3 d. ago Tsinghua University sets up research institute in push for robotics talent

China’s Tsinghua University has set up a new cross-disciplinary institute to undertake robotics research, the latest sign of increased academic support from its top universities as the country doubles down on the embodied intelligence competition with the US. The Institute for Embodied Intelligence and Robotics will integrate resources from Tsinghua’s different schools, including automation, mechanical engineering, electronic engineering and computer science. Embodied intelligence is a field of...

Technology

4 d. ago South African bank becomes first African bank to plug into China’s cross

South African bank becomes first African bank to plug into China’s cross-border payment system  Business Insider Africa

Politics

5 d. ago Ramaphosa dismisses Trump’s threat to bar South Africa from 2026 G20 summit

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa dismissed on Sunday US President Donald Trump’s threat to exclude Pretoria from next year’s Group of 20 summit, reaffirming South Africa’s status as a founding member of the group. Washington boycotted the G20 meeting held under South Africa’s presidency in Johannesburg on November 22 and 23, with Trump repeating allegations, widely discredited, that the host country’s black-majority government persecutes its white minority. Trump said last Wednesday that...

Politics

6 d. ago China set to benefit as South Africa looks to diversify away from US

South Africa is looking to new export markets in Asia – particularly China – and Europe to diversify away from the United States, as its relations with Washington rapidly deteriorate. America boycotted last weekend’s Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg after Washington accused Pretoria of persecuting Afrikaner farmers, labelling the situation “white genocide” – a claim the South African government strongly denies. On Wednesday the situation escalated, with US President Donald Trump saying...

Politics

7 d. ago Zuma’s daughter quits South African parliament amid Russian mercenary scandal

A daughter of South Africa’s ex-president Jacob Zuma has resigned from parliament after claims she was involved in recruiting men to join Russian mercenaries in the Ukraine war, her party said on Friday. Police last week said they were investigating allegations that Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, an MP in her father’s Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, had lured 17 South African men to Russia “to fight in the Ukrainian war without their knowledge or consent”. The presidency said in early November it had...

Politics

8 d. ago At African Studies Gathering, Critiques of China Grow Louder And More African

At African Studies Gathering, Critiques of China Grow Louder And More African  The China-Global South Project

Events

1 week ago South Africa police investigate claims Zuma’s daughter in Russia recruit scheme

South African police are investigating claims that a daughter of ex-president Jacob Zuma was involved in recruiting men to join Russian mercenaries in the Ukraine war, they said on Sunday. The allegations against Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, an MP in her father’s MK political party, were made by one of her sisters in an affidavit asking for a formal investigation, police said. It claimed Zuma-Sambudla and two other people were involved in recruiting 17 South Africans whom the presidency said this...

Events

1 week ago China Releases Phytosanitary Rules for Fresh South African Stone Fruit

China Releases Phytosanitary Rules for Fresh South African Stone Fruit  Produce Report

Politics

1 week ago G20 South Africa summit opens under shadow of first US boycott

The G20 summit in Johannesburg opened on Saturday with a firm call from the host nation to safeguard the group’s credibility and role, despite the shadow cast by the first-ever US boycott in the forum’s history. South Africa has, however, secured crucial diplomatic backing from China for the assembly of the world’s wealthiest and leading emerging economies. Members should “not allow anything to diminish the value, stature and impact of the first African G20”, South African President Cyril...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong seizes fake Gucci, other goods worth HK$65 million during major sale

Hong Kong customs has seized 120,000 suspected counterfeit items in a month-long operation that targeted cross-border transshipments during a major online shopping festival in mainland China, confiscating goods including fake Gucci handbags, Hermes shoes and latest models of the iPhone. The Customs and Excise Department revealed on Friday that it conducted a special enforcement operation between October 20 and November 14, during which it solved a total of 29 cases and seized counterfeit goods...

Economics

2 w. ago US wants to reverse boycott and join G20 summit, says South African president

The United States government has indicated that it has had a “change of mind” and wants to take part in the Group of 20 summit in South Africa in a reverse of its boycott, the South African president said on Thursday. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the summit host country had received communication from the US at “the eleventh hour” and was now working on the logistics to accommodate the US. US President Donald Trump had announced that his administration would boycott the two-day...

Politics

2 w. ago US is not attending G20, White House says, denying South African leader’s comment

The United States is not taking part in this weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, the White House said on Thursday, denying earlier comments from South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, who had said Washington wanted to take part. “The United States is not participating in official talks at the G20 in South Africa,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “I saw the South African president running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the...

Politics

2 w. ago White House denies reversing G20 boycott, hits out at South African leader

The White House hit out on Thursday at South Africa’s leader for “running his mouth” over the United States’ boycott of this weekend’s Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg in another diplomatic rift between the US and a country that has been especially targeted for criticism by President Donald Trump. South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters in Johannesburg that the US had indicated it was changing its mind over its boycott of the G20 leaders summit at the “11th hour” and wanted to take...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump administration warns South Africa not to issue G20 statement

The US formally warned South Africa against pushing for a joint statement at this weekend’s Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg that the Trump administration is boycotting, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. The diplomatic stand-off is particularly awkward given it’s the first time the continent is hosting a G20 and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is passing the baton to US President Donald Trump at the end of this year. Tensions between the two men came to a head at an Oval...

Events

2 w. ago Huge security operation in place for Africa’s first G20 summit

South African police and army units held a parade on Wednesday involving helicopters, K-9 dog units and officers on motorcycles in a show of force ahead of expected protests around this weekend’s Group of 20 world leaders summit in Johannesburg. South Africa has deployed 3,500 extra police officers and put the army on standby under its National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure - a body that brings police, army and intelligence services together under one command to provide security...

Politics

2 w. ago What Zohran Mamdani’s New York win could mean for future of China

Supporters erupted in joy last week as Zohran Mamdani won a commanding victory in the New York mayoral race, becoming the first Muslim elected to lead the US financial capital. The young politician’s complex identity as an African-born person of South Asian heritage, his political positions and the broader implications of his win have resonated far beyond New York. In China, his victory quickly became a talking point, both online and among scholars. According to Chinese observers, the rise of...

Politics

2 w. ago Beijing warns against travel to Japan as row over Taiwan comments intensifies

China has told its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan, upping the ante in its row with Tokyo after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested her country could deploy its military forces in the event of a cross-strait conflict. In a notice late on Friday night, China’s foreign ministry said the safety of its citizens in Japan had “continued to deteriorate”, citing a series of targeted attacks this year. The ministry said the Japanese leader had made provocative remarks on Taiwan-related...

Events

2 w. ago Airlines offer Japan flight refunds as row over Takaichi’s Taiwan comments grows

China’s biggest airlines have offered full refunds for flights to Japan after Beijing told Chinese citizens to avoid travel to the country, marking an escalation in a row over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s suggestion that Tokyo could deploy its military forces in a cross-strait conflict. Air China, China Southern and China Eastern published separate statements on Saturday saying they would allow ticket holders to refund or change their itineraries for free for flights between Saturday...

Politics

3 w. ago China’s Yangtze River Delta aids private sector, reins in ‘profit

Entrepreneurs and legal experts have welcomed a move by Shanghai and its neighbouring provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui to regulate cross-regional market enforcement, saying it will offer relief from arbitrary inspections, overlapping investigations and profit-driven law enforcement. The four jurisdictions have introduced China’s first mechanism designed to rein in cross-jurisdictional and profit-driven law enforcement, establishing a formal coordination framework to standardise...

Economics

3 w. ago US, Chinese authorities ramp up actions against syndicates running crypto scams

The US and China are ramping up crackdowns on cryptocurrency-related cross-border crimes with a flurry of actions against the suspected ringleaders of scam networks operating in Southeast Asia. In recent years, the border areas between Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia have become hubs for online fraud operations, in which syndicates either trick or coerce their targeted victims to invest in bogus schemes and transfer money via bitcoin, ether or stablecoins before these are processed through...

Politics