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Industry

China presses Pakistan to deepen Iran mediation ahead of Trump-Xi talks

Wang Yi highlights Strait of Hormuz security and regional stability as Middle East tensions loom over Beijing talks China’s foreign minister Wang Yi on Tuesday urged Pakistan to ramp up mediation efforts in the Iran crisis, as the war threatens to overshadow US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing. In a call with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, Wang lauded Pakistan’s efforts in facilitating negotiations between Washington and Tehran and helping to extend the ceasefire. But he also called for Pakistan to “step up its mediation efforts to contribute to … the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the early restoration of regional peace”. “China will continue to support Pakistan’s mediation efforts and make its own contributions towards this end,” he said, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. Still, tensions in the region remain high and the ceasefire has been repeatedly tested, with the US carrying out “self-defence strikes” against Iranian targets. According to the CCTV report, Dar thanked China for backing Islamabad’s mediation efforts and said he looked forward to closer coordination to “jointly play a positive role in safeguarding regional peace and stability”.

May 12, 2026

Industry

Trump heads to Beijing seeking stability in high-stakes Xi talks

Trade, Taiwan and Middle East tensions loom as US and Chinese leaders meet for first state visit since Trump’s return Before boarding Marine One for Andrews Air Force Base, Trump struck an optimistic tone about the visit, saying he expected “great things” from the summit and describing Xi as “a friend” with whom he shares a strong personal relationship. “I spoke with Xi, we both look forward to the meeting,” Trump said. “We’ll be talking about many things, but more than anything, it will be trade.” Trump said he did not expect Iran to feature prominently in discussions with Xi, adding that “we have Iran very much under control”. The remarks came a day after Trump dismissed Tehran’s latest peace proposal as “garbage” and said the existing ceasefire was “on life support”. He did, however, indicate that recent developments in Cuba would be discussed during the visit. “Cuba is not doing well, and we’ll be talking about Cuba on the trip,” Trump said.

May 12, 2026

Industry

Trump visit sees Marco Rubio become first sanctioned US secretary of state to visit China

Marco Rubio will become the first sitting US Secretary of State under Chinese sanctions to visit Beijing. Images of Rubio leaving for China on Air Force One with Donald Trump appear to have answered previous questions about whether he would skip such a globally important event. Rubio is also serving as the US National Security Adviser and would normally have been expected to visit China to lay the groundwork for such a high-stakes summit. Instead he has met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi twice...

May 12, 2026

Industry

US first lady not travelling to China with Trump

US President Donald Trump departed for a three-day state visit to China on Tuesday without first lady Melania Trump, travelling instead with Cabinet officials and business executives in a delegation that contrasts sharply with the pageantry of his 2017 visit. Hours before his departure, the office of the first lady confirmed Melania’s no-show in an email response to the South China Morning Post. “First lady Melania Trump is not travelling this time,” a spokesperson said. The confirmation comes a...

May 12, 2026

Industry

Tea at the Forbidden City: how SCMP covered 2017 Xi-Trump meeting

Cooperative symbolism behind tea with the Trumps in the Forbidden City This article was first published on November 10, 2017 by Laura Zhou Beijing’s Forbidden City was more than just an opulent backdrop for US President Donald Trump’s first day in China. One of the main halls used to stage a set piece on Trump’s tour of the former imperial palace was weighted with meaning and chosen to underscore cooperation between the two countries. As part of their higher-than-usual welcome to the capital,...

May 12, 2026

Industry

Trump’s China visit opens door to ‘casual’ networking between business chiefs

US business leaders accompanying President Donald Trump on his state visit to Beijing will be given the opportunity to mingle with their Chinese counterparts at an exclusive international business club, according to sources. On Monday, the White House released a list naming dozens of business chiefs accompanying Trump, including high-profile figures such as Tesla chief executive Elon Musk and Apple’s Tim Cook. Two sources familiar with the arrangement said the Capital Club Beijing had been...

May 12, 2026

Industry

China’s Hengrui seals US$15.2 billion deal with US pharmaceutical giant BMS

Company’s shares jump in Hong Kong and Shenzhen after tie-up that bolsters China’s growing drug innovation profile Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceutical, China’s largest drug company by market capitalisation, has signed a global collaboration and licensing agreement with US pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) worth up to US$15.2 billion. Hengrui’s Hong Kong-traded shares climbed 5.3 per cent to HK$69.55 on Tuesday, while its Shenzhen stock rose 4.84 per cent to 56.11 yuan. The collaboration covers four oncology and haematology programmes originating from Hengrui, four immunology assets from BMS, and another five novel programmes to be jointly developed using Hengrui’s discovery platforms. All 13 programmes are at the preclinical stage, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange. BMS has agreed to pay Hengrui up to US$950 million in near-term consideration, including an upfront payment of US$600 million. The overall deal value could reach about US$15.2 billion if all development, regulatory and commercial milestones are met and options on the co-discovery projects are exercised. Hengrui will also be entitled to tiered royalties on sales of partnered products outside mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

May 12, 2026

Industry

Trump rejects ‘garbage’ Iran peace plan before heading to China

US President Donald Trump said a month-long ceasefire with Iran was on “massive life support” as he rejected Tehran’s response to a peace proposal. The Iranian reply was a “piece of garbage”, Trump told reporters in the White House on Monday. “I didn’t even finish reading it.” The comments helped to push the price of Brent crude oil above US$106 a barrel on Tuesday. Trump is expected to discuss the war with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a Beijing summit on Thursday, as Iran’s 10-week shutdown...

May 12, 2026

Industry

China’s ‘dark factory’ more than doubles production efficiency for J-20 jets

The plant producing fifth-generation warplanes is designed to operate with little to no human involvement China has more than doubled the production efficiency of stealth fighter components in a “dark factory”, where autonomous vehicles and AI-driven machinery operate nearly 24 hours a day. The process once required employees to monitor its round-the-clock operations, but the plant can now produce the “skeleton” of an aircraft in near darkness, according to the official Science and Technology Daily. Dark factories are facilities designed to operate with little to no human intervention, thereby removing the need for lighting, cutting energy consumption and operational costs. Standing as a symbol of Beijing’s military modernisation, the fifth-generation J-20 jet designed by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China, was declared combat-ready in 2018. Mass production of the fighters began two years later. The J-20 contained thousands of unique components, Song Ge, head of the Chengdu factory’s digital manufacturing centre, told Science and Technology Daily.

May 12, 2026

Industry

Why is Beijing on a stronger footing to discuss Taiwan with Trump this time?

Beijing is now on a stronger footing on the Taiwan issue in talks with Donald Trump than it was during his first presidential term, according to a leading mainland analyst. Wu Yongping, dean of the Institute for Taiwan Studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said the issue would “definitely” be discussed when Trump meets his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this week. He said in an interview that Beijing would welcome any statements opposing Taiwan independence but he believed the space for...

May 12, 2026

Industry

Brics doesn’t need a unified voice on Iran war to have a future

The grouping has a future, not as a binding structure demanding policy alignment but as a tool for members to enhance leverage and maximise options As the Brics summit chair, India seeks to straddle its deepening strategic ties with Israel and symbolic commitment to the Global South, while ensuring the safety of its diaspora in the Middle East. Its challenges are compounded by the deterioration in relations with the United States under the second Trump administration, and criticism from domestic opposition over the government’s “uncritical silence” on the US-Israel attacks. Given the disparate interests and divergent stances within the grouping, the coming Brics foreign ministerial meetings in New Delhi are unlikely to yield concrete breakthroughs over the war. Yet it would be a mistake to conflate a known fact – that Brics is not a coherent bloc – with a premature conclusion: that Brics is impotent. As Heiwai Tang and I argued in our co-edited volume, the grouping is best conceived of as a tool for leverage enhancement and optionality maximisation, as opposed to a binding structure demanding alignment on all major policy stances.

May 11, 2026

Industry

Trump to raise Taiwan, Jimmy Lai case when he meets Xi in Beijing this week

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Taiwan would be discussed in his talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and pledged to raise the case of jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying at their summit in Beijing this week. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the Chinese President would be more likely than he to bring up the Taiwan issue at their meeting on Thursday and Friday. “He’ll bring up Taiwan, I think, more than I will,” he said. Asked whether the US should...

May 11, 2026