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Illustration: Henry Wong

As Western grids strain to meet AI’s electricity needs, is power China’s power?

China’s energy buildout means cheap, green and reliable electricity fuels its manufacturing and tech industries, giving it an edge over rivals.

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China pledges green-energy push with Global South, signals wider market opening

China energy security
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Global Economy

Trade reset? China, Canada look to revive ties after US tariffs force rethink

Crude, copper and iron top Canada’s exports to China, as prime minister seeks to mend relationship with Beijing.

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Middle East

Trump tells Iranians ‘help is on its way’, as protest death toll hits 2,000

The US president also vowed ‘very strong ‍action’ if the Iranian government started hanging protesters.

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Health & Environment

Most Hong Kong residents support more smoking control measures, study finds

Raising tobacco tax progressively could cut the city’s smoking rate significantly within a decade, separate study estimates.

Diplomacy
Iran has been gripped by waves of anti-government protests. Photo: Reuters

Why China may not act in Iran even if it has ‘more to lose’ than in Venezuela

Diplomacy

Not ‘Trump-compatible’? China expert Rudd exits Australia’s US ambassador role

Kevin ‌Rudd left his post a year ‍earlier than planned following criticism from US President Donald Trump at White House meeting in October.

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Australia’s ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, is stepping down a year earlier than expected and is returning to lead the Asia Society think tank. Photo: TNS
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East Asia

South Korean prosecutors demand death penalty for ex-leader Yoon

Prosecutors seek death for Yoon Suk-yeol over martial law decree that plunged the country into chaos. Experts expect a life term as executions are rare.

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China Economy

Fears over China’s trade surplus misplaced as West also driving trend: analysts

China’s global manufacturing dominance is a tale of two halves; reliant on home-grown industrial growth and Western consumption, experts say.

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People & Culture

How this year’s Yidan Prize laureates reshape modern literacy and skills worldwide

Mamadou Amadou Ly and Uri Wilensky help transform teaching and learning through multilingual education and computational thinking.

In partnership with:
Yidan Prize Foundation
The 2025 Yidan Prize laureates Professor Uri Wilensky (left) and Mamadou Amadou Ly help remove barriers to education by transforming how learners access and engage with knowledge.

China

Chinese student numbers at Harvard rise despite Trump visa crackdown

Enrolment from mainland China grew 4.5% in 2025 even as Washington tightened vetting and revoked thousands of student visas.

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Harvard is continuing its fight against the Trump administration with two legal challenges over funding cuts and foreign student enrolment restrictions. Photo: Getty Images

Big Tech

Alibaba reaffirms open-source AI commitment as it hails successes

‘Building with the community’ is crucial to the success of the Qwen family of large language models, company says.

Military

Taiwan, US launch joint production of 155mm artillery shells amid blockade fears

Island’s defence ministry says Ukraine war underscores urgency of securing sustained ammunition supply in event of armed conflict.

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Science

Chinese firm Sinovac to supply vaccine to Chile ahead of flu season

Chilean government procures doses of the jab from China for a second year in a row, with nationwide immunisation campaign to begin in March.

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Chile’s vaccination campaign targets education and healthcare workers, school-age children, people with chronic illnesses, infants and young children, older adults, and pregnant women. Photo: Shutterstock

Europe

Greenland says ‘we choose Denmark’, as talks with Trump officials loom

The island would rather remain Danish than be taken over by the US, its leader says, despite ongoing discussions about independence.

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A “Nu det NUUK!” cap with a “Make America Go Away” slogan is displayed in a clothing store in Copenhagen on Monday. Photo: AFP

United States & Canada

Clintons refuse to testify in Epstein probe, defying Republican threats

Lawmakers from Trump’s party have zeroed in on Bill Clinton’s ties to the financier, as they wrestle with the Epstein files fallout.

Diplomacy

How a snap election in Japan could put Takaichi in a stronger position with China

A decisive win could give Tokyo ‘limited room for concessions in its negotiations with Beijing’ and more room to manoeuvre with Washington.

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Entertainment

Review | 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – Ralph Fiennes leads savage sequel

Fiennes plays a bigger role alongside Jack O’Connell in this unsettling follow-up that sets the franchise up for a grandstand finish.

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Ralph Fiennes in a still from 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (category III), co-starring Jack O’Connell and Alfie Williams and directed by Nia DaCosta.

China Economy

Will Trump’s Iran tariffs send China searching for new oil sources?

Analysts urge China to protect strategic interests abroad after unexpected announcement, which is likely to push up oil import costs.

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China, Iran’s largest trading partner, would be among the countries most affected by new US tariffs targeting Tehran’s commercial ties. Photo: Reuters

United States & Canada

ICE shooting: prosecutors quit over handling of probe into US woman’s death

The resignations follow growing tensions over a decision by the Trump administration to block the state out of the investigation.

Diplomacy

Claims of lies, coercion in Beijing-Manila war of words over South China Sea

On Monday, a Manila maritime council accused China of aggressive tactics; the next day Beijing said the Philippines was ‘provoking trouble’.

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OPINION
Gaurav Kumar

Opinion | Is India fuelling an arms race in Asia or closing a deterrence gap?

Gaurav Kumar
Andrew Leung

Opinion | Trump’s audacious imperialism will only propel China’s rise

Andrew Leung
4
Hao Nan

Opinion | EU-China ties are stuck between interdependence and rivalry

Hao Nan
Fu Fengshan

Opinion | The US wants to block China’s peaceful reunification. It won’t work

Fu Fengshan
4
Chow Chung-yan

Opinion | Forget Venezuela and Greenland – here is the real trillion-dollar question

Chow Chung-yan
9
Harry’s View | 14 Jan 2026
January 14, 2026
MORE COMMENT
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Opinion

Editorial | Review of Meta-Manus deal a reminder of what’s at stake in US-China rivalry

Diplomacy

Not ‘Trump-compatible’? China expert Rudd exits Australia’s US ambassador role

United States & Canada

ICE shooting: prosecutors quit over handling of probe into US woman’s death

China Economy

As Western grids strain to meet AI’s electricity needs, is power China’s power?

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Q&A | High barre: a chat with dancer Roberto Bolle ahead of Caravaggio in Hong Kong

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Chinese student numbers at Harvard rise despite Trump visa crackdown

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SCMP Series
Beijing’s recalibration of its Taiwan policy
Year of the Horse 2026
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Illustration: Henry Wong
SCMP SeriesBeijing’s recalibration of its Taiwan policy

Why has Beijing turned down the heat in the Taiwan Strait in the second half of 2025?

PLA warplanes and ships have been less active around the island in the second half of the year, Taiwanese data shows.

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Beijing is pinning hopes for Taiwan reunification on KMT – but not all of them

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‘Urgent’: has mainland China changed tone for Taiwan peaceful reunification?

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Open Questions series

Diplomacy

Open Questions | Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

Political scientist says the Western-led global order remains useful, and the Belt and Road Initiative isn’t a geopolitical project.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Global Economy

Open Questions | ‘Embrace the moment’: on China, Daniel Kritenbrink puts pragmatism first

Former US ambassador to Vietnam says a return to the past for US-China relations is unrealistic, but both economic powers benefit from ties.

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Diplomacy

Open Questions | How new C100 chief plans to foster ties between Chinese-Americans and China

The Committee of 100’s president Paul Cheung has high hopes for Chinese-Americans’ relationship with China in these uncertain times.

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Diplomacy

Open Questions | Political scientist Ivan Krastev on European vertigo in a post-American world

While melancholy Europe frets that the US and China will shape the future, middle powers are jostling for a place at the big table.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
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Tech

China’s Qwen and DeepSeek edge out US AI models in Christian values benchmark

US start-up Gloo’s Flourishing AI Christian benchmark tested how the output of AI models ‘help people flourish’, CEO Pat Gelsinger said.

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The questions in FAI-C were reviewed by a panel of Biblical experts, including theologians, pastors, psychologists and scholars of ethics. Photo: SCMP

China Economy

As Western grids strain to meet AI’s electricity needs, is power China’s power?

China’s energy buildout means cheap, green and reliable electricity fuels its manufacturing and tech industries, giving it an edge over rivals.

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Big Tech

Alibaba reaffirms open-source AI commitment as it hails successes

‘Building with the community’ is crucial to the success of the Qwen family of large language models, company says.

Markets

Chinese rocket shares slump after warnings on ‘irrational’ rally

Long-term prospects for sector are ‘very promising’, but market in the short term is ‘mainly driven by speculative sentiment’, analyst says.

A rocket sits in the factory of Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology, a private rocket developer, in Wenchang, in south China’s Hainan province on December 30, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

Diplomacy

How the US raid in Venezuela has triggered Brazilian fury and a Chinese opening

Latin America’s largest economy seeks ‘delicate balance’ between Trump’s ambitions and boosting ties with Beijing, its top trading partner.

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Illustration: Brian Wang

Banking & Finance

What does HSBC’s buyout of Hang Seng Bank mean for its future and investors?

HSBC’s historic US$13.6 billion buyout of Hang Seng Bank aims to cut costs, tackle bad debts and fuel growth, but challenges abound.

Military

China’s role in Korean peninsula stability tested amid nuclear submarine moves

Seoul’s calls for Chinese mediation seen to underscore Beijing’s central role in preserving stability between two Koreas.

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China Economy

Shanghai unveils US$10 billion investment spree as US-China tech race heats up

Shanghai announces 50 new projects across an array of hi-tech industries as China’s cities heed Beijing’s call to double down on innovation.

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Shanghai has unveiled a slew of new investments in hi-tech industries worth more than US$10 billion. Photo: AFP
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