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Industry

China lodges protest with Philippines after latest clash near Second Thomas Shoal

Beijing summons the Philippine ambassador to complain about what it describes as a ‘malicious’ attack on its coastguards Monday’s clash near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal involved a Chinese coastguard vessel and two Philippine Navy rubber dinghies. It accused the Philippine servicemen of “using tools such as oars and long sticks to maliciously attack Chinese law enforcement officers”. The day after the incident, Beijing summoned Philippine ambassador Jaime FlorCruz and said Chinese law enforcement activities in the area were “reasonable and lawful”. “The Philippine side initiated the provocation, yet they have turned around to falsely accuse China, distorting the facts and maliciously hyping up the incident,” the Chinese foreign ministry said.

July 21, 2026

Industry

How Chinese police infiltrated and monitored the dark web with the help of AI tools

Researchers linked to law enforcement collected data and devised tools to help classify sensitive and illegal material Chinese police scientists have offered a rare insight into how they were able to break into the dark web using artificial intelligence to decode underground content. In recent years, researchers both in China and abroad have made progress in analysing dark web content, but most of those efforts have concentrated on English-language material and little research has been published about content in Chinese. But in May, a research team from the Criminal Investigation Police University of China published a paper in the Journal of Chinese Computer Systems about a model specifically trained to translate and assess dark web content in Chinese. The first challenge was infiltrating dark websites to collect data. The researchers found that login requirements varied widely across platforms, and traditional web crawlers struggled with Captcha verification and the constantly shifting anti-scraping tactics adopted by these sites. To overcome this, the researchers designed a system to handle different tasks such as logging in, making lists and downloading images.

July 21, 2026

Industry

‘Groundless’: China dismisses Japanese protest over live-fire drill within Okinotori EEZ

Japanese defence ministry says PLA Navy vessels were spotted in the Pacific, southwest of the remote island Japan’s defence ministry said on Tuesday that the People’s Liberation Army vessel was one of three conducting exercises with a Russian navy ship in the Pacific on Sunday. It said that at one point the Chinese ship conducted a live-fire drill about 180km (112 miles) southwest of Okinotori Island and within Japan’s claimed EEZ while a Russian frigate was nearby. The ministry said it had contacted China through diplomatic channels and that Japan was continuing to monitor operations in the area. But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said China “firmly refuted” the Japanese claims, saying they were “groundless”. He also said that Chinese authorities had been “clear” about the location of the China-Russia exercise and patrol in accordance with international law.

July 21, 2026

Industry

US claims 3 China-linked spy sites in Cuba monitoring American military activity

State Department report alleges Beijing and Moscow regard Cuba-based facilities as among their ‘most critical foreign listening posts’ Some Chinese and Russian facilities were assessed as jointly operated with Cuba, the report said, citing prior reporting by The Wall Street Journal. Citing an unnamed senior US official, the report said Beijing and Moscow regarded their Cuba-based sites as among their “most critical foreign listening posts”. The report did not identify the three facilities it said were operated by China, nor did it provide new intelligence to support its assessment.

July 20, 2026

Industry

Trump turns to China in renewed US birthright citizenship push

After losing in court, administration targets alleged Chinese ‘birth tourism’ with prosecutions and new legislative efforts When the US Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, his attention soon turned from the justices to China, prompting a sarcastic social media post. “I would like to congratulate President Xi, and the Great Country of China, on their massive Birthright Citizenship WIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” Trump wrote on social media. In the hours that followed, the Department of Justice instructed federal prosecutors to prioritise investigations of so-called “birth tourism” schemes. Days later, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said lawmakers were examining legislation addressing women who enter the country to give birth. The moves suggest that, after losing its constitutional challenge, the Trump administration and its congressional allies are shifting towards immigration enforcement and possible legislation, with China increasingly central to their rhetoric. Yet no federal data set directly measures how many women enter the United States primarily to give birth, and available figures indicate that births to women living in China represent a minute share of US births.

July 20, 2026

Industry

China’s Li congratulates Andy Burnham on becoming Britain’s new prime minister

Li said strengthening dialogue and cooperation between ⁠China and the UK will benefit ‌the nations and ‘inject stability into global ‌peace’ Chinese ⁠Premier ⁠Li Qiang on Monday extended congratulations to Andy Burnham on ‌becoming Britain’s new prime minister. Strengthening dialogue and cooperation between ⁠China and Britain will benefit ‌the two countries and “inject stability into global ‌peace”, Li said in ⁠his ⁠message, Reuters reported. “I am willing to ‌work with the prime minister ‌to strengthen exchanges, ‌enhance mutual ‌trust, promote communication and cooperation, ⁠and advance the long-term, ⁠stable comprehensive strategic partnership” between the two countries, ‌Li ‌added. In his first call to the US president, Burnham assured ⁠Donald Trump that London would be committed to defence and security and would help ‌support the safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Burnham’s office said in a statement on Monday. “The prime minister … underlined his commitment to ⁠defence and security and said ensuring the ‌security of the UK and its allies was at the top ‌of his agenda,” a Downing ⁠Street spokesperson ⁠said in a readout of the call, ‌which took place soon after Burnham became prime minister.

July 20, 2026

Industry

Hungary investigates deal with China’s BYD after ex-foreign minister takes job there

Peter Szijjarto’s announcement that he would take a job at the world’s top electric carmaker prompted accusations of a conflict of interest Hungary’s government announced an investigation on Monday into a large foreign investment by Chinese carmaker BYD negotiated by a former foreign minister who last week resigned from parliament to take an executive position at the company. Peter Szijjarto’s announcement last Wednesday that he would take the job at the world’s top electric carmaker prompted accusations of a conflict of interest and criticism over his role in organising substantial government subsidies to the company while in office. Prime Minister Peter Magyar told lawmakers on Monday that Szijjarto, a close ally of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban, had helped BYD while he was in office “with hundreds of billions (of forints) in public money, diplomatic support and state infrastructure”. “We will examine all the decisions, negotiations and state commitments made by Péter Szijjarto that were related to the BYD Hungary investment,” Magyar said on Monday.

July 20, 2026

Industry

China’s military mouthpiece issues full-page warning on Japan’s growing drone power

PLA Daily says unmanned platforms have allowed Tokyo to circumvent constitutional constraints on military development “Japan is seeking to build asymmetric advantages on future battlefields by relying on unmanned combat capabilities, thereby advancing its broader agenda of ‘remilitarisation’ – a trend whose potential risks should not be underestimated,” another article stated. It said Japan’s three key national security documents, passed in 2022, had identified “unmanned defence capabilities” as a priority to establish Japan’s counterstrike ability. In its 2022 Defence Build-up Programme, Japan said it would invest 1 trillion yen (US$6.2 billion) in uncrewed systems over the five-year period starting in 2023.

July 20, 2026

Industry

China and US still in contact on Xi summit trip despite Trump’s election claims

‘Head-of-state diplomacy provides irreplaceable strategic guidance’, foreign ministry says, after Marco Rubio downplays derailment fears China and the United States have stayed in contact about exchanges between their leaders this year, Beijing said just hours after America’s top diplomat downplayed the possibility that allegations of Chinese meddling in US elections would derail high-level engagement. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Monday that the Chinese and American sides had “maintained communication regarding the arrangements for the heads of states’ interactions later this year”.

July 20, 2026

Industry

How electroacupuncture calms inflammation and the super microscope that showed it

System could enable study of complex biological processes in live animals over long periods with less tissue damage than previous methods A cutting-edge microscope has allowed scientists to capture in real time how electroacupuncture directs the movement of immune cells inside living mice, offering a direct window into the biological mechanisms behind the therapy. The high-resolution mesoscale microscope called RUSH3D-HR was used to observe how thousands of immune cells swarmed to sites of induced inflammation in the mouse spleen. When electroacupuncture was applied to a specific acupoint below the knee, the cellular stampede was visibly suppressed, providing vivid, real-time evidence of acupuncture’s anti-inflammatory power. The system could allow scientists to study complex biological processes in live animals over long periods with less tissue damage than previous methods, helping boost understanding of immune response, disease progression and potential treatments.

July 20, 2026

Industry

Bridging the divide: how AI scientists unite despite growing geopolitical rifts

As US-China differences deepen, a global cohort of innovators seeks to forge a collaborative, borderless future Yet, far from the halls of power, some developers and scientists see that the true potential of AI is in expanding global capabilities. This view united a diverse group of AI innovators and entrepreneurs who gathered in Hong Kong this month to explore how global collaboration and sharing knowledge could forge an entrepreneurial ecosystem that transcends deepening geopolitical rifts. “Geopolitical winds change from time to time,” Ting said. “Government to government, there could be some disagreements. But from civilian to civilian, technology to technology, as long as they allow us and it is doable, we will take it and work with it.”

July 20, 2026

Industry

Chinese company demands compensation from the UK over British Steel nationalisation

Jingye Group said the move tarnished the UK government’s credibility, spooked international investors and caused losses to the operation The Chinese company that formerly owned British Steel demanded on Sunday compensation from the UK government for investment losses following the nationalisation of the manufacturer last week. Jingye Group said in a WeChat statement that the nationalisation move tarnished the credibility of the British government, spooked international investors and caused great losses to the company’s operations and British taxpayers’ funds. It also demanded that the UK government stop “trampling on international investment rules”. The Chinese company announced it had initiated negotiation procedures under relevant bilateral investment agreements, reserving all rights, including the right to international arbitration. Jingye said it will also represent British taxpayers seeking to hold the UK government and British Steel’s management legally liable. However, it did not specify how it would handle the case. “The UK disregarded Jingye’s continuous investment and significant contribution and was only willing to provide almost zero compensation,” it said.

July 19, 2026