World

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.1. China’s industrial profits grow in April despite US trade warChina’s large industrial enterprises posted modest but accelerating growth in April, despite an unprecedented trade war with the United States that drove up tariffs on both sides and intensified economic uncertainty.2. China’s Xinjiang woos foreigners for 1 trillion yuan tourism haul amid sanctionsChina’s Xinjiang – an ethnically diverse region that still faces Western sanctions over a slew of human-rights issues – plans to open up to more foreign visitors, as the local government strives to boost tourism and diversify the regional economy.3. Top sleep scientist Dan Yang leaves US for China r...

The Oval Office, traditionally a bastion of decorum and a revered setting for international diplomacy, has seen a fundamental reshaping during US President Donald Trump’s second term. Invitations to the president’s office, once highly sought after to forge alliances and tackle global challenges, have become a perilous trap, a Hunger Games of world politics where foreign dignitaries risk public humiliation and the undermining of their nations’ interests.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was the latest leader to be ambushed during a routine diplomatic meeting. In an astonishing display, Trump played a video and presented newspaper clippings, propagating the unfounded conspiracy theory of “white genocide” and land confiscation in South Africa. He further claimed that many South Africans...

The rapidly arrived at pause in the US trade war with China debunked the myth that international trade benefits mainly exporters. Any voluntary trade has to be advantageous for both buyer and seller.While it is doubtful US President Donald Trump can clinch his long-coveted Nobel Peace Prize, if he allows a full-scale trade war with China to drag on until the end of the year, he should have a fair shot at the Nobel Prize in economics for launching a bold experiment in global commerce and proving empirically (by contradiction) key principles in international trade theory.While we may not have the benefit of witnessing empty store shelves across America this Christmas, it would be revealing to conduct a thought experiment on what a definitive US trade war “win” would look like.Imagine an effe...

Southeast Asian economies have signalled their readiness to allow more investments from the Gulf region in sectors such as technology, artificial intelligence and renewable energy, as they look to diversify growth and shield themselves from the impact of US tariffs.In return, the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is seeking partners beyond the Middle East to tap its oil wealth as part of its efforts to play a greater role in global growth.Southeast Asia’s economies have been reeling since April, when US President Donald Trump announced sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs to be imposed on Washington’s global trade partners. With their exports to the world’s largest economy expected to slow, Asean members have been lobbying Washington for relief from tariffs of up to 49 per cent, ahead of ...

Xiaomi has clarified that its advanced 3-nanometre XRing O1 system-on-a-chip (SoC) is not a customised solution from Arm, pushing back against speculation as the Chinese smartphone maker seeks to design its own integrated circuits (ICs) in-house to rival industry leaders Apple, Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies.“[XRing O1 SoC] is not based on a complete solution provided by Arm, and claims about it being an Arm-customised chip are groundless,” Xiaomi said on Monday in a post to its official WeChat account. The company emphasised that its in-house team spent more than four years developing the 3-nm chip.The XRing O1 uses Arm’s Cortex-X925, Cortex-A725 and Cortex-A520 cores, but the company has stressed that other parts of the chip were designed in-house. It did not use Arm’s Compu...

Garment manufacturers across China and Vietnam breathed a small sigh of relief on Sunday, after US President Donald Trump told reporters that the United States was “not looking to make sneakers and T-shirts”.But few plan to change their plans based on the president’s comments. After weeks of wild swings in US tariff policies, they have learned that Trump could soon change his tune once again.Businesses in China and Vietnam – the world’s two largest clothing export hubs – are still facing huge uncertainty, with both countries midway through a 90-day pause in US tariffs and trying to strike a deal with Washington to prevent another painful rise in duties.In that context, recent comments by US officials appear to be good news for the region’s garment exporters, as they indicate Trump’s drive ...

The set-up of a global mediation centre in Hong Kong will catapult the city to an international arbitration stage, enhance its influence and bring in economic benefits, the chief executive has said.City leader John Lee Ka-chiu made his remarks on Tuesday, ahead of the high-profile visit of Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi for the signing ceremony of the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation on May 30.He said the new body would put Hong Kong on par with The Hague, a Dutch city known for fostering peace through justice, rather than war and conflict.“The mediation body will bring significant benefits on multiple fronts, including enhancing Hong Kong’s international status, significantly elevating its role and global influence in international mediation,” ...

A nine-month-old girl has died after being found unconscious and trapped in the gap between a cot and a bed.Police said they received a report at around 7am on Tuesday that the baby was found unconscious at a flat in Fortress Hill. She was rushed to Ruttonjee Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 8.03am.The force added that the mother, 32, left the baby on the bed after feeding her on Monday night. She then found the unconscious girl in the gap the next morning.Dr Mike Kwan, a paediatrician, said: “The safest place for your baby to sleep is in their cot in the same room as you.”He added that newborns were not equipped with the ability to show signs of struggle.Kwan advised parents to monitor their babies throughout the night, especially newborns, as they would start to move and roll. ...

Hong Kong’s leader has criticised the MTR Corporation’s “inadequacies” in emergency responses and contingency planning following several recent blunders, including a five-hour suspension in rail services on the Tseung Kwan O line last week.Speaking to the media before a meeting with the key decision-making Executive Council on Tuesday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also laid down for areas that the rail giant needed to improve on, following its third disruption in four months caused by technical failure.The rail giant, which is nearly 75 per cent owned by the government, was slapped with a HK$19.2 million (US$2.4 million) fine on Monday, which was equivalent to a day of half-price fares that would be rebated to passengers.But Lee said the corporation needed to do more to prevent such in...

A couple in their village home in Sha Tin, Hong Kong, experienced a scare on Monday when they spotted a highly venomous king cobra snake on their computer desk.A snake catcher was called to safely collect the reptile, which measured about one metre (3.3 feet) in length. According to a police spokesman, the snake will be released back into the wild.The force said it received a report at 1.41am that the snake had entered the house on To Shek Street.The male resident of the flat shared what he called a horrifying experience on the social media platform Threads, saying his girlfriend was shocked when she spotted the snake on the computer desk behind some cables right before going to bed.He said he called police and they waited for about 45 minutes for the snake catcher to arrive.Snakes and liz...