https://www.scmp.com/rss/522319/feed Georgetown University: A prominent Washington, D.C.-based private Jesuit research university, Georgetown University is dedicated to educating the mind, body, and spirit through a world-class learning experience. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic institution of higher education in the USA. Its main areas of focus include international relations, law, medicine, business, and public policy, offering extensive undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The university is recognised for its... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Across major African cities such as Nairobi, Lusaka, and Abuja, governments are using surveillance technologies and credit lines from China to monitor public spaces and curb crime, a new survey shows. The UK-based Institute of Development Studies (IDS) said Chinese banks were increasingly funding African governments to build and maintain digital infrastructure – including surveillance cameras and command and control centres – under the “safe city” project, also known as “smart city”, which is... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348916/chinese-surveillance-tech-rolled-out-africa-zte-hikvision-and-huawei-helm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348916/chinese-surveillance-tech-rolled-out-africa-zte-hikvision-and-huawei-helm?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 14:30:07 +0000 Shi Jiangtao Shi Jiangtao For decades, the US security umbrella was the bedrock underpinning the Gulf states’ prosperity and stability. Today, Iranian missiles and drones have paralysed the Strait of Hormuz and hit civilian airports, ports, hotels and refineries across every Gulf country, despite thousands of American troops and advanced interceptors on the ground. The armed conflict has forced the region to confront a stark new reality. A Chinese scholar argued that the US-Israel war on Iran and ensuing Hormuz crisis... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347189/severely-damaged-how-us-israel-war-iran-decoupling-gulf-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347189/severely-damaged-how-us-israel-war-iran-decoupling-gulf-security?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 14:00:09 +0000 William Zheng,Sylvie Zhuang William Zheng,Sylvie Zhuang In his decades toiling as a health official in a coastal Chinese province, Alan Chen has rarely had to study a subject about which he knew so little. “Nd is Neodymium. It is needed for almost all modern EV motors. China dominates the refining of Nd oxide. Dy is Dysprosium. It is needed for magnets to operate at high temperatures and is also essential for EV motors.” This was the kind of content Chen pored over in a training course he attended at the Central Party School, the Communist Party’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3345957/economic-security-101-why-chinas-officials-now-have-study-rare-earths-and-supply-chains?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3345957/economic-security-101-why-chinas-officials-now-have-study-rare-earths-and-supply-chains?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 22:00:08 +0000 Lucy Quaggin Lucy Quaggin As China and the United States compete to shape the future of artificial intelligence, Africa’s rapidly expanding digital landscape is emerging as a new arena for their rivalry, far from the technology hubs of Silicon Valley or Shenzhen. With a growing population, expanding internet access and linguistic diversity, Africa is increasingly seen as a critical region for AI development, according to analysts. Early infrastructure and platform decisions can shape the future of emerging technology... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3345483/africa-emerges-new-arena-us-china-competition-over-artificial-intelligence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3345483/africa-emerges-new-arena-us-china-competition-over-artificial-intelligence?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 20:10:11 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi,Yuanyue Dang Seong Hyeon Choi,Yuanyue Dang The US and Israel’s air strikes against Iran, supported by electronic and cyber capabilities, serve as a “wake-up call” for China’s intelligence strategy and its military’s approach to deploying advanced technologies in modern warfare, analysts say. In weekend air strikes against Iran that killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the US struck over 1,000 targets with an array of advanced weaponry, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, stealth fighters and bombers. And for the first time... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3345123/iran-attack-seen-wake-call-chinas-electronic-warfare-and-intelligence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3345123/iran-attack-seen-wake-call-chinas-electronic-warfare-and-intelligence?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:42:23 +0000 Yuanyue Dang,Amber Wang Yuanyue Dang,Amber Wang A Chinese private company has drawn the attention of security watchers after detailing US military deployments near Iran, a move experts say underlines Beijing’s intelligence abilities. MizarVision, a Chinese commercial intelligence analysis firm, has consistently published monitoring posts regarding American military movements on social media over the past two years. But it has attracted fresh attention in the past month with an increase in the frequency and granularity of its posts and by... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3344638/china-flexing-its-intelligence-muscle-tracking-us-military-moves-near-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3344638/china-flexing-its-intelligence-muscle-tracking-us-military-moves-near-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Feb 2026 14:00:07 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage From a satellite ground station in Namibia to an Egyptian laboratory in orbit, China has been building the hi-tech backbone of Africa’s space ambitions. Earlier this month, Beijing handed over a new satellite data ground station near Windhoek, Namibia – the latest in a growing network of space facilities across the continent built by China or with Chinese funding. The China-funded ground station at Windhoek’s Telecom Earth Station enables Namibia to process remote-sensing data from satellites,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344266/how-china-building-hi-tech-backbone-africas-space-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344266/how-china-building-hi-tech-backbone-africas-space-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:00:14 +0000 Meredith Chen Meredith Chen Abraham Newman is an American political scientist and a professor in the School of Foreign Service and Department of Government at Georgetown University. His research focuses on the ways in which economic interdependence and globalisation have transformed international politics. Along with Henry Farrell, he is co-author of the book Underground Empire: How America Weaponised the World Economy, published in 2023. In this interview, he discusses how the concept of weaponised interdependence has... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344243/trumps-neo-royalist-world-order-and-weaponised-interdependence-abraham-newman?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344243/trumps-neo-royalist-world-order-and-weaponised-interdependence-abraham-newman?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Feb 2026 22:00:15 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Colorectal cancer is now the top cancer killer of Americans younger than 50, highlighting that it is a threat not just to older adults, but increasingly to young men and women, too. The deaths of Dawson’s Creek actor James Van Der Beek at 48 this week, and Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman a few years ago at 43, highlight the risk for younger adults. “We’re now starting to see more and more people in the 20-, 30- and 40-year-old range developing colon cancer. At the beginning of my career,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3343679/after-james-van-der-beeks-death-how-colorectal-cancer-killing-more-under-50s?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3343679/after-james-van-der-beeks-death-how-colorectal-cancer-killing-more-under-50s?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Feb 2026 07:15:07 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg One year after President Donald Trump ordered the US to withdraw from the World Health Organization, the process was formally completed on Thursday, though the nation is leaving behind unpaid debt of roughly US$260 million. All funding to the health agency has been terminated and people working with the WHO have been recalled from all offices and its headquarters, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Thursday. The US has also ended all participation in WHO-sponsored leadership... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340913/us-walks-away-who-leaving-unpaid-tab-us260-million?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340913/us-walks-away-who-leaving-unpaid-tab-us260-million?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 23:26:21 +0000 Liu Zhen,Zhao Ziwen Liu Zhen,Zhao Ziwen The extreme precision of the US in its Venezuelan operation shows why nations must be able to execute a complex special surgical strike, according to analysts who said China had long pursued the capability but had yet to master it. In a complex joint endeavour integrating its air force, navy, intelligence agencies and space and cyber units, the US military’s elite Delta Force special mission unit completed its precision raid in Caracas – from infiltration to exfiltration – in less than three... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3339503/could-china-execute-special-forces-operation-us-precision-maduro-abduction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3339503/could-china-execute-special-forces-operation-us-precision-maduro-abduction?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Jan 2026 14:00:11 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi,Sylvie Zhuang Seong Hyeon Choi,Sylvie Zhuang The reported US seizure of a ship allegedly carrying Chinese-made dual-use components to Iran might signal Washington was “testing the waters” on reviving an old tactic to pressure Beijing’s ties with its adversaries, but such moves risked breaching international law, analysts said. An American special operations team boarded a ship from China bound for Iran in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka last month, The Wall Street Journal reported last Friday. Citing sources, it said the operation aimed to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3336545/us-testing-waters-reported-seizure-chinese-cargo-bound-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3336545/us-testing-waters-reported-seizure-chinese-cargo-bound-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 02:00:16 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji Asia’s oil-dependent economies could soon find further relief as a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv edges closer, raising the prospects of Russia resuming crude supply to global markets and again reshaping supply dynamics that have significantly influenced prices since the war in Ukraine broke out in 2022. Analysts told This Week in Asia that the potential accord had already led to lower oil prices amid heightened expectations that sanctions against Moscow might soon be lifted, potentially... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3334369/asias-oil-markets-eye-ukraine-russia-peace-deal-will-prices-fall-further?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3334369/asias-oil-markets-eye-ukraine-russia-peace-deal-will-prices-fall-further?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 09:46:28 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India and Canada have agreed to restart talks on a long-delayed free-trade agreement, in the strongest signal yet of a thaw in their relations following a two-year diplomatic row triggered by the 2023 killing of a Sikh separatist in British Columbia. The resumption of negotiations underscores both countries’ aim to prioritise economic ties over a resolution to a lingering political issue, even as the underlying tensions over Sikh separatism remain unresolved, according to analysts. The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3334063/economics-above-politics-india-and-canada-resume-trade-agreement-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3334063/economics-above-politics-india-and-canada-resume-trade-agreement-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 07:28:53 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to skip the Asean summit in Malaysia was probably made with an eye on coming crucial state polls in Bihar and to avoid meeting US President Donald Trump amid sensitive trade negotiations, analysts have said. During a special event at the White House last week, Trump had reiterated claims that India would stop buying Russian oil. The US president then attended the Asean meeting in Kuala Lumpur before departing for Japan on Monday. Modi addressed the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3330502/why-indias-modi-skipped-asean-summit-malaysia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3330502/why-indias-modi-skipped-asean-summit-malaysia?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Oct 2025 11:30:14 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India and Brazil are doubling down on economic and climate cooperation in a bid to strengthen Brics and bolster the Global South’s negotiating power as both nations face rising trade tensions with the United States. Analysts say the push – announced during Brazilian Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin’s visit to New Delhi last week – is not just about shielding their economies from punitive US tariffs, but also about asserting influence on multilateral issues ranging from energy security to global... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3329689/india-brazil-forge-stronger-ties-global-south-influence-amid-us-tariff-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3329689/india-brazil-forge-stronger-ties-global-south-influence-amid-us-tariff-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Oct 2025 00:00:20 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han Jerome Cohen, a pioneering scholar of Chinese law who shaped global debates on the country’s legal system, trade, and human rights for over six decades, has died at 95. Cohen, who died on Monday, was professor emeritus at New York University’s School of Law and the founder of its US-Asia Law Institute, as well as a senior fellow for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank. The author and editor of over a dozen books and dozens of journal articles, Cohen began his career in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3326607/jerome-cohen-respected-china-law-expert-and-regular-critic-dies-95?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3326607/jerome-cohen-respected-china-law-expert-and-regular-critic-dies-95?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 22:21:18 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings A made-in-China automated electric air taxi took off in Africa for the first time this week, as a new generation of Chinese low-altitude aircraft attracts growing interest from global buyers. The product on show was a pilotless electric take-off and landing vehicle (eVTOL) made by EHang Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed tech company from the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. It took to the skies during the Aviation Africa Summit and Exhibition, a major industry event involving 34 countries that was... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3324491/chinese-flying-taxi-takes-skies-africa-firms-eye-global-roll-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3324491/chinese-flying-taxi-takes-skies-africa-firms-eye-global-roll-out?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Sep 2025 04:00:13 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji In the race to secure the building blocks of tomorrow’s technology, India and Australia are edging ever closer to a strategic minerals partnership, positioning themselves as a counterweight to China’s dominance. Negotiations are ongoing, with both nations exploring avenues to build upon their critical minerals investment partnership – launched in 2022 – to establish joint ventures that could encompass not only sourcing but also collaborative processing of these elements that are essential to the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3321267/india-australia-unite-challenge-chinas-rare-earth-reign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3321267/india-australia-unite-challenge-chinas-rare-earth-reign?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Aug 2025 08:00:13 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji Oil markets are bracing for lower prices despite US President Donald Trump’s threat of punitive tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, including India and China, with higher output from global producers set to compensate for any potential supply drop from Russia. The broad Opec+ group, comprising oil-producing nations taking part in initiatives by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, agreed on Sunday to raise production by 547,000 barrels per day for September. Concerns have mounted... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3321252/will-oil-prices-fall-despite-trumps-tariff-threat-over-russian-supply?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3321252/will-oil-prices-fall-despite-trumps-tariff-threat-over-russian-supply?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Aug 2025 10:57:07 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage On the outskirts of the Namibian capital Windhoek, a Chinese-funded and built satellite data receiving ground station symbolises China’s growing cooperation in Africa’s nascent space industry. The station was described by the Chinese embassy as “a shining example of China-Namibia cooperation” as they celebrated the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations. In a social media post on July 18 announcing the completion of the satellite facility ahead of time earlier this year, the embassy said it... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3320537/china-built-satellite-station-shining-example-support-namibian-space-programme?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3320537/china-built-satellite-station-shining-example-support-namibian-space-programme?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Aug 2025 12:00:08 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han An American citizen who works for the US government has been blocked from leaving China for months, possibly on national security grounds, after travelling there recently, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source familiar with the matter said that a naturalised US citizen, originally from China, was detained by authorities upon landing in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, in April. The exact reason for the exit ban, as these restrictions are typically known, could not be confirmed, though the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318917/us-government-worker-target-exit-ban-prevented-leaving-china-months?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318917/us-government-worker-target-exit-ban-prevented-leaving-china-months?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Jul 2025 12:58:23 +0000 David Dodwell David Dodwell If I earned a dollar for every article written in the past 42 years predicting the end of the Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the US dollar, I would be living a life of genteel luxury, sipping cocktails beside the pool in a tropical paradise not far from here. And yet here we are again, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) spending upwards of HK$80 billion (US$10.2 billion) since late June to keep the currency within its upper and lower boundaries of 7.75 to 7.85 to the US dollar as... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3318685/why-ending-us-dollar-peg-isnt-answer-hong-kong-needs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3318685/why-ending-us-dollar-peg-isnt-answer-hong-kong-needs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Jul 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose steep secondary tariffs on countries trading with Russia has raised alarm in India over the future of its discounted oil purchases from Moscow, with analysts warning the issue could complicate negotiations on a bilateral trade deal with Washington. Trump vowed on Monday to impose “very severe tariffs” if Russia did not end its war in Ukraine within 50 days. Washington would target Moscow’s remaining trade partners with measures aimed at choking off... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3318295/india-fix-over-trumps-tariff-threat-aimed-russian-oil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3318295/india-fix-over-trumps-tariff-threat-aimed-russian-oil?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jul 2025 10:00:17 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India has signalled its growing maritime and shipbuilding ambitions in the Indo-Pacific with the country’s biggest warship builder, state-run Mazagon Dock, set to acquire a controlling stake in Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders said last week it would buy a 51 per cent stake in Colombo Dockyard for US$52.96 million. The deal is expected to be completed within the next six months. In a statement on social media on Friday, Mazagon Docks highlighted that the agreement would... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3316792/india-eyes-strategic-foothold-indo-pacific-stake-colombo-dockyard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3316792/india-eyes-strategic-foothold-indo-pacific-stake-colombo-dockyard?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Jul 2025 10:30:09 +0000