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Donald Trump’s red-carpet welcome in Beijing before Xi summit – as it happened

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Unrivalled Xi-Trump summit analysis: get real-time updates and exclusive boots-on-the-ground reporting from our Beijing and Washington bureaus. Subscribe now with great savings to stay ahead. US President Donald Trump has arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The state visit is the first by an American president in almost nine years. It...

May 13, 2026

Business

Are those flying ants or termites? How to protect your home from the winged pests

‘Flying ant’ sightings have risen across Hong Kong as the summer season approaches, raising concerns over termite infestations As the early summer season approaches after weeks of heavy rain, reports of “flying ants” have emerged across Hong Kong, sparking concerns that the insects could cause a nuisance and even damage homes. Social media users also shared photos of the insects circling street lights in the evening or of their carcasses scattered across toilet sinks, with some questioning whether they are in fact termites. The South China Morning Post looks into these flying insects and how to prevent termites from entering homes. The massive swarms of winged insects appearing during rainy days in homes are essentially termites. Although commonly referred to as “flying ants” in Chinese, there are differences between the two. While both termites and ants live in colonies, ants are close relatives of bees and wasps, while termites are not, according to a pest control newsletter by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. Despite sharing some resemblance, termites have straight antennae and broad waists, while ants have elbowed antennae and constricted waists. Termites subsist on wood, but ants feed on a variety of food.

May 13, 2026

Business

Marco Rubio dons ‘Maduro look’ as he heads to China, sparking internet frenzy

In the hours before Donald Trump’s arrival in Beijing to begin his state visit, an unexpected detail caught the internet’s attention: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s choice of travel attire. Instead of the tailored formalwear typically expected of a top diplomat, Rubio appeared in a grey Nike tracksuit on the Beijing-bound Air Force One – an ensemble social media users quickly recognised as the “Maduro arrest look”. White House communications director Steven Cheung posted a photo of the top...

May 13, 2026

Business

Nvidia’s Jensen Huang joins Trump’s trip to China at last minute

The tech giant’s CEO, not among the original invitees, boarded Air Force One during a refuelling stop, the White House has confirmed “Jensen is attending the summit at the invitation of President Trump to support America and the administration’s goals,” an Nvidia representative told the South China Morning Post in an email. Seventeen American CEOs were on a list of invited business delegates released by the White House on Monday – a smaller group than Trump’s previous China trip in 2017, when 27 high-profile executives joined. Huang was not included on Monday’s list, which fuelled speculation Washington had limited appetite for rolling back some of its tech export controls. In an interview last week, he said he would have joined the trip “if invited”. Laila Khawaja, research director at Gavekal Technologies, said Huang’s last-minute inclusion was more reflective of the chip giant CEO’s “lobbying efforts” than a shift in Washington’s agenda for the summit.

May 13, 2026

Business

How ByteDance plans to turn OpenClaw craze into a profitable AI business

ArkClaw’s subscription model and surging token demand mark ByteDance’s new approach to agent economics “Agent-related token consumption still accounts for a single-digit percentage of total token usage, but it is growing,” said Li Guodong, chief architect of ArkClaw, on Tuesday on the sidelines of OpenClaw’s first mainland China event since the open-source agent framework went viral globally earlier this year, triggering a wave of “lobster” enthusiasm among Chinese developers. The nickname lobster comes from the AI tool’s logo. Although some of the initial hype around OpenClaw has eased, the Shanghai event was packed with about 1,300 attendees, according to the organiser, the Mu, a global builder community that was forced to restrict entry at one point. Attendees wore claw-themed headgear and gathered around demos and keynotes. In March, it launched ArkClaw, a cloud version of OpenClaw that Li likened to turning MySQL – a widely used open-source database – into a service. In April, the two sides co-launched the China mirror site for ClawHub, OpenClaw’s skills marketplace.

May 13, 2026

Business

Hong Kong-listed biotech firm uses AI to produce nano-rockets to deliver life-saving drugs

METiS TechBio debuts on Hong Kong stock market as its CEO compares the drug design start-up to SpaceX for the pharmaceutical industry Its stocks first traded at HK$28.68, significantly higher than its offering price of HK$10.50 each. METiS TechBio’s shares drew strong demand from both retail and institutional investors, as buyers from the mainland and overseas snapped up AI-related stocks in Hong Kong amid a wave of Chinese hi-tech companies rushing to list on the city’s stock exchange. Mike Leung Kit-man, director at Wocom Securities, said, “Several AI-related IPOs have seen their share prices multiply since listing.”

May 13, 2026

Business

Singaporeans refute lack of hunger stereotype, warn of ‘self-fulfilling bias’ over jobs

A recruiter’s comment on Singaporean workers supposedly lacking drive has sparked a fierce debate on evolving career goals and pay “Every company seems to only want to hire contractors, because we’re cheaper for balance books. It’s very hard to find a full-time role,” the 38-year-old Singaporean said. Azizul did not secure a third extension as a lawyer at his previous firm, after it found a permanent replacement based in Kuala Lumpur, he said. With bills to pay, he has made a career pivot and now works as a physical trainer while dabbling in live streaming on the side. “I don’t think I got any less hungry. I moved from one contract role to another, took care of my résumé by choosing roles carefully, but still ended up in a position where I couldn’t find a job,” he said. Citing this as a reason, legal recruiter Lee Shulin said in the viral podcast with local broadcaster CNA released on April 30 that companies she worked with were letting go of Singaporeans in favour of workers from Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Lee also said Gen Zs were unable to hold a conversation and “can’t even explain what they do to a stranger”. “For young employees, you need to be a little bit more paranoid about what the future holds,” she added.

May 13, 2026

Business

US’ scientific self-harm will only help China

While Washington slashes funding for the sciences, Beijing is clinching its lead in everything from patent applications to publications After the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803, which almost doubled the size of the United States’ territory, US president Thomas Jefferson commissioned the legendary Lewis and Clark expedition, which surveyed new routes from the Missouri river to the Pacific coast. It also carried out work in agriculture, ethnography (with indigenous peoples) and geography. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, that was the kind of science the US government was willing to pay for – practical, applicable (especially to the military) and, where possible, profitable. It would be absurd to think it should fund basic science with no immediate discernible applications or payoffs. That was certainly the case in the United States up to the 1930s. “Practically since the start of the United States, the federal government has invested in science,” University of California, Santa Barbara history professor Patrick McCray told his university system’s news publication in September. “But for most of our history, those were investments of a very practical nature.

May 13, 2026

Business

Thailand to review visa rules after spate of tourist crimes trigger public anger

Proposed measures include reducing the 60-day visa-free stay to 30 days for tourists from 93 countries and reviewing visa criteria Possible measures include reducing the 60-day visa-free stay for tourists to 30 days and reviewing the criteria for categories, including investment, long-term stay, student and digital nomad visas, according to officials. Visitors from 93 countries currently are eligible for the 60-day waiver. Anutin visited the tourist hotspot Phuket earlier this week and pledged no tolerance for foreign “thugs” who encroach on public beaches to run illegal businesses and threaten locals. The recent arrest of a Chinese national with a cache of arms in Pattaya, another popular tourist destination, has heightened national security concerns. The review is a response to long-standing complaints from local businesses – especially in areas popular with foreign tourists – that their livelihoods are being threatened by visitors who misuse visas to engage in prohibited activities.

May 13, 2026

Business

Privacy screens and police dogs: how Beijing is preparing for Trump’s visit

The Chinese capital intensifies security and clears hotels ahead of the summit between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump Trump is expected to stay at the five-star Four Seasons Hotel in northeastern Beijing after arriving on Wednesday night. His delegation is expected to stay at the nearby Kempinski Hotel Beijing Yansha Centre. Two US officials confirmed to the South China Morning Post that Trump was expected at the Four Seasons on Wednesday evening, while some members of the US delegation would stay at the Kempinski Hotel. The sources arrived at the Four Seasons on Monday to carry out preparations. The Four Seasons Hotel Beijing opened in 2012 and is located just 700 metres (0.4 miles) from the US embassy. During his 2017 visit to China, Trump stayed at the St Regis Beijing, which opened in 1997.

May 13, 2026

Business

How Australia’s mining giants are helping China to globalise the yuan

Mining firms are increasingly using the yuan for financing and settlements, as China pushes to reduce its reliance on the US dollar Australia’s mining giants are aiding China’s push to internationalise its currency and reduce the dominance of the US dollar, as they gradually shift towards using the yuan for financing and settlements, analysts said. And the firm’s chief financial officer, Vandita Pant, said on the sidelines of the Macquarie Australia Conference last week that the firm was open to issuing bonds in yuan in the future. Other firms have made similar moves. Rio Tinto, the British-Australian mining behemoth, signed its first yuan-denominated iron ore spot contract as far back as 2019. A year later, it completed the industry’s first fully paperless yuan settlement with China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel using blockchain technology. John Welborn, chairman of Fenix Resources, a smaller iron ore producer, said earlier in May that his company would be “very enthusiastic” to secure low-cost Chinese debt – denominated in yuan – if it could be matched with yuan-priced commodities, as “that would make logical sense”.

May 13, 2026

Business

China actor who stopped growing at 9 faces mockery over wedding photos called ‘mother and son’

Diminutive entertainer who was born prematurely because his mother suffered malnutrition during pregnancy faces cruel remarks head-on An actor in China nicknamed the “ageless man” because of a childhood condition which halted his growth has silenced detractors with his nuanced performances. According to Beiqing.com, Hou Xiang, 40, from Beijing, was born prematurely after his mother suffered from malnutrition during pregnancy. His growth and voice development stopped around the age of nine, leaving him less than 1.6 metres tall. Even in adulthood, strangers often mistake Hou for a boy, asking his age or where he studies. The exact diagnosis has not been made public, though mainland media described it as a lingering effect of premature birth or congenital developmental delay.

May 13, 2026