8 m. ago Baidu updates AI reasoning model to rival systems from DeepSeek, OpenAI, Google

Baidu, one of China’s artificial intelligence champions, on Tuesday released an updated version of its proprietary reasoning model with comparable performance to advanced AI systems from DeepSeek, OpenAI and Google. Citing data from third-party AI benchmarks, Baidu chief technology officer Wang Haifeng said at a developer conference in Beijing that the firm’s X1.1 reasoning model had surpassed the performance of DeepSeek-R1, while it matched OpenAI’s GPT-5 and Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro. “From...

Politics

45 m. ago COMMENT: Putin’s pivot to China cements Russia’s vassalage to Beijing

COMMENT: Putin’s pivot to China cements Russia’s vassalage to Beijing  IntelliNews

Politics

63 m. ago Chinese warned about foreign spies posing as NGO staff to target military units

Beijing’s top anti-spy agency has warned the Chinese public about espionage being carried out in the country’s border areas under the guise of philanthropy. The Ministry of State Security announced on Tuesday that it had uncovered a case involving foreign spies operating near China’s military installations while posing as members of a charity organisation. In a case briefing posted on its social media platform, the ministry said villagers living near an unidentified restricted military zone...

Events

3 h. ago Hong Kong court extends bankruptcy of man who forged Nina Wang’s will by 4 years

A Hong Kong court has extended convicted forger Peter Chan Chun-chuen’s bankruptcy by four years, citing his failure to repay his debt to the estate of the late tycoon Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum since losing a high-profile lawsuit over her billion-dollar assets 15 years ago. The High Court on Tuesday suspended Chan’s automatic discharge from a bankruptcy order made in 2021 and ordered that he pay HK$55,000 (US$7,000) in legal fees to an accounting firm that is now in charge of his assets. EY,...

Events

3 h. ago Legacy car brands launch a product blitz to take the fight to China

Legacy car brands launch a product blitz to take the fight to China  CNBC

Politics

4 h. ago North Korea’s engine test, Kim Jong Un’s Beijing diplomacy and trade fair plans

North Korea’s engine test, Kim Jong Un’s Beijing diplomacy and trade fair plans  NK News

Politics

4 h. ago BYD Stock Set To Extend Losses In China As Slowing Growth Fears Overshadow Seal 07 DM

BYD Stock Set To Extend Losses In China As Slowing Growth Fears Overshadow Seal 07 DM-i Launch Plans  Stocktwits

Politics

5 h. ago BYD predicts car brand clearout in China as Beijing cracks down on discounting

BYD predicts car brand clearout in China as Beijing cracks down on discounting  Financial Times

Politics

5 h. ago What the US should take away from China’s Victory Day parade

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, once suggested that childhood experiences cast long shadows over adult life. Nations, too, carry memories of their “childhoods”. For Beijing, two such...

Politics

6 h. ago Apple’s iPhone launch on Tuesday may lack sparkle, analysts say

When Apple debuts new iPhones on Tuesday, analysts say its biggest challenge will be to ride out another ho-hum launch as rivals have skated past it in embedding artificial intelligence into their products and services. The biggest draw this year could be a rumoured “iPhone Air”, a phone slimmer than what Apple has sold before and taking its name from the company’s slender laptop, MacBook Air. Apple would need to iron out how to pack batteries and cameras into a thinner device, analysts said,...

Politics

9 h. ago Epidemiological and phylogenetic characteristics of human metapneumovirus in Beijing, China, 2014–2024

Epidemiological and phylogenetic characteristics of human metapneumovirus in Beijing, China, 2014–2024  Nature

Politics

11 h. ago More factories but less pollution: how China’s green tech revolution works

Over his nearly two-decade career as an environmental researcher, Ma Jun has witnessed arguably the fastest environmental improvement in the world. In 2006, he founded the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) – a non-profit environmental research organisation based in Beijing. At the time, data collected by his organisation showed around 28 per cent of monitored water sources nationwide were severely polluted and rendered unusable, leaving nearly 300 million people without...

Politics

12 h. ago China’s Yuan Could Hit Low 6 Against Dollar, Says Eurizon’s Jen

China’s Yuan Could Hit Low 6 Against Dollar, Says Eurizon’s Jen  Bloomberg.com

Events

13 h. ago Parades, patriotism and the peril of no succession plan in Beijing

Parades, patriotism and the peril of no succession plan in Beijing  Nikkei Asia

Politics

13 h. ago Beijing's National Center for the Performing Arts Promotes New Orchestral Executive Director

Beijing's National Center for the Performing Arts Promotes New Orchestral Executive Director  The Violin Channel

Politics

15 h. ago Beijing can stop the war in Ukraine, but for now it is more profitable for it to observe

Beijing can stop the war in Ukraine, but for now it is more profitable for it to observe - Podolyak  Українські Національні Новини

Events

16 h. ago First freight train departs from Poland to China via Beijing’s New Silk Road

First freight train departs from Poland to China via Beijing’s New Silk Road  TVP World

Politics

17 h. ago 'Unfair, unreasonable': Chinese envoy in Delhi slams US tariffs, invites Indian firms to invest in Beijing

'Unfair, unreasonable': Chinese envoy in Delhi slams US tariffs, invites Indian firms to invest in Beijing  MSN

Economics

18 h. ago Russian Media Outlet The Insider: Xi Jinping Holds Military Parade In Beijing Accompanied By Putin And Kim Jong

Russian Media Outlet The Insider: Xi Jinping Holds Military Parade In Beijing Accompanied By Putin And Kim Jong-Un; 'China's Claim To Global Leadership Has Made An Impression Not Because Of Beijing Is Strengthening Itself, But Because Of The Weakeni  MEMRI

Events

18 h. ago China's Ambassador Xu Feihong invites India to invest in Beijing, calls 50% US tariffs ‘unfair, unreasonable’

China's Ambassador Xu Feihong invites India to invest in Beijing, calls 50% US tariffs ‘unfair, unreasonable’  Mint

Politics