https://www.scmp.com/rss/517912/feed en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Brian Y. S. Wong Brian Y. S. Wong The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit is set to take place in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19. Shenzhen will also be playing host to the first of two further meetings between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump this year. When the two leaders met in May and September, they called for “constructive strategic stability” as a prescription for US-China relations. Both sides are keen to maintain the fragile detente, in part due to domestic considerations. Beijing wants to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373661/low-hanging-fruit-xi-and-trump-pluck-shenzhen-apec-summit https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373661/low-hanging-fruit-xi-and-trump-pluck-shenzhen-apec-summit Wed, 11 Nov 2026 21:30:05 +0000 Ruby Tong Ruby Tong When the Magnificent Seven, America’s top tech companies, shed more than US$1 trillion in a single trading session, the usual question returned: is artificial intelligence (AI) a bubble? Yet as global headlines are transfixed by the personal and governance crises shaking Silicon Valley’s titan icons, that debate is already stale. Separate technology from stock prices and a harder truth emerges: multitrillion-dollar empires cannot merely survive on founder mythology and self-policing. The public... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373829/us-or-china-firms-need-ai-they-can-independently-verify-and-trust https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373829/us-or-china-firms-need-ai-they-can-independently-verify-and-trust Wed, 11 Nov 2026 12:30:07 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo It’s not every day you see an initial public offering by a company warning that its frontier technology could bring about human extinction. By now, everyone has heard of the severe risk warnings in Anthropic’s IPO prospectus, which cautions that advanced artificial intelligence could pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity”. It warns that its agentic models could exhibit “self-preserving behaviours”, seeking to “resist shutdown”, “conceal or manipulate information” and attempt... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373867/will-ai-save-us-or-kill-us-all https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373867/will-ai-save-us-or-kill-us-all Wed, 11 Nov 2026 01:30:20 +0000 Thomas O. Falk Thomas O. Falk Last month, Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier left for his first state visit to China since 2018, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz took off for Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul on a tour meant to reduce German dependence on China. Steinmeier’s office let it be known he was travelling “as a European”. Earlier in October, Merz and France’s President Emmanuel Macron won the backing of fellow EU leaders for new trade weapons, including one that could, in extreme cases, shut a country out of... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373738/europe-urgently-needs-solidarity-china https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373738/europe-urgently-needs-solidarity-china Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:30:21 +0000 Djoomart Otorbaev Djoomart Otorbaev Africa is seeing a potentially historic transformation in its economic relationship with China. After two decades in which Chinese engagement was primarily associated with infrastructure construction, resource extraction and commodity trade, a new phase is emerging. Chinese companies are increasingly establishing manufacturing operations on the continent, bringing capital, technology, production expertise and employment. East Africa, particularly Kenya and Tanzania, is becoming a principal... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373610/chinese-investment-african-manufacturing-could-change-world https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373610/chinese-investment-african-manufacturing-could-change-world Tue, 10 Nov 2026 08:30:09 +0000 Cliff Buddle Cliff Buddle The announcement of stricter rules for migrants wishing to settle in Britain has ended a lamentable period of anxiety and uncertainty for former Hong Kong residents forging a new life in the country. When the plans were first proposed in May last year, Hongkongers living in the United Kingdom under a special visa scheme for British National (Overseas) passport holders feared there would be drastic changes to their pathway to citizenship. The proposals, intended to ease public concerns about high... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3373590/britain-must-stop-moving-goalposts-hongkongers-bno-scheme https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3373590/britain-must-stop-moving-goalposts-hongkongers-bno-scheme Mon, 09 Nov 2026 12:30:05 +0000 Bob Savic Bob Savic China has framed its relationship with Switzerland as a model of practical, mutually beneficial cooperation at a time when its broader ties with the European Union remain more complicated and politically charged. Just before Swiss President Guy Parmelin’s recent visit to Beijing, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman noted that 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the China-Switzerland innovative strategic partnership, with adherence to free trade singled out as its principal... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373312/china-switzerland-trade-partnership-offers-model-amid-fraught-eu-ties https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373312/china-switzerland-trade-partnership-offers-model-amid-fraught-eu-ties Sat, 07 Nov 2026 12:30:05 +0000 Marshall Li,Zhengfei Zhang Marshall Li,Zhengfei Zhang The next US-China talk on artificial intelligence should begin with a simple question: do the two governments actually understand how rapidly AI’s capabilities are improving? Before deciding what to do about the technology, Washington and Beijing need a common way to measure its progress. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump are expected to meet in Shenzhen soon, and AI is set to remain high on their agenda. Their continued exchanges on this transformative technology are a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373279/us-and-china-must-join-hands-measure-rising-ai-tide https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373279/us-and-china-must-join-hands-measure-rising-ai-tide Sat, 07 Nov 2026 08:30:05 +0000 Elias Girma Elias Girma I was sitting in my car in Oakland’s Chinatown with Desta, my dog, while my wife visited her Chinese-American doctor. Across the street stood the Shoong Family Chinese Cultural Centre. On the pavements, older shoppers carrying bags of greens paused to greet acquaintances. People threaded between produce displays, fish counters and shopfronts crowded with everyday necessities. There was a rhythm to the morning: deliveries, conversations, the exchange of money and news, the small acts of... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373179/pacific-century-chinatowns-us-deserve-more-preservation https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373179/pacific-century-chinatowns-us-deserve-more-preservation Sat, 07 Nov 2026 01:30:07 +0000 Lijia Zhang Lijia Zhang Travelling through South America earlier this year, I was repeatedly reminded of China’s growing importance. At Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires, I spotted the logo of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. ICBC acquired an 80 per cent stake in Standard Bank Argentina in 2012, establishing a significant presence. In Buenos Aires, my friend Diego García, a publisher, offered a useful perspective: Argentina does not have to choose between China and the United States. It should... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373154/can-china-champion-global-south-without-speaking-it https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373154/can-china-champion-global-south-without-speaking-it Fri, 06 Nov 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Andrew Sheng Andrew Sheng American voters have spoken. In the midterm elections, Democrats won both the House and Senate in a sweeping rebuttal of US President Donald Trump’s erratic management of domestic and foreign affairs. Despite this, the trajectory of US-China geopolitical rivalry will remain unchanged for decades, with every chance of escalation. Foreign Affairs re-examines “The Delusions of American Power” in its latest issue. The lead article, “The Limits of American Power”, concludes that even with the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373304/midterm-swing-wont-change-trajectory-us-china-rivalry https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373304/midterm-swing-wont-change-trajectory-us-china-rivalry Fri, 06 Nov 2026 12:30:08 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo Comedian Patton Oswalt once joked about the United States electing a KKK president after the progressive years of Barack Obama. The joke is worth retelling, not just because it’s funny but because it captures the swing between extremes in US politics. That’s worth keeping in mind in light of the so-called Democratic blue wave sweeping the country. It goes: “We will have a woman president, probably sooner than later … but just keep in mind that after she serves her term, the choices will very... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373368/democrats-blue-wave-means-rough-waters-ahead-us-china-relations https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373368/democrats-blue-wave-means-rough-waters-ahead-us-china-relations Fri, 06 Nov 2026 08:42:20 +0000 Vasilis Trigkas Vasilis Trigkas At their October meeting in South Korea last year, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, recognising mutual vulnerability to export restrictions, agreed to suspend some of the most draconian measures they had imposed on each other: US port fees on Chinese-built vessels and Chinese export controls on rare earths. They also announced further summit-level talks. The leaders have since met twice: Trump visited Beijing in May, Xi visited Washington in September. They are... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373140/chances-are-us-china-truce-will-be-extended-shenzhen-apec-summit https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373140/chances-are-us-china-truce-will-be-extended-shenzhen-apec-summit Fri, 06 Nov 2026 01:30:06 +0000 Nicholas Spiro Nicholas Spiro There are good reasons for investors to be bullish about artificial intelligence (AI). The earnings of technology firms in the S&P 500 are expected to increase 54 per cent this year. For the index as a whole, profits will rise 33 per cent, turbocharged by the tech and energy sectors, data from FactSet shows. In Asia, the impact of the AI boom is even more profound. Corporate earnings in South Korea and Taiwan, the two leading semiconductor hubs, are expected to grow a staggering 283 per cent and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373341/ai-sell-taste-things-come https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373341/ai-sell-taste-things-come Thu, 05 Nov 2026 21:30:05 +0000 Tan Poh Hwee Tan Poh Hwee The latest front in the US-China technology contest is not advanced chips, artificial intelligence (AI) or telecommunications equipment. It is the laboratories that certify whether an electronic product may enter the American market. On October 29, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to stop recognising testing laboratories, telecoms certification bodies and accreditation organisations in China and in other economies that lack a “mutual recognition agreement” or comparable... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373171/us-china-tech-contest-has-moved-gatekeeping-product-testers https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373171/us-china-tech-contest-has-moved-gatekeeping-product-testers Thu, 05 Nov 2026 12:30:07 +0000 Juan Fernando Herrera Ramos Juan Fernando Herrera Ramos The Democratic sweep of the US midterm elections has transformed the political balance in Washington, but it has not transferred control of foreign policy from the White House to Congress. When the new Congress convenes in January, Democrats will control both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Their victories reflected widespread frustration with the Iran war, rising living costs and US President Donald Trump’s leadership. Reuters reported that 70 per cent of voters wanted Congress to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373340/how-trumps-weakened-grip-congress-complicates-talks-china https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3373340/how-trumps-weakened-grip-congress-complicates-talks-china Thu, 05 Nov 2026 08:30:07 +0000 Marco Vicenzino Marco Vicenzino China is becoming increasingly important to the Gulf’s economic future. Yet the Gulf remains capable of disrupting China’s own. That is the contradiction exposed by the US-Iran war. Beijing’s importance as an energy customer, investor and technology partner has grown, but its ability to guarantee the maritime routes connecting the Middle East to East Asia remains limited. The next contest in global energy will concern not only who produces and consumes it, but who can preserve access when... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3372480/us-iran-war-shows-chinas-influence-cant-secure-its-line-gulf-oil https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3372480/us-iran-war-shows-chinas-influence-cant-secure-its-line-gulf-oil Wed, 04 Nov 2026 08:30:07 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo I came of age in Canada during the Pierre Trudeau years – the Trudeau whom Canadians actually respect – as a high school student from Hong Kong. Back then, Canadian politics meant deliberate independence from the United States. Some Canadians today, especially younger ones, seem amazed that Prime Minister Mark Carney, a Liberal like Trudeau, is charting foreign, defence and economic policies more independent of the US while moving closer to Europe. That is because they grew up in a US-led global... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372924/new-canada-much-old-one https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372924/new-canada-much-old-one Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:30:07 +0000 Nong Hong Nong Hong When Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store called Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 27, they took an unusual diplomatic step at a time when direct high-level contact between European governments and Moscow has been limited. The call, initiated by the two Nordic leaders ahead of renewed peace negotiations, also drew criticism from Denmark over the lack of broader European coordination. The call did not signal a change in Finland or Norway’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372876/finland-and-norways-call-putin-tests-european-unity-over-russia https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372876/finland-and-norways-call-putin-tests-european-unity-over-russia Mon, 02 Nov 2026 12:30:07 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei When Chinese leader Mao Zedong and then US president Richard Nixon ended more than two decades of hostility in the early 1970s and began restoring ties, one powerful force pulling them together was a shared adversary in the form of the Soviet Union. Fast forward to today. The United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, have spent eight years locked in competition and confrontation, from trade and investment to technology, amid mounting fears that they are on a path to inevitable... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372563/china-and-us-need-join-hands-against-another-powerful-adversary-ai https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372563/china-and-us-need-join-hands-against-another-powerful-adversary-ai Sun, 01 Nov 2026 21:30:09 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo Last week, the United Nations General Assembly called for the 34th time for an end to the US embargo on Cuba. The resolution passed by 130 votes to 17, with 25 abstentions. It came as Cuba struggles with a severe energy crisis, mainly caused by a US fuel embargo, imposed after the abduction of Venezuela’s president to New York. The energy blockade is only the latest of America’s crimes against the Cuban people. Sergio Vigoa de la Uz, Cuba’s ambassador to Namibia, laid out the human costs of US... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372693/washingtons-unending-vendetta-against-cuba https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372693/washingtons-unending-vendetta-against-cuba Sun, 01 Nov 2026 12:30:10 +0000 Xie Ming Xie Ming With US President Donald Trump recently pushing the use of “superintelligence” (SI) instead of artificial intelligence (AI) in national discourse, the acronym has gained unprecedented attention. It is the right acronym but the wrong meaning. In my opinion, SI should stand for “self-intelligence”. It probably explains why academics, critics and even major AI companies are calling for a temporary pause in AI development. They must have realised the technology’s current trajectory is headed down... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372415/si-future-ai-just-not-way-trump-thinks https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372415/si-future-ai-just-not-way-trump-thinks Sat, 31 Oct 2026 12:30:06 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo Australia’s preparations for a possible conflict with China reflect “a relatively superficial understanding”, argues prominent economist John Edwards. Europe, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia and India, he notes, are not preparing for such a conflict. Why should Australia? Edwards, a former senior economic adviser to former Labor prime minister Paul Keating, makes the observation in a Lowy Institute paper released in October and in a newspaper interview. Instead, he sees US-China rivalry as a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3372519/flaw-australias-china-threat-thesis https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3372519/flaw-australias-china-threat-thesis Fri, 30 Oct 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Wang Huiyao Wang Huiyao At the recent Valdai Discussion Club, I asked Russian President Vladimir Putin if he would be open to meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum in Shenzhen. I also asked, more broadly, what role China could play in promoting peace in Ukraine, mediating and contributing to peacekeeping. Putin was receptive, warmly welcoming the idea of a China-hosted meeting. Trump, too, has expressed a willingness to meet Xi and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3372321/xi-trump-putin-summit-shenzhen-could-kick-start-peace-ukraine https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3372321/xi-trump-putin-summit-shenzhen-could-kick-start-peace-ukraine Fri, 30 Oct 2026 12:30:06 +0000 Cory Alpert Cory Alpert Amid attempts this year to impress each other with splendour, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping appear to have decided that the relationship between their two countries should primarily run through their personal relationship. This has been a hallmark of the Trump years. The American executive branch has always held near-unilateral authority over foreign policy, but Trump has concentrated that in himself. Dozens of ambassadors and senior national security advisers have... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372343/trumps-days-running-us-china-relations-personal-ties-are-numbered https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372343/trumps-days-running-us-china-relations-personal-ties-are-numbered Fri, 30 Oct 2026 08:31:14 +0000 Bernard Chan Bernard Chan No protester sets out expecting a friend to be arrested, injured or caught in a confrontation with the police. Yet when that happens, the reasons for returning to the streets can change. People may return not only because of the cause that first brought them out, but because they believe a friend has been treated unjustly. That is how anger becomes personal, and how a protest can move towards a dangerous cycle of action and reaction. This is the risk confronting France. The student protests... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372437/frances-protests-hong-kongs-2019-risk-being-defined-violence https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372437/frances-protests-hong-kongs-2019-risk-being-defined-violence Fri, 30 Oct 2026 01:30:08 +0000 Damien Green Damien Green As middle powers, Australia, Britain and Canada can do more than most other nations to influence global peace in the face of a new great power rivalry between China and the United States. These three nations owe their citizens, and perhaps the wider world, an earnest effort to rise to the challenge of being peacemakers. They have three attributes in common that give them unique potential to be a pivotal force. First is their own shared histories as members of the Anglosphere and therefore close... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372303/can-canada-uk-and-australia-grasp-chance-offered-us-china-rivalry https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372303/can-canada-uk-and-australia-grasp-chance-offered-us-china-rivalry Thu, 29 Oct 2026 21:30:07 +0000 Robin Hu Robin Hu An aircraft supplier can have parts ready and a customer waiting yet be unable to ship while Washington holds up its licence. In Shanghai, Citi has approval to establish a securities business after years of waiting. Companies must invest, sign contracts and move production while the two governments negotiate. A board needs to know what can proceed now, what remains conditional and what could stop the business after the money has been spent. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3372307/xi-trump-summits-must-leave-businesses-greater-clarity-not-less https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3372307/xi-trump-summits-must-leave-businesses-greater-clarity-not-less Thu, 29 Oct 2026 12:30:08 +0000 Chow Chung-yan Chow Chung-yan When I first watched Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs in 1992, I was struck by its inventive opening. Tarantino launched a gritty crime thriller not with a gunfight or a heist but with eight mobsters in a diner, finishing breakfast while bickering over Madonna and tipping etiquette. By depicting hardened criminals as ordinary men carping about daily trivialities, Tarantino dispensed with the genre’s macho clichés, rendering the characters disarmingly authentic. Decades later, the subject of... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372177/what-quentin-tarantinos-reservoir-dogs-says-about-us-midterms https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372177/what-quentin-tarantinos-reservoir-dogs-says-about-us-midterms Thu, 29 Oct 2026 01:00:06 +0000 Moritz Kraemer Moritz Kraemer Some readers, especially non-Americans, might wonder what the recurring squabbles in Washington over the debt ceiling and government shutdowns mean. That’s understandable. In virtually every country in the world, when the legislature approves a budget that results in net new borrowing of, say, 50 billion euros (US$55.8 billion), the government is thereby authorised to take on that debt to finance the budget. Not so in the United States. There, the budget and borrowing authorisation are two... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372280/us-midterms-could-trigger-debt-ceiling-showdown-worse-2011 https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372280/us-midterms-could-trigger-debt-ceiling-showdown-worse-2011 Wed, 28 Oct 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo Eswatini probably does not register on most people’s mental maps. Its relatively recent name might sound unfamiliar as many people still know it as Swaziland. That it demands attention from pundits like yours truly has much to do with it being the only African country that still formally recognises Taiwan. It is also the continent’s only absolute monarchy. The two facts are closely connected. Recognising Taipei makes little sense when every one of eSwatini’s neighbours recognises Beijing, but it... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372115/its-autocratic-african-ally-taiwan-bites-its-tongue-and-opens-its-wallet https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372115/its-autocratic-african-ally-taiwan-bites-its-tongue-and-opens-its-wallet Tue, 27 Oct 2026 21:30:07 +0000 Thomas O. Falk Thomas O. Falk In June 1982, Ronald Reagan imposed sanctions to prevent European firms from using American technology to help build a pipeline that would carry Soviet gas to western Europe. He warned that Europe was making itself a hostage to the Kremlin and contributing to the Moscow’s war chest. Then, 18 days before that November’s congressional elections, he offered to sell the Soviet Union up to 23 million tonnes of grain. Europeans, told to tear up their own contracts while American farmers were invited... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372171/diesel-deal-trump-teaching-reagans-lesson-larger-class https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372171/diesel-deal-trump-teaching-reagans-lesson-larger-class Tue, 27 Oct 2026 12:30:05 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok Earlier this month, simmering trade tensions between the EU and China ease as the two sides reached an agreement in Beijing limiting hybrid car exports from China to an annual quota of 350,000 units. After the European Union imposed tariffs on fully electric cars from China in 2024, hybrid imports surged. The quota would result in more than a halving of the 800,000 hybrid cars expected to be sold this year, a figure which may soon exceed a million if unchecked. The quota would likely shift... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372117/eu-china-hybrid-car-deal-wont-really-help-european-carmakers https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372117/eu-china-hybrid-car-deal-wont-really-help-european-carmakers Tue, 27 Oct 2026 08:30:10 +0000 Hao Nan Hao Nan In October, two technology executives offered Europe similar advice. In Turin, Alibaba Group Holding chairman Joe Tsai urged European companies to use open-source models and their proprietary industrial data to build AI capabilities. In Berlin, Nvidia chief Jensen Huang pressed German manufacturers to apply AI to factories, robotics and other physical industries. Both see opportunity in Europe’s engineering strengths, while their companies stand to benefit from supplying the technology. Recent... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372104/europe-can-still-shape-rules-ai https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3372104/europe-can-still-shape-rules-ai Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:30:06 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo In the early days of the student protests in France, mainstream Western media took the protesters’ claims about poor school facilities and declining resources at face value. Only when the violence spread across the country, and to some of its European neighbours, did people begin to ask whether deeper causes were at play. Leftists blame social problems, from the cost-of-living pressures linked to the war in Ukraine to rising unemployment, especially among the young. Right-wing critics blame... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371928/wests-double-standard-global-unrest https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371928/wests-double-standard-global-unrest Sun, 25 Oct 2026 12:30:08 +0000 David Kim David Kim On October 18, Anthropic, the artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory preparing one of the largest listings in history, committed 5 per cent of its shares to a public benefit fund. The next day, Elon Musk promised one SpaceX share, next year, for “every kid in America” – about US$10.6 billion for some 73 million children. The offers differ in who holds the shares. Anthropic’s will sit in an entity the company owns, spent on the public’s behalf; Musk’s would land, by a route he has not explained,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371822/how-share-ai-wealth-neither-us-nor-asia-has-answer https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371822/how-share-ai-wealth-neither-us-nor-asia-has-answer Sat, 24 Oct 2026 21:30:06 +0000 Zhou Xiaoming Zhou Xiaoming The anxiety gripping Seoul is palpable. Under US pressure, South Korea signed a US$350 billion investment deal last November for a 10-percentage-point tariff reduction, billing it as a strategic alliance. Barely a year on, the facade has crumbled. Last month, US President Donald Trump announced a US$200 billion tranche of the deal with no South Korean official present. Blindsided, Seoul restated its “commercial viability” clause. Trump’s response was blunt. “If they don’t want to do it, that’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3371802/seouls-useless-placation-warning-all-us-trade-partners https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3371802/seouls-useless-placation-warning-all-us-trade-partners Sat, 24 Oct 2026 08:30:09 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo Beijing has told Brussels not to “fantasise” that pressure will extract concessions. This came after China made a goodwill gesture in the recent hybrid-car trade deal. The European Union responded by doubling down on a proposed trade “kill switch”. The instrument follows a Franco-German proposal. It would let the bloc swiftly restrict single-market access in response to economic coercion. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen says all 27 leaders back it. Chemicals and machinery are priority sectors.... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3371752/eu-its-own-worst-enemy https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3371752/eu-its-own-worst-enemy Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa,Franz Jessen Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa,Franz Jessen This month alone, Europe has threatened China with a trade “kill switch”, rebuked it in parliament, sent its trade commissioner on a much-trumpeted trip to Beijing and announced three new economic security instruments. The sequence exposed a European Union that has no clear goal on China, no hierarchy of priorities and has reached no agreement on what it wants from Beijing or on what it would pay to get it. China has built its European policy around this vacuum. Its method rewards patience:... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371543/europe-still-has-no-clear-goal-china https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371543/europe-still-has-no-clear-goal-china Thu, 22 Oct 2026 12:30:07 +0000 Tang Meng Kit Tang Meng Kit Last month, the US published the fine print of a US$686 million upgrade deal for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets. The deal is for data link systems, new encryption gear and a refit that keeps the jets flying until 2040. The notice says Pakistan can protect the technology to “substantially the same degree” as the US government. The Pakistan Air Force is also the only declared interested buyer of China’s J-35 stealth fighter, a generational leap in technology. The Chinese jet first flew at the Zhuhai... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3371561/pakistan-and-us-factor-china-looks-sell-its-j-35-stealth-jets https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3371561/pakistan-and-us-factor-china-looks-sell-its-j-35-stealth-jets Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:30:06 +0000 Erwin R. Tiongson Erwin R. Tiongson Each autumn, the world’s economics teams come together for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Last week’s gathering in Bangkok included the launch of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO). Led by IMF economists, the international economic community’s collective wisdom on the world’s economic prospects was made public. Remarkably, they expect steady growth in a time of so much uncertainty and strife. “This steady growth is the net result of two big... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371446/amid-positive-growth-forecasts-lets-not-forget-our-devastating-losses https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371446/amid-positive-growth-forecasts-lets-not-forget-our-devastating-losses Wed, 21 Oct 2026 12:30:11 +0000 Hugh Harsono Hugh Harsono From October 22, China’s grace period for the disclosure and settlement of certain offshore-trust tax liabilities ends. For the Chinese government, this deadline highlights its desire to affirm control over capital outflows, while for Chinese high-net-worth families, it serves as a reminder that it is now harder to keep international assets beyond the reach of the government. The deadline sits against the backdrop of China tightening scrutiny around cryptocurrency, stablecoins and real-world... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3371259/chinas-offshore-tax-crackdown-could-inadvertently-fuel-digital-dollar-boom https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3371259/chinas-offshore-tax-crackdown-could-inadvertently-fuel-digital-dollar-boom Wed, 21 Oct 2026 12:30:07 +0000 Albert Bakhtizin Albert Bakhtizin As turbulence grows in many countries, it is tempting to ask if there is a global hegemon that can sort everything out fairly. US President Donald Trump has threatened that his country would not defend Nato allies if they failed to spend enough on their defence. Together with new trade barriers, his words suggest that the US is scaling back its ambitions for global leadership and concentrating more on its own region. Our latest projections of national strength for 2027 take into account... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3371409/can-china-turn-national-power-world-leadership https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3371409/can-china-turn-national-power-world-leadership Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:30:10 +0000 Ruairidh J. Brown Ruairidh J. Brown Getting relations with China right is widely seen as Britain’s epoch-defining challenge. It is also one it is woefully unprepared to face. So concluded a recent audit by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), which highlighted that top negotiators lacked basic Chinese language skills. More critically, it exposed a deeper deficit: a poor grasp of China spanning political elites and the public alike. This is rooted in a desk-bound classroom sinology rather than a nuanced appreciation... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371392/burnhams-britain-can-learn-trump-engaging-china https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371392/burnhams-britain-can-learn-trump-engaging-china Wed, 21 Oct 2026 01:30:05 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo “Actions have consequences,” British Minister of State for Skills and former home secretary Baroness Jacqui Smith said of Palestine Action, the protest group proscribed as a terrorist organisation across the United Kingdom. She was lecturing the group’s members and supporters, who are legion in Britain, on taking responsibility for their actions. From where everyone else is sitting, she might as well have been talking about her Labour Party colleagues, such as fellow former home secretary Yvette... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371369/britains-ban-pro-palestinian-author-sally-rooney-makes-it-laughing-stock https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371369/britains-ban-pro-palestinian-author-sally-rooney-makes-it-laughing-stock Tue, 20 Oct 2026 21:30:06 +0000 Syed Munir Khasru Syed Munir Khasru A country need not run out of money to find itself in a debt crisis. It only has to run short of US dollars to pay for its energy. At the recent International Monetary Fund-World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, the IMF, which expects global economic growth of 3.1 per cent this year and 3.4 per cent the next, cautioned that energy-importing and lower-income economies face a harder road, even as those riding the artificial intelligence boom fare relatively well. According to the World Bank’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3371271/energy-shock-could-spark-asias-next-debt-crisis https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3371271/energy-shock-could-spark-asias-next-debt-crisis Tue, 20 Oct 2026 08:30:10 +0000 Wang Huiyao Wang Huiyao In New York last month, US-China talks on artificial intelligence opened up a path of cooperation. This was affirmed by the Xi-Trump summit in Washington where both presidents agreed to establish a formal AI dialogue and hotline. With the next AI meeting set to happen in November, it is imperative that both countries further cooperation. The AI ecosystem is in flux. American tech companies are draining their coffers as they commit vast sums to chips, data centres and energy before the revenue... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3370909/us-china-ai-talks-must-ensure-safety-both-tech-and-business https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3370909/us-china-ai-talks-must-ensure-safety-both-tech-and-business Mon, 19 Oct 2026 21:30:05 +0000 Cliff Buddle Cliff Buddle Irish writer Sally Rooney is a publishing sensation, often described as the “voice of a generation” and the first great millennial novelist. More than six million copies of her books have been sold globally since her debut novel in 2017. But now, these beautifully written literary bestsellers, with their youthful exploration of romance and relationships, class and technology, are being withdrawn from sale in the United Kingdom. The generation of royalties for Rooney from the book sales, the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371199/palestine-action-sally-rooneys-books-and-absurd-fallout-uk-ban https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371199/palestine-action-sally-rooneys-books-and-absurd-fallout-uk-ban Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:30:08 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo Standing before the Acropolis in Athens earlier this month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the West’s story “the greatest story ever known to man”. But didn’t Hollywood tell us the greatest story ever told was that of Jesus of Nazareth? The decisions of the coming decade, Rubio said, “will determine whether the West maintains its place at the head of the world or resigns itself to a future of atrophy and servitude and decline”. Under US President Donald Trump, “we choose the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371113/why-plato-nato-western-myth-being-resurrected https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371113/why-plato-nato-western-myth-being-resurrected Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:30:06 +0000 Richard Heydarian Richard Heydarian China and the Philippines recently traded accusations over the medical evacuation of a Philippine serviceman from a grounded naval vessel in the hotly disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. The incident has sparked renewed worries about potential armed skirmishes in a global artery of trade. But Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr was also quick to emphasise the economic dimensions of a major conflict. After a decade of rapid economic growth, the Philippines is facing... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3370775/philippines-china-free-manufacturing-strategy-high-risk-bet https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3370775/philippines-china-free-manufacturing-strategy-high-risk-bet Sat, 17 Oct 2026 01:30:09 +0000