https://www.scmp.com/rss/508922/feed In his sole term as US president from 2021-2025, Joe Biden continued the hard approach to China marked by his predecessor, Donald Trump, although he veered towards what he called “de-risking” rather than the full economic decoupling that more hawkish American politicians pushed for, and engaged more readily with US allies. His administration’s relationship with China also reflected a focus on technological security. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings US technology companies should stay in China, despite persistent political pressure for their exit, to capitalise on revenue potential and stifle local competition while monitoring consumer trends, according to a Washington-based policy think tank. Sales generated by American firms within China can be reinvested in research and development back in the United States, thereby helping “sustain US innovation leadership”, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) said in a new... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3352371/us-tech-can-use-china-listening-post-global-edge-washington-think-tank-explains?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3352371/us-tech-can-use-china-listening-post-global-edge-washington-think-tank-explains?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 May 2026 13:00:13 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A California man has been sentenced to four years in prison for acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government while working as a campaign adviser for a local politician. Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, was sentenced on Monday in federal court in Los Angeles after pleading guilty last year in a deal with prosecutors. Under the agreement, Sun acknowledged acting as a foreign agent on behalf of the People’s Republic of China from 2022 to 2024 without notifying the US attorney general as required by... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343115/yaoning-sun-gets-4-years-prison-acting-beijings-agent-california-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343115/yaoning-sun-gets-4-years-prison-acting-beijings-agent-california-election?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 19:14:31 +0000 Reuters Reuters Former Google software engineer Ding Linwei was convicted by a federal jury in San Francisco ‌on Thursday of stealing AI trade secrets from the US tech ‍giant to benefit two Chinese companies he was secretly working for, the US Department of Justice said on Thursday. Ding, a 38-year-old Chinese national, was found guilty after an 11-day trial ⁠of seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets for stealing thousands of pages of confidential information. Each... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341909/ex-google-engineer-ding-linwei-convicted-stealing-ai-secrets-chinese-companies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341909/ex-google-engineer-ding-linwei-convicted-stealing-ai-secrets-chinese-companies?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 21:30:30 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The World Trade Organization has faulted the United States in a dispute brought by China over US green energy subsidies introduced under former US president Joe Biden, according to a ruling issued on Friday. The global trade body’s dispute panel said that large tax credits granted under Biden’s landmark climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), were “inconsistent” with several WTO agreements and should be withdrawn. That law, which was signed by Biden in 2022, was the largest climate... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341903/wto-faults-us-dispute-brought-china-over-clean-energy-subsidies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341903/wto-faults-us-dispute-brought-china-over-clean-energy-subsidies?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 18:11:56 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump’s administration has pushed out a Commerce Department official whose office effectively barred ‍nearly all Chinese cars from the US market for national security reasons, according to people familiar with the matter. Elizabeth “Liz” Cannon has resigned as executive director for Information and Communications Technology and Services, an office created in 2022 to investigate threats to the supply chain from foreign adversaries, the people said. News of Cannon’s impending... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341071/trump-admin-pushes-out-official-whose-unit-banned-chinese-vehicles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341071/trump-admin-pushes-out-official-whose-unit-banned-chinese-vehicles?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Jan 2026 20:49:13 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han The White House’s top science adviser on Wednesday said that the Biden administration’s decision to get rid of the Justice Department’s China Initiative was “damaging”, though stopped short of recommending that it should be fully brought back. Asked by Florida Republican Daniel Webster whether the termination of the programme aimed at combating alleged economic espionage from Beijing was detrimental, Michael Kratsios, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said:... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3339936/white-house-says-biden-decision-scrap-china-initiative-flawed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3339936/white-house-says-biden-decision-scrap-china-initiative-flawed?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Jan 2026 22:56:19 +0000 Lawrence Chung Lawrence Chung F-16V fighter jets ordered by Taiwan are undergoing ground tests in the United States, as Washington and the American contractor come under pressure to speed up deliveries following criticism of repeated delays. Photos circulating online in recent days showed at least one Taiwan-bound F-16V Block 70 two-seat aircraft during taxi and systems checks at a US airfield, offering the clearest public indication yet that the long-delayed programme had entered a substantive testing phase. Images of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3337372/f-16v-fighter-jet-ground-test-taiwan-presses-us-and-lockheed-martin-delivery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3337372/f-16v-fighter-jet-ground-test-taiwan-presses-us-and-lockheed-martin-delivery?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 01:00:11 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday described the United States as an ally to both mainland China and Taiwan, while at the same time asserting that its relationships have not shifted, hours after US President Donald Trump enacted legislation deepening US ties with the self-governed island. Asked about concerns among some in Washington about the Trump administration’s approach to the long-held policy of strategic ambiguity on the Taiwan issue at The New York Times DealBook Summit,... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3335117/bessent-moves-placate-beijing-after-trump-signs-bill-deepening-ties-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3335117/bessent-moves-placate-beijing-after-trump-signs-bill-deepening-ties-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Dec 2025 20:58:55 +0000 Khushboo Razdan,Igor Patrick Khushboo Razdan,Igor Patrick US President Donald Trump and his administration on Tuesday seized on China’s recent ban on select Brazilian soybean shipments, touting it as proof they had won Beijing back over to US suppliers even though official data shows China has only resumed American purchases modestly. At a lengthy, end-of-year cabinet meeting, US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that “just a couple of days ago, China announced that they were going to halt all purchases from Brazil because they had found some... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3334973/trump-seizes-china-ban-brazil-select-soy-trade-data-shows-us-gains-small?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3334973/trump-seizes-china-ban-brazil-select-soy-trade-data-shows-us-gains-small?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 23:30:51 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han Washington needs to accelerate arms sales to Taiwan and help establish a regional contingency stockpile for its defence, the US Senate heard on Thursday. Such steps would help implement provisions in a landmark 2022 law – the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act (TERA) – that have not yet been fully realised, as well as boost morale on the self-governed island, witnesses said at a hearing hosted by the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Despite last week’s approval of a sale of aircraft... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3333609/us-should-speed-arms-deliveries-taiwan-create-regional-stockpile-senate-hears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3333609/us-should-speed-arms-deliveries-taiwan-create-regional-stockpile-senate-hears?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Nov 2025 23:05:02 +0000 Frank Tang Frank Tang One of the architects of former US President Joe Biden’s tech export controls warned on Thursday that Washington needs better coordination with allies to deny China access to high-end chips and cutting-edge products, criticising a plan by US President Donald Trump’s administration to allow sales of certain Nvidia chips. Citing Beijing’s massive spending on efforts to establish China’s technological leadership, former commerce secretary Gina Raimondo said in a panel discussion at the Council on... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3332714/china-must-not-be-sold-latest-cutting-edge-technology-says-former-us-commerce-secretary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3332714/china-must-not-be-sold-latest-cutting-edge-technology-says-former-us-commerce-secretary?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Nov 2025 23:37:19 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump granted a pardon on Friday to a former New York police sergeant who was convicted of helping China try to scare an ex-official into going back to his homeland, a prominent case in US authorities’ efforts to combat what they claim are Beijing’s far-flung efforts to repress critics. Michael McMahon was sentenced this spring to 18 months in prison for his involvement in what a federal judge called “a campaign of transnational repression”. He insisted he was innocent,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332013/trump-pardons-ex-nypd-officer-convicted-helping-beijing-stalk-chinese-expat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332013/trump-pardons-ex-nypd-officer-convicted-helping-beijing-stalk-chinese-expat?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Nov 2025 22:36:24 +0000 Laura Zhou Laura Zhou A new academic study tracking Chinese public opinion before and after the 2020 and 2024 US presidential elections suggests that the perception of the United States is related more to political changes and policy signals than to entrenched anti-American ideology. And the survey – conducted after Donald Trump won the election in November 2024, but before he returned to the White House for his second presidential term and the subsequent trade war – reveals a pivotal shift in Chinese public... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3330617/chinese-watching-washington-moved-more-policy-events-entrenched-ideology-paper?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3330617/chinese-watching-washington-moved-more-policy-events-entrenched-ideology-paper?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Oct 2025 15:00:11 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A California man has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government in Southern California while working as a campaign adviser for a local politician. Sun Yaoning, also known as Mike Sun, is expected to appear in court in Los Angeles on Monday to enter his plea under a deal with federal prosecutors, according to a copy of the agreement available in online court records. It was signed by Sun, his lawyer and a prosecutor earlier this month. If the plea is accepted... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329854/california-man-sun-yaoning-plead-guilty-acting-agent-chinas-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329854/california-man-sun-yaoning-plead-guilty-acting-agent-chinas-government?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Oct 2025 17:52:43 +0000 Lanxin Xiang Lanxin Xiang Convergence theory has long been a Western fantasy in conquering the world with liberal democratic values. It proposes that societies, especially as they industrialise, tend to become more alike in various aspects of social organisation, including work, class structure, family patterns and culture. However, convergence theory oversimplifies the complexities of social change and ignores the unique cultural and historical contexts of different societies. It does not adequately account for power... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3326764/trump-era-could-herald-end-ideology-us-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3326764/trump-era-could-herald-end-ideology-us-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Sep 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Sylvie Zhuang Sylvie Zhuang Chinese scholars have criticised US-led sanctions over Xinjiang, saying their research showed the measures had resulted in long-term economic damage, including job losses. The findings, presented at an academic seminar in Hong Kong last month, offered one of the first aggregated assessments of the impacts of US sanctions imposed on Chinese companies over alleged human rights abuses in the far western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Beijing has denied those accusations and condemned the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3325377/after-years-us-sanctions-how-xinjiangs-economy-doing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3325377/after-years-us-sanctions-how-xinjiangs-economy-doing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Sep 2025 22:00:15 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump has withdrawn the nomination of Landon Heid, a China hawk, for a key post in the countries’ ongoing tech battle, raising questions about whether the move signals a more dovish approach to Beijing. Trump withdrew Heid’s nomination on Wednesday for assistant secretary for export administration at the US Department of Commerce, according to Congress.gov. The president had selected him in February for the post overseeing export controls for national security. Chris McGuire,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3325256/trump-withdraws-nomination-china-hawk-key-post-tech-war-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3325256/trump-withdraws-nomination-china-hawk-key-post-tech-war-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Sep 2025 18:45:11 +0000 Chen Zheng Chen Zheng Disturbing reports have surfaced of Chinese students travelling to the United States being subjected to discriminatory and politically motivated treatment. Young students have been pulled aside for hours of questioning, even denied entry under the pretext of national security. While the US has implemented stricter border controls and immigration policies, Chinese students have nothing to do with illegal immigration. They are genuine assets to both countries – not national security risks. As the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3324388/no-amount-china-scapegoating-will-reverse-americas-decline?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3324388/no-amount-china-scapegoating-will-reverse-americas-decline?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Sep 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin The US House is poised to advance a key spending bill that could revive the controversial “China Initiative” – a programme that unfairly targeted Chinese-American researchers, derailed careers and devastated lives long after it was ended in 2022. The Fiscal Year 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill does not name the programme directly, but language in the accompanying report calls for its re-establishment to “maintain America’s competitive edge” and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3319623/us-house-looks-revive-china-initiative-maintain-americas-competitive-edge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3319623/us-house-looks-revive-china-initiative-maintain-americas-competitive-edge?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Jul 2025 14:00:11 +0000 Leopold Chen,Xiaofei Xu,Ralph Jennings Leopold Chen,Xiaofei Xu,Ralph Jennings US President Donald Trump issues quite a few executive orders. So many, in fact, that one could be forgiven for not keeping up with them all. But amid the rapid-fire policy changes that have come to characterise his administration, one arrived last month that could have drastic implications for the world’s drone market – and China’s role in it. The order, signed June 6, requires government agencies to prioritise using home-grown unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) “to the maximum extent permitted by... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3317044/trump-wants-ground-chinas-drones-have-they-flown-too-high-reach?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3317044/trump-wants-ground-chinas-drones-have-they-flown-too-high-reach?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Jul 2025 22:00:16 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han China is ramping up its science and technology outreach to the Global South while its collaboration with the US on the same front is receding, analysts said on Tuesday at an event hosted by the Institute for China-America Studies, a Washington think tank. “China is very heavily engaging with those countries,” said Caroline Wagner of the Ohio State University, noting Beijing has signed science and technology agreements with “dozens and dozens of countries”. That development marks a “critical... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3316563/china-boosts-science-tech-outreach-global-south-its-us-collaboration-dips-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3316563/china-boosts-science-tech-outreach-global-south-its-us-collaboration-dips-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Jul 2025 21:44:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters A US judge on Tuesday rejected Huawei Technologies’ bid to dismiss most of a federal indictment accusing the Chinese telecommunications company of trying to steal technology secrets from US rivals and misleading banks about its work in Iran. In a 52-page decision, US District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn found sufficient allegations in the 16-count indictment that Huawei engaged in racketeering to expand its brand, stole trade secrets from six companies, and committed bank fraud. The Iran... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3316560/chinas-huawei-must-face-us-criminal-charges-judge-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3316560/chinas-huawei-must-face-us-criminal-charges-judge-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Jul 2025 17:40:52 +0000 Terry Su Terry Su Amid a US-China trade truce, negotiators in London reached a “framework” agreement to activate the Geneva deal, raising hopes for an immediate alleviation of the trade conflict, including potentially a US commitment to revoke some of its tech embargoes in return for China’s relaxation of rare earth export restrictions. The full details of the London agreement are expected to be available after both US President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping have approved it. The two-day London... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3313896/trump-cannot-hope-solve-china-problem-he-has-misdiagnosed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3313896/trump-cannot-hope-solve-china-problem-he-has-misdiagnosed?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2025 21:30:07 +0000 SCMP Reporters SCMP Reporters Despite an invitation from his American counterpart Donald Trump, sources indicate that Chinese President Xi Jinping will not travel to the United States in September for the UN General Assembly, which would be the earliest opportunity for such a trip. Instead, China will send Premier Li Qiang to represent the country at the event in New York, according to several diplomatic sources. The bilateral relationship seems to have improved following a phone call between Xi and Trump on June 5. The US... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3314183/xi-trump-phone-call-suggests-ties-are-warming-timing-meeting-another-thing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3314183/xi-trump-phone-call-suggests-ties-are-warming-timing-meeting-another-thing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:00:08 +0000 Mandy Zuo Mandy Zuo When Jack Wang enrolled as an undergraduate in microelectronics at a prestigious Chinese university, the year was 2019, and China was in the early days of its trade war with the United States. Looking back, his decision to focus on the field revolving around the design and manufacture of hi-tech microchips has proved prescient. Today, it complements Beijing’s aspirations to make world-leading semiconductors amid Washington’s amped-up efforts to curtail China’s technological progress. Indeed, the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3314011/chinas-orchard-ai-chip-grads-now-ripe-pickin-tech-trade-sours?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3314011/chinas-orchard-ai-chip-grads-now-ripe-pickin-tech-trade-sours?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jun 2025 22:00:07 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump’s administration has launched a formal review of a defence pact worth hundreds of billions of dollars that his predecessor Joe Biden made with Australia and the United Kingdom, allowing Australia to acquire conventionally armed nuclear submarines, a US defence official said. The formal Pentagon-led review is likely to alarm Australia, which sees the submarines as critical to its own defence as tensions grow over China’s expansive military build-up. It could also throw a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3314082/trump-admin-launches-review-aukus-submarine-pact-australia-and-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3314082/trump-admin-launches-review-aukus-submarine-pact-australia-and-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jun 2025 20:38:15 +0000 Stanley Chao Stanley Chao It is hardly a stretch to say that the Trump administration went nuclear last week in banning the sale of American semiconductor design software to China. The unprecedented move signals a tectonic shift in policy. The goal now is not simply to slow down China’s semiconductor ambitions; it is to halt them. As with previous, less extreme restrictions, these ones are likely to backfire. They will further isolate the United States from the world’s largest semiconductor consumer market, strengthen... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3312908/us-china-trade-war-goes-nuclear-trumps-chip-software-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3312908/us-china-trade-war-goes-nuclear-trumps-chip-software-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Jun 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi The US defence sector is dependent on critical minerals for its advanced weapon systems, but it has relied on China to meet its demands. As Beijing tightens export restrictions, there is a growing risk to the Pentagon’s military readiness and supply chain security. The big picture China dominates the global supply of rare earths, including more than 90 per cent of the world’s processing and refining. It also has an edge in most other critical minerals, such as refined gallium, of which it... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3312731/how-dependent-americas-arsenal-chinas-critical-mineral-supply?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3312731/how-dependent-americas-arsenal-chinas-critical-mineral-supply?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Jun 2025 08:04:29 +0000 Kawala Xie Kawala Xie In the second high-level exchange between China and the United States in a week, the two countries have agreed to keep channels of communication open. Amid persistent tensions over trade disputes and technology restrictions, Chinese vice-foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu and his US counterpart Christopher Landau spoke by phone on Thursday, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Friday morning. “They exchanged views on China-US relations and important issues of common concern. Both sides agreed to continue... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3311515/further-high-level-exchange-amid-tech-tension-china-and-us-say-channels-remain-open?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3311515/further-high-level-exchange-amid-tech-tension-china-and-us-say-channels-remain-open?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 May 2025 06:19:56 +0000 Zhao Ziwen Zhao Ziwen 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. A paper by the Peterson Institute for International Economics this month found that a 2019 embargo by China on the export of fentanyl and precursor chemicals caused a temporary spike in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3311449/chinas-2019-fentanyl-embargo-led-drop-us-overdoses-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3311449/chinas-2019-fentanyl-embargo-led-drop-us-overdoses-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 May 2025 19:10:46 +0000 Kandy Wong,Leopold Chen Kandy Wong,Leopold Chen Washington’s recent revocation of Biden-era rules governing access to artificial-intelligence chips does not mean that the US is easing its curbs on China’s technological development, according to analysts who instead see the move as a more targeted approach being taken in the race for tech supremacy. And they added that renewed tensions on the technology front could also add greater uncertainties to the ongoing trade talks between the world’s two largest economies, which agreed earlier this... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3311404/trump-changed-bidens-ai-chip-rules-what-now-will-it-affect-china-trade-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3311404/trump-changed-bidens-ai-chip-rules-what-now-will-it-affect-china-trade-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 May 2025 14:00:08 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang expressed confidence in his company’s trade partners and said there’s no evidence of its prized semiconductors being diverted to the Chinese market. Nvidia’s hardware is too large to be easily smuggled across borders and its customers are aware of the rules and self-monitoring, Huang told Bloomberg News in Taipei. Its latest flagship products are sold as multimillion-dollar integrated systems, which can contain as many as 72 graphics processing units... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3310755/nvidia-ceo-sees-no-evidence-ai-chip-diversion-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3310755/nvidia-ceo-sees-no-evidence-ai-chip-diversion-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 May 2025 09:13:28 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US does not need to block the global spread of its AI chips and technology to manage national security risks, a White House official said on Tuesday, signalling a more open stance on exports to trusted allies such as Saudi Arabia. David Sacks, the White House’s AI and crypto tsar, made his comments in Riyadh days after Washington announced plans to rescind and modify a Biden-era regulation that would limit global access to artificial intelligence chips. “The Trump administration has just... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3310228/us-can-curb-ai-chip-risks-without-halting-tech-exports-us-official-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3310228/us-can-curb-ai-chip-risks-without-halting-tech-exports-us-official-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 May 2025 19:20:52 +0000 Igor Patrick,Zhao Ziwen Igor Patrick,Zhao Ziwen A new report detailing suspected Chinese surveillance sites in Cuba has triggered a congressional hearing in Washington, with lawmakers warning that Beijing may be expanding its intelligence footprint near US territory and urging the Donald Trump administration to take a firmer stance. Convened by the House Homeland Security subcommittee on transportation and maritime security on Tuesday, the hearing focused on recent findings from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US think... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3309325/brazen-suspected-china-surveillance-sites-cuba-trigger-us-house-hearing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3309325/brazen-suspected-china-surveillance-sites-cuba-trigger-us-house-hearing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 May 2025 19:35:29 +0000 A former New York police sergeant was sentenced to 1½ years in prison on Wednesday over his 2023 conviction for acting as an illegal Chinese agent. Michael McMahon was charged with being hired as a private investigator to surveil a New Jersey resident who was accused by China of corruption, as part of a global campaign by Chinese law enforcement to repatriate alleged criminals living abroad, known as “Operation Fox Hunt”. A federal jury in Brooklyn found McMahon guilty of interstate stalking and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3306835/ex-new-york-police-sergeant-sentenced-15-years-acting-chinese-agent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3306835/ex-new-york-police-sergeant-sentenced-15-years-acting-chinese-agent?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Apr 2025 22:09:14 +0000 The final chapter of the TikTok divest-or-ban saga is set to unfold before Saturday, when the extension US President Donald Trump gave the Chinese-owned platform to secure an American buyer expires. But with Trump apparently holding the popular short-video app as a bargaining chip for a trade negotiation with Beijing, analysts say the deadline may not matter. Calling himself a “very flexible person” as he spoke to reporters on Monday, Trump said a potential TikTok deal or extension was not... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3304631/extension-winds-down-tiktok-sale-analysts-suggest-deadline-may-not-matter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3304631/extension-winds-down-tiktok-sale-analysts-suggest-deadline-may-not-matter?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Mar 2025 15:11:12 +0000 The US is picking up the pace of export restrictions and more could soon be on the way, a Chinese observer said on Wednesday after the White House ordered the first Trump 2.0 tech export controls against China. US President Donald Trump could also be using the controls to extract tangible gains, aligning with his deal-making approach, another analyst said. The US announced on Tuesday that around 60 Chinese tech companies and research institutions had been added to Washington’s “entity list” to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3304008/us-adds-more-chinese-firms-tech-ban-list-just-start-trump-20?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3304008/us-adds-more-chinese-firms-tech-ban-list-just-start-trump-20?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Mar 2025 14:00:14 +0000 Taiwan is exploring buying arms worth billions of dollars from the United States, sources briefed on the matter said, hoping to win support from the new Trump administration as mainland China continues to apply military pressure on the self-ruled island. Three sources familiar with the situation, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation, told Reuters that Taiwan is in talks with Washington. The package is meant to demonstrate to the United States that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3299056/taiwan-considering-multibillion-dollar-arms-purchase-us-sources-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3299056/taiwan-considering-multibillion-dollar-arms-purchase-us-sources-say?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Feb 2025 18:38:29 +0000 Rick Waters is managing director of Eurasia Group’s China practice. He spent nearly three decades with the US Department of State where he oversaw the creation of the Office of China Coordination and was deputy assistant secretary of state for China and Taiwan. This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here. Beijing and Washington had many interactions in the lead-up to Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration on January 20. How should... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3298872/intense-testing-period-us-sentiment-china-does-not-equal-consensus-rick-waters-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3298872/intense-testing-period-us-sentiment-china-does-not-equal-consensus-rick-waters-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Feb 2025 22:00:25 +0000 Many in China see Washington’s determination to force Chinese company ByteDance to divest itself of TikTok as an act of robbery. But do the actions fit the crime? Towards the end of his first term in office, President Donald Trump tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the Chinese company from the United States despite two executive orders, in 2020, first to ban any transaction with ByteDance and his subsidiaries, including TikTok, and then to demand ByteDance’s divestment of TikTok’s US... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3297932/why-trump-not-tiktoks-saviour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3297932/why-trump-not-tiktoks-saviour?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:30:08 +0000 On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump, as expected, ordered the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement. He also ordered the elimination of government support for electric vehicle targets and reinstated policies favouring domestic oil and gas production. The previous Biden administration made climate change a cornerstone of its domestic agenda and foreign policy, seeking to re-establish the US as a global climate leader. The major shift in US climate and energy... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3297678/us-climate-u-turn-offers-china-both-challenges-and-opportunities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3297678/us-climate-u-turn-offers-china-both-challenges-and-opportunities?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:30:06 +0000 The US foreign aid freeze ordered by the White House has raised alarm in Taiwan, with analysts warning that the move could broadly weaken the island’s defence and security at a time of growing military pressure from Beijing. Beyond the military implications, the freeze could force Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government to recalibrate its approach to both Washington and Beijing, as reduced United States support may create an opening for Beijing to expand its influence, according... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3297775/trumps-foreign-aid-freeze-sounds-security-alarm-taiwan-amid-cross-strait-tension?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3297775/trumps-foreign-aid-freeze-sounds-security-alarm-taiwan-amid-cross-strait-tension?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Feb 2025 02:00:11 +0000 Donald Trump’s tariffs are being challenged. But not the ones you might think. As the recently inaugurated US president presses even more aggressive tariffs to address various national issues unrelated to trade, a legal challenge to the taxes he imposed on China in his first term has garnered fresh attention. Observers say lessons from the case may already be shaping Trump’s tariff strategy, as he invoked emergency powers last week to order new levies on China, prompting Beijing to file a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3297933/us-tariffs-targeting-china-face-legal-challenge-not-taxes-you-might-think?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3297933/us-tariffs-targeting-china-face-legal-challenge-not-taxes-you-might-think?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Feb 2025 17:00:09 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng When Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th US president on January 20, several tech tycoons were present – from Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos to Meta Platforms’ Mark Zuckerberg – but the unlikeliest among them was TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi. The executive was standing next to Tulsi Gabbard, the president’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, a day after Chew briefly shut down the app in the country amid a showdown with the government over national security concerns about TikTok’s Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3296940/tiktok-revival-trump-20-singing-different-tune-giving-bytedance-hope-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3296940/tiktok-revival-trump-20-singing-different-tune-giving-bytedance-hope-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Feb 2025 04:00:09 +0000 A lack of continuity in the US’ foreign policy approach to China risks leaving the fraught relationship “increasingly vulnerable to deterioration” as Donald Trump returns to the White House, according to observers. They said inconsistent and often conflicting views from American policymakers and China watchers revealed deep divisions over how to deal with Beijing, despite a bipartisan consensus on the need to confront the Asian rival. Delivering his final foreign policy speech on January 13, now... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3295622/unpredictable-trump-returns-will-it-be-chaos-or-calm-us-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3295622/unpredictable-trump-returns-will-it-be-chaos-or-calm-us-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Jan 2025 15:00:11 +0000 US President Donald Trump’s first term changed the conversation on trade in the United States. Where the consensus had once been that open markets would eventually lead to even adversarial states like China and Russia adopting values like America’s, Trump’s first-term tariffs led to a recognition of their uses, and a deeper understanding of how adversarial states game the free-trade system. Tariffs do indeed lead to higher costs for consumers, but had Europe and the US strategically borne that... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3296488/trumps-tough-trade-tactics-risk-turning-world-away-america?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3296488/trumps-tough-trade-tactics-risk-turning-world-away-america?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jan 2025 12:30:09 +0000 The US markets got a loud wake-up call on Monday when shares of major US artificial intelligence and semiconductor companies slumped on a wave of fear that Chinese companies were poised to surpass them in the high-stakes battle for supremacy. Analysts were divided on whether the panic selling and sentiment behind it were an overreaction or an indication that Silicon Valley had underestimated Chinese tech prowess and its ability to circumvent America’s many export bans and restrictions. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3296510/us-tech-stocks-plunge-china-ais-unexpectedly-strong-showing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3296510/us-tech-stocks-plunge-china-ais-unexpectedly-strong-showing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jan 2025 17:53:07 +0000 The US Central Intelligence Agency has assessed that the Covid-19 pandemic is “more likely” to have emerged from a lab rather than from nature, an agency spokesperson said on Saturday. The agency had for years said it could not conclude whether Covid-19 was the result of a lab incident or it originated in nature. But in the final weeks of the Biden administration, former CIA director William Burns asked CIA analysts and scientists to make a clear determination, stressing the pandemic’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3296301/cia-now-says-covid-19-more-likely-have-come-lab?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3296301/cia-now-says-covid-19-more-likely-have-come-lab?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jan 2025 19:27:59 +0000 History was made at Donald Trump’s inauguration when China’s Vice-President Han Zheng became the first senior Chinese leader to attend a US presidential inauguration. While the invitation by the new administration is seen as a sign of a thaw in the strained relationship between the two superpowers, it comes against a backdrop of deep economic and geopolitical tensions. Joe Biden has handed over a US-China relationship marked by years of conflict – trade wars, blacklists and sanctions, all aimed... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3295522/will-trump-succeed-containing-china-or-fuel-its-rise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3295522/will-trump-succeed-containing-china-or-fuel-its-rise?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jan 2025 12:30:07 +0000 Whether in the fourth industrial revolution semantics of Klaus Schwab or Beijing’s concept of “new productive forces”, major powers agree on one thing: competition in the 21st century to gain a geopolitical advantage is about commanding enough capital and scientific potential to win the tech race for new economic domains. The emerging domains include the Arctic, cyberspace, outer space, the oceans and renewed competition for Africa. In this sense, US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3294902/global-marathon-tech-supremacy-brics-size-matters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3294902/global-marathon-tech-supremacy-brics-size-matters?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jan 2025 08:30:07 +0000