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Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. Privilege or merit? Harvard speech ignites China debate on elite education access
Emotional remarks by a Chinese student who delivered this year’s Harvard University commencement speech have sparked a debate in China about barriers to elite education.
2. China’s GDP growth expected to slow next year amid trade strife: OECD
China’s economy is projected to grow by 4.3 per cent next year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said this week as it trimmed a 10th of a percentage point off its previous forecast in the light of ongoing world trade strife.
3. Did China’s Tiandu-1 satellite beat US competitors with critical Earth-moon orbit?

China’s Tiandu-1 satellite has entered a critical fuel-efficient orbit that synchronises with the motion of the Earth and moon, but claims that it is the first spacecraft to achieve the feat have been challenged by US and Canadian experts.
4. Crackdown on illegal mines as China tightens critical mineral controls amid row with US
Parts of China that are rich in critical minerals are stepping up enforcement of tighter export controls as the country doubles down on its dominance of world supplies in the face of increasing pressure from the United States.
5. Is the common fungus Fusarium graminearum an ‘agroterrorism agent’?’
Two Chinese scientists were charged with conspiracy and smuggling on Tuesday after attempting to clear US customs with a plant disease-causing fungus that officials called a “potential agroterrorism agent”.
6. Former US envoy to China urges caution over Beijing involvement in Ukraine-Russia talks
As Russia-Ukraine peace talks resume this week, the former US ambassador to China said that while any possible role for Beijing should be welcomed, its participation must be taken with a grain of salt.
7. China is working on an ultra-fast torpedo powered by AI for submarine warfare

In the recent Chinese blockbuster Operation Leviathan, an American nuclear submarine uses hi-tech acoustic holograms to bamboozle Chinese torpedoes and their human operators. Months after the film hit cinema screens, military researchers in China revealed they were working on an artificial intelligence system designed to cut through exactly this type of underwater deception.


Selfies and symbolism: behind the scenes from Xi’s summit with Trump and Putin

Leaders Xi, Putin meet over tea; rare earth find in northeast China: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Shenzhen’s 24-hour spa, a glimpse of 1970s Hong Kong: 7 Lifestyle highlights

Xi’s back-to-back meetings with Trump and Putin in Beijing: everything you need to know

SCMP Highlights

Harvard speech sparks privilege debate, China GDP growth outlook: SCMP daily highlights

A speech by Yurong “Luanna” Jiang, the first Chinese woman chosen as Harvard University’s student commencement speaker, has raised questions about a lack of access to elite schools for many ordinary students. Photo: AP

A rendering of a Tiandu test satellite. Photo: Deep Space Exploration Laboratory

Hi-tech decoys like those dramatised in Chinese blockbuster “Operation Leviathan” will be central to future submarine warfare. Photo: Bona Film Group

Will Trump’s social media post cast a shadow on long-awaited call with Xi Jinping?

Chinese President Xi Jinping has been called “very tough” by his US counterpart Donald Trump in a social media post. Photo: AP

The new US ambassador to China David Perdue (left) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua

EU industry could grind to a halt over China’s rare earth restrictions

A labourer works at the site of a rare earth metals mine in Jiangxi province. Photo: Reuters

Jorge Toledo, the European Union’s ambassador to China, has urged China to lift its export restrictions. Photo: X

China’s agritech brings water to Egypt’s giant beet sugar factory in Sahara Desert

Li Chundi, chairman of Zhongman Petroleum, tastes groundwater from a water well drilled in Egypt in the desert of New Valley Governorate, on May 3, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

A harvester reaps beets at a plantation in a desert in Minya Province, Egypt, now home to the world’s biggest beet sugar factory. Photo: Xinhua

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China

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From a discussion about access to elite education to the OECD trimming its forecast for China’s economy, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage


From a discussion about access to elite education to the OECD trimming its forecast for China’s economy, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage.


Ukraine

United States

Russia

Harvard speech sparks privilege debate, China GDP growth outlook: SCMP daily highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From a discussion about access to elite education to the OECD trimming its forecast for China’s economy, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage

1. Privilege or merit? Harvard speech ignites China debate on elite education access

From a discussion about access to elite education to the OECD trimming its forecast for China’s economy, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage