41 m. ago Australian Dollar steadies following mixed economic data from China

Australian Dollar steadies following mixed economic data from China  FXStreet

Economics

65 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

96 m. ago Going down: the acclaimed Japanese airport that’s sinking into the sea

Japan’s Kansai International Airport (KIX) has won international awards for its architectural design, efficiency and staff, and was recognised last year as the best airport in the world for baggage delivery after not mislaying a single item of luggage for a decade. Despite all the plaudits, KIX has a major drawback: it is sinking. Built on a man-made island in Osaka Bay, KIX was one of the largest construction and engineering projects ever undertaken in Japan. Made up of two islands, one...

Politics

2 h. ago China Reviews Impact of US Data Curbs Due to Trump’s Budget Cuts

China Reviews Impact of US Data Curbs Due to Trump’s Budget Cuts  Bloomberg.com

Politics

2 h. ago Hong Kong can lead world in AI healthcare by tapping trove of patient data: expert

Hong Kong has the potential to develop the world’s most sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) system for healthcare, thanks to the data of millions of residents stored in the city’s public hospitals, according to a leading expert in the field from mainland China. Professor Wang Haibo, director of the Research Centre of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Medicine under the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, told the Post that the health data system in the...

Science

5 h. ago China’s nuclear stockpile is growing ‘faster than any other country’: SIPRI

China’s nuclear arsenal is growing “faster than any other country” and its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force could potentially match that of Russia or the US by the turn of the decade, a Swedish think tank dedicated to weapons research has said. According to the latest yearbook of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China has added 100 more warheads to its nuclear stockpile each year since 2023. It held at least 600 and that number was expected to “keep...

Events

17 h. ago How a ‘Harvard International’ could boost Hong Kong as an education hub

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has invited international students worried about finishing their courses at Harvard University in the US to continue their studies at one of Hong Kong’s universities. Other universities in Malaysia and Japan have put forward similar suggestions. This comes as Hong Kong is considering how to make best use of the part of the Northern Metropolis reserved for universities to bolster its role as an education hub. That site is at the heart of our future technology...

Politics

19 h. ago Noodles with heart: Beijing's homespun hospitality in a bowl

Noodles with heart: Beijing's homespun hospitality in a bowl  news.cgtn.com

Politics

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

23 h. ago Gen Z’s ‘emotional consumption’ fuels surge in consumer stocks like Pop Mart

Stock investors are capitalising on the spending power of China’s Generation Z consumers, who splurge on everything from gold jewellery to low-priced drinks, delivering multifold returns on so-called new consumer stocks. The ascent of Pop Mart International Group, Mixue Group and Laopu Gold is one of the few bright spots in China’s sluggish consumer industry, which has been plagued by a weak jobs market and the deflationary trend. The robust performance has come at the cost of traditional...

Politics

24 h. ago Hong Kong’s rent surge hits mainland students and professionals

Wang Ruoshuo, a 21-year-old student from Hefei, the capital of central Anhui province, is searching for a flat in Hung Hom in southern Kowloon, which is close to her university and the company where she interns. As a first-time renter, however, she has been taken aback by the high prices. Wang and her friends are looking for a two-bedroom unit, budgeting about HK$7,000 to HK$8,000 (US$892 to US$1,019) per person. “But when we began our search, we found that properties meeting our criteria would...

Society

41 h. ago Kind China pupils rush to help crashed delivery rider, pick up scattered lunchboxes

A group of school pupils in China have moved internet users by supporting an electric bicycle and picking up lunchboxes left scattered on the road after a food delivery worker crashed while working. The touching scene was filmed by a camera worn on the chest of delivery man Dong Ziheng while he was riding the electric bike in an alley in Xingtai, northern Hebei province on June 3. Dong fell off the bike as he tried to avoid hitting another electric bike coming in the opposite direction. After...

Events

44 h. ago Hong Kong Instagram influencer pleads for release of father arrested in Cambodia

A Hong Kong-based Instagram influencer has written an open letter to Cambodia’s prime minister, calling for the immediate release of her father, who needs urgent medical care. Stephanie Cheng, also known as Laparasian on Instagram, posted a copy of the letter in English, French and Chinese on her social media early Saturday morning. In a separate post the previous day, the influencer said that her father, Cheng Chi-gian, a French citizen, had been “kidnapped in Phnom Penh just before exposing a...

Events

49 h. ago End of political chaos in South Korea sparks pickup in Chinese visitors

Chinese tourism to South Korea is picking up with the end of political instability in Seoul and the two nations pledging closer relations shortly before visa exemptions take effect, travel industry sources said this week. Bookings from China – South Korea’s largest source of foreign visitors – for the three months from April to June have been about 24 per cent higher than for the three months ending in February, according to data compiled by the travel marketing and technology company China...

Politics

53 h. ago Watchdog says these VPN apps could be giving your data to China

Watchdog says these VPN apps could be giving your data to China  Straight Arrow News

Politics

57 h. ago Is China’s New London “Super Embassy” a Risk to National Security?

Is China’s New London “Super Embassy” a Risk to National Security?  CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies

Events

57 h. ago From dancing robots to DeepSeek, the university helping China to win tech race

From dancing robots to DeepSeek, the university helping China to win tech race  The Times

Culture

62 h. ago Smiling, friendly China a perfect antidote to Trump’s angry America

Following the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, China experienced a sharp drop in the number of international visitors and many foreign residents left the country. International tourism was still below pre-pandemic levels as late as 2024. When tourists did not return in large numbers after it reopened its borders in 2023, China began to take measures to reverse the trend and bring foreigners back, rolling out a unilateral 30-day visa-free entry scheme, which now encompasses 47 countries,...

Politics

63 h. ago ‘Any time, any place’: Philippine army to be deployed to South China Sea islands

A senior Philippine military official has revealed a soon-to-be-deployed strategy that would involve an army contingent to support law enforcement units on occupied islands in the South China Sea. Observers said the strategy would align with Manila’s policy shift from an internal to external defence posture aimed at protecting the country’s territorial waters. One expert, however, warned that it could lead to more aggressive moves by the Chinese navy and coastguard if Beijing were to view...

Politics

66 h. ago Beijing International Book Fair 2025 looks to the kids’ and academic markets

Beijing International Book Fair 2025 looks to the kids’ and academic markets  The Bookseller

Society