China and Russia’s nuclear vow, Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’: 7 US-China relations reads
From a fight over US citizenship to alleged Chinese spies in Cuba, here are highlights from the SCMP’s overseas correspondents in May 2025
1. His Asian-American ancestor defined birthright citizenship. He fights to save it
Few Americans knew of Norman Wong, a 75-year-old retired carpenter living quietly in Brentwood, California, until a presidential executive order transformed him into an unlikely symbol of a new national battle over a core constitutional issue: who is an American?
2. China’s 2019 fentanyl embargo led to drop in US overdoses, study finds
US President Donald Trump angered Beijing when he cited China’s involvement in the fentanyl trade as the reason for imposing tariffs in February. But new research indicates that cooperation between the two nations to crack down on the drug’s trafficking can disrupt its supply chain and reduce overdose deaths.
3. Senior US Democrat slams ‘horrible’ reversal of AI rule as helping China
A senior US congressional Democrat influential on China and tech policy criticised US President Donald Trump’s administration for its rescission of an AI diffusion rule, calling the move a “horrible idea” that would ultimately benefit China.