Inside China

Xi Jinping’s recent Moscow visit was upstaged by an unannounced trip to Ukraine by Japanese leader Fumio Kishida as well as Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russian nuclear weapons will be staged in Belarus. The Post’s Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham analyses the EU response as well as why European leaders are making plans to visit Beijing. Diplomacy expert Shi Jiangtao explains why Kishida’s diplomacy with Ukraine, South Korea and India is being seen as a game changer for Xi’s plans for China to lead in a new global order. 

Kevin Kwong and Luisa Tam talk about the stories from mainland China that grabbed people's attention this week. Find more stories from the SCMP People and Culture desk: https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture

Holly Chik speaks with SCMP political economy editor Wendy Wu about how Xi Jinping's reference to 'brotherhood and love' for China's entrepreneurs has been received, and what the latest economic data portends for the plans put forward at the Two Sessions. Senior journalist William Zheng analyses the speeches of Xi Jinping and newly ascended premier Li Qiang.

Jasmine Tse hosts a special episode celebrating the success of Michelle Yeoh and her film Everything, Everywhere All At Once at the 2023 Oscars. Senior culture reporter Lisa Cam explains the power of films with Asian mothers and their daughters as central characters. And Hong Kong-born Hollywood veteran George Cheung talks about the barriers he’s confronted as an Asian actor in 50 years of films and tv, and why this year’s Academy Awards represent substantial progress for Asian actors.

The Post’s Kinling Lo reports from Beijing on its annual political assembly known as the ‘two sessions’, in a week when Chinese President Xi Jinping made an unusual direct remark on US policy while Foreign Minister Qin Gang in his first media briefing, also commented on US rivalry, Ukraine and Taiwan. North American bureau chief Rob Delaney analyses the US response, its ongoing legislative agenda for Taiwan and the impending visit of its leader Tsai Ing-wen.

China’s president Xi Jinping will seek to consolidate his power and update Beijing’s economic and security policies in the coming ‘two sessions’ meetings. Hear analysis on the expected ministerial changes as well as indications about how Beijing will change its approach to internal security, the administration of Hong Kong and how it will use the gatherings to send signals to China’s people as well as to the world.

It is now just over one year since Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin declared China and Russia's “no limits” friendship, just weeks before the Russian leader announced he had ordered troops into Ukraine. Hear Beijing diplomacy expert Shi Jiangtao and Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham analyse the optics of top diplomat Wang Yi’s meeting this week with President Putin, how Beijing’s relationship with Moscow has changed, and how European nations have changed their perspective on China over the year since the start of Russia’s invasion.

While not officially released in China, the arrival of ChatGPT has sparked huge interest on Chinese social media and set off a race between tech giants Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba to develop similar AI chatbot technology. Post technology reporter Xinmei Shen speaks with fellow tech journalists Coco Feng and Ben Jiang in Beijing about this new AI tech gold rush, how China’s censorship system will have an impact, and why operating in Chinese language is a much more complicated task for AI. Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post.

SCMP Culture desk editor Kevin Kwong and China People and Society edesk editor Luisa Tam discuss the stories that have been most popular on scmp.com over the past week. What do you prefer - a deadly octopus in your hotpot or floor cleaning liquid in your fruit juice? Luisa Tam talks Kevin Kwong through some of the stories that got the biggest audience for the SCMP People and Society desk. Hear about the controversial court case over lai see and why gay couples are in the spotlight for the year of the rabbit.

SCMP science reporter Holly Chik presents the final in a series on how Hong Kong’s Covid policies have affected its economy and people. Child development expert Dr Fanny Lam, expert and founder of the Hong Kong Developmental Paediatrics and Child Neurology Centre, discusses how masks, home-schooling and staying indoors have affected toddlers, children and teenagers at a neurological level, and how parents can help them rebuild as they return to schools and socialising.

Holly Chik presents the third in a series looking at Hong Kong’s unique experience in this pandemic. Senior culture reporter Lisa Cam analyses the shocks and the changes to Hong Kong's famed restaurant industry, news desk editor Denise Tsang analyses the economic impact and loss of reputation as an aviation and finance hub; City desk reporter Jeffie Lam analyses the complexity of Hong Kong's vaccine anxiety and how it contributed to fatalities suffered in the Omicron wave of 2022.

Amid a tsunami of conspiracy, misinformation and xenophobia on social media during the pandemic, Hong Kong saw something special on Twitter and Facebook. City desk reporter Laura Westbrook discusses the massive online community known as the Hong Kong Quarantine Support group, Jamie Gong reveals how a post about his elderly mother started "the greatest thread of the pandemic" and the Twitter-based journalist known as Tripperhead, explains why he decided to parse and post the daily data dumps and Covid policy updates of the Hong Kong government.

SCMP journalist Holly Chik presents the first in a series looking at how the pandemic changed Hong Kong, how its people used social media to support each other among constantly changing restrictions, and how the lessons of SARS point once again to how Hong Kong needs to prepare for the future. Video journalist Thomas Yau reflects on his reporting from Wuhan in 2020, 2021 and 2023, his experiences on the streets of Shanghai, how 60+ days of lockdown changed him, and what changes he sees in his home of Hong Kong upon his return after three years in mainland China.

Holly Chik speaks with Post culture desk senior reporter Lisa Cam about the traditions for Lunar New Year in Hong Kong and among the broader Chinese diaspora around the world. Learn about what lies ahead for people born in the Year of the Rabbit as well as the food served at annual reunion meals, who gets red envelopes filled with money, why people wear red underwear, how to greet your Chinese neighbours in Mandarin or Cantonese and much more. More on Year of the Rabbit: https://sc.mp/l8az