stockholm.

“Don’t hold your breath. I don’t think it’s going to be a breakthrough, but I hope I’m wrong,” Niklas Swanstrom, director of the Institute for Security and Development Policy, a think tank based in Stockholm, said ahead of the talks.

“I would also be disappointed if nothing comes out. I mean, some sort of deal, even if it’s minor – something symbolic has to come out of this.”

Frederic Cho, vice-chairman of the Sweden-China Trade Council, said an extension of the tariff suspension would be the most probable outcome, as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business on Tuesday that he planned to work out an extension with his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm.

“I think the likely outcome of the talks is an extension for another three months, possibly because that’s been the logic so far,” Cho said. “And then during that period they will be addressing specific questions in different fields.”

In an interview with CNBC last week, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested that the future ownership of the popular TikTok short video platform could be among the topics addressed, even though “it’s not really part of the trade talks”. TikTok faces a ban in the US unless Chinese owner ByteDance cedes control to an American buyer.

Both Bessent and Lutnick took part in the two earlier rounds of US-China trade talks this year, held in Geneva in May and London last month.

Philippe Le Corre, head of the Asia programme at French business school ESSEC, said the talks in Stockholm would be more like preparations for a real deal.

Such an agreement could be clinched, he added, at a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, scheduled to be held in South Korea in late October.

“It will allow people to figure out the details of the agreement, whose content we still don’t know much about, and then the next meeting will be between the two No 1s,” he said.

Lutnick told Bloomberg TV last week that America was open to normal trade, and the real area of negotiation would be how to further open up each other’s markets and where to draw the line on sensitive areas.

While the world will watch the proceedings closely, Le Corre said Europe will be following closely as host – but was powerless to influence the outcome.

“Europe is left holding the candle,” he said. “It’s a French expression. When there’s a love triangle, there’s always someone standing by. As long as the China-US relationship remains unresolved, other relationships can’t really be settled either.”

Additional reporting by Amber Wang

Head of China’s world-famous Buddhist sanctuary Shaolin Temple under criminal investigation

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3319758/head-chinas-world-famous-buddhist-sanctuary-shaolin-temple-under-criminal-investigation?utm_source=rss_feed

The abbot of China’s famous Shaolin Temple is under investigation for criminal offences, embezzling project funds and temple assets, according to a statement released by the Buddhist sanctuary on Sunday.

Shi Yongxin, head of what is one of the most famous Buddhist monasteries in the world, is suspected of seriously violating Buddhist precepts and is currently under joint investigation by multiple departments, the statement added.

Shaolin, located in central China’s Henan province, is the birthplace of Zen or Chan Buddhism.

The temple also accused Shi of maintaining improper relationships with multiple women for a long time and having illegitimate children, and promised to release more details to the public in a timely manner.

More to follow...

Landmark US Chinatown survived Covid, anti-Asian violence – but tariffs pose new threat

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3319564/landmark-us-chinatown-survived-covid-anti-asian-violence-tariffs-pose-new-threat?utm_source=rss_feed

Oakland Chinatown, one of the oldest in the United States, almost feels as lively as Hong Kong on a busy afternoon. Shoppers squeeze along narrow pavements lined with hanging lanterns and sacks of oranges, while a variety store welcomes customers with racks of clothing and slippers.

While many of the shoppers are Chinese, a considerable number could come from anywhere – a sign that Chinatown draws people from the wider San Francisco Bay Area.

Despite signs of a recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic and a concurrent wave of anti-Asian violence, businesses report that tariff-induced price hikes on their goods this year – ranging from 20 to 50 per cent – have stalled growth in the 170-year-old district, founded by early Cantonese immigrants.

Some of the nearly 300 merchants in the 35-square-block district acknowledge a steady stream of customers – but note that spending has dropped on the likes of ginseng, dried mushrooms, tea leaves and furniture imported from China.

A-li Huang, who has run Long Fa supermarket for 29 years, said costs have risen by an average of 50 per cent due to the tariffs. Customers keep coming but buy less to save money, she said.

“If you used to buy three cans of something, now you buy two,” Huang said from her pavement perch surrounded by tubs of green vegetables and elaborately packaged foods.

Around the corner, Tian Yuan Trading has raised prices on Chinese medicines by about 20 per cent because of the tariffs, employee Tina Wen said. “You see how quiet it is out there,” she added, gesturing to the empty interior of her shop.

Across the bay in San Francisco, home to the country’s single oldest Chinatown, merchants also face price hikes, said George Chen, board member of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

His Chinatown restaurant-store complex, China Live, has paid more for Chinese furniture, a special type of construction brick, dried mushrooms and loose-leaf tea, Chen said. To offset the tariffs, the three-storey, high-end complex has already raised tea prices.

“It’s really difficult doing business overseas, especially with China,” he said, calling this year’s US tariff rules hard to predict. “There’s some really weird, wonky stuff going on.”

US President Donald Trump had raised tariffs on China in waves since February before suspending the steepest duties in early May for 90 days, pending further negotiations with Beijing.

On July 8, Morgan Stanley estimated that the weighted average US tariff rate on Chinese imports stood at 42 per cent – and could rise even higher unless the two countries reach a deal by mid-August.

Negotiators from both countries are set to meet in Sweden for a new round of talks next week.

The Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce has invested time and money to help merchants prosper since Covid-19.

Local businesses have increased their profits this year by accepting cashless payments, extending operating hours – early store closures were a hallmark of the pandemic – and launching pop-up stores, sometimes just for a weekend, to test new business initiatives, said Carl Chan, a member of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors.

To attract a wider clientele, Chan has even urged restaurants to diversify their menus beyond traditional Cantonese cuisine – a staple for the district.

“We have to find ways to promote our businesses,” he said.

Last year, California rolled back a 2014 law that had reduced felony punishments for property crimes involving losses under US$950 – a change that has helped deter burglars from targeting Chinatown, Chan added.

In July, the chamber also opposed a non-profit group’s plan to convert a 162-room hotel next to Chinatown into a residence for homeless people, warning city officials that elderly shoppers would be scared to go out if the project went ahead. The non-profit scrapped its plan on July 9.

“No big things have happened but little things do, and you have to face that,” said Chen Hongli, a Guangdong province native who has run a variety store in Chinatown for 27 years.

Mainland China says Taiwan’s failed recall vote shows how ‘political manipulation’ failed

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3319749/mainland-china-says-taiwans-failed-recall-vote-shows-how-political-manipulation-failed?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing has criticised Taiwan’s failed recall vote as a “political manipulation” that was “completely contrary” to the will of the people.

In Saturday’s vote, all 24 lawmakers from the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) survived the recall attempt backed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Chen Binhua, a spokesman for mainland China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, criticised the DPP for “repeatedly provoking political strife” at the expense of Taiwanese people’s well-being, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Chen also said the DPP wanted a one-party monopoly and “real authoritarianism”, while resorting to every means of suppressing political dissent and trying to create a “green terror” – a reference to the colour favoured by independence-leaning parties.

“The voting results show that the political manipulation of the DPP is completely contrary to the people’s will on the island and is unpopular,” he added.

Beijing regards Taiwan as an integral part of China and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control.

The Chinese mainland has intensified its political, economic and military pressure on Taiwan since the DPP’s William Lai Ching-te – whom Beijing regards as a separatist – was elected as the island’s leader last year.

Most countries, including Taiwan’s main international supporter the United States, do not recognise the island as an independent state. However, Washington is committed to supplying Taiwan with defensive weapons and opposes any attempt to take the island by force.

The recall campaign from civic groups and the DPP had aimed to root out “pro-China forces” from the legislature, but all of the lawmakers targeted in Saturday’s vote survived.

The result means that the KMT will still have the most seats in the Legislative Yuan, where it holds 52 seats compared with the DPP’s 51, but it can also count on the support of the smaller Taiwan People’s Party.

Analysts have described the failed recall vote as a serious political miscalculation. Another seven KMT lawmakers will face similar votes on August 23, but they are widely expected to win their votes.

At a press conference held at the KMT’s headquarters in Taipei, party chairman Eric Chu Li-luan said the outcome showed that Taiwan’s democracy was “mature and great”, adding that the outcome was “a great victory for all the people of Taiwan, rather than for a single political party”.

Voters chose a “stable society and a functional government” over political infighting, he added.

Taiwan’s United Microelectronics Corp founder Robert Tsao Hsing-chen, an initiator of the recall voting campaign, said the outcome was “not as expected”.

He blamed “long-term infiltration” by mainland China’s Communist Party and its united front work for the failure of the campaign.

Chinese dad, 82, harvests plums before sunrise for sending to son; story gets 4 million views

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3319157/chinese-dad-82-harvests-plums-sunrise-sending-son-story-gets-4-million-views?utm_source=rss_feed

A video clip of an 82-year-old man in China waking up at 3am to pick plums before sending them to his son has gone viral on mainland social media.

The video was posted online on July 18 by a man called Cheng.

Surveillance camera footage shows Cheng’s octogenarian father carrying a big bamboo basket on his back and holding a torch.

He is walking towards plum trees planted in front of his courtyard in rural Chongqing in southwestern China, the Chongqing TV reported.

It was 3.44am on July 17, according to surveillance camera records.

“I asked my father why he woke up so early to pick plums. He said he had checked with courier workers who told him plums should be picked before the sunrise because the temperature is at a level for them to be conserved well,” Cheng was quoted as saying.

“They said plums taste crisper if picked before sunrise,” he added.

Cheng’s father spent two hours picking a total of 15kg of plums.

He then took a bus to a courier station to send the fruit to his son, who lives in southeastern Jiangsu province, about 1,300km away from Chongqing.

Cheng received the package the next day.

“Seeing such fresh plums, my eyes were filled with tears,” he said.

Cheng said his father knows he loves eating plums.

“I am moved but also concerned about my father’s safety. He shows deep love for me!” said Cheng.

The video has attracted an array of comments online after being viewed about 5 million times on a leading social media platform.

“I envy you for having a good father. You should show filial respect to him,” one online observer said.

“I am moved to tears. Only parents will do this,” said another.

Stories about dedicated parents often trend on mainland social media.

A mother in central Henan province who has been driving a taxi with her seven-year-old disabled son as a back seat passenger moved both passengers and people online.

Also, a woman in her 50s in Shaanxi province, northwestern China, who tied her mentally disabled son to herself with string while she was working as a street cleaner, drew widespread attention in July.

No more Achilles’ heel in hypersonics race? China zirconium find boosts reserve five-fold

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3319519/no-more-achilles-heel-hypersonics-race-china-zirconium-find-boosts-reserve-five-fold?utm_source=rss_feed

In a discovery that could reshape the global balance of strategic mineral supply, Chinese geologists have uncovered a huge zirconium deposit in the Kubai Basin, on the northern fringe of the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang – a deadly stretch of arid land that may now become a new driver of China’s hi-tech military ambitions.

The newly identified deposit, embedded within Cenozoic continental sedimentary layers dating to the Paleogene and Neogene periods, represents the first super-large zirconium resource ever discovered in a terrestrial, non-marine basin in China.

Unlike traditional zirconium sources – typically found along coastlines or within hard-rock igneous systems – this deposit formed through ancient river and lake systems that transported zircon grains over hundreds of kilometres from alkaline rock sources in the region, depositing them in deltaic and lacustrine environments.

The ore, hosted in loose to semi-consolidated gravelly medium-coarse sandstones, contains an estimated 2 million tonnes of zirconium dioxide, according to preliminary assessments.

It is four times the total reserve of China at present.

Zirconium alloys, prized for their exceptional resistance to heat, corrosion and neutron absorption, are fundamental in manufacturing scramjet combustion chambers, thermal protection tiles, nose cones and guidance components.

As the United States, Russia and China race to deploy operational hypersonic glide vehicles and cruise missiles, control over zirconium supply chains has quietly become as critical as access to rare earth elements.

For decades, the search for zirconium has been bound by geological orthodoxy: zircon sands were believed to originate only from the weathering and wave-driven concentration of primary rocks along shorelines.

Mines from Australia to India have capitalised on these coastal placers, forming the backbone of global supply. Despite China being the world’s largest consumer of zirconium – using over 53 per cent of global output in ceramics, nuclear reactors and advanced aerospace applications – it has long been at the mercy of foreign markets.

With domestic reserves previously pegged at a mere 500,000 tonnes – less than 1 per cent of world’s total – and over 90 per cent of supply imported, zirconium has been a glaring strategic vulnerability.

“Zirconium is one of the most critically scarce strategic and essential rare metal minerals in China,” wrote the project team led by Liu Bing, senior engineer with Xinjiang’s Geological Bureau, in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese journal Earth Science in June.

“As zirconium has been classified as a critical strategic resource by multiple countries, issues surrounding resource security are becoming increasingly prominent and the imbalance between supply and demand is growing ever more severe.

“The discovery of this deposit not only significantly increases China’s zirconium resource reserves, but also promises to transform the nation’s supply landscape for zirconium,” added Liu and his colleagues.

The Kubai find not only quintuples China’s known zircon resources but also shatters long-standing geological paradigms. The discovery shows that zirconium can accumulate in vast quantities far from the sea, within stable continental basins, through fluvial and lacustrine processes previously dismissed as impossible.

This means that geologists are no longer confined to the coastline. It opens up entire continental interiors – previously ignored – as viable hunting grounds.

The deposit’s average grade exceeds 0.2 per cent zircon, with high concentrations of zircon and associated titanium minerals. The ore is amenable to opencast mining, low in energy-intensive processing requirements and located near existing rail and highway infrastructure, according to the study.

Moreover, the sandstone-hosted material is easily crushed and beneficiated using established gravity and magnetic separation techniques, allowing for efficient recovery of not only zirconium but also valuable by-products such as hafnium, scandium, cerium and yttrium – critical for electronics, green energy and stealth technologies.

Compared to the ecological toll of hard-rock mining or coastal dredging, this type of inland placer deposit poses fewer long-term ecological disruptions – though water use in the arid Tarim region will require careful management.

For years, analysts have warned that China’s dependence on imported zirconium could be exploited in a crisis – especially if US-led export controls were extended beyond semiconductors to critical aerospace materials.

Australia, with reserves exceeding 70 per cent of the world’s total, tops China’s supplier list.

The Chinese discovery can also signal a broader shift in mineral exploration philosophy globally. By analysing Paleo-drainage patterns and sediment transport models, geologists can now target other inland basins across Asia, Africa and South America for similar deposits.

China and the US wanted Sweden to host their next round of trade talks – why?

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3319597/china-and-us-wanted-sweden-host-their-next-round-trade-talks-why?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese and American negotiators will gather in Stockholm for a much-anticipated third round of trade talks on Monday, putting the Swedish capital in the spotlight and prompting questions as to why the Scandinavian country was the venue of choice for the world’s two biggest economies.

It began at a meeting of finance chiefs from the Group of 20 countries in South Africa earlier this month, where Sweden had been invited for the first time. Both China and the US approached the delegation from Stockholm about holding the talks in the capital, said Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson in a July 22 social media post.

“That the world’s largest economies turn to us shows that Sweden enjoys great international trust – and that we play an important role in fostering dialogue and cooperation.”

Hosting US-China trade negotiations in third countries is a marked change from the dialogues that put a temporary freeze on the bilateral trade war during the first term of US President Donald Trump.

Those talks were principally held in Washington, with then-Vice-Premier Liu He making regular visits to the White House.

Now, neutral territory has been selected in Europe – Geneva in May, London in June and Stockholm for the coming negotiations – suggesting a more level playing field between the two economies, according to Niklas Swanstrom, director of the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Stockholm.

Sweden has unique advantages that make it an ideal host, analysts said: its balanced relationship with both China and the US and a long neutral diplomatic history.

When Trump announced unilateral tariffs on most trading partners in April, Sweden kept a low profile and remained calm, which helped it maintain a constructive relationship with Washington, according to Patrik Strom, director of the Centre for Asian Studies at the Stockholm School of Economics.

“The Swedish government has been trying to stay calm and not be too harsh in their comments and discussions, but try to actually see what’s going on because things can change so rapidly with the Trump administration,” he said.

Sweden has also maintained greater trust with China than its fellow EU members in the realm of business – particularly the automotive industry, the main point of contention between China and Europe – thanks in part to a successful partnership between Chinese automotive maker Geely and Sweden’s marquee car brand Volvo.

Geely has created 15,000 jobs in the Swedish port city of Gothenburg since it bought Volvo in 2010 from Ford, and Volvo’s exports helped Sweden become one of the few European countries to enjoy a trade surplus with China for a time, according to Frederic Cho, vice-chairman of the Sweden-China Trade Council.

This relationship also made Sweden an opponent of the EU’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), alongside Germany.

“Sweden decided to not explicitly vote no. But they did not say yes to these duties … because Sweden and the Swedish auto industry are globally competitive,” Cho said.

“Globally competitive countries do not see China as a threat, but rather as an opportunity.”

The new Chinese ambassador to Sweden, Cui Aimin, has also adopted a more mild and cooperative tone in contrast with his predecessor Gui Congyou, Swanstrom said, who was a proponent of the more combative “wolf warrior” style of communication.

“This ambassador we have now is seen as someone much more constructive, and the business community has been arguing that we should give China a second chance.”

According to customs data from Stockholm, China is the only non-European country among Sweden’s top import partners, with Beijing shipping 102 billion krona (US$10.71 billion) in goods in 2024.

Meanwhile, the US is the only non-European country in Sweden’s top export destinations, with Stockholm selling 186 billion krona in goods across the Atlantic in 2024.

Sweden has a long history of playing the role of a neutral mediator, Swanstrom said – the country is one of the few Western nations to have diplomatic relations with North Korea, for instance, and has hosted talks between Pyongyang and Washington.

Unlike Switzerland or the UK, Sweden is also a member of the European Union, which means Europe could be privy to the talks despite not being at the negotiating table, Swanstrom said.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that he looks forward to meeting Chinese and US representatives in a social media post last week.

“With Sweden, the access to the political realm in Brussels is, of course, much easier,” Swanstrom said.

China woman burns buttocks after sitting on garden stone for 10 seconds, needs skin grafts

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/environment/article/3319125/china-woman-burns-bottom-after-sitting-garden-stone-10-seconds-needs-skin-grafts?utm_source=rss_feed

A 72-year-old Chinese grandmother suffered severe burns that needed a skin graft after sitting for just 10 seconds on a sun-heated stone in her garden.

Her ordeal has sparked widespread concern and warnings about the dangers of extreme heat exposure.

The incident happened on July 7, when Grandma Wang was working in her vegetable garden in Xiangyang, Hubei province, central China, as temperatures had soared to 38 degrees Celsius.

Hubei is well known for its summer heat, with its capital city, Wuhan, labelled as one of China’s “Three Furnaces”.

Tired from working in the vegetable garden, Wang decided to rest on a stone.

She felt a scorching sensation but was unable to stand up quickly due to her leg problems.

A neighbour heard her cries for help and lifted her off the stone. The painful ordeal lasted just over 10 seconds.

Later that evening, Wang experienced excruciating pain and severe swelling in her buttocks, and her family took her to hospital the next morning.

Qian Ben, the head of the hospital’s burns department, diagnosed her with third-degree burns on her rear end.

“Third-degree burns mean the entire layer of skin tissue has died and cannot heal on its own with medication. Surgery is required to remove the necrotic tissue, followed by skin grafting for reconstruction,” Qian said.

Qian and his medical team carried out surgery and were scheduled to perform a skin graft.

Wang is now in stable condition. The long-term damage to her health has not been disclosed.

Doctors said that when surfaces such as metal or concrete exceed 50 degrees Celsius, just one minute of contact can cause blisters.

At temperatures above 60 degrees, a minute can result in second-degree burns. If the surface temperature rises above 70 degrees, skin damage can occur within seconds.

They urged the public to avoid direct contact with sun-exposed surfaces to prevent similar injuries.

The incident, reported by Hubei Daily, has triggered a heated discussion on mainland social media.

One person said: “I once rode a shared bike that had been baking in the sun for a long time. I touched it and it felt fine, but after riding it, my jeans got scorched, completely burned through.”

While another added: “Last year, people said sitting on stone blocks in the sun could relieve menstrual pain. This year someone got burned. What is next, an apocalypse from the heat next year?”

Why China-Russia ‘troika’ talks are back on India’s table

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3319638/why-china-russia-troika-talks-are-back-indias-table?utm_source=rss_feed

As friction with the West builds over energy imports and trade, India is weighing a delicate recalibration: reviving its long-dormant trilateral dialogue with Russia and China, even as it insists it remains committed to its partnerships with the US and its allies.

India indicated earlier this month its openness to resuming the Russia-India-China (RIC) dialogue, a platform established in the early 2000s to foster coordination among the three Eurasian powers.

Describing the RIC as a consultative mechanism for addressing shared regional and global challenges, New Delhi’s Ministry of External Affairs emphasised on July 17 that any decision on resuming talks would be taken “in a mutually convenient manner”. No timeline was provided for when this might happen.

The move came just weeks after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had voiced strong support for reviving the format. Speaking at a conference last month, Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s desire to “confirm our genuine interest in the earliest resumption of the work within the format of the troika – Russia, India, China – which was established many years ago on the initiative of former Russian prime minister Yevgeny Primakov”.

Analysts suggest the impetus behind India’s overture stems from growing frustration with what it perceives as Western “double standards”. Sriparna Pathak, a professor of China studies and international relations at O.P. Jindal Global University in India, pointed to recent warnings from Nato chief Mark Rutte that India could face “100 per cent secondary sanctions” for buying Russian oil.

Pathak said India had consistently maintained that securing its energy needs was an “overriding priority” and had previously “called out the hypocrisy” of European nations who continue to import substantial amounts of Russian oil and gas.

EU member states bought €21.9 billion (US$25.72 billion) worth of Russian oil and gas in the third year of the Ukraine war – one-sixth more than the €18.7 billion allocated to Kyiv in financial aid in 2024, according to the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air think tank.

Another factor was the United States’ “transactionalism” under Donald Trump, Pathak said. The India-US bilateral trade deal was stalled due to “hypocrisy and constant and unnecessary threats of tariffs” from Washington, she said, particularly regarding access to India’s agricultural sector.

While China “is simply not a choice for India”, she argued that Russia was a viable partner, having “not engaged in hypocrisy in ways that the US has”.

“This is the biggest reason for the rumblings behind RIC,” Pathak said. “India chooses its own national interests and will not give in to bullying.”

Although India is interested in reviving RIC, it is proceeding with caution to avoid the perception that it is aligning with Beijing and Moscow against Washington, according to Ivan Lidarev, a visiting research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Institute of South Asian Studies.

Delhi would prefer to “improve relations with China a bit more” before fully committing to the trilateral, potentially using RIC as a “carrot” in its ongoing thaw with Beijing, the security expert said.

“RIC reassures Beijing that Delhi is not aligned with Washington,” Lidarev added.

Ties between India and China, strained since the deadly Galwan Valley clashes of June 2020, have shown signs of gradual normalisation in recent months. Last week, India announced the resumption of tourist visas for Chinese citizens for the first time in five years.

Lidarev said India’s consideration of RIC was also a hedge against growing instability and unpredictability in the global order, particularly amid concerns over an “unpredictable and aggressive” US administration.

“[RIC] allows India to hedge its political and economic bets on the international stage and gives India more engagement options beyond the West,” he said, describing the platform as a source of “leverage” against the US.

India’s calculations are also shaped by the possibility that Trump could impose tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, including India and China. Such a move could trigger a crisis in US-India relations, Lidarev warned.

“The tariffs are a serious threat to India’s economy and can potentially provoke a crisis in relations with the US, in case India resists them,” he said, adding that Delhi was “clearly preparing for this possibility”.

Recent setbacks in US-India relations, including Washington’s stance and rhetoric during the Indo-Pakistan conflict in May, as well as fraught trade negotiations – particularly over agriculture and non-tariff barriers – have deepened India’s doubts about the US.

“More broadly, India has begun to doubt US reliability and resent US demands, while Washington has become much more impatient with Delhi’s strategic autonomy and its market protectionism,” Lidarev said.

India was willing to pay a “substantial” price to keep ties with Washington cordial, he said, but “there are limits to how steep this price can be”.

Gaurav Kumar, a researcher at the United Service Institution of India, a defence and security think tank, noted that with India set to chair Brics next year, Delhi was keen to demonstrate its capacity to act as a “stabiliser” able to engage both the West and Russia.

China’s recent gestures, including reopening the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage route for the first time since the pandemic and hosting regional forums, signalled a willingness to “reset the tone”, Kumar said.

“Reviving the RIC offers a stabilising platform that may ease tensions, not escalate them, by fostering dialogue among key regional players,” he said.

“Beijing’s recent steps have opened the door, now it is up to all three nations to walk through it.”

Chinese widow, 23, vows not to remarry, triggers mixed reaction, loyalty discourse

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3318609/china-widow-23-vows-not-remarry-triggers-mixed-reaction-loyalty-discourse?utm_source=rss_feed

A 23-year-old woman in China who vowed she would never remarry after the sudden death of her husband has triggered a heated discussion on mainland social media.

Wu Tiexin, 36, who lived in Shuangyashan in Heilongjiang province, in northeastern China, died of heart problems caused by diabetes on July 12, according to Jimu News.

“You married me and brought me home on November 5, 2023. I sent you away to decorate our home in the next life on July 13, 2025. Do not have any illness and be healthy in your afterlife,” Wu’s wife, surnamed Lu, wrote on social media in the wake of his death.

Wu was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 10.

He was hospitalised for suffering from an acute serious heatstroke in mid-June after high temperatures hit the northeastern regions of China, including his hometown.

On June 30, Wu developed a series of complications caused by diabetes, including multiple organ failure.

Wu said he felt extremely hot and wanted to drink iced water on July 12. He was also short of breath and fainted. He died the next day.

Lu is from Jinzhong in Shanxi province, in northern China.

She got to know Wu at the end of 2020 when she spoke about her depression on social media after having a fight with her family. Wu left comments to comfort her.

They soon fell in love and met in person in 2021.

Lu insisted on going to live with Wu in his hometown as her parents had divorced and her stepfather did not like her.

Wu used to work for a lift manufacturer before he suffered an industrial accident. Lu works at a private tutoring institution. They do not have children.

She said their short period of marriage was the happiest time in her life.

“My husband not only cared for me and supported me spiritually and materially, he also guided me in my personal growth,” Lu was quoted as saying.

She said her parents-in-law treat her like their own daughter and even fund her college studies.

Lu said she plans to continue living with her parents-in-law.

“I will not remarry. If possible, I hope to raise a child to start a new life,” she said.

Wu’s decision sparked a widespread discussion on mainland social media.

“What a loyal woman. She is a moral example for our country,” said one netizen.

While another person said: “You are only 23. There is a long way ahead of you. You will probably change your mind in a few years.”

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US business leaders to visit China as both sides meet for latest round of trade talks

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3319730/us-business-leaders-visit-china-both-sides-meet-latest-round-trade-talks?utm_source=rss_feed

A high-level American business delegation will visit China this week on a trip that coincides with the latest round of US-China trade talks, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The trip to Beijing will be organised by the US-China Business Council and led by FedEx chief executive Rajesh Subramaniam, the council’s board chair.

The full list of visiting business leaders and schedule is not known but both sources said that Boeing executives and the president of the council Sean Stein were certain to be part of the delegation.

“They are expected to meet with Chinese officials - potentially to revive business discussions,” a source said.

The council has not responded to requests for comment.

The council regularly organises visits to China that coincide with significant events and involve meetings with senior officials. Last year’s visit coincided with a major policy meeting in Beijing and included senior executives from Apple, Boeing, Goldman Sachs and Micron Technology.

The upcoming visit will be the highest-level American business delegation since US President Donald Trump started his latest tariff war in April.

China and the US have since agreed to a 90-day truce and the American business delegation will visit at the same time as the latest trade talks between senior figures from the two sides in Sweden on Monday.

Markets are anticipating that the truce will be extended and that China will agree to buy more US goods in a similar deal to the 2020 agreement reached during Trump’s first term as president.

Both sides are working to secure a visit to China by the US president later this year, sources have told The Post.

The discussions in Sweden are expected to include issues such as the US fentanyl crisis, China’s oil deals with Russia and Iran, and TikTok. But US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg last week that the main issue would be how to open up each other’s markets.

After a meeting in London last month, China agreed to ease controls on rare earth exports while the US resumed licence application reviews for Nvidia chips.

In a survey of 130 companies released earlier this month, the US-China Business Council said tariffs were now its members’ second biggest concern.

It called the 90-day trade truce “a critical opportunity for both countries”, saying the immediate priority for American companies was to achieve meaningful and lasting tariff reductions.

“Negotiators should also establish a robust and transparent tariff exclusion process and provide ample lead time for companies to adjust to tariffs,” the survey added.

Boeing executives are expected to discuss sales, according to the sources.

Chinese firms had signed a US$37 billion deal to buy 300 Boeing aircraft when Trump visited Beijing in November 2017. The deal later stalled over safety concerns and wider tensions between the two countries, but China has resumed deliveries this year, with eight planes arriving last month.

Ancient history call raises spectre of sensitivities in China-South Korea ties

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3319696/ancient-history-call-raises-spectre-sensitivities-china-south-korea-ties?utm_source=rss_feed

A provincial Chinese official’s call for clarity on the history of three ancient kingdoms could revive a diplomatic row between China and South Korea and test the recent thaw in relations between the two Asian neighbours, experts said.

At the heart of the issue is a contested view of the kingdoms that arose in today’s northeastern China and the Korean peninsula in the second century BC and lasted more than 1,120 years.

Huang Qiang, party chief of Jilin province – which covers the area that once comprised what Chinese call the Fuyu, Gaogouli and Bohai kingdoms – made the remarks earlier this month at a modern history exhibition.

The kingdoms are known internationally by their Korean names – Buyeo, Goguryeo and Balhae, respectively.

According to the official Jilin Daily, Huang “emphasised the need to confidently and clearly explain” the history of the three kingdoms “in the most straightforward way so that the audience can understand at a glance”.

Huang also urged scholars to “thoroughly research and clearly present” China’s modern history, “when foreign invaders encroached upon and carved up China’s territory [and] the people of Jilin resisted unyieldingly and rose up in defiance”, the report said.

He appears to have been referring to the period between 1840 and 1945, commonly known as the “century of humiliation”, which saw continuous encroachments by foreign powers, culminating in the Japanese invasion from 1931 until the end of World War II.

“[This] would drive home the lesson that ‘weakness invites aggression, while progress brings strength’, ensuring patriotic education resonates more powerfully with the public,” he said.

Huang was speaking as Beijing prepares to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in September, which also marked China’s victory over the Japanese – a triumph that gave Beijing an influential role in shaping the post-war global order.

Jilin, which borders North Korea and Russia, is home to a large population of ethnic Koreans. Jian city in the province’s southwest also features numerous tombs and fortresses associated with the Goguryeo kingdom (37BC-AD668).

However, unlike China, where the three kingdoms are often described as ancient Chinese regional ethnic regimes, North and South Koreans consider that period as part of their own history and heritage.

Disputes emerged as early as the 1960s, when China and North Korea launched a three-year joint archaeological excavation in 1963 on burial sites related to Goguryeo and Balhae in northeast China as well as Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

But during the process of compiling reports, “significant disagreements arose between the parties, resulting in heated discussions”, according to a 2018 report on North Korea’s Goguryeo studies, co-authored by Yin Xuanzhe, a prominent history scholar with Yanbian University.

North Korea broke an agreement that the archaeology report was meant for internal academic use and published it without Beijing’s consent. Studies by Pyongyang from 1963 through the end of the 1970s outlined North Korea’s historical lineage – one that, according to the authors, included Goguryeo as part of its ancient history.

Historical discourse in northeast Asia remains a delicate matter, as it is closely intertwined with issues of cultural heritage and national identity. Political figures have at times drawn upon historical narratives to mobilise public sentiment for political purposes.

Despite their political stand-off, both Pyongyang and Seoul strongly rejected China’s interpretation.

In North Korea, Goguryeo – also written as Koguryo – is considered the most powerful feudal state in Korean history, and its resistance against foreign powers, particularly China’s Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, is a symbol of resistance, independence and Korean supremacy that justifies today’s military stance against perceived threats from the US and Seoul.

In South Korea, where diplomatic relations with China were not established until 1992, protests against the Northeast Project – launched in 2002 by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to study the ethnic history of China’s northeastern region, including Jilin – were staged in front of the Chinese embassy in Seoul. Anti-China sentiment continued to grow until the two sides reached a verbal agreement to prevent historical issues from hampering bilateral ties.

The history of Goguryeo in particular became more sensitive for South Koreans in 2004, after Beijing and Pyongyang nominated ruins dating from the kingdom in Jilin and North Korea as a Unesco World Heritage site. North Korea is home to individual tombs from this period, located in Nampo and Pyongyang – the latter of which once served as the capital of Goguryeo in North Korea. The same year, the South Korean government established its own Goguryeo Research Foundation.

While North Korea has avoided open criticism of its key ally, Seoul has previously called China’s version of the period’s history a distortion, prompting one expert to caution that Huang’s remarks could strain Chinese relations with South Korea after recent signs of improvement.

Kang Jun-young, a professor of Chinese studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, harked back to the diplomatic crisis over the Northeast Project, when South Korean experts accused China of using history for political purposes.

“This wound has not healed, and if the leader of [Jilin] province provokes Sinocentrism or nationalism again, it is highly likely that it will again trigger the politicisation of historical perception,” Kang said.

“This will also have a negative impact on the normalisation of [South] Korea-China relations after the new government takes office.”

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung vowed to stabilise ties with China – Seoul’s largest trading partner – when he took office in May after the impeachment of his predecessor Yoon Suk-yeol, who had significantly aligned his country with the United States.

While neither Beijing nor Seoul changed their views of the historical narrative after the dispute, public discussions about the period have been largely avoided in China in recent years as Beijing has prioritised stable ties with its neighbours.

International relations professor Lu Chao, who specialises in Northeast Asian affairs at Liaoning University in northeastern China, downplayed the risks of a renewed dispute, suggesting there was no need for an overreaction to Huang’s remarks.

“This is not China trying to restart historical debate, and the context today is completely different from before, when there was the Northeast Project, which was China’s internal academic research,” he said.

“Now there’s no such project and the circumstances are entirely different.”

So far, Beijing and Seoul appear to have remained quiet on Huang’s comments, an attitude supported by Lu who said the two sides should keep a “calm and restrained approach” to avoid any escalation in tensions over the historical issues.

In Seoul, Kang noted that countries in northeast Asia shared “thousands of years of history”. Any one-sided interpretation centred on a single country would be likely to have a negative effect on other countries’ public sentiment, he said.

Lu also cautioned against any potential damage to public sentiment between Chinese and South Koreans, which significantly deteriorated in 2016.

That was when Beijing started an economic retaliation against South Korea following Seoul’s decision to allow the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, the US anti-ballistic system that China regards as a security threat.

Recent disputes – over issues such as the origins of kimchi and the Korean hanbok, a type of traditional clothing – as well as contentious topics including Taiwan, the South China Sea and Seoul’s alignment with the US under Yoon, have further complicated public sentiment.

Polls by the Pew Research Centre found that the share of South Koreans with a favourable view of China dropped from 61 per cent in 2015 to 19 per cent last year, before edging up slightly to 25 per cent in the latest survey released this month.

Beijing and Seoul have been steadily pushing for an improvement in bilateral ties in recent months. China introduced a visa-free policy for South Korean tourists in November, while Lee has invited his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to attend the South Korea-hosted Apec summit in October.

Lu said the two sides should tread carefully on issues that carried potential tensions to avoid derailing efforts to stabilise ties.

“There’s a possible scenario that must be taken into consideration that hardline nationalists in South Korea may make use of this issue to resist warming ties with China,” he said.

China’s booming low-altitude economy spurs demand for ‘drone flight planners’

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3319563/chinas-booming-low-altitude-economy-spurs-demand-drone-flight-planners?utm_source=rss_feed

China has officially recognised “drone flight planner” as a profession amid a talent crunch in the low-altitude economy – a sector the government sees as a new engine of growth.

The role is among 17 newly designated occupations announced by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, alongside positions such as cross-border e-commerce operation manager and elderly care service worker.

“The newly designated profession of a drone flight planner primarily involves planning multi-drone flight paths, developing flight plans and missions, and managing operations on-site,” said Wang Xiaojun, deputy director of the ministry’s Department of Vocational Capacity Building, according to the state-run Science and Technology Daily.

“These roles attract many tech-savvy and creative young people,” Wang added.

Beijing has classified the low-altitude economy – encompassing manned and unmanned activities up to 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) – as a strategic emerging industry that is poised to create jobs, drive innovation and stimulate economic growth.

In December, China’s top economic planner established a dedicated department to devise and oversee growth strategies in the sector.

But despite the momentum, the rapidly developing industry faces a daunting challenge: a shortage of about 1 million skilled workers, the National Development and Reform Commission said last year.

By the end of 2024, China had just 247,300 drone operators with valid licences while over 2.17 million drones were registered in the country – a 98.5 per cent surge from the previous year, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The growing talent gap is luring jobseekers – especially young people and those from struggling sectors like real estate.

Zhang Chao, who runs drone training programmes in Yunnan province, said the number of students had surged since the second half of 2024.

His centre now trains about 140 people a month, mostly between the ages of 20 and 40 – nearly triple the previous monthly average of 50.

“Given the challenging economic environment, some people, originally from professions such as property sales, have resigned to acquire drone skills and transition into drone-related careers,” Zhang said.

“Others are optimistic about the low-altitude economy and are making time to get certified for future opportunities or as a backup plan.”

China’s property market has faced a prolonged downturn caused by developer defaults, declining home sales and falling prices – part of a broader economic slowdown that has intensified pressure on an already strained labour market, especially for recent graduates.

Many students are using the summer holiday to obtain drone licences, with a notable uptick in both high school and college students enrolling in Zhang’s training programmes.

“[Several of them] are majoring in fields closely related to drone technology and believe the industry will continue to grow,” he said.

Responding to the growing interest, China’s higher education institutions are adjusting their programmes accordingly.

In April, the Ministry of Education approved low-altitude technology and engineering as a new undergraduate major, with universities like Beihang University and Beijing Institute of Technology launching related programmes this autumn.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China forecasts the domestic market for the low-altitude economy will reach 1.5 trillion yuan (US$210 billion) this year and grow to 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.

China’s unemployment rate for urban youth aged 16 to 24, excluding students, stood at 14.5 per cent in June – more than one in seven people. The jobless rate is expected to climb over the next two months, as a record 12.2 million university graduates enter the job market.

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Labubu dolls boost Chinese toy doctors’ businesses, with 1 fixing 100 in a month

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3319102/labubu-dolls-boost-chinese-toy-doctors-businesses-1-fixing-100-month?utm_source=rss_feed

The craze for the plush Chinese toy Labubu has boosted the careers of so-called toy doctors in China.

A Shanghai “toy doctor” nicknamed Heartman said he had fixed 100 Labubu toys in the past month and had to ask his wife to help and move to a bigger studio.

He said repairs were 10 per cent of the price of the toy, which is considered fair because an ordinary Labubu toy retails at 99 yuan (US$14).

However, they sell for hundreds of yuan on the second-hand market. Rare versions can cost thousands of yuan.

Labubu is a character of The Monsters family created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung. Chinese toymaker Pop Mart began working with Lung in 2019.

Last year, The Monsters series became Pop Mart’s most popular series, seeing a 726.6 per cent increase in revenue that reached 3.04 billion yuan.

One of the reasons behind the craze is K-pop group Blackpink’s member Lisa, who expressed her love for the toy. Another reason, according to Pop Mart’s investor Wei Zhe, is the toy’s portability.

This portability also means the toys are subject to more injuries.

Many people shared tips on how to fix scratches and how to make its fur as shiny as new on mainland social media.

Heartman said he felt like “a doctor that mends illness and rescues life”.

Toy doctors have grown in popularity in recent years by repairing vintage versions of the toys.

Some with a background in the fine arts also quit their jobs to become a full-time toy doctor.

A toy doctor in eastern China’s Shandong province, surnamed Cui, studied fine arts and medical apparatus repair. He made a name in the business he can make new parts for mechanical toys.

Some online observers said they can relate to those who have their childhood toys fixed, but not Labubus.

“I do not understand why people pay large sums of money for them in the first place, then even pay to have them fixed,” one person said.

“It is made of vinyl and cannot be kept for a long time,” said another.

While a third person said: “Maybe the owners need to fix them as it may be much more expensive to buy one of the same version.”

Chinese scientists seek to recreate lost wonder of antiquity: Zhang Heng’s quake sensor

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3318318/chinese-scientists-seek-recreate-lost-wonder-antiquity-zhang-hengs-quake-sensor?utm_source=rss_feed

Earthquakes have haunted humanity for millennia – their sudden violence leaving civilisations scrambling for early warning. Even today, when a Japanese manga implausibly predicted “The Big One” hitting the country on July 5, it sparked widespread panic.

Scientists today rely on satellites, supercomputers and artificial intelligence to monitor seismic activity. But nearly 2,000 years ago, a Chinese polymath named Zhang Heng is said to have invented a device that not only detected faraway earthquakes but also indicated the direction of their epicentre.

However, despite being mentioned in historical records, the device has been dismissed by some scholars as mere legend, and it was removed from the Chinese curriculum in 2017.

Supported by modern science and fresh clues, a research team in China is now seeking to restore this lost wonder of antiquity – the Houfeng Didong Yi seismoscope – to its rightful place.

Picture an ornate wine jar encircled by eight suspended dragons, each clutching a bronze ball, as gaping-mouthed toads watch from below. When tremors strike, hidden mechanisms make one dragon drop its ball with a clang – pinpointing the quake’s direction.

It was “as accurate as the gods”, according to The Book of the Later Han, an official Chinese historical text covering the period from 6AD to 189AD.

Created in 132AD during the Eastern Han dynasty, the Houfeng Didong Yi remains one of the earliest seismoscopes in history, predating Western counterparts by over 1,700 years. Its name translates as “instrument for measuring the seasonal winds and the movements of the Earth”. The first similar device in Europe was not built until 1856, by Italian scientist Luigi Palmieri.

But then the instrument appears to have vanished from the records – leaving scholars divided on whether it ever existed. Some dismiss it as a myth, arguing that ancient craftsmanship could not have achieved such sophistication, while others insist it was a genuine feat of engineering.

Despite numerous attempts to reconstruct it based on textual fragments, no model has been able to fully replicate the device’s described functionality.

Xu Guodong from the Institute of Disaster Prevention in Hebei aims to change that. Armed with modern seismic science and structural dynamics, the associate professor of earthquake risk management and his team have proposed a functional model that aligns with legend.

Xu’s initial research paper was published in March in the Chinese-language journal Progress in Geophysics, with follow-up content expected to be published soon.

His reconstructed model of Zhang Heng’s device consists of three components: an excitation structure, a transmission structure and a shutdown system.

The excitation structure was inspired by historical documents: “In the centre stands the capital pillar, with eight channels radiating outward” – reads a line from The Book of the Later Han referred to by many who previously tried to reconstruct the device.

“The interpretation of this ‘capital pillar’ has been pivotal in deducing the seismoscope’s detection principle,” Xu told the South China Morning Post in an interview last month “Earlier reconstructions envisioned an unstable column, British scholar John Milne [for instance] considered it as a suspended column that could move in eight directions.”

“But our analysis of the literature suggests the ‘capital pillar’ connotes centrality and grandeur, [and it is] unlikely to be an unstable or easily toppled rod. This ‘column’ should actually be understood as a pendulum-style cantilever, resembling a giant chopstick anchored in the ground.”

This ingenious design cleverly amplified seismic vibrations – when the base detected ground tremors, the top would amplify the motion, Xu noted. “Calculations show that 1mm (0.04-inch) ground displacement would generate at least 5mm displacement at the pendulum’s tip.”

The pendular motion was transferred through an L-shaped lever system that released a ball and formed the transmission structure.

The transmission structure would convert the pendulum’s swing into a mechanism triggering the release of a bronze ball, each of which sat poised in a delicately balanced, semi-open container that looked like a dragon’s mouth.

The semi-open containers were held in place by the weight of the lever. When tremors disturbed this equilibrium – even by a barely perceptible 0.5mm – the mechanism would trip, sending the ball clattering into the waiting bronze toad’s mouth below.

Completing this ancient engineering marvel was a simple yet delicate locking system. As the first bronze ball fell, its impact would trigger a secondary ring of levers that raised corresponding wooden wedges, instantly immobilising the other seven triggers.

This system ensured only one direction was recorded, matching historical descriptions of “one dragon triggering while seven remained silent”.

“The entire system embodied a level of mechanical foresight that seems almost prophetic for its time,” Xu said.

The seismoscope’s core performance requirement was reliable detection without false alarms. “Our calculations indicate the balls would reliably release with ground displacement amplitudes as small as 0.5mm,” Xu said.

Regarding the directional detection function mentioned in historical texts, modern understanding of seismic waves suggests that a single instrument would not be able to determine epicentre direction with 100 per cent accuracy.

Correct directional measurement would only be possible when the instrument was placed perpendicular to reverse or normal fault rupture zones, or parallel strike-slip fault rupture lines. “The historically recorded detections are likely to have coincided with such optimal alignments,” Xu said.

Until less than a decade ago, Chinese middle school history textbooks routinely hailed Zhang Heng and his seismoscope as one of the greatest inventions of ancient China. However, due to unsuccessful replication attempts and scepticism from both domestic and international scholars, the Ministry of Education removed the relevant section in 2017.

Xu cited multiple pieces of historical evidence that had addressed the authenticity debate.

The most cited one was the 138AD Longxi earthquake, he noted. Records show the seismoscope detected a quake in the western province of Longxi (now Gansu), about 850km (530 miles) from the Eastern Han capital of Luoyang where no tremors were felt.

Officials doubted the reading until horseback messengers arrived days later to confirm it, leaving everyone amazed by the device’s accuracy.

Even more compelling was the surge in Luoyang’s quake records after the device was deployed in 132AD.

In the 85 years from 46AD to 131AD, only three out of 33 documented earthquakes in China were exclusively recorded in Luoyang. However, 23 out of 31 earthquakes were uniquely registered in Luoyang between 132AD and 190AD – 58 years in all.

“Geographically speaking, Luoyang is naturally [an area of] low-seismicity,” Xu said. “The most plausible explanation for this discrepancy is that Zhang Heng’s device successfully detected numerous minor tremors that were imperceptible to human senses and caused no actual damage – quakes that would have gone unrecorded without this technological aid.”

Zhang Heng’s professional credentials further validate the seismoscope’s authenticity. He was appointed grand astrologer in 115AD, a title matching today’s national observatory director and seismology chief. Two years later, he created an armillary sphere that mapped constellations, celestial coordinates and planetary motions – a feat that demonstrated his expertise in mathematics, astronomy, geography and mechanical engineering.

As for the disappearance of his amazing device, some research suggests the reason may well have been political.

According to some commentators, in an era when natural disasters were seen as divine retribution, a device that “predicted earthquakes” could threaten the rulers – who claimed the mandate of heaven.

Historical notes show Zhang Heng sought retirement abruptly in 138AD, mere years after his invention debuted, hinting at possible suppression. He died the following year.

Xu emphasised that the Houfeng seismoscope could not have been rejected or abandoned by the Eastern Han. That would go against historical records and political logic, he said, as Chinese dynasties always placed great importance on astronomical observations and disaster records.

“The loss of the seismoscope [original device, diagrams and notes missing] was [likely to have been] directly caused by war and chaos, It was also linked to powerful noble families who [might have] coveted, fought over, and hid the device and its technical records,” he suggested.

“In Chinese history, only two bronzes were ever deified: the Xia dynasty’s Nine Tripod Cauldrons … and this – a testament to its extraordinary historical significance,” Xu said.

He now plans to reconstruct the device using strictly Eastern Han-era techniques and materials to bridge the 2,000-year gap between ancient ingenuity and modern science – research that goes beyond artefact reconstruction to embody humanity’s timeless quest to unlock the secrets of nature.