46 m. ago China’s cities feed the AI monster with dedicated services for economic roar

China’s city governments are racing to stake out a role in artificial intelligence, with Wenzhou this week becoming the nation’s first to set up a dedicated bureau for AI-related matters – underscoring how local officials are ramping up efforts amid Beijing’s push to gain an edge in the AI race with the United States. Authorities in Wenzhou, located in the provincial economic powerhouse of Zhejiang, announced the bureau’s formation at a high-profile AI Innovation and Development Conference on...

Economics

4 h. ago China closes biotech gap with US as new drugs, pipelines top 30% of global total

China’s push to become a biotech powerhouse is paying off, with innovative R&D pipelines and newly approved drugs accounting for over 30 per cent of the global total, according to the country’s top economic planner. The sector was showing strong momentum, said Xiang Libin, deputy chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), who cited the figures at the 17th China Bioindustry Convention in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Thursday. China’s bioeconomy, encompassing the research,...

Events

11 h. ago Chinese province floats new use for digital yuan: paying long

China is mulling the application of its digital yuan – the central bank-backed currency also known as the e-CNY – to tackle persistent payment defaults, a move that would broaden the asset’s scope beyond the set of use cases explored by Beijing since the currency’s launch in 2019. Authorities in the central province of Hunan touched upon the subject when detailing plans to expand the digital currency’s application scenarios and scale, according to a document published last month. Hunan will...

Politics

14 h. ago China’s stablecoin bind: why US dollar tokens matter – and how Beijing may respond

Once a niche corner of the cryptocurrency world, stablecoins have surged into the global spotlight this year, prompting analysts and industry insiders to declare that the digital asset’s time has come. In July, US President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, establishing the first federal regulatory regime for stablecoins – a move many believe could pave the way for mass-market adoption. Shortly after, Hong Kong introduced its own ordinance, which took effect on August 1, requiring...

Politics

14 h. ago ‘Summer of stablecoins’: how will China respond to US dollar’s crypto surge?

Once a niche corner of the cryptocurrency world, stablecoins have surged into the global spotlight this year, prompting analysts and industry insiders to declare that the digital asset’s time has come. In July, US President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, establishing the first federal regulatory regime for stablecoins – a move many believe could pave the way for mass-market adoption. Shortly after, Hong Kong introduced its own ordinance, which took effect on August 1, requiring...

Politics

23 h. ago Chinese provinces prep for business trips to US amid shaky tariff truce

More Chinese entrepreneurs and local government representatives could soon be packing for New York and California, aiming to take advantage of a recent stabilisation in US-China relations to hop across the Pacific and scout out potential trade and investment opportunities. Visits by delegations from China in the coming months will seek to leverage the pro-business amity and autonomy of local authorities in the US to advance economic ties, as Beijing encourages subnational exchanges. China’s...

Economics

34 h. ago China starts aviation training for Southeast Asia amid C919, home

China is training representatives from Southeast Asia this month in an effort to promote its home-grown civilian aircraft, as the region leads the world in accepting Chinese deliveries despite Airbus and Boeing’s dominance. Twenty participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are taking part in the 2025 China-Asean Civil Aviation Management Capacity Enhancement Workshop in Beijing, which started Monday. Organised by the Civil Aviation...

Politics

36 h. ago Local Chinese government stimulus pushes big spenders to dig in while dining out

A local government in China’s provincial economic powerhouse of Zhejiang has announced plans to subsidise the restaurant meals of high-value consumers, in a move that is intended to stimulate consumption but could raise questions about whether it runs contrary to the central government’s austerity drive. Shaoxing – a city known for its textile industry and a prized variety of cooking wine – will offer subsidies of up to 5,000 yuan (US$700) to banquet holders if they host five or more tables and...

Politics

50 h. ago More Chinese went to cinemas this summer, but filmmakers still face challenges

China’s film market showed signs of recovery this summer, but industry insiders said it was still grappling with challenges. By the end of last month, this year’s domestic box office totalled 39.23 billion yuan (US$5.5 billion), according to the China Film Administration, with over 900 million film-goers. The summer season generated 11.96 billion yuan in box office revenue, up 2.76 per cent year on year but well down on the 20.62 billion yuan record set in 2023 and the pre-pandemic levels of...

Culture

52 h. ago South China’s Greater Bay Area boasts world’s largest innovation cluster

A portion of China’s Greater Bay Area has been named the world’s largest innovation cluster, underscoring Beijing’s drive for technological self-reliance at a time of rising geopolitical uncertainties with the United States. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou technology hub – the heart of the bay area plan – has overtaken Tokyo-Yokohama to become the world’s largest innovation cluster, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) 2025 Global Innovation Index released on...

Politics

59 h. ago Nomura warns China’s stock surge risks a bubble with little benefit to economy

Nomura warns China’s stock surge risks a bubble with little benefit to economy  South China Morning Post

Events

3 d. ago ‘Lost the battle’: EU told to accept defeat against China’s solar power sector

A group of French and German economists has urged Europe to identify which industries to support in the face of Chinese competition and boldly abandon those where the battle had already been lost, such as the solar power sector. The recommendations were presented in five memos to the Franco-German Council of Ministers at the request of the two governments. The memos cover trade with China, as well as defence, energy, economic growth and the labour market. The economists advised Europe to protect...

Events

3 d. ago China’s shipping firms lean on alliances to ride out US port fee storm

Chinese shipping companies are working with global partners to reduce their US exposure and explore more regional market opportunities, as the industry braces for the introduction of steep new US port fees in October. Washington plans to charge Chinese-linked vessels hefty fees to enter US ports as part of a drive to rein in China’s globally dominant shipyards, and the controversial new levies are already driving deep changes in the shipping industry. “The container shipping industry is...

Events

3 d. ago ‘Historical evolution’: China’s shipping firms pivot amid looming US port fees

Chinese shipping companies are working with global partners to reduce their US exposure and explore more regional market opportunities, as the industry braces for the introduction of steep new US port fees in October. Washington plans to charge Chinese-linked vessels hefty fees to enter US ports as part of a drive to rein in China’s globally dominant shipyards, and the controversial new levies are already driving deep changes in the shipping industry. “The container shipping industry is...

Politics

3 d. ago China pushes development bank to help 10 Eurasian countries curb US dollar risks

A strong push on Monday to create a development bank serving 10 Eurasian countries, including China, would help insulate the group from increasingly risky US dollar-dominated trade while accelerating key infrastructure work, according to analysts. Such a concessional lender – part of an idea that has long been put on hold – would serve China, Russia, India and seven other nations that have worked together since 2001 as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). President Xi Jinping said at a...

Events

3 d. ago China’s exporters ahead in tariff game, paying estimated 9% share of costs

Chinese exporters appear to hold significant bargaining power in their trade with the United States, according to an estimate from one of Beijing’s top investment banks, carrying 9 per cent of the cost burden created by the tariffs US President Donald Trump levied earlier this year. The findings from China International Capital Corporation (CICC) run contrary to earlier claims by US officials – including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – that Washington has been on the winning side of the...

Economics

4 d. ago Changing Course in a Storm: China’s Economy in the Trade War

Changing Course in a Storm: China’s Economy in the Trade War  China Leadership Monitor

Events

5 d. ago Chinese tourists’ love affair with Paris deepens as visits surge 15%

Many Chinese tourists arriving in Paris in recent weeks have been surprised by the same thing: the quiet. August is the traditional holiday month in France, when most Parisians flee the capital for sunny beaches in the south or exotic destinations abroad. “The French have all left, some neighbourhoods have barely any people,” one user wrote on the Chinese social platform RedNote. Others posted photos of deserted boulevards near Parc Monceau and the Musée d’Orsay. But that has not stopped Chinese...

Society

6 d. ago ‘Hard to replicate’: Chinese tourists still flocking to US despite Trump fears

When Gao Huasheng, a university professor from Shanghai, began planning a two-week family holiday to San Francisco earlier this year, he worried about exposing his children to scenes of drug use or even gun violence. But in the end, the 44-year-old decided to go ahead with the trip – and his fears turned out to be misplaced. The family’s visit to the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom amusement park and road trip down the Pacific coast went off without a hitch. “My children said it was exciting, not...

Politics

6 d. ago China’s population decline laid bare as Shanghai school enrols only 22 pupils

A primary school in Shanghai has attracted national attention after its student body shrank to just 22 this year, highlighting the dramatic impact China’s plunging birth rate is having on the education system. Sanqiao Primary School in the Pudong New Area now has more full-time staff than pupils – with 22 children and 23 teachers – despite being located in one of China’s largest cities, according to enrolment data released on the local education authority’s website. The information was first...

Culture