4 h. ago Jack Ma replies to Alibaba employee’s letter lamenting ‘company disease’

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group Holding, responded to the resignation letter of a long-term employee on Tuesday, a rare move for the tech veteran who stepped back from all corporate roles in 2019. In a response published on Alibaba’s internal website, Ma addressed the concerns raised by a 15-year employee, who criticised the “big company disease” afflicting the Chinese e-commerce giant in an extensive internal letter. The employee, a product development leader on the team responsible for...

Politics

17 h. ago U.S. tariffs on China won't change again, Lutnick says after trade talks

U.S. tariffs on China won't change again, Lutnick says after trade talks  CNBC

Economics

17 h. ago Stocks little changed Wednesday as inflation stays cool, rate

Stocks little changed Wednesday as inflation stays cool, rate-cut bets rise  USA Today

Politics

39 h. ago Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq little changed in wait for clues on US

Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq little changed in wait for clues on US-China trade talks  Yahoo Finance

Politics

42 h. ago Tencent Music to buy Ximalaya, an audio app used by 300 million users

Tencent Music Entertainment Group, China’s largest online music platform by user count, announced on Tuesday its acquisition of audio content platform Ximalaya for about US$2.4 billion in cash and stock. The Tencent Holdings subsidiary will offer US$1.26 billion in cash and up to 5.2 per cent of its total outstanding class A ordinary shares. It will also issue up to 0.37 per cent of its shares to Ximalaya’s founding investors. As part of the deal, Ximalaya will restructure certain existing...

Economics

45 h. ago US trade officials mull further rollback of port fee rules – what’s different now?

As the world awaits the outcome of the China-US trade talks in London this week, the US Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed changes to shipping policy – marking another possible rollback from the stricter measures announced in April that aimed to revive the domestic industry and curb China’s shipbuilding dominance. The proposed revisions, issued in a short press release over the weekend, would reduce port fees for car carriers and ease restrictions on liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers....

Politics

55 h. ago Chinese soldier, famed for striking resemblance to actress Dilraba, is elite sniper

A woman soldier from northwestern China who is known for her resemblance to a famous actress has developed into an outstanding sniper. Buzainafu Yasenjiang looks strikingly similar to Dilraba Dilmurat, one of China’s top entertainers, who has more than 81 million followers on social media. The 33-year-old actress and singer is a native of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in the northwest of the country. She is celebrated for her unique beauty and talent, and has even been praised by the...

Events

65 h. ago Tariff war ‘not the end of the world’ for Hong Kong companies: trade council chief

The US-China tariff war is “not the end of the world” for Hong Kong businesses, the new head of the city’s Trade Development Council has said, as he outlined strategies to help them capitalise on geopolitical uncertainties. Chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang, who took office on June 1, also said on Monday the council would explore setting up more offices in new markets and rebranding the Asian Financial Forum to include more industry elements. The council has 51 offices around the world, including...

Events

67 h. ago Study shows how robots replaced master workers in Chinese military drone factory

In a Beijing defence drone facility, a black carbon-fibre body frame sits on a workstation ready for drilling. The material is light and strong, but a fractional error in angle or positioning could affect stealth performance and lead to the scrapping of the entire part. Master technicians once performed this task – breath held, hands steady – relying on years of muscle memory. Despite their skill, human limitations capped the speed of production and kept costs high. That changed with a...

Events

3 d. ago South Korea’s probes into Yoon, wife: search for truth or ‘political revenge’?

The passage of three laws mandating special investigations into corruption and abuse of power allegations involving impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol and his controversial wife marks a significant setback for South Korea’s conservatives, according to analysts. Former first lady Kim Keon-hee was long considered beyond the reach of law enforcement, largely due to her outsize influence over her husband and state affairs. But that “untouchable” status appears to be fading following a change in...

Politics

3 d. ago South Korea’s probes of Yoon, wife: search for truth or ‘political revenge’?

The passage of three laws mandating special investigations into corruption and abuse of power allegations involving impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol and his controversial wife marks a significant setback for South Korea’s conservatives, according to analysts. Former first lady Kim Keon-hee was long considered beyond the reach of law enforcement, largely due to her outsize influence over her husband and state affairs. But that “untouchable” status appears to be fading following a change in...

Politics

4 d. ago Hong Kong’s retail sector is struggling but people will have to adapt: John Lee

Hong Kong’s leader has conceded that the city has a problem with its sluggish retail scene amid a trend of locals spending their holidays across the border, but warned against using it as the sole yardstick in assessing the economy. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also called on businesses to “work harder” in light of the market changes and to reform to retain if not grow their slice of the cake. Hong Kong’s retail sales dropped for a 14th consecutive month in April, falling by 2.3 per cent,...

Politics

4 d. ago The kids are alright: Hong Kong AI scientist offers a vision for ‘parenting’ AI

For years, the story of artificial intelligence (AI) has been cast as a high-stakes contest between the US and China – a technological arms race with global consequences. But to De Kai, a pioneering machine learning scientist and advocate for AI ethics, this framing fundamentally misunderstands the technology. “I would prefer to think about it as the AI climate change challenge,” De Kai said in an interview with the Post at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where he is a...

Politics

4 d. ago US is the stronger society against China 'by almost all the metrics,' Gordon Chang says

US is the stronger society against China 'by almost all the metrics,' Gordon Chang says  Fox News

Politics

4 d. ago Baijiu blues and plum pickings: tastes of China’s Gen Z rewrite liquor industry

Selecting which crops to grow each season can be a make-or-break decision for farmers. And in the ancient Chinese town of Baisha, famous for its liquor production, more and more are sowing seeds of change in a bid to capitalise on the evolving tastes of consumers. Located in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing and home to the distillery of Chinese baijiu distilled-liquor brand Jiang Xiao Bai, the town is seeing its farmland increasingly being used to grow green plums instead of sorghum...

Politics

4 d. ago Chinese AR glasses maker Rokid is going global with Alibaba partnership

Rokid, a Chinese maker of augmented reality (AR) glasses, is set to launch its latest AR Spatial eyewear globally through Alibaba Group Holding’s AliExpress e-commerce platform, as the company pushes into overseas markets amid rising competition in the industry. The Hangzhou-based company will debut the glasses overseas on June 16 during the AliExpress 618 summer sale period this month, leveraging the e-commerce giant’s “BigSave” programme to offer a nearly US$100 discount, bringing the cost...

Politics

5 d. ago Rebranded Beijing Art Season persevered amid tariff and economic struggles

Rebranded Beijing Art Season persevered amid tariff and economic struggles  The Art Newspaper

Economics

5 d. ago Amid tariff and economic struggles, the newly rebranded Beijing Art Season persevered

Amid tariff and economic struggles, the newly rebranded Beijing Art Season persevered  The Art Newspaper

Economics

5 d. ago China’s rare earth weapon changes contours of trade war battlefield

China’s rare earth weapon changes contours of trade war battlefield  Reuters

Events

6 d. ago 1 in 4 Hongkongers unaware of coming public healthcare fee changes: survey

One in four Hongkongers is unaware of the expansion of a medical fee waiver mechanism, a survey has found, with lawmakers urging the government to ramp up efforts to promote the public healthcare subsidy regime reform set to be implemented in six months. The survey, involving 724 respondents and conducted by the city’s largest workers’ union between April 22 and May 13, revealed that some participants lacked a clear understanding of the measures aimed at broadening the safety net in public...

Events