72 m. ago China’s economy weathers US tariff storm in May as consumption picks up

China’s economic data sent mixed signals in May, with US tariffs continuing to weigh on the country’s manufacturing and exports but domestic consumption picking up slightly in the run-up to a major online shopping festival. Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, rose by 6.4 per cent in May, compared with the 5.1 per cent growth observed in April, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday. The figures exceeded a forecast of 4.85 per cent growth by financial data provider...

Economics

1 hour ago Hotpot over hot dogs? Hong Kong cinemas need new ideas to survive

A recent trend in Hong Kong is causing concern. Cinemas and restaurants that have operated here for years are now closing down for good. Earlier this month, cinema chain operator Golden Harvest shut its venue at the MegaBox shopping centre, the fifth cinema it has closed down since April 2024. That came just days after it shut the Grand Ocean Cinema in Tsim Sha Tsui, which had been in business for 56 years. Other cinemas shutting up shop this year include the Newport Theatre in Mong Kok and the...

Events

2 h. ago China twins, separated at 10 days, reunite at 17, become besties before truth revealed

Twin sisters in China who were adopted by separate families at just 10 days old have been miraculously bound together by fate, becoming best friends at 17 before realising they are sisters. Zhang Guoxin and Hai Chao were given away by their parents, who could not afford to bring them up. One of the conditions of the adoption was that the two families must be from the same city in northern China’s Hebei province. They had been living separately without knowing of each other’s existence until they...

Politics

3 h. ago ‘Mole people’: invisible reality of the homeless in the Philippines

First, a head emerged from a drain hole in broad daylight. Then came arms and legs. Like a scene out of a horror film, such was the eerie image that unfolded when a woman was spotted crawling out of a sewer on the corner of the streets of Adelantado and VA Rufino, one of the busiest areas in the financial district of Makati City in the Philippines. The photo, which had quickly gone viral online and was later published by several local media outlets, was taken by a hobbyist photographer, who...

Politics

3 h. ago Food security takes root: how China’s Xinjiang is at forefront of national push

Chinese agricultural scientists have turned 40 hectares (99 acres) of salty soil in Xinjiang into fertile land capable of supporting multiple crops – part of a national strategy to bolster food security by transforming vast swathes of non-arable terrain into farms. The breakthrough followed seven years of effort in the Uygur autonomous region’s Shihezi, led by a research team from a local university, the state-owned People’s Daily reported. The previously degraded soil now sustains wheat,...

Events

9 h. ago UK ‘woefully’ unprepared for Chinese and Russian undersea cable sabotage, says report

UK ‘woefully’ unprepared for Chinese and Russian undersea cable sabotage, says report  The Guardian

Politics

13 h. ago Xi to meet Central Asian leaders as both sides seek ‘stronger coordination’

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to reaffirm Beijing’s commitment to Central Asian ties and higher quality development projects when he visits Kazakhstan for a summit next week. Xi will be in Astana from Monday to Wednesday for the China-Central Asia Summit, which is expected to focus on areas including transport, energy, security governance and the digital economy, according to analysts. It follows the first such summit in the Chinese city of Xian in 2023, when Xi vowed to strengthen...

Politics

15 h. ago China’s extreme heat shield breaks thermal limit on hypersonic flight

Chinese scientists have created a carbide ceramic capable of withstanding temperatures up to 3,600 degrees Celsius (6,512 degrees Fahrenheit) in an oxidising environment, exceeding current thermal limits on hypersonic flight. The development holds significant potential for applications in aerospace, energy and other extreme high-temperature fields. Modern hypersonic aircraft and advanced engines demand materials that can maintain structural integrity under extreme thermal conditions. However,...

Politics

16 h. ago Cairo calling: why Chinese factories are moving to Egypt amid the trade war

Until recently, Jiahao’s guest house in a quiet corner of Cairo was a modest pit stop for Chinese tourists on their way to visit the Egyptian pyramids. But this spring, the hostel suddenly began to attract a different kind of client. Jiahao, the hostel’s 26-year-old owner, began welcoming groups of factory owners from across China and Southeast Asia – grizzled businesspeople whose trips were not about sightseeing, but survival. “Many business owners now book week-long stays,” Jiahao said. “I...

Events

17 h. ago Why China’s officials are braced for another round of performance inspections

Chinese officials already have to deal with a series of inspectors knocking on their doors to keep tabs on their activities, but now they will also have a new group of “performance observers” looking over their shoulders to check that they are not wasting government funds. Local officials in China are often castigated for spending money on “white elephants”, such as flashy construction projects, in the hope these will provide a quick fix for the local economy and win favour with their...

Politics

17 h. ago Chinese woman schemes to make US$1.4 million, lives with rich men, loots homes

A woman in China set up a scheme to save 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) to buy a house by dating rich men, moving in with them and then looting their homes. Yin Xue, 24, from rural Hunan in central China, grew up in a poor family. At the age of 18, she went to the lavish wedding of one of her boyfriend’s friends, according to the mainland media outlet Guangming Net. Seeing the couple’s designer clothes, villa and private staff sparked envy and ambition in Yin. “I realised I wanted that kind...

Society

18 h. ago Hong Kong puts construction of 8,300 homes on hold in Fanling

Hong Kong’s housing authorities have suspended a key public residential development in a northern town consisting of 8,300 homes due to the suspected high costs of building the flats on deep rock strata, according to a lawmaker. The suspension of the development, including its site formation and infrastructure works, in Fanling came to light on Sunday in a document the Housing Department and the Civil Engineering and Development Department submitted to the North District Council, a day before a...

Society

18 h. ago Chinese media contrasts US pageantry and violence on Trump’s parade day

Donald Trump’s first large-scale military parade in decades has prompted Chinese commentators to compare and mock the contrast between the US president’s pageantry and the nationwide unrest sparked by his immigration policies. The festivities in Washington on Saturday occurred on a day marked by protests around the nation that underscored the country’s deep divisions. In China, some state media and online commentators declared Trump’s “America First” policy a failure in light of the mass...

Politics

18 h. ago ‘Setting sun’: on Trump’s parade day, Chinese media see a US in decline

Chinese state media were quick to declare the decline of the United States as protests throughout the country highlighted social divisions and overshadowed the pageantry of a large military parade in Washington on the weekend. The three-hour parade on Saturday was the first in the US in decades and staged to mark the 250th anniversary of the US Army. The event also coincided with the birthday of US President Donald Trump. But as soldiers and tanks were rolling past Trump in Washington,...

Politics

19 h. ago ‘Nothing new’: US Army parade holds no surprises for Chinese military minds

The US Army’s parade through Washington on Saturday offered no surprises, Chinese military observers said, while cautioning that the full force of American power was not on show. The parade for the US Army’s 250th anniversary showcased a range of American equipment, including Abrams tanks, Paladin artillery, robot dogs, reconnaissance drones, AH-64 Apache helicopters and Joint Light Tactical Vehicles. Most of the technology is well known, with machinery such as the Abrams tanks deployed widely...

Events

20 h. ago Study shows China’s temples act as rare sanctuaries for ancient trees

At the foot of Zhongnan Mountain in the Chinese city of Xian, the ancient Guanyin Chan Temple is home to a ginkgo tree with a history spanning over 1,400 years. As autumn approaches each year, this ancient ginkgo tree bursts into a spectacular golden display. The tree is said to have been planted by Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang dynasty (618-907) during a visit to the temple. According to a new study, temples across China – both Buddhist and Taoist – have safeguarded tens of thousands of ancient...

Politics

20 h. ago Is Indonesia ready to roll the dice on casinos at the risk of social costs?

The potential legalisation of gambling in Indonesia has resurfaced as a means for higher state revenue, but opponents argue the activity risks fraying the cultural fabric of the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. Lawmaker Galih Kartasasmita floated the idea during a meeting with the finance ministry on May 8, where he said Indonesia should follow the footsteps of the United Arab Emirates, which legalised gambling last year. “The UAE is ready to run a casino, [an] Arab country [finally] runs...

Events

21 h. ago 1 dead, 4 injured in Chongqing after driver runs into crowd: district police

One person is dead and four others injured after a driver allegedly drove into a crowd in Chongqing, a city in southwestern China, on Saturday after onlookers reportedly criticised him for repeatedly sounding the horn on his car. A police statement issued on Sunday by the Banan district branch of the Chongqing Public Security Bureau alleged the driver, surnamed Xiong, repeatedly sounded the horn after finding his path blocked by another vehicle in Banan, a district in southern Chongqing. The...

Events

21 h. ago China’s Wang Yi decries ‘unacceptable’ Israeli attack on Iran, urges diplomacy

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Israel’s attack on Iran an “unacceptable” breach of international law and urged measures to de-escalate tensions in phone calls with his Israeli and Iranian counterparts on Saturday. He told Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that China could play a “constructive role” in the peaceful resolution of the Iran nuclear issue, saying diplomatic solutions remained viable and a peaceful resolution was still achievable, according to China’s Ministry of Foreign...

Politics

21 h. ago How the next Philippine president could reshape its South China Sea policy

With Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr about halfway through his six-year term, questions are growing over whether his successor will uphold his firmer stance on the South China Sea or, as one senior official has warned, retreat to the symbolic “jet ski” posturing and softer policies seen under his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. Last month’s midterm elections delivered a split Senate, with Marcos-aligned candidates winning five of the 12 contested seats and Duterte allies clinching the...

Politics