https://www.scmp.com/rss/519018/feed Yijing is a summer intern on China desk. Her interests lie in geopolitics in East Asia and US-China relations. Previously, she was an intern at Reuters Beijing Bureau. She is from Shanghai, China and graduated with a BA in Political Science and Economics from Waseda University. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Yasushi Kaifu has never been to China, and the 15-year-old Tokyo resident does not plan on visiting any time soon. Few of Kaifu’s high school friends have ever travelled to China either, and as reports of tensions in the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait mount, so too do their negative views and unease about Japan’s big neighbour. “Because I live in Japan, I would be worried if there was a big war once a conflict broke out in the Taiwan Strait,” he said. Keitoku Ikegami, 24, a graduate... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3277600/can-china-japan-youth-exchanges-and-goodwill-overcome-their-deep-political-chill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3277600/can-china-japan-youth-exchanges-and-goodwill-overcome-their-deep-political-chill?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Sep 2024 22:00:13 +0000 Xintiandi in downtown Shanghai used to be the name of a subway stop known for its chic restaurants and boutiques. Three years ago, the stop was rebadged as the Site of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Xintiandi Station, to mark the party’s centenary. At the same time, just a few minutes’ walk from the station, an expanded memorial to the party’s origins in the city opened, housing a permanent exhibition to the organisation’s founding. Since then, a steady stream of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3273812/communist-party-exhibitions-lean-honour-and-obligation-among-young-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3273812/communist-party-exhibitions-lean-honour-and-obligation-among-young-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Aug 2024 06:00:11 +0000 A Ukrainian film festival will begin in Beijing this weekend in the latest sign of more engagement between China and the war-torn nation. The festival, titled “Memory and Future: A Century of the Ukrainian Cinema”, will run until March next year. It was organised by the Ukrainian embassy in Beijing, the Goethe-Institute and the French Cultural Centre. It aims to “provide the audience with a close look at the unique cinematic language, aesthetics and historical development of Ukrainian cinema”,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3273934/ukrainian-film-festival-about-start-beijing-just-russias-ends?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3273934/ukrainian-film-festival-about-start-beijing-just-russias-ends?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Aug 2024 12:00:14 +0000 China issued a travel warning for Lebanon on Monday as heightened tensions with Israel sparked fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East. The Chinese embassy in Lebanon asked nationals to be cautious about travelling to the country, calling the security situation there “grave and complex” following conflicts on the border with Israel and deadly Israeli air strikes last week on Lebanese capital Beirut targeting Hezbollah. In a notice published on Monday night, the embassy also told its... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3273390/china-issues-lebanon-travel-warning-israel-tensions-spark-grave-security-scenario?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3273390/china-issues-lebanon-travel-warning-israel-tensions-spark-grave-security-scenario?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Aug 2024 08:00:18 +0000 A leading Chinese university has set up a research centre for brain-computer interface (BCI), a technology that gives humans the ability to control external devices such as computers or robotic limbs with their minds. The 400 million yuan (US$56 million) facility at Fudan University comes as China continues to push the development of disruptive technology amid a race for tech supremacy with the United States, a long-time leader in BCI research. Launched last Saturday, the university’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3273285/chinas-future-tech-race-us-set-boost-new-fudan-brain-chip-centre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3273285/chinas-future-tech-race-us-set-boost-new-fudan-brain-chip-centre?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Aug 2024 02:00:11 +0000 A Chinese tourist airship could soon have its passengers almost “walking in the clouds” after it made a successful test flight on Thursday. China’s first self-developed civil manned airship has shown it can function in the low-altitude tourism sector, according to the aircarft’s designer. The AS700 airship flew above several tourist attractions along the planned test route at a speed of 60km/h (37mph) and an altitude of 500 metres (1,640 feet) for about two hours during its flight in the central... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3272929/airship-aiming-chinas-low-altitude-tourism-market-makes-2-hour-test-flight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3272929/airship-aiming-chinas-low-altitude-tourism-market-makes-2-hour-test-flight?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Aug 2024 07:00:21 +0000 China and the US have agreed to further strengthen dialogue and promote “in-depth” drug control, in the first senior-level meeting of the working group formed after the mechanism was agreed to at a summit in November. The delegations met in Washington, where they “exchanged their respective concerns, exchanged views and suggestions, and clarified the direction of cooperation”, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua. The White House said on Thursday that discussions had focused on ways to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3272926/us-china-fentanyl-cooperation-gathers-momentum-senior-meeting-washington?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3272926/us-china-fentanyl-cooperation-gathers-momentum-senior-meeting-washington?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Aug 2024 05:54:17 +0000 Several Chinese provinces are cutting back on teacher recruitment because of the falling numbers of schoolchildren in recent years, in a reflection of the country’s deepening demographic challenges. Deep cuts in teaching positions – widely regarded in China as stable and socially respected – add further uncertainty to the already bleak jobs market as the country grapples to create enough work for its massive labour force, especially new graduates. Education authorities in the eastern province of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3272769/birth-rate-woes-hit-china-where-schools-are-closing-lack-children?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3272769/birth-rate-woes-hit-china-where-schools-are-closing-lack-children?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Aug 2024 01:00:17 +0000 China has developed its first large artificial intelligence model to mine troves of data to help predict earthquakes. The model, called “DiTing”, is based on one of the biggest data sets of its kind in the world and can be used to spot earthquake signals, monitor seismic activity and support rapid responses to earthquakes, according to its developers. “DiTing relies on massive amounts of data from the China Earthquake Observation Network and advanced artificial intelligence technology and has... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3272568/chinese-ai-model-seismic-change-earthquake-prediction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3272568/chinese-ai-model-seismic-change-earthquake-prediction?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Jul 2024 06:00:14 +0000 Heavy rainfall in central China’s Hunan province triggered three river dyke breaches in less than 20 hours and forced the evacuations of thousands of people, as water reached “record levels”, state media reported. The latest breach of the Juan River in Xiangtan happened early on Monday afternoon in the wake of Typhoon Gaemi, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the province’s Emergency Response Command Centre. On Sunday evening, floodwaters breached two other dykes on the waterway – a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3272307/china-battles-heavy-rain-major-flooding-thousands-evacuated-typhoon-gaemis-wake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3272307/china-battles-heavy-rain-major-flooding-thousands-evacuated-typhoon-gaemis-wake?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jul 2024 08:12:29 +0000 Chinese archaeologists have unearthed a jade workshop dating back more than 3,400 years at the Sanxingdui ruins in southwest China, state media said on Tuesday. “This is the first time a handicraft workshop has been discovered at Sanxingdui. It fills a gap in the archaeological research on Sanxingdui and is of great significance,” said Ran Honglin, director of the Sanxingdui Site Workstation of the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, in an interview with official... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3271722/chinese-archaeologists-unearth-3400-year-old-jade-workshop-sanxingdui-ruins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3271722/chinese-archaeologists-unearth-3400-year-old-jade-workshop-sanxingdui-ruins?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jul 2024 11:00:15 +0000 A Chinese-led international climate research team has drilled its way into the record books after digging deep into the past of one of the largest and deepest lakes on the Tibetan Plateau. The team drilled to a depth of 510.2 metres (1,674 feet), well past the previous record of 153.4 metres for the deepest lake drilling in China, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday. Over 42 days, the team drilled seven holes at Nam Co, or “Heavenly Lake”, which sits 4,700 metres above sea level, and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3270988/does-tibets-heavenly-lake-hold-clues-future-core-samples-ancient-past?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3270988/does-tibets-heavenly-lake-hold-clues-future-core-samples-ancient-past?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Jul 2024 01:00:19 +0000 China’s only higher education institute to offer giant panda studies is set to enrol its first students this autumn, giving them the opportunity to observe the bears closely at nature reserves, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The “giant panda college” is affiliated with China West Normal University in Sichuan, the southwestern province known for its panda reserves and habitats. The institute was established in September by the provincial forestry and grassland administration. A total of 50... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3270097/chinas-new-giant-panda-college-welcome-first-students-autumn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3270097/chinas-new-giant-panda-college-welcome-first-students-autumn?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Jul 2024 12:00:09 +0000 Devastating rains have struck Chongqing municipality in southwest China with the Three Gorges Dam on high alert for a new round of flooding. Six people deaths had been recorded as a result of heavy rainfall in Chongqing’s Dianjiang county as of Thursday. State broadcaster CCTV said four people had been killed by “geological disasters” and the other two had drowned. The rainfall in Dianjiang reached a record single-day high of 269.2mm (10.6 inches), affecting more than 40,000 people. CCTV said it... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3270222/chinas-three-gorges-dam-flood-alert-rain-batters-megacity-chongqing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3270222/chinas-three-gorges-dam-flood-alert-rain-batters-megacity-chongqing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jul 2024 08:09:18 +0000 Emergency forces sealed the main dyke breach at China’s second-largest freshwater lake on Monday night, with a secondary flood defence line being put to the test, according to local authorities. Dongting Lake, in the central province of Hunan, burst its embankment on Friday, flooding more than 47 sq km (18 square miles) including the town of Tuanzhou where at least 7,000 residents were evacuated, with no reported casualties. By Saturday, the breach had widened to 226 metres (741ft). Work to seal... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3269743/floods-move-chinas-drought-hit-farmland-dongting-lake-wall-repair-holds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3269743/floods-move-chinas-drought-hit-farmland-dongting-lake-wall-repair-holds?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jul 2024 09:00:26 +0000 China’s visa-free policy appears to be succeeding in its aim of attracting more visitors as the number of foreigners entering the country more than doubled in the first six months of the year. In total 14.64 million foreigners visited the country in the first half of the year, up 152.7 per cent year on year, data from the National Immigration Administration showed. The number of visa-free entries made by foreigners passed 8.5 million, accounting for 58 per cent of inbound trips and representing... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3269354/china-sees-foreign-visitor-numbers-more-double-after-lifting-visa-rules-many-travellers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3269354/china-sees-foreign-visitor-numbers-more-double-after-lifting-visa-rules-many-travellers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jul 2024 10:04:58 +0000 China’s new large amphibious aircraft – the biggest in the world – has gone into batch production and final assembly, state news agency Xinhua reported. The plane, known as the AG600, is designed for maritime patrols and search and rescue operations. From the southern island province of Hainan, it could reach any location in the South China Sea within four hours and it could be used for cargo or passenger transport between Chinese-controlled islands, according to state media. Its developer, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3269274/chinas-new-large-amphibious-aircraft-goes-production-and-final-assembly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3269274/chinas-new-large-amphibious-aircraft-goes-production-and-final-assembly?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jul 2024 06:02:57 +0000 China has urged the Philippines to find and “severely punish” the killers of a kidnapped Chinese citizen in a case that has led to a diplomatic intervention by Beijing. The Chinese embassy in Manila said it had been informed a few days ago that the person had been kidnapped in the Philippines, and it assisted the family in reporting the case to the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Kidnapping Bureau. It also intervened through diplomatic channels to ask for a rescue and that measures be taken to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3268849/china-urges-severe-punishment-against-killers-citizen-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3268849/china-urges-severe-punishment-against-killers-citizen-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jul 2024 08:22:36 +0000 Bold new Chinese research in the field of neural probes has helped break through the boundaries that separate humans and machines, and could have a “transformative impact” on brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies, an expert said. Researchers at Peking University and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science have used a device called a Neuroscroll probe to separate single neural activities of macaque monkeys from 1,024 tightly spaced channels simultaneously. Neural probes are... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3268335/chinese-neural-probe-could-have-transformative-impact-brain-computer-interfaces?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3268335/chinese-neural-probe-could-have-transformative-impact-brain-computer-interfaces?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jul 2024 06:00:15 +0000 A senior US official has sent chills down Chinese students and their families by suggesting that their studies at American universities will be restricted to the humanities by geopolitics. Deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell said on Monday that his country needed to recruit more international students in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) – but not from China. Instead, Washington is setting its sights on attracting students from India – an increasingly important... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3268441/us-arrogant-say-it-prefers-indian-stem-students-chinese-nationals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3268441/us-arrogant-say-it-prefers-indian-stem-students-chinese-nationals?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Jun 2024 14:00:09 +0000 Argentina has returned 14 cultural relics to China as part of joint efforts to fight the illegal trafficking of cultural heritage. The artefacts, dating from between 770BC and AD589, were handed over to Chinese ambassador Wang Wei in a formal ceremony at the embassy in Buenos Aires on Thursday. China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) said items had been “illegally exported”. They included seven bronze bells from the ancient Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC), as well as... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3268452/ancient-bronze-bells-han-dynasty-frog-among-14-cultural-relics-returned-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3268452/ancient-bronze-bells-han-dynasty-frog-among-14-cultural-relics-returned-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jun 2024 08:37:15 +0000