3 h. ago China turns to robots for elderly care with national pilot programme

China has launched a pilot programme aimed at accelerating the deployment of robots to alleviate the pressure of elderly care, as the nation grapples with a rapidly ageing population and a labour shortage. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, issued a notice on Monday inviting organisations to participate in pilot projects. The initiative aims to enhance the integration of robotics into smart elderly care. The programme...

Politics

3 h. ago US soybean farmers move to reduce dependence on China as trade war grinds on

Soybean farmers in the United States have stepped up efforts to diversify their export markets while maintaining China as a critical buyer, despite ongoing trade tensions between the two superpowers, according to the head of a leading industry association. Jim Sutter, CEO of the US Soybean Export Council, said that while concerns about possible disruptions persist, China’s strong demand for soybeans – a crucial commodity for food and livestock feed – would ensure the US remains an important...

Events

4 h. ago US and China begin crunch trade talks in London amid simmering tensions

Top economic officials from China and the United States have kick-started a crucial round of trade talks in London, as the world watches closely to see if the two sides can agree to roll back their “chokehold” controls over critical minerals and advanced technologies. The Chinese and American delegations – led by China’s vice-premier, He Lifeng, alongside US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer – met Monday afternoon, local...

Events

4 h. ago US vows reprieve on some tech export restrictions as talks with China begin in London

Top economic officials from Washington and Beijing have launched a high-stakes round of trade talks in London, with a senior White House official signaling soon after the start that the US will ease some tech export restrictions on China, adding that he expected the Chinese government to ramp up rare earth mineral exports to American markets. The Chinese and American delegations – led by China’s vice-premier, He Lifeng, alongside US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard...

Politics

4 h. ago Why Trump’s nuclear export controls won’t stop China, may hurt US firms: analysts

China’s nuclear ambitions may face a slight setback from Washington’s reported export restrictions on power plant components, but Beijing will press ahead with its construction drive and intensify efforts to develop home-grown technologies as its domestic reactors mature, analysts said. The Trump administration has reportedly suspended licenses for the export of some nuclear power generation equipment to China. The US Department of Commerce issued the ruling in recent weeks, according to...

Politics

5 h. ago Ahead of US trade talks, China’s rare earth trade data from May sends a message

In a reflection of Beijing’s ability to quickly leverage its dominance over the critical-mineral supply chain, the value of rare earth elements exported by China last month plunged by nearly half compared with a year prior. The official data came as analysts have been saying that China’s export controls over large quantities of critical minerals are like the ultimate trump card in trade negotiations with the United States. The world’s second-largest economy exported rare earth elements worth...

Politics

6 h. ago ByteDance’s China head of content quality leaves amid stricter censorship

ByteDance has parted ways with a senior executive who oversaw content moderation and data labelling for its China-focused apps, according to sources and media reports, as the Beijing-based company advances content security amid Beijing’s strict censorship requirements. Li Tong, who led the Content Quality and Data Service (CQC) team under Douyin Group, was no longer listed in ByteDance’s internal employee system, according to people familiar with the matter. Douyin, one of ByteDance’s core...

Politics

6 h. ago From Avatar to mountain of rubbish: China pulls decade of trash from caves

Chinese authorities have cleaned up more than 50 tonnes of rubbish from ancient caves in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, a stunning site that inspired a location in Avatar, and punished four officials after the cavities became a stinking dumping ground. The clean-up came around two weeks after a viral video showed the state of a natural cave in Zhangjiajie’s Cili county in Hunan province that had been used for years by nearby villagers to dump rubbish, resulting in garbage piling up “as high...

Politics

7 h. ago China’s top drone maker DJI comes down to earth with launch of robotic cleaner

Chinese drone giant DJI is expected to launch a vacuum cleaning robot in a move set to intensify competition in the country’s crowded robotic cleaner market, according to a report by the state-backed financial newspaper China Securities Journal, citing internal sources. Shenzhen-based DJI will introduce a combination vacuum cleaner and mopping robot this month, a project that has been under development over the past four years, according to the report. The product is called DJI ROMO, according...

Events

15 h. ago ‘Age is just a number’: China grandma, 71, stars in fitness contest, shares tips

A Chinese grandmother has inspired countless netizens after winning third place in a fitness competition, following four years of rigorous training. On June 1, 71-year-old Sun Minghui, who is originally from Ma’anshan in Anhui province, central China, won the bronze medal in the mixed-gender category at the 2025 Wuhan round of the National Fitness Newcomers Quality Competition. Sun was the oldest competitor at the event. Before retiring, she worked in the cafeteria of a steel factory and...

Politics

27 h. ago Thanks to Trump, US threat of a ‘peaceful evolution’ recedes for China

As someone born in the 1960s in China, one of the earliest lessons our generation learned in school was to be vigilant about the perceived dangers of American conspiracies and attempts aimed at subverting and overthrowing the Communist Party through peaceful means. Through classroom teachings, propaganda films and slogans plastered prominently along the streets, we were repeatedly exposed to Chairman Mao Zedong’s warnings about the threat of “peaceful evolution”, encapsulated in his assertion...

Politics

34 h. ago China signals readiness on rare earth talks, approves more exports

China has approved some qualified rare earth export applications and is ready to deepen dialogue with nations over export controls, the Ministry of Commerce said as the strategic resource continued to take centre stage in Beijing’s trade negotiations with the United States. “We’ve observed growing global demand for medium and heavy rare earths in civilian sectors such as robotics and new energy vehicles, as these industries continue to expand,” the ministry said in a statement posted on its...

Politics

34 h. ago Labubu craze sweeps globe, highlights power China, Asia stars have on consumer trends

Asian and Chinese stars are rewriting the fashion industry playbook, turning niche favourites into global must-haves. The Post explores how celebrity choices shape style and consumption while reflecting the values of today’s fans. Lisa Labubu At 28, Lisa of the South Korean girl band Blackpink has more than 100 million social media followers and more than 1.9 billion online streams for her solo debut Lalisa. In April 2024, the Thai star posted photos with a Labubu plush toy and a matching...

Politics

34 h. ago Labubu craze sweeps globe, highlights power of China, Asia stars have on consumer trends

Asian and Chinese stars are rewriting the fashion industry playbook, turning niche favourites into global must-haves. The Post explores how celebrity choices shape style and consumption while reflecting the values of today’s fans. Lisa Labubu At 28, Lisa of the South Korean girl group Blackpink has more than 100 million social media followers and over 1.9 billion online streams for her solo debut, Lalisa. In April last year, the Thai star posted photos with a Labubu plush toy and a matching...

Politics

34 h. ago How China’s diaspora became both an asset and a source of anxiety

Wang Gungwu – one of Asia’s most respected historians and a pioneering scholar of the Chinese diaspora – explores in Roads to Chinese Modernity: Civilisation and National Culture how China evolved into a modern nation navigating reform and globalisation. In this excerpt, Wang traces how, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, reformers and revolutionaries such as Kang You-wei, Liang Qichao and Sun Yat-sen began rallying support from overseas Chinese communities. Once dismissed as disloyal...

Politics

37 h. ago Hong Kong minibus operators hail arrival of over 800 drivers from mainland China

Hong Kong has brought in more than 800 minibus drivers from mainland China as part of a temporary solution to the city’s labour shortage, with operators hopeful the scheme will be extended to help plug gaps in the ageing workforce. Minibus companies made the appeal after authorities reiterated that importing labour was only a “short-term” fix and that the workers were not meant to stay in the city in the long run. The government launched the labour import scheme in 2023 for three sectors that...

Transport

37 h. ago China as a global conflict mediator: from ambition to action

China has increasingly taken on the role of conflict mediator on the world stage – hosting negotiations, proposing peace plans and even deploying personnel to oversee ceasefires. Once reluctant to engage in United Nations peacekeeping activities, it now provides more troops than any other permanent member of the Security Council. These are dramatic shifts for a country that was once a staunch advocate of non-interference. As its economic and security interests now reach far beyond its borders,...

Events

50 h. ago How Ukraine’s Operation Spider’s Web attacks hold important lessons for China

Ukrainian attacks targeting airbases deep inside Russian territory despite lacking long-range missiles or bombers could offer important lessons about modern warfare in the event of any conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Under the operation, code-named Spider’s Web, Ukraine smuggled drones into Russian territory undetected and hired unwitting drivers to transport them in modified containers to locations near airbases, some of them thousands of kilometres from Ukraine’s border. The drones were then...

Events

56 h. ago ‘No longer any question..’: Donald Trump says China’s Xi Jinping has agreed to let rare earth minerals fl

‘No longer any question..’: Donald Trump says China’s Xi Jinping has agreed to let rare earth minerals fl  Times of India

Politics

56 h. ago Vietnam ramps up expansion of South China Sea outposts: think tank

Vietnam has continued to expand land reclamation on its occupied features in the South China Sea, with military-related construction of new ports and airstrips, according to a Chinese think tank. Citing satellite images, the Beijing-based South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI) said on Friday that the Southeast Asian nation had reclaimed nearly 0.78 sq km (0.3 square miles) of land on 11 features in the contested Spratly Islands, known as the Nansha Islands in China, over the past six...

Events