eChina.news

Business

China’s Fields Medals triumph raises bigger math questions

Support us Chinese mathematicians Hong Wang and Yu Deng are Field Medal winners. Image: X Screengrab When Hong Wang and Yu Deng received Fields Medals at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia on July 23, they became the first citizens of the People’s Republic of China to hold mathematics’ highest honor in its 90-year history. Wang is also only the third woman ever to receive it, after Maryam Mirzakhani and Maryna Viazovska. Both facts are worth celebrating without qualification. What follows the celebration, though, is a question that neither triumphalism nor skepticism answers well: what, exactly, does a Fields Medal measure? Not the present, for a start. Prizes in fundamental science are like light from distant stars: by the time the signal reaches us, the source has changed. Any government reading this year’s medals as a real-time report card on its current science policy is reading the wrong instrument. The reflexive framing is a national scoreboard. Yet the biographies resist it. Wang and Deng entered Peking University in the same 2007 cohort; Wang then studied in France before earning her doctorate at MIT, and Deng transferred to MIT in 2009 before completing a PhD at Princeton.

July 27, 2026

Business

China’s major industrial firms see profits surge 18.7% in H1 2026

By continuing to browse our site you agree to our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. You can change your cookie settings through your browser. A robotic arm operates at a machinery plant in Yangzhou Hi-Tech Zone, Jiangsu Province, July 23, 2026. /VCG Profits of China's industrial firms above designated size increased 18.7% year-on-year during the first half (H1) of 2026, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday. These industrial firms with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.95 million) saw their combined profits reach 3.95 trillion yuan ($583.28 billion) in the January-June period, according to the data. Industrial production remained stable, while new growth drivers continued to expand rapidly, providing strong support for profit growth, said Yu Weining, chief statistician with the NBS Department of Industry. The industrial firms' operating revenue rose 6.5% year-on-year amid steady production growth and a continued recovery in industrial product prices. The electronics sector was a key driver of growth.

July 27, 2026

Business

China takes satellite race with SpaceX to sea

Support us One of China's sea-based satellite launches. Photo: Orienspace China’s latest sea-based rocket launch shows how mobile launch platforms, onboard artificial intelligence and expanding commercial constellations are converging into a broader Chinese effort to strengthen military resilience, accelerate satellite deployment and compete for economic influence across an increasingly contested orbital domain. This month, multiple media outlets reported that Chinese commercial launch provider Orienspace successfully launched its Gravity-1 solid-propellant rocket from a mobile launch vessel in the East China Sea off Shanghai, delivering nine payloads into designated low Earth orbits. The 30-meter-tall, 405-ton launcher—recognized as the world’s most powerful solid-fuel rocket, with 600 tons of liftoff thrust—completed its third successful orbital flight and demonstrated China’s growing ability to conduct high-capacity offshore launches in support of increasingly ambitious commercial satellite constellations.

July 27, 2026

Business

Marcos faces nation at Sona as corruption crackdown hits Philippine growth

The president enters his final two years in office juggling a corruption crackdown, a slowing economy and rising hunger The address, known locally as the Sona, opens the final two years of Marcos’ presidency. Analysts say his administration must show tangible results from its investigation into the alleged billions of pesos in discrepancies relating to flood-control projects while limiting the economic fallout. Fund manager Ronald Acoba, founder and chief investment strategist at Trading Edge Training and Consultancy, agreed that Marcos’ greatest challenge would be delivering economic results for the rest of his term. But analysts say the scandal has taken its toll on the Philippine economy.

July 27, 2026

Business

HKU president Xiang Zhang to step down in 2028 at end of second 5-year term

In email sent to university community, Zhang says he wishes to return to laboratory work after “defining honour” of leadership role at HKU In the email, sent to the university community in the early hours of Monday, Zhang described the past eight years spent working to elevate HKU’s academic standing as “a defining honour” of his life. He also reflected on the university’s future in “a complicated, rapidly changing world marked by polarised views and conflicts”, saying the institution would have to meet the challenges brought about by artificial intelligence. “I have realised that it is time for HKU to embrace fresh ideas and for a new leader to guide this great transformation,” Zhang said. “I remain a scientist and a professor at heart. I yearn to return to my laboratory, to answer profound scientific questions, and to make a societal impact. “Therefore, I am announcing my decision to retire from the presidency and vice-chancellorship after I complete my 10-year tenure in 2028.”

July 27, 2026

Business

Indonesia central bank governor Warjiyo steps down in surprise exit

Senior Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti named interim chief after Perry Warjiyo resigns for personal reasons Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo has stepped down from his role, Indonesia’s State Secretariat Minister Prasetyo Hadi said on Monday, a surprise move analysts said could rattle investors worried about the central bank’s independence and ‌the country’s fiscal management. President Prabowo Subianto has accepted Warjiyo’s resignation, the minister said ahead of the opening of financial markets in Jakarta. Destry Damayanti, a senior deputy governor at BI, has been appointed as interim governor. Destry said that Warjiyo had stepped down for personal reasons. “Perry Warjiyo’s resignation will likely be taken negatively by the market, given he was a steady pair of hands with a good track record,” said Angus Mackintosh, an Asean specialist, at Aletheia Capital in Singapore. “A lot ⁠will depend on who takes over, with Destry, a senior deputy governor, stepping in initially.

July 27, 2026

Business

Black Lake CEO’s strategy to sell AI solutions to factories: turn to food couriers

Tech company founder Zhou Yuxiang sits down with the South China Morning Post for his first interview with a Hong Kong media outlet His entire sales team, hired from various industrial cities, survived a gruelling five-day boot camp on articulating how AI can solve specific manufacturing pain points. “They are very street-smart,” the 36-year-old said in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post. “Good college graduates are often thin-skinned. They linger in front of a factory and can’t get in. “But for food delivery guys, they just give a cigarette to the security guard and get in … They can also bypass guard dogs, or find a back door to get into a factory to meet the owner because they deliver food.” With a sales force of more than 420 delivery workers, Black Lake, established in 2016, has grown to serve 35,000 factory clients, 95 per cent of which are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The International Data Corporation also ranks it as mainland China’s top provider of cloud-based production management software.

July 27, 2026

Business

From fungus to fashion: Chinese scientists develop sustainable ‘living textiles’

The fabric can clean and repair itself, opening the door to recyclable fashion and biodegradable packaging Chinese scientists have developed a way to create clothing and textiles from a fungus that can self-clean and regenerate. The fabric can also be customised – for example to add colour or protect the wearer from ultraviolet (UV) rays – with the help of other microorganisms, according to a study published on Friday. A persistent challenge for engineered living materials (ELMs) has been scaling up microscopic living cells into large, durable structures that remain alive and functional. A research team led by the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology tried to address this challenge by developing a method to make ELMs using a fungus called Cordyceps militaris. Also known as caterpillar fungus, it is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and can create threadlike structures. The study highlighted the material’s sustainability. Environmental assessments confirmed it degraded within 41 days, raising the possibility the material could be used to make circular fashion – clothing that is designed to be reused or recycled.

July 27, 2026

Business

CXMT shares rise 472% as DRAM maker becomes largest China-listed firm by total market cap

China’s leading DRAM maker completes the biggest-ever Star Market IPO amid an AI-driven memory boom Shares of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s leading maker of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, rose 472 per cent on their Shanghai trading debut, giving the company a market capitalisation of 3.31 trillion yuan (US$489 billion). CXMT has become the most valuable company listed on the mainland Chinese market. The size of the closely watched offering, up to 66.6 billion yuan, is set to surpass the 53.2 billion yuan raised by chip foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) in 2020. There were market concerns that CXMT would draw funds away from other Chinese technology stocks, prompting the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to hold a series of meetings with representatives of listed companies, securities firms, fund managers and academia. Participants called for stronger guidance of market expectations and a more institutionalised market-stabilisation mechanism, while the regulator pledged to respond to concerns and enhance the market’s inherent stability, according to a CSRC statement issued on July 21.

July 27, 2026

Business

Hong Kong’s lawmakers don’t need to be coddled

While increased attendance in Legco is a welcome development, it shouldn’t be too much to expect first-year legislators to hit the ground running Lawmaker Stanley Ng Chau-pei called it a “groundbreaking opportunity” for legislators to study and deepen their understanding of national conditions. Showing up eager to learn and to better grasp how Hong Kong can play a more proactive role in national development is indeed commendable. Lifelong learning is crucial. We don’t expect our lawmakers to be know-it-alls, but we do expect them to keep themselves abreast of the latest developments and constant shifts in this fast-paced world. It is also excellent to see that the current slate of legislators has made genuine efforts to show up in the chamber. Only three lawmakers had an overall attendance rate below 90 per cent. It’s hard to imagine, but it hasn’t always been this way.

July 27, 2026

Business

Ex-China security guard admits to top university after 8 attempts, targeting Harvard PhD

A harsh comment from a stranger – a mother warning her child not to end up with a job like his – served as a powerful push to keep going A former security guard from northeastern China has successfully secured a spot in a postgraduate programme at the prestigious Tsinghua University after an impressive eight attempts and is now ambitiously pursuing a PhD at Harvard. Yang Xiao, 31, hailing from Shenyang in Liaoning province, has harboured the dream of attending Tsinghua since childhood, as reported by the mainland media outlet Jiupai News. After sitting for the national college entrance examination, or gaokao, in 2013, he was accepted into the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where his unique painting style was deemed a more suitable match. Upon graduating in 2018, Yang returned to Shenyang, established an art school, and nurtured a stable relationship. He subsequently applied for postgraduate study at Tsinghua, motivated not only by his childhood aspirations but also by a promise to his girlfriend. Unfortunately, his first attempt was disheartening: he fell over 100 points short of the required acceptance score.

July 27, 2026

Business

Amber rainstorm warning cancelled, while morning and full-day schools suspended

Hong Kong Observatory cancels signal at 9.15am on Monday, while Education Bureau says only afternoon schools will proceed as usual The weather forecaster cancelled the signal at 9.15am after earlier downgrading the warning from red to amber at 7.47am. It urged residents to stay alert to dangers that may be brought about by river flooding. The forecaster said that, under the influence of an active southwesterly airstream, heavy showers and squally thunderstorms were initially expected to persist over the vicinity of the Pearl River Delta on Monday. Classes at afternoon schools would proceed as usual, the bureau said. The rainy weather comes in the wake of Typhoon Noul, which triggered a No 9 signal for six hours on Sunday morning.

July 27, 2026