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US-China relations

US-China relations
Breaking news and analysis on US-China relations, including trade war, talks, and tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Open Questions series

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

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15
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

7
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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18
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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93
Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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40
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
MORE FROM THIS SERIES
A view of the Port of Balboa, managed by CK Hutchison Holdings based in Hong Kong, at the entrance to the Panama Canal in Panama City. On February 24, 2026, Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison objected to a takeover by Panamanian authorities of two ports its subsidiary previously controlled on the Panama Canal. Photo: AFP
Belt and Road Initiative

Panama out, but study says China investing US$23.9 billion in world’s seaports

Beijing funds 363 ports outside the Panama Canal to safeguard against East-West decoupling and US bid to curb China’s supply chain influence.

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Artificial intelligence

Africa emerges as new arena in US-China competition over artificial intelligence

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US, Israel war on Iran

Is the US in decline? After Iran strikes, maybe not, Chinese analysts say

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Iran

Khamenei’s fall exposes China’s military AI lag versus US: Beijing adviser

Zheng Yongnian cites precision strikes on Iran and earlier Venezuela raid to warn about risks posed by deep AI integration in US military.

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Plumes of smoke rise in Iranian capital Tehran following US-Israeli missile strikes on March 1. Photo: AFP
US-China trade war

Iran war leaves China in foreign policy divide

China is leading opposition to US-Israeli strikes on Iran, while also seeking to avoid a breakdown in its relationship with Washington.

Mainland China

China and US to hold high-level talks in Paris before Trump’s Beijing visit

Delegates to discuss trade and investment deals amid rising global tensions in lead-up to President’s first visit since returning to power.

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US-China trade war

US and China trade chiefs to meet mid-March before Trump-Xi summit

The planned Paris talks suggest a meeting between the two countries’ leaders will go ahead despite American strikes against Iran.

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shakes hands with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng in Geneva, Switzerland, in May 2025. Photo: Reuters
China energy security

As US-Iran war threatens oil supplies, will China speed up its green transition?

Beijing is still dependent on fossil fuels but Washington’s recent interventions may prompt officials to fast-track shift, analysts say.

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South China Sea

US patrol flights over South China Sea drop 30% as focus shifts to Middle East

Decline in reconnaissance aircraft sorties comes during critical time in China-US ties ahead of planned Donald Trump visit.

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China trade

Exclusive | US, China discuss investment revival ahead of Trump’s trip: sources

Both sides exploring structured joint ventures and licensing deals, with Beijing seeking protection and Washington eyeing better market access amid declining capital flows.

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US President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping shake hands at an October meeting in South Korea. The two are expected to meet again in four weeks. Photo: Reuters
War and conflict

Editorial | Strikes on Iran may complicate US-China ties

No significant impact expected on China’s, or Hong Kong’s, economy from the most recent conflict in the Middle East.

A missile launched from Iran is pictured in the sky from the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on March 1. Photo: AFP
Defence

US advisory panel warns China is gaining in undersea warfare

Commission urges Pentagon to preserve underwater edge as Beijing expands submarines, unmanned systems and seabed ambitions.

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US-China trade war

Trump’s 2026 trade agenda sharpens push for ‘managed’ US-China ties

US Trade Representative report touts deficit drop, pledges tougher Section 301 enforcement ahead of Trump’s Beijing summit with Xi.

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Taiwan

Will Iran attack derail Trump’s high-stakes China visit to meet Xi Jinping?

China has condemned killing of Iranian leader as a grave violation of sovereignty and called US incitement of regime change ‘unacceptable’.

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US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping when he travels to Beijing later this month, the first such visit by an American leader since his own trip in 2017. Photo: AP
Taiwan

US strike on Iran fuels Taiwan’s air defence debate and energy supply fears

Analysts say attacks on Iran illustrate Taipei’s need for integrated weapons systems, superior intelligence and electronic warfare.

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The US strikes on Iran underscore the urgency of accelerating Taipei’s plans for a layered air defence network, Taiwanese observers say. Photo: Getty Images

996 comes to America, Xi-Trump summit chaos: 7 US-China relations reads

From a new trilateral nuclear pact to the “worst” Xi-Trump talks prep, here are highlights from our overseas correspondents in February 2026.

China energy security

Why the Iran war will accelerate China’s push to become an ‘energy powerhouse’

The conflict does not pose an immediate threat to China’s oil supply, but will spur on the country’s energy security drive, analysts say.

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Huawei

Huawei holds global debut for AI computing clusters in challenge to Nvidia

US-sanctioned Huawei Technologies brings ‘world’s most powerful’ AI compute systems to an international audience at MWC Barcelona 2026.

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Huawei showcases its SuperPoD products at MWC Barcelona 2026. Photo: handout
Donald Trump

Editorial | China now holds more cards ahead of Xi-Trump meeting

US Supreme Court reversal of Trump’s tariffs leaves China with lower tariffs and US deals with allies in doubt.

China shipbuilding

Open Questions | Top shipbuilding voice Li Yanqing rebukes Washington’s ‘China threat’ narrative

China’s national shipbuilding association official calls US port fees ‘absurd’ and politically motivated, while asserting China’s market lead is solid despite global fluctuations.

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Tibet

As US names Tibet coordinator, is it eyeing China, its minority groups or trade?

Special coordinator for Tibetan issues says he seeks to advance US efforts to ‘preserve Tibetans’ precious heritage’.

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Riley Barnes, the new US special coordinator for Tibetan issues, has held several senior positions at the State Department. He visited Dharamsala in 2019 and also in July 2025 for the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong politics

CK Hutchison subsidiary slams Panama over ‘unnotified intrusion’ at storage site

Panama Ports Company accuses Panamanian authorities of undermining due process with raid, slams earlier takeover of canal ports as ‘illegal’.

A subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings previously operated two ports at either end of the Panama Canal before the country took over. Photo: Sam Tsang
SCMP Exclusives

Exclusive | Hong Kong pianist brings music – and a message of openness – to Washington

Fresh from his Cliburn win, Sham says music can bridge divides as he tours the US amid geopolitical tensions and decoupling debate.

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US-China trade war

Exclusive | China scours for Trump bargaining chips ahead of Beijing summit with Xi: sources

Government departments are tasked with researching and assessing likely demands by the US leader as well as formulating possible concessions.

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China’s anti-sanctions law

Is this maritime court case a model of China’s anti-sanctions law in action?

Sanctioned Chinese company takes on Swiss firm in ‘landmark’ action against foreign ‘bullying’ and ‘long-arm jurisdiction’.

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China’s Supreme People’s Court says a Nanjing Maritime Court case is a milestone in China’s legal response to foreign “bullying” and “long-arm jurisdiction”. Photo: Google
China's space programme

US must be able to ‘turn around and punch’ as China boosts satellites: general

Head of US Space Force Combat Forces Command also highlights spaceplanes as area of increasing competition with China.

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US Lieutenant General Gregory Gagnon says more than 500 of China’s satellites “are purposely designed and networked to track mobile forces such as US carriers, destroyers and cruisers in the Pacific, as well as aircraft that deploy around the Pacific”. Photo: Xinhua
Middle East

US presses Syria to shift from Chinese telecoms systems

Washington warned Damascus, which is considering buying Chinese telecoms technology, to buy from US or allied states.

United States

Ex-US Air Force fighter pilot accused of secretly training Chinese military

Gerald Eddie Brown Jr allegedly provided ‘defence services’ after 24-year Air Force career training US pilots on advanced combat aircraft.

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